Sunday, December 30, 2012

Sunset from Storymaker

 

Today was one of those days when we had high hopes of getting lots of work

done on the boat...uh oh...didn't work.  Instead we had breakfast and headed straight

to bed for a nap!  We got up again determined to work on the boat but instead we both read

books until we tired and then took another nap!  To make a long story short, we didn't

get much done on the boat but we are ready to rock and roll tomorrow night on New Year's Eve !

 

Saturday, December 29, 2012

This was sunrise on the port side of the boat

and the moon setting on the starboard side of

the boat this morning  !

 

We may have received some bad news today.  Friends of mine, Sharon & Mike from

IL. were/are supposed to be coming out the 4th of January for a few days.  I just spoke

with Sharon today and she said Mike was in the hospital on 12/23 for breathing problems

so he was put on meds and is slowly mending.  If they have to miss the trip we understand

completely, afterall, Mike's health is what's important at this time.

 

Today we did a bunch of running around and at age 59 I had a first.  I had my hair cut by an asian

barber who couldn't speak english very well !  The whole time he was cutting my hair I was

just smiling because I knew he didn't know what he was doing.  In fact he tried to pawn me off on somebody else but I said "no, I wanted him".  He just looked at me like...OK.....I told him I didn't want any more than an 1/2 inch taken off and he just started cutting my hair in sections going around

in circles.  It was kind of cute the way he was doing it.  He was handling me with care and

the best part is, I think it looks pretty good, and it only cost me $23 including tip !

 

Bob signed up for a dive trip on the 6th somewhere out from Stock Island with a friend

of his, Scott.  The dive area is supposed to be anywhere from 20 - 35' with lots of good fish to look at.  Scott's wife is snorkling, so I may go snorkling with her. Scott's two boys just got their certification so they will be doing the diving thing also.

 

It sounds like our Northern winds are coming back tomorrow.  If so, we won't be getting off

the boat again for a couple of days.  The seas are already starting to look angry. It's a good

thing I did laundry today and we picked up a few groceries.

 

I've started pimping out my bike.  Jon & Jen gave us a bell and cup holder for our bike's for Christmas so we put our new gifts on today!  Lookin' good ! I would have taken pictures of them

but Bob dropped our camera and broke it...yeah, you read right....but, not sure how he did

this, he took it back to the store and got his money back.  He told the guy he got it

for Christmas and when he pulled it out of the box this is what it looked like.  The guy

said ok, and took some kind of tool and just smashed the crap out of it?? !!!! 

 

We finally painted our dinghy letters and numbers on Zippy today !

 

 

Latest news back home!

 

We received a text message from Bill (Bob's brother) last night telling us that:

 

"Jack (Bill's son) just got team MVP for Jacksonville basketball tournament.

Led all scorers in tonight's game" 

 

Congratulations Jack !!

 

 

Bob's a yak

Missed peeper

 

Today we rode our bikes into town.  I needed to get some potting

soil to re pot a couple of my plants.  We came back to the boat and Bob got

the laundry together (sheets and towels) and went to the laundry mat to wash and

dry them !  Yeah for me !  I stayed back at the boat and re potted

my plants.  While laundry was washing, Bob got some ice and brought it back to the boat. 

He then went back up to the dinghy dock to fill up the water and gas jugs, throw the clothes in

the dryer and then back to the boat with the jugs.  He is now going

back to fold the laundry.  I can't wait to see how everything looks :0)

That's my man!

 

Thursday, December 27, 2012

You can't tell but this was a sad day for us.

This is Jen & Jon at the Key West Airport

getting ready to leave...there were tears shed between

Jenny and I but it's OK because we'll see each other soon.

Besides she's got Samantha (her cat) to get home to and her

new puppy (Cockapoo ??) she's trying to talk Jon into !

 

At 9:00 this morning Jon and Jen were getting into their taxi cab headed for the airport.

Bob and I jumped on our bicycles and pedaled as fast as we could to the airport to spend a

few more minutes with them.  About an hour later we were saying our goodbyes and then we

headed back to the boat - our home.  Now-a-days, "Home is where the boat is" :0)

 

Once we were home it was all down hill, or up hill, depending on how you want to look at it.

Bob started reading his papers and I layed down for a nap.  Bob read, and read, and read, and I napped, and napped and napped !  When Bob finally decided to lay down he was pretty tired. 

We were both in a deep sleep when all of a sudden we hear this banging on our boat - the "pump-out" guys were here, thank goodness we definitely needed it ! I pretty much slept all day and night

until now.  There was a lot of running around and partying to do while the kids were here,

luckily we got it done !!



Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Jon has never been diving so Bob teaches him

the basics of diving

We go into shore and now it's time to

get this show on the road

Let's get Jon dressed

Let's finish dressing Bob

OK Jon, lets test our breathing out

Walk backwards slowly...fins don't like to go forward

 Going down !

