Sunday February 7, 2021. Day 63.

I got up early and did the dishes from last night's dinner. Roland had made grilled cheese upon our return at 10 pm, from the panhandle.

Although the forecast said rain, the day turned out to be quite beautiful; warm, so warm in fact that I actually broke out my summer clothes. I am now wearing Devigi shorts rather than the Devigi long sleeves and long pants. Thank goodness for Devigi, it solves all of my clothing problems.

So it is now warm, very warm, and Roland tried to get the AC to work. Surprise! A new issue. The AC is not working correctly. As usual, as soon as something new comes along on the boat, another growth opportunity!!

As as usual, Roland broke out all of the manuals, read everything, did some research, tried lots of things on the three air conditioning units, and finally just texted guru Scott.

During this time I was trying to get my email to work. We had obviously been away from email for several days and it was time for me to check the status of the world. I was extremely frustrated, the marina had Wi-Fi but every time I clicked onto the Wi-Fi showing five bands, it dropped to one band and was unsteady. After an hour or two of this stress, (no AC, no wifi), I gave up and decided to go for a walk. There is just so much technology frustration I can handle.

Because we did not know whether or not Roland would have been able to get his vaccine on Saturday with me and may have had to wait until late Sunday afternoon, we had arranged for the rental car through Monday morning, giving us a car to do errands for another day. Roland drove to the usual: West Marine, and Lowes. As luck would have it, a brand new Trader Joe's (his favorite), had just opened nearby, so he got to stop by there as well.

In the afternoon we walked over to Edison Ford Gardens. Thomas Edison and his two buddies, Ford and Firestone, wintered in Fort Myers, and Edison had created gardens and a research lab. The idea was to find sustainable rubber plants that would grow quickly so they could produce rubber, thereby reducing the US dependency on foreign sources. Unfortunately, the experiment was not a success. Interestingly, the best rubber yielding, fast growing, sustainable plant turned out to be goldenrod.

The garden was quite interesting and lovely. We did not tour the home and the residential area but rather just walked around the area garden laboratory and testing area where various plants were grown. There are several large Banyan trees on the property, one of which is almost 100 years old and covers an acre. I ended up going by that tree at least once a day for several days over the next 3 weeks. It is mystical.

On our way back to our boat, we passed a Super Bowl party in front of a boat owned by Kansas City folks. They had put out an enormous amount of food and drink and were wearing all kinds of Kansas City fan clothing; everybody was all psyched hoping that, although we were close to Tampa, Kansas City would win. The bets were in and the TV was on the back deck of their boat. We all know how that worked out. I was secretly cheering for Tampa although, as a true Eagles fan, Tom Brady is not my favorite.

We didn't stay for the party, as no one was wearing a mask. Most of these people have happy hour together on the dock, again, without masks, and we often just walk by. We wave, we say hello but we do not stay. We are always wearing a mask; they may think we are antisocial, but I am uncomfortable under the circumstances.

We had a really nice dinner on our boat. We were disappointed that the AC was still not working. The interior can't handle the humidity and we can't handle the heat! We thought it may be the thermostats. It was clear that the AC was mandatory as this was still early February, and if we went to the keys in March and April....... well let's just say, no way without AC.

Guru Scott responded (thank you Scott!), and suggested that we re-calibrate the thermostats. Nowhere in any of the manuals or directions was there anything about re-calibrating the thermostat: not the need to do this, nor how to do this.

We watched part of the Super Bowl and part of the halftime show and although I was disliked seeing Tom Brady as a god, it warmed my heart to know that a couple of years ago, the Eagles beat Tom Brady.

Monday, February 8, 2021. Day 64.

It was warm and sunny; no wind; lovely even though a bit humid. I saw Janice and Jerome from Sassy, the boat next-door, and wished them well. They were off to spend two or three days at a beach resort. I went for a run and I was not back in time to see them off. Roland, back from his morning errands and returning the rental car, was able to help them off the dock. I had run my 3 miles around the Edison Estates. Most of the homes were modest; I only saw two with second stories, all on what to me, a city girl, looked like quite generous parcels.

Before they left, Janice and Jerome had given us a card and some tulips as a congratulatory gift for finally getting our first vaccine, notwithstanding the challenges that we faced. I was touched; very kind and caring slip neighbors!

Roland loves the cruising life, and one of the many reasons, is the easy, generous nature of his fellow boaters. Except for some of the speed boaters who thoughtlessly pass us by, waking us (causing a lot of rocking and rolling when they pass), it has been a pleasure to meet the other boaters.

In the morning, I spent a great deal of time inside on the computer, which is not my happiest place to be. In the afternoon we walked over to visit some other folks on the next dock. Kitty and Kevin on Sabrina were not on their boat, but we met the owners of Tortuga. They gave us some suggestions of nearby places to go when we left the marina. They were originally from Seattle and have lived at Legacy Harbour Marina, for a number of years on their boat and seem like very down to earth, nice folks.

It as turn to facilitate a zoom that evening and I feel that it went well. The most difficult part for me was sharing memories of Mona, who had passed away at the end of December. Such an amazing woman and an open, inclusive friend. We will miss here dearly. A couple of my women friends were going through some real transitions, including retiring from active work. I listened to a nearby boat playing music and people were dancing on the dock. I would have wanted to join them but the timing did not work out. I so miss dancing.

Happily, the AC seemed to be working after Roland figured out how to re-calibrate. We were hopeful that the AC problem was solved; one never knows what challenges are in our future.

Tuesday, February 9, 2021. Day 65.

Big day; we were having socially distanced, outdoor guests! We were up early. I stretched and did a work out on the back deck. Roland slept later, as usual ( I seem to need less sleep....I just wish I had his metabolism.....he weighs the same now as he did in high school....ugh!!! I wonder if I would lose weight if I slept more...less time to eat?!). We straightened and cleaned the inside of the boat. Roland's friends, Gary and Niamh (I hope I spelled her name correctly....spelling is not my forte; she is Irish and her name is pronounced “knee-f'), were coming to visit at 11 am, and we wanted Magic Moments to look shipshape. Roland had helped Gary and Niamh take their sailboat to Puerto Rico a couple years ago. They are live-a-boards, but due to the pandemic, they had to leave their boat in the Caribbean and they are leasing a house in Venice, Florida, until it is safe to return to their boat.

Gary and Niamh have been very careful; they brought their own lunch, and wore masks the whole visit even though we were sitting over 10 feet apart outside. That worked for us, as we too have been really careful. It was a little odd to have visitors on the boat even though we just sat outside on the back deck. What to wear? I was meeting them for the first time. In the olden days, I would have put on an outfit, jewelry and makeup, and fussed with my hair. I haven't had anyone touch my hair in over 2 months and I had attended my salon religiously every 4 week before covid. I haven't worn make up, nor jewelry or dressy clothing for almost a year. I'm a boater and I only have simple things with me. It was very weird; it felt strange to meet new folks so au naturel.

The visit was lovely. they brought their own salads for lunch, and Roland made a salad for us. The three of them recounted sailing stories; I listened.

After they left we went for a walk. I had a 5:00pm zoom with my high school buddies, and we had a 7pm zoom with Roland's friends.

We finished the evening focusing on the fact that we were leaving the marina the next day; we had been here over a week (all previous plans altered in order to get our first vaccine shots in the panhandle). Casting off, we planned, probably around 2pm, which is high tide. We had been here a long time. We would be coming back from time to time over the next three weeks but for now, cruising was looking good.