Return to Stuart and Sunset Bay Marina March 10-12, 2021

 Wednesday, March 10, 2021. Day 94.

We awakened to a beautiful morning “on the hook” (anchored). We were on the eastern branch of the St. Lucie River, very close to Stuart and Sunset Bay Marina, where we are going to spend the next few days.

I took the morning to stretch and complete a heavy duty work out on the back deck, and made breakfast. The wind was picking up and Captain Roland really dislikes docking when the wind is heavy; but this seems to be our fate. It requires much more skill when there is current and /or wind influencing the boat's direction.

Bringing up the anchor was a major ordeal; it was really dug in and there was mud everywhere. It took Roland a long time to wash off the anchor while I was at the helm steering the boat towards Sunset Bay Marina, following the captain's directions to a T.

The heavy wind made docking, challenging and, being human, Captain Roland pressed the wrong thruster and we hit a piling. Fortunately, the rubber stripping on the piling (that's why it was there), softened the blow and there was no serious damage.

We hoped that the winds die down so that we can leave on Friday, as planned, but if not, we will leave on Saturday. It will not be the first time that we’ve had weather delays and change of plans based on the weather. Meanwhile, I took advantage of being at a dock, taking walks, running, maybe going to an outdoor restaurant if we can find a non-crowded one, and then there’s always the paperwork, bills and enjoying the view and the pleasant temperatures.

We had to go to the supermarket, do laundry, wash the boat, repair the dinghy, and various other tasks of daily living. We were hoping that guru Scott will be able to come by and help Roland with the new software that still was not working on the main screen.

We planned to go around 4 o’clock, to a simple fish restaurant that we believed had a lot of outside space, but on our way we passed Casa Bella which was so cute. The tables were all decked out and arranged and no one was around. They didn’t open until five. We asked if they had room for two when they opened at five and they said they did so we waited around. Good decision! We had one of the best meals that we’ve had on this trip (Parts of Paris, in Safety Harbor, was excellent), and Casa Bella was comfortable and friendly, as well as delicious). The restaurant was a very short distance from the marina, and we took home half the meal for leftovers. It was a wonderful evening.

Thursday, March 11, 2021. Day 95.

I was up early, the temperatures were moderate (mid 70s ). Even Philadelphia reached into the 70's that day. Here in “paradise,” it was sunny but very windy, so as anticipated, we would have to stay another day at the marina until the winds slow down.

I spent a great deal of time trying to get a haircut. I called several people who were recommended either by Joe at home, and/or from the KK owners who live aboard at the marina. We tried mightily but nothing worked. I will just have to live with my hair way too long (and unfortunately stuffed under a hat), until I can go back and be saved by Gabby.

Roland made poached eggs in his new silicone egg poaching cups (yet another galley gadget), and to my surprise, they worked! Roland keeps reminding me of my skepticism (I laughed when I saw them), and now, poached eggs has become my breakfast of choice (there’s very little cleanup as well -bonus!).

Roland got his other packages, including his new phone (thank goodness-living with only my phone was a little challenging which seems curious as two decades ago we didn’t have any cell phones).

His delivery also included mood lights for the salon, so we could have romantic dinners. The mood lighting even comes with a remote unit to dim or brighten the lights. I must say this was beyond my wildest imagination. I am afraid that I lean heavily to the practical....less on the imagination.

We spent happy hour at the end of dock C with other KK owners, had the Casa Bella dinner leftovers (still delish), and then found out when I went to take a shower before bed, that for 3 1/2 months, I had been misusing the shower sump pump. My hope is that I did not burn it out, but I probably had shortened its life. Hopefully it will still be working well for the entire time I own Magic Moments.

Friday, March 12, 2021. Day 96.

Another beautiful day at Sunset Bay. I finished the housework (laundry, making the bed, doing the dishes, paying the bills, etc), and to our pleasant surprise, guru Scott came to help with the new software. Of course, timing is everything, and five minutes before Scott showed up, the computer crashed, totally. Captain Roland, you can imagine, was extremely frustrated and there was not much anyone could do. The hope was that when the computer was operating again, Scott will be able to guide Roland, by phone, through the software reset.

