APRIL 6-7, 2021

 Tuesday, April 6, 2021. Day 121.

I was up early and ( first one up), turned off the anchor light. We had coffee and Roland experimented with a new recipe for German apple pancakes. Really good, really sweet.

The wind was only three knots, so dinghy down. It was only our second lowering of the dinghy with the new 59 pound motor. We actually do better each time, but we are still looking for ways to improve the system.

We motored over to a couple of different beaches on unoccupied islands that grow and shrink with the tide.

 Lots of jellyfish on the beach waiting for the return of the tide to wash them back into the water. Captain Roland pointed out that there were no birds or insects on the jellyfish “bodies“; very curious.

 Also, strange sand holes and mounds; possibly, sand worms?? Very weird.

Our solitude on the beach was very brief. Pontoon boats started arriving to enjoy the day. We walked about 2.2 miles exploring two different beach islands.

Our new motor had successfully trained Captain Roland so that he is caring for it the way it prefers, and it supports him by starting pretty quickly. It was a pleasure that the motor started on the first pull. The Captain was very happy with the new gas motor.

We dinghied back to Magic Moments for a lunch of grilled turkey burgers, and, in the afternoon, we went on another quick dinghy ride; it was high tide so there were new places that were accessible by water. And, mercifully, the beaches were deserted, so we knew we would have a quiet evening on the hook.

Wednesday, April 7, 2021. Day 122.

I awakened at 7am; worked out, had coffee and a shower and at 10am, we brought the anchor up and left our beautiful anchorage near New Smyrna, to cruise to Palm Coast Marina to see Roland’s sailing friends, Peter and Nancy.

As we were cruising, I spent the day doing paperwork, paying bills, doing taxes and yes, another credit card fraudulent Amazon Prime charge that had to be reported. What a pain to have to cancel yet another credit card. This time, I wouldn't be able to get a replacement until after we were back in Philadelphia.

It was a pretty day and a pretty ride to Palm Coast, although I missed out on a lot of the scenery dealing with the obligations of real life. Even worse, I knew that tomorrow would be another tax and bill day; and I hated missing all the sunshine.

As we passed Flagler Beach, the boat was inundated with hundreds of white butterflies; so cool. The ICW is very pretty in this area.

We arrived at 4pm to dock “on an angle”; I couldn’t believe the visual of the dock when we arrived Captain Roland had not mention to me that we would be docking on “an angle”, he didn’t know what that meant, and didn't ask, the dockmaster. When we arrived at the dock, I thought it was an optical illusion but in fact we docked parallel to a section of the dock that was in fact on an angle. It was very weird but the Captain did a great job. We did learn, at this docking that we were not charging our headsets sufficiently. We have modified our procedure and we keep them charged at all times. One never know when one may need the headsets!

As usual, as soon as we dock, I started the laundry, did the dishes, and straightened up the boat a bit because we were expecting Peter and Nancy to tour Magic Moments and have happy hour on the back deck (socially distanced).

After several servings of chips and rum, we went out to seek a restaurant. It was quite surprising that they were all packed and had an hour to an hour and a half wait. Finally we went to Flagler Beach and in an upstairs, outside, bar ,with very loud music, we had typical bar fare, burgers and sandwiches. Peter ordered a Philly cheesesteak (he says he really likes them).

Peter and Nancy told us that Flagler Beach is sort of the hippie hang out, specially attracting surfers. There are no high-rise buildings on the beach but a road runs between the beach and the houses and businesses.

We missed out on the the only possible “gourmet“ restaurant; the fish place we had heard so much about, closed at 7pm.....too late for our happy hour on the boat. Our loss!

Peter and Nancy (who were soon to be married in England --- Peter is English and all of his family is still there). They had met a number of years ago on the free dating website Plenty of Fish (how funny). Nancy had been a solo sailor for 5 to 7 years before she met Peter. Peter had been a sailor for 50 years and thought he had given up sailing; but he was mistaken. He and Nancy had been living and sailing on her 30 foot sailboat for about 6 years together. I had to admire them; they lived together on a small sailboat and they are not petite folks. I was not sure how they did it. They are both characters, fun to be with, and we had a wonderful evening.

Thursday, April 8, 2021. Day 123.

I was awake before 7am, and ran from 8 to 9, stretched, and showered (we were still in the marina so shower while we can!). Everybody at the marina was quite nice and there was a wonderful shaded path along the water where I enjoyed my run. We left Palm Coast at 10am; it was quite easy getting off the dock on an angle.

