Lap of luxury March 25 - 28, 2021

 Thursday, March 25, 2021. Day 109 .

Up early so I could get to the ladies room at the boaters' lounge (there was only one bathroom for the women and it as a bit of a walk). Because there was no water on the boat, I was dependent on the public facilities.

I ran 3 miles around the marina and walked another half mile. After breakfast I went back to do another couple of loads of laundry.

The repairman called this morning and said he would, in fact, be there today (Yay!), but not until the afternoon. This was really great. It delayed our plans to go to the supermarket to get food for Passover, but getting the hot water tank in and operating was the most important thing.

I spent the afternoon by the pool (the facilities at the Williams Island Marina club were absolutely lovely), and brought lunch from the bar at the club to Roland, who was on the boat helping Dave the repairman. I was totally enjoying this time in the lap of luxury, while doing Roland and Dave the favor of staying out of their way.

Talking to the waiter and waitress at the pool bar, I learned that all of Williams Island is a membership club. As a transient boater, I was a “guest”, and could pay with my credit card (they added a small fee - that was the case also with the a Island Grille where we had dinner the night before). It was a beautiful afternoon and I enjoyed the opportunity to be sitting outside by the pool relaxing and doing almost nothing. And, I was thrilled that Roland and Dave completed the work on the hot water heater. Magic Moments was back in operation again.

Friday, March 26, 2021. Day 110.

   

It was warm and lovely. I woke up early and swam laps for 40 minutes to the pool. There was nobody else there; it was just delightful.

Roland had assembled our folding bikes, while I was swimming laps, so that we could go to the supermarket and do some other errands. Aventura has every store one can think of within a reasonable distance. I was familiar with the shopping area because I had passed by Aventura for years when I lived part time in Bay Harbor Islands, which is fairly close by. 

 We cycled to a supermarket, and I was pleased that would be able to put together a reasonable facsimile to a Seder. Bryna was coming to join us Saturday evening for the first night of Passover; our first dining-in guest on the boat since we left on December 6, 2020.

Saturday, March 27, 2021. Day 111.



Williams Island is quite beautiful. It is dense with high-rises, although they appear to be barely 1/4 occupied. It is our understanding that many of the units are owned by central and south Americans, Mexicans and Russians. A place for some folks, apparently, to keep their resources. Many of the boats at the marina are also owned by Hispanics and Russians.

Saturday morning we walked to West Marine, about a mile or two, to pick up our new dinghy motor and some equipment that we needed for this gas outboard. The motor weighed 59 pounds so it would not be possible for us to carry it back to the boat. Fortunately one of the employees at West Marine said he would drive it over and drop it off during his lunch hour. That was terrific, and Captain Roland remunerated him generously. We are really hoping that the outboard makes using the dinghy a joy.

Williams Island is lovely, the pool was terrific, the weather was wonderful, and I was enjoying my “vacation” in Aventura. After a few more trips to a different supermarket on the bikes, Roland and I spent most of the rest of day preparing our Seder dinner, cooking and preparing the Seder plate, and setting the table.

Bryna arrived before 5pm, with our yacht club membership and my replacement credit card that we had arranged for her to bring us from Philadelphia, and we took a brief tour of the island. She had to leave by 8:30pm because South Beach had a curfew until April 12 , due to the mobs and lawless behavior of tourists during spring break.

I think the hit of the Seder dinner was the brisket that Roland made in the Instapot.

Sunday, March 28, 2021. Day 112.

The original plan was to leave today to go back to the upper Keys. I went swimming for about 45 minutes (I love swimming laps in this incredibly great pool that I have all to myself in the morning). Roland wanted to stay another day, so we lucked out and they agreed that we could extend our visit, one more day.