Roland went back to washing the boat, and I made fudge (yum!).

We borrowed the marina's bicycles, and going the back way (limiting the distance on US 1,which is very unpleasant), rode to the supermarket a couple of times. We were expected to be at anchor for two weeks and needed to stock up on food and treats, and carrying groceries on foot or bike really limited our purchases. A benefit: Roland didn't spend much time in the store each visit, (My job was to stay with the bikes, outside the store, and carry as much as possible). Masked and short stays inside, was our obligation to fight covid spread.

During our stay in Sunset Bay marina, we watched admiringly, a family whose boat was on a mooring, row back and forth several times to the marina's dinghy dock, to buy groceries and run other errands. Rowing quite a distance, their dinghy sans motor, a family that often included several members: father, mother, a teenage daughter, and 2-3 younger children, was remarkable. Often the teenager was rowing. We assumed that they were not Americans, maybe they were Scandinavians. I was sorry that we weren't on the dock at the same time; I wanted to meet them and chat. I was really impressed.

Saturday, March 13, 2021. Day 97, and Gail‘s birthday.

We were up early but I controlled myself to not call my sister, until a bit later, and sing happy birthday to her (a family tradition), at 6:30 am. I’m sure she was grateful for the delay.

Roland made one more trip to the supermarket and we prepped Magic Moments for our departure to Peck Lake, off Jupiter Island.

With the boat prepped, we left the dock, fueled and pumped out at the fuel pump, and then started our journey around 11am, on our way to Peck Lake.

The Second Vaccine

 Thursday March 4, 2021. Day 88

We got up early and left for Hialeah at 6:50am. It was an easy trip on Interstate 75 (Alligator Alley). There was lots of traffic from Fort Myers Beach to Naples but after Naples, the traffic was quite light until we got close to Hialeah. We arrived about a half hour early (9:15am). It was our second vaccine and the check-in was easy. The woman just looked at our driver's licenses and we showed her our card with the documentation of our first vaccine.

Alfredo, the pharmacist, modified our cards to include the second vaccine information. This was Alfredo's first second shot so he didn't know for sure how best to add the information. He decided to apply a sticker; we were fine with whatever he preferred. He gave us each our vaccine, we sat for 15 minutes, and Roland toured the supermarket.

We really didn't need very much (we had already purchased chicken soup in preparation for our reaction), but Roland is a foodie and he likes to see what is available wherever we go. Hialeah is a Hispanic area. In fact, Roland and I were the only people speaking English (except for employees who spoke to us). Of course, although needing nothing, Roland still found some good bargains and interesting fruits for us to take back to the boat in preparation for our vaccine reaction.

For the 30 minutes we were in the supermarket, we observed one of the patrons who apparently was using the air-conditioned supermarket as his exercise track. He cycled the market several times, just walking, and no cart. And I loved his outfit. He was wearing all red: red sneakers, red high socks, shiny red basketball shorts that came below his knees, and a red T-shirt. His ensemble was topped off with a brown straw hat, narrow in the front, that I associate with sports car drivers from the 1950s. He was adorable.....and, keeping fit. Unfortunately, he didn't wear a mask and no one said anything!

With our updated vaccine cards, and interesting fruit, we got back in the rental car and started the trip west, back to the boat. On the way, we stopped in the Pembroke Gardens area and met my high school friend, Barbara, for a celebratory lunch, outside at a sushi restaurant. I was elated, vaccine done, and we didn't have to go to the panhandle! We would be back at the boat long before and reaction set in.

After a fun lunch and visit, and with some guidance from Barbara, we went to Bagelmania to get some whitefish salad and bagels, and I couldn't resist, I also bought two giant muffins (one chocolate fudge and one pistachio....Roland loves pistachio so I knew he would enjoy the surprise). We then had to drive to Naples (which was not much out of the way), for me to pick up a prescription which I had originally ordered for Naples thinking that was where we would be today.