We had planned to spend a couple of days in St. Augustine, and then go offshore to Beaufort South Carolina. Unfortunately, the weather was not cooperating (surprise!). New plan: from Palm Coast to St. Augustine and offshore, without stopping, to Beaufort. I was very sad to miss my friends Evin and Paula who had planned to meet us in St. Augustine for dinner on Friday evening; but weather controls our life on the water. Evin and Paula went to St Augustine for dinner anyway! Love them.

At the 1pm opening, we passed under the bridge in St. Augustine.

 With Captain Roland at the helm, we entered the ocean at 1:10pm. He put on the auto pilot and, except for a passing freighter, and with Jacksonville on the horizon, the water, a beautiful aqua, was our only view.

Carlouel Beach and Yacht Club

 It was such a pleasure to see Cynthia when we reached the dock. It was like a homecoming of sorts for me. Although meeting new folks during this voyage has been fun, there is something really special to see friends and family. We spent time around Christmas with my niece and her boyfriend, and Elise, in Charleston; Evin in St Augustine; and now Dan and Cynthia and their clan, in Clearwater..

It had taken us longer than we had anticipated to reach the Yacht Club (all the bridges!). Cynthia had lunch while waiting and arranged lunch for us on the Club patio, overlooking the dock and the waterfront. Does life get any better?

Cynthia, who was coming back with her daughter, son-in-law and grandson, and hopefully Jim and Betsy for dinner, left and we went back to the boat to put ourselves the boat together, and then walked on the beach a bit to enjoy the sunset.

Cynthia and Charlotte and her husband, and baby Tripp, arrived. Dan had a cold so he stayed home to recover. Jim came (I hadn't seen him for two years), but Betsy was busy; I was sorry I didn't get to see her this visit. It was wonderful to finally meet Charlotte and her husband and Tripp. Dinner outside (I ate very little; lunch had been so late), was again, a joyful event. With masks on and all the doors open, everyone took a brief tour of Magic Moments.

Back on the boat, I started our 4 to 6 loads of laundry, finished the dishes, and thought about the great evening we just had, and the joys of friendship. Cynthia and Dan are always so generous when I visit each January; this time, they outdid themselves! Cynthia even left us her car for the duration of our visit. Unfortunately, as we had anticipated, none of the three packages that were to be delivered on Friday were delivered. We did not know how long it would take and we were concerned about overstaying our welcome at the yacht club.

Saturday, January 23, 2021. Day 48.

It was a beautiful day in Clearwater Beach. The quiet of the morning, quickly came to an end as the families with lots of kids came to take advantage of the wonderful club facilities. Several boats came to the dock; it was a busy and active and cheerful place.

We spent most of the day doing errands: West Marine, Target, Publix, Walgreens, CVS, etc. etc. etc.; thank you Cynthia for your car! We even rode by Rumba (Dan's favorite lunch place; he always takes me there after picking me up from the airport). I was a little sorry we didn't get a chance to have lunch there (they have a really nice patio for outside dinning, but Captain Roland really wanted to use his opportunity for lunch to go back to Pollo Tropical (take out and eat in the car). I am glad we got Pollo Tropical out of the way; hopefully, we won't have to do that again. OK, so the chicken is good...but not that good!

Saturday evening was dinner at Cynthia's and Dan's new home. They have a very spacious screened in outdoor pool area. It was wonderful to see Dan and Arlo, and meet one of Dan's sons, Joe, and tour their new house. We spent most of the time outside, but when inside, everybody wore a mask, even though both Dan and Cynthia had already had their first vaccine (they are physicians and Dan had even had a test that had come back on Friday as negative); but we were all being very careful. Cynthia set us at separate tables so that we could socialize safely.

Their new home is just wonderful, spacious and lovely, all on one floor and they are loving it. I got to try out their new washer and dryer (which is immense and doesn't have a central agitator). I wanted to wash the blanket/bedspread which could not be done in the small boat washer and dryer. Cynthia graciously let me use her washer and dryer. I could have washed my entire 4 - 6 loads in one load in her machines.

It was Saturday and none of our three packages had arrived. We really did not want to overstay our welcome so if the packages don't arrive on Tuesday, we planned to leave and return when the shipments are received. I was not real happy about all that especially because we wanted to test the dinghy motor; we need a working dinghy.

Sunday, January 24, 2021. Day 49. Seven weeks at sea.