The pharmacy staff at Walgreens in Naples was really helpful. I had to work with my insurance company for them to allow me to get the 90 day prescription; they felt I was getting the medication 13 days earlier than they thought I should get it. I had no idea where we were going next or when I would be able to get off the boat or would be near a Walgreens (my insurance company's chosen pharmacy). This was not an opioid; this was absurd. Health care in this country needs an overhaul!

Because I didn't want to wait inside the store, I was in and out of Walgreens several times to make calls to the insurance company to work things out. On one of my many trips in and out of Walgreens, I found $70 in cash on the floor. I took the money to the pharmacist who looked aghast and backed away from the counter. She called the manager, who immediately came to her side with an assistant, and the three of them could not believe that I was returning the $70. There is no way for me to know who dropped it, nobody was around when I walked by, and I was hoping someone realized they dropped it in Walgreens, and calls and gets their money back. I assumed that they have security cameras all over the store and they could actually determine the owner. Otherwise, I hope Walgreens will give it to charity.

After we returned the rental car and took an uber back to the marina, we took a brief walk around Fort Myers Beach and decided that it was a little too touristy for us. It was packed, it was spring break, and not a single person was wearing a mask.

We went back to the boat, had a very late dinner and prepared for our vaccine reaction. We hydrated, put the ibuprofen close by, and continued our alcohol abstinence.

Friday, March 5, 2021. Day 89.

I was up a couple of times during the night (I had hydrated pretty heavily), and I woke up at 6:30am, with a slight headache, took two ibuprofen and went back into bed. I was totally unable to move for two hours; I was really tired. Roland had some chills but said it was not too bad. We had planned nothing for today and tomorrow, not knowing how we would react. We had heard how seriously some folks had reacted to the second vaccine.

We were pretty lucky; our reaction was mild. I did some laundry and went for a walk. Roland planned the next segment of our cruise. Unfortunately the weather would not permit us to go to Naples (the Gulf was too choppy for me), so we would have to go back across Lake Okeechobee to Stuart, and head to the Keys from the east coast. Roland had a lot of work to do to make all the new arrangements.

For the last few months, our lives were dominated by the availability of the vaccine and the weather. Now, it is just the weather. When cruising, the weather runs our life.

Around 6pm, I felt like I hit a wall. I was exhausted, really tired. But I forced myself to stay up until 8:15pm, in hopes that I would not wake up in the middle of the night, unable to go back to sleep.

Unfortunately, it was “Friday Night” as the boater in the marina explained to us when we asked him to lower his blasting music; to him it was party time, and we were real party poopers!

But.......we were saved by our vaccine reaction: so tired, we fell asleep anyway. Tired and happy; vaccinated and relieved!

Detour to Ft Myers Beach

Tuesday, March 2, 2021. Day 86.

It was foggy when we awakened in Punta Gorda.

I went for a 2 mile walk along the waterfront before we left for our offshore trip to Naples. We were very excited because we had reservations at the Naples Yacht Club, and........ we were getting the second vaccine, within a 3 hour drive! The weather cleared quickly during my walk, and at 10:30am, we left the Laishley Park Municipal Marina; it had been great! Captain Roland did an excellent job backing out of our extremely narrow slip (6 inches total between the width of the slip and the width of Magic Moments).

We needed to put the dinghy back on to the top of the boat before we went offshore in the Gulf, and that was not a maneuver to be done in the marina. Punta Gorda is on the Peace River, and the marina had a mooring field that they said we could use to raise the dinghy. There were very few mooring balls available, and unfortunately, Captain Roland didn’t like the condition of any of them, so we anchored and we raised the dinghy. It still took between 20 and 30 minutes, but we are getting better. It is clear that we still need practice; this was only our third time. After raising the dinghy and securing it, we brought up the anchor and began our journey from the Peace River to Charlotte Harbor, on our way to the Gulf.

Our plan was to anchor at our old favorite, “Ding” Darling, yet again (our fifth visit), because the wind was south and that was our best shelter. Our reservations at the Naples Yacht Club was not for another day.

We arrived in Pine Island Sound at approximately 4:30pm. There was light traffic; it was a beautiful day; the winds were varying from 6 to 12 knots, mostly south west. On the way I handled a lot of phone calls, texts and emails.

We had an early start planned for tomorrow so we had an early evening.

Wednesday, March 3, 2021. Day 87.

I did not sleep well because I again had mosquito bites. I have now determined to never go back to “Ding” Darling as long as I live! I was convinced that “Ding” Darling was the source of my tortuous insect bites. I again, had to prepare for four days of itching hell.

We left the anchorage at 6am on our way to Naples.

In preparation for our offshore passage in the Gulf, I applied a patch in the morning and took a pill. After about an hour in the Gulf, the conditions were too difficult for me and I got seasick again. First of all, the forecast, as usual, was wrong. The winds were much heavier than predicted (even Captain Roland took a pill). In addition, I should have, out of an abundance of caution, applied the patch the night before and taken the pill the night before. There we were, part way to Naples and we had to get out of the Gulf. Roland had to really hustle and find a marina; I had to be in calmer water. Itching from insect bites maybe hell, but being seasick, is death. This was the second time on this adventure and, after the first time, I had sworn, never again.

Roland managed to find a marina, for a couple of nights, in Fort Myers Beach: Moss Marina. The people were extremely nice, (I am sure I looked green when we arrived). The slip was difficult for me to get on and off the boat but the dock hands brought over a four step unit which was a godsend. I was very appreciative of their help. They brought me a bottle of cold water and hoped that I would recover quickly from being so ill.



After I recovered, we had to make arrangements: cancel the yacht club in Naples (sad); change the rental car to Ft Myers Beach from Naples; rearrange dinner plans with Andi (fortunately she is closer to Fort Myers Beach then Naples anyway so that worked for her).

Roland had to clean up red wine from a broken wine bottle that was knocked around by the heavy seas in the Gulf, and I had to start working on my post office problem (the post office was sending all of my mail back to the senders, marked “not deliverable”).

But these problems were minor, I was so pleased to be out of the Gulf where I had been so ill. Being seasick is awful. Every five minutes feels like two hours and although we were docked 2 1/2 hours from the start of our day, it seemed like I had been sick for a long time.

The drive to and from Hialeah for the vaccine the next day would be an hour longer each way but the relief of getting out of the Gulf made up for all our inconveniences.

Because of the lack of sleep the previous night, and my episode in the Gulf, I needed to rest; I did very little that day, after we switched all our arrangements. I watched the dolphins in the marina frolicking around the boats, and the birds displaying pecking order dominance, as the bigger birds knocked the smaller ones off the pilings.

I began hydrating, based on advice from other folks who have had their second shot and had reactions: headaches, breathing issues, and exhaustion, starting 12 to 24 hours after the second shot and lasting 24 to 36 hours.

One of the joys of cruising is that I always have a 360 degree water view when at anchor, and a pretty view even in a marina. So, recovering on the boat from our second shot reaction, will really not be so bad.

Andi canceled the dinner reservation in Naples and came to the boat to see Magic Moments at the marina. With masks on and all the doors open, she did a quick tour and then she drove us to Enterprise car rental. We followed her to the restaurant. Outside and socially distanced, we enjoyed a fun, happy hour meal at Bluepoint. We tried to keep the conversation not totally camp centric, so that Roland wouldn’t be bored to tears. It was a fun reunion for both of us.

Still heavily hydrating and very light on the alcohol (we had one and a half glasses of wine each), we went to sleep early so we could leave in time for a 9:45am appointment, three hours away in Hialeah, for our second vaccine.

Punta Gorda

 Saturday, February 27, 2021 to Monday, March 1, 2021. Day 83 to Day 85.

We were in Punta Gorda for three nights. Neither of us had ever been there before. In fact neither of us had ever heard of it before our Clearwater friends, Cynthia and Dan, had mentioned that they had stopped at the marina there from time to time and really enjoyed it.

Because we had to stay on the west coast of Florida in order to be in a position to get our second vaccine, we were looking for new places to go, inching our way north to cut down, even if it was for only and hour, the 18 hour round trip drive to Fort Walton Beach, in the panhandle. We made arrangements for a marina for a week in Sarasota, and decided to try Punta Gorda before we went to Sarasota.