I was up early and ran on the beach for 3 miles. It was quite beautiful. Roland worked on the boat and, again, we did errands. We met Cynthia and Dan at the Countryside Country Club for a lovely outdoor dinner. Mike, the food and beverage director, had comped us a around of drinks; very kind. We were the only ones at dinner (we ate outside overlooking the golf course); it was lovely. The timing was a little awkward. We had dinner during the final for the Super Bowl here in near Tampa, and Dan and Cynthia, fortunately had recorded the game, but sat through dinner while listening to cheers from the employees inside the restaurant. We all assumed the outcome but Dan and Cynthia still enjoyed the game when they got back (the miracle of technology). I felt really bad that I had timed the dinner so that they missed this important game. Tampa hasn't won a superbowl for almost 20 years and this final game was huge.

But the dinner was was great fun, quite delicious, and they were very gracious.

Monday and Tuesday (January 25 and 26), at the yacht club was quite strange. The club is closed. What we did not realize is that they lock the gates. It was great to have no one around, so quiet, an having no one around meant that Roland was able to wash the boat, change the oil, and do other things that might be annoying to guests. The fact that the club was closed made it quite easy, without bothering anybody. Being locked in however, was not so great. Fortunately, Roland had found a way out of the club through the garbage area. It was rather bizarre to come and go through the garbage area, but we were grateful that we weren't actually locked in. One (meaning me), wonders what would have happened had they lock that gate as well.

On Monday, I called Brownys to let them know that we still had not received the motor, and left a message at Zekes that the inflatable standup paddle boards had not arrived. All these items were promised for Friday, and as of Monday, nothing!

Monday, January 25, 2021. Day 50.

Monday morning, Roland and I went for a long walk on the beach and collected some shells. We did even more errands (when we have a car only once a month, we go a little nuts!).

Roland installed the staple and the second set of cups for the staple, (so they can be moved for grilling), 

 and then we went to Safety Harbor where we were meeting Dan and Cynthia for an outside dinner at Parts of Paris. Safety Harbor is the location of my yearly TIAW, mid January rendezvous, canceled this year. I enjoyed walking around and showing Roland all our haunts. I took lots of pictures to send to Lisa to distribute to the “Old Girls” (a play on the old boys network). We had a fabulous dinner outside at Parts of Paris. Dan and Cynthia they had never been there before and of course neither had Roland. The food was terrific; we had escargot, polpo, foie gras, moules and frites, and great wine and fun cocktails; it was wonderful. Monday was half priced appetizers, and we tried several. We had an excellent evening, and I had the opportunity to treat everyone again.

Tuesday, January 26, 2021. Day 51.

Called Brownys and Zekes yet again. They both were convinced that their packages would actually arrive today. Roland installed the second set of cups on the swim platform for the staple and we did a few more errands, after my work out on the deck. Roland and I met Cynthia for lunch in Clearwater Beach at one of the five Frenchy's. She loves their original grouper (fried) specialty, and Roland and I shared an original (I would have mine grilled next time), and two appetizers. We sat in the back in the area where customers normally bring their dogs. Absolutely no one was there. The front of Frenchy's was packed. So we enjoyed a wonderful lunch outside, safely, socially distanced.

We walked up and down the street in Clearwater Beach a couple times, window shopping for beach towels (I am still steamed at myself for not bringing some from home; I must own 100), so buying more seemed absurd, but we we were in such a rush to leave in December that there are things that I forgot to bring. Packing for a small space; living on a boat for 5 months; weather for all four seasons.....OK, I am not perfect!

Tuesday evening,we were again invited to Cynthia and Dan's for dinner (everyone should have friends like Dan and Cynthia!). And, voila, the three packages had, in fact, arrived, plus a fourth package for Roland that had arrived timely; what a bonanza.

Cynthia made beef pot roast half on the stove top and half in the slow cooker; we got to try each. I did not think that one was tremendously better than the other (Roland said the slow cooker was better; he is the foodie).

After a fabulous dinner and a wonderful evening and an amazing visit for 5 great days, we drove back to the yacht club. Dan and Roland got the packages to the dock (the two SUP's were really heavy and bulky), Roland and I got them aboard (not an easy feat), and we said goodbye for now to Dan and Cynthia. It was one amazing visit. No cooking, great food and drink, a car all 4 to 5 days, “so fun” as JNG and HLG would say.

The only bummer of the day was the late afternoon travel warning from the CDC: forget the Bahamas for now. We are really disappointed.