We were pleasantly surprised. Punta Gorda, and Laishley Park Municipal Marina, were quite enjoyable. The town is clean and very well organized. 

There are parks, walkways, bike paths, benches, playgrounds, outdoor exercise locations with installed equipment (even some pieces designed for handicapped workouts), trash bins, plastic pet bags, tennis courts, pickle ball courts, water fountains, covered areas with grills, and lots of shady areas and waterfront walking/bike paths. Bicycles are well maintained and free. There were lots of murals, but none as cool as those we have in Philadelphia.

 The public light fixtures were on the walkways and bike paths and the parks, were well designed, and the signage, very interesting. Some of my favorites: Senior Olympic style game registration notice, and caution to not harass the alligators (who, I wondered, needed this warning??).

And of course, many bars and restaurants, particularly in Fisherman’s Village and along the waterfront that faces west for great sunset views at happy hour.

When we arrived on Saturday afternoon, we walked along the water to Fisherman‘s Village, an area that had been re-purposed from its original use. In the 1920's, it was an industrial area and major commercial fishing center. Now there’s a mall, and motel, docks for fishing charter boats and tours, a marina, a park area, and lots of stores in the outdoor mall. Fisherman's Village was less than a mile from the Laisley Marina where we had slip E4. We continued our walk around the town enjoying some very lovely homes, walking about 3 1/2 miles; it’s always good to walk after several days at anchor.

On Sunday, we went to the farmers market and bought some vegetables and fruit, including Honeybell oranges (my father‘s favorite) and a large sweet Florida onion. We couldn't resist the scones and freshly baked bread.

After coffee and scones on our back deck, (very disappointing scones I’m sorry to say), we borrowed two of the free bikes and cycled to West Marine to buy new navigation software (hopefully Roland will be able to install it himself, if not Guru Scott may be able to assist; none of this is ever easy nor simple).

Sunday evening I treated Roland to dinner for his birthday (one may recall that he grilled a wonderful dinner on February 24, his 70th birthday and I wanted to treat him to a dinner out). He picked the Tiki Bar on the waterfront where the outdoor area was spacious, although very crowded, but we were able to secure our own picnic table far from other dinners, facing the water, so we were safely able to enjoy a great sunset over the Peace River. It was bar food: fish and chips, conch fritters, shrimp Po' boy, and, of course, cocktails. It was another celebration of Roland‘s 70th birthday and it was delightful.

We were up early on Monday, March 1, to get ready to try to get the second vaccine closer. I had called a couple pharmacies to discuss the situation and got some hints to enhance our chances to get the second vaccine in a closer location, which had not previously been possible. My alarm had been set for 6am but I was up at 2:30am, too stressed to sleep. We set up our phones and computers before the 7am start of the vaccine rat race; it was so stressful. We were trying to win the lottery, with no real clue of how to be proactive to get the computer to pick us for the coveted prize of a nearby appointment!

Before 8am, IT HAPPENED!! I got an appointment in Hialeah, the western part of Miami, and so did Roland, at the same pharmacy, 15 minutes after my 9:45am appointment! I was thrilled beyond belief. The fact that we did not have to drive 18 hours, round-trip, for our second vaccine shot, made me joyful!! Six hours round-trip felt like a gift! Hallelujah!!

There was lots of work to do to support this change: I called the pharmacy in Miami to make sure they were OK with giving us the second vaccine two days early (yay! They were fine); we asked the marina if they would allow us another day (yay! They had room); we had to cancel our week in the Sarasota marina (sad but necessary), (yay! that worked without a cancellation fee); got reservations at a yacht club in Naples to shorten the ride to Hialeah, (yay!); and arranged a rental car in Naples for the drive to Miami. Before we completed the rest of the arrangements, I went for 3 mile run, I was so happy!

Brownie's (the electric motor repair shop), returned my call to discuss the finicky electric motor that we had paid $1000 to have repaired – hopefully their suggestions will work; at least we now had something to try.

Although I don’t usually check Facebook, occasionally something pops up that makes me curious. Andi, a friend from Camp Louise, where we both worked in the late 60's, had posted a picture of herself in a bathing suit on a friend's yacht. I remembered that she winters on the West Coast of Florida. After some research, I discovered that she actually lives in Fort Myers. I sent Andi a message, and she called me immediately (as I knew she would). I told her we had spent a month in Fort Myers and I didn’t realize she was living there; she chastised me for not calling ( as I knew she would). She was available for dinner Wednesday evening and Naples was not that far from Ft Myers, so we made arrangements to meet for dinner.

We took 2 of the free bikes and used the back roads to go to the supermarket. Roland treated for ice cream when we returned. This was one good day!

voyage to the ends of the earth...or ends of Florida

 Friday, February 5, 2021. Afternoon.

So there we were in the rental car starting our trek: our incredibly long and arduous journey (9 hour drive each way), to Okaloosa County, Fort Walton Beach, Florida, for our first vaccine shot at Publix.

The first part of the journey was not so difficult, we were fresh, enthusiastic, and optimistic. We were going to get the vaccine after all! I had many phone calls to make, so I was able to use the time efficiently.

The speed limit on Interstate 75 was 70 miles an hour. As a result, the massive number of tractor trailers that passed us, had to be driving over 90mph.

The scenery was unexciting. Totally flat and just scrub type trees and minor bushes. The billboards advertised chain restaurants and religious messages, primarily anti-choice billboards. Unfortunately, I did not see one billboard that offered any kind of support to pregnant women, no advertisements of places where young mothers could go to be cared for, or have their unborn children cared for or adopted.

After about four and a half hours, we arrived in Gainesville, approximately halfway to our destination. Our hotel, very basic, but clean, was just a half a mile off Interstate 75.

This “adventure”, was our riskiest endeavor since March 2020 and the start of isolation.

We were in a rental car so we had all the windows open the first half of the ride. Roland had picked up the car early in the morning from Enterprise after being assured that the car had been sanitized and that nobody else had been in it since at least the day before.

The hotel, however, was something different. We both had to go inside. My inside events had been limited to short visits to a pharmacy from time to time, and the occasional store when necessary, also for only short periods. Roland did most of the shopping, primarily hardware or food stores, going frequently so that he did not stay inside for much more than 15 minutes.

Our room was on the second floor, we got in the elevator alone, and only had to be there a short time. Roland ordered takeout for dinner and we ate in the room. Had showers went to sleep so we could get up early to drive another 4 1/2 to 5 hours to Fort Walton Beach.

Breakfast came with the room but not until 7am. We left before 7am, so took coffee, a muffin and an orange in the car.

Driving west, the scenery in the panhandle, was not that much different than it had been driving north the day before. Lots of trucks, RV's and tree farms. The most interesting was passing Elgin Air Force Base (almost 500,000 acres), which is used as a target to train pilots dropping bombs. We had no cell phone service during that part of the drive. A bomb target; no towers necessary!

We arrived at the pharmacy, according to the car clock, at 11:48am. My appointment was 1:48pm. I knew I was early, but I was hoping they'd be willing to give me my vaccine early so that we could start the nine hour trek back as soon as possible. I was armed with all my documentation to show that we were “snowbirds” and therefore, qualified for a vaccine shot: our lease of Janice's apartment (Janice is living in California so her condo was empty and she was kind enough to rent it to us for 5 months), and my letter from my financial advisor addressed to our marina; the two required pieces of documentation in addition to a driver's license.

When I entered the store and went to the employee whose job it was to check in vaccine registrants at the pharmacy, and gave her my name, she was in shock, she said you are so early (I thought I was two hours early; it turns out I was three hours early because Fort Walton is in the Central Time Zone). I thought we had driven far, but the concept that we were now in the Central Time Zone really blew my mind.

The woman was so shocked that I was three hours early, that she didn't ask for my id, paperwork, or other info. I explained that we had another nine hour, drive back and had just driven nine hours to get here and that we would really like to get the shot as soon as possible, so we could get back on the road. She said it was out of her hands; I must talk to the pharmacist.

I stood in line and waited for what must have been about 10 minutes but felt like 40, and I approached the window at the pharmacy and explained the situation to the woman behind the glass partition. She also was aghast and said she too couldn't make that decision; only the pharmacist can make that decision. I asked her to please ask the pharmacist. Fortunately she did and Trey (I love Trey), said he would give me the shot.

She asked my name, address (I had been practicing Janice's address and got it right) and birth date (again no documentation nor id); and she did what she had to do for me to get the vaccine three hours early. Of course, I had another favor to ask: Roland's appointment was for the following day at 3:50pm; I was hoping the pharmacist would vaccinate Roland now too. We were really freaking her out, but Trey (my hero), came through.

Because we had so stunned the reception person and the assistant to the pharmacist with our three hour early arrival, in my case, and 30 hour early arrival in Roland's case, no one asked for any paperwork or ID: no drivers license, no lease, no letter from a utility company or financial institution or a governmental agency such as a tax record, all the requirements, were never requested nor reviewed..... but we had been prepared.

I think they were all happy to just get rid of us; we were probably the weirdest folks that they had ever seen at the Publix in Fort Walton Beach, Okaloosa County, Florida.

We were elated. We got our vaccines, sat for 15 minutes as requested by Trey (Roland was jumping around after 5 minutes, but I was not going to upset my buddy Trey); used the restroom, bought sushi to go and ate our sushi lunch in the car, before starting our nine hour ride back to Fort Myers.

The nine hour return journey was not joyful, although we were both really relieved. My arm started to hurt after about an hour or two but it was not serious and not uncommon for me to have a stiff upper arm after a vaccine or other shot.

About an hour before Gainesville, the weather turned ugly, we were in a massive rain storm, we could see almost nothing. We reduced our speed to 40 miles an hour, put on our hazard lights, and watched tractor trailers speed by at the same 90 to 100 miles an hour that they had been driving for the past 2 days. I was a wreck; driving was treacherous. It took about 30 to 40 minutes for us to find an exit so that we could get off the road and wait for the storm to pass. We pulled into a gas station/convenience store parking lot which was quite crowded with other drivers who were also wise enough to get off the road.

Roland went into the convenience store looking for cookies to treat us after that harrowing driving experience, but none were to be had. He did get me some dark chocolate candy (a totally acceptable substitute) and bought himself a Kitkat and some gummy treats. A stiff drink would have been better but we had 5 hours of driving to go.

I was wondering whether we had risked too much to get this vaccine.

I did not really regret making the decision to do this; but I did resent that this is what we had to do to get vaccinated. In Florida, very few people wear masks, even the waitstaff at restaurants, serve maskless. This was the culture we had observed since our arrival in December in St. Augustine. Scary. I feel like we are living in a different reality. Although, we are mostly alone on the boat or walking outside (where I often walk in the street when others walk by), there seems to be no respect for the danger that covid presents; and Florida has the highest incidence of the more dangerous variants than any other state in the United States. So, I felt driven to get a vaccine as soon as humanly possible.

We got back on the road. The weather cleared up, and after an hour or two, miraculously, all of the tractor trailers disappeared off the road. What a relief.

The roadside rest areas have security at night. There is a small house where a guard stays all night because a lot of people, primarily truckers are sleeping in their vehicles at night. I had never seen guarded rest areas. They were basic but the bathrooms were clean and had a lot of air circulation as they were not 100% enclosed (perfect in a pandemic).

Before 10 pm, we rolled into our marina, it wasn't raining, the temperatures were mild, and we were able to unload the car with our overnight bags and all of our food and all of our paperwork in one trip, and get back on the boat without disturbing any of our neighbors in the slips nearby.

We were relieved. We had gotten our first vaccine, we had felt safe not withstanding the stay at the hotel and the rental car, and hoped beyond our wildest imagination, that we will be able to get a second shot closer. Neither of us are looking forward to driving back to Fort Walton Beach for our second vaccine.