 

Hugh, the party animal from the other night

Hugh's boat

Jen and I taking pictures of the boys

scuba diving

 

Randy & Ross come to visit

They also feed us again !!

 

Today was a relaxing day.  We slept in late and didn't really start moving until

mid-day when Jon and Bob went scuba diving.  Jen and I were perfectly happy sitting

on the beach watching them.  We did wear our suits in case we got jealous but

that never happened :)  While the boys were diving Hugh happened to row by.  I

don't think he recognized us though, he was pretty trashed the other night !

After we got home Ross and Randy came by with pizza and beer. 

It was a great day !

 

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Jon & Jen woke up to see their stockings hung

on the boat with care

Gifts under the tree

Two guys came by on a dinghy, said, "Merry Christmas,"

and handed me 2 homemade beers.  They told me

to wait until New Year's Eve to open to complete

the fermenting process.  And then they were off.

 

So here's our weather for today.

Zero chance of snow!

The lowest recorded

temperature on Christmas - 51 degrees.

Christmas bike ride

 

Randy picked us up from the dinghy dock

and took us over to his RV park, Bluewater Key.

Randy and Ross cooked the Christmas dinner

and we were ready for a feast!

The drive from Key West was only 15 minutes

They are right on the water

 

Randy & Ross brought Lynn's shift stocking and

hung it on the railing at their site. 

With care, of course.

Larry & Terri Jones from Bel Air, MD were at their

RV site for the winter.  They provided stone crab claws

and monster steamed shrimp.

Jon & Bob enjoying the feast.

 

Chef Randy leading the prayer of our

Christmas dinner!

Jen & Lynn stuffed from dinner

 

Ross, Lynn, and Bill (from Bel Air)

Larry Jones, Johnny (owns a bunch of Storage Spaces),

Tyler (West Point graduate going to medical school),

Lindsey (nurse), Joyce (Bill's husband works downtown

Key West, and Terri Jones)

Someone brought some Christmas moonshine which

was pretty smooth out of the freezer.

Now dessert of fudge and Key Lime pies.

Roxie on Larry's shoulders.

Randy & Ross cooked, and cooked, and cooked.

Prime rib, turkey, brussel sprouts, dressing, green

beans, roasted potatoes, and yams,

all served with happy faces!

Kona, Randy & Ross's pup.

She was pretty upset she didn't really get much

Christmas dinner.

 

We all missed our families today and toasted to them, their health, and well-being.

 

Lynn, Jon, Jen, and I opened gifts and stockings after a late morning wake up from

the Island Party on Christmas Eve.

 

Randy picked us up about 1530 hours and made our way to their RV park.

We all shared friendships all day.  Everyone said they didn't miss the cold weather

and snow.  Randy and Ross put on a great Christmas feast and Larry and Terri had a

great spot for the great hospitality they shared.  Their stone crabs and shrimp

appetizers were superb.  After goodbyes, Randy took us back to the dinghy dock,

we had a cool ride back to the boat, and promptly went to bed with smiles on our faces.

 

Merry Christmas To All!

 

 

Monday, December 24, 2012

Jon, Jen, Lynn, and I bicycled to town for the final

Christmas shopping.  We came across the reindeer

with bells all over his body.

Happy Camper

 

The Krafts lounging in the cockpit for Happy Hour

 

Whoa!  Is a discussion/fight beginning?

 

Nope!

Look like Lovebirds!

Sunset at the Mooring Ball.  Do you see the Seahorse?

Awaiting darkness so we can go to the Mooring

Field Island Party!

 

Jon & Jen got me this Captain's hat for my birthday.

NOW, I'm really a Captain!

 

So now it's dark and we're off by dinghy to

the island about 500 feet from our boat

A nice little retreat

 

And we meet Gunther, from Germany, on a houseboat.

An engineer, he makes custom LED lighting.

Lynn enjoying Gunther's pup that he rescued

Duke!

A local party animal.

Totally snockered, he fell (then he said he was

"digging for gold", mumbled something,

and then took his dinghy back to his sailboat

Dukester!

Lynn & The Duke

Jen, Jon, The Capt, and Ryan

Ryan is from Tallahassee, FL.  He lives on a 26 foot

sailboat and works at the Harley-Davidson clothing

store in town.  He arrived with his girlfriend in November

and she said living on a boat was not for her.  He arrived

with $45 dollars in his pocket and eats at the Dollar Tree.

"It's a bit of a struggle, but I'm doing what I've always

wanted to do."

Jen & Jon looking happy & relaxed!

The Capt, Ryan, Gerry, & half of Janey (Gerry's

girlfriend).  They have the same boat as us, 41' Lagoon.

They started traveling in 2010 and spent some pretty

good times in the Bahamas last year.  They may shove

off end of January.  Or not.

Gerry, Janey, and Kyle

Kyle works downtown, somewhere

 

Gunther came by in the morning to invite us to the island Christmas Eve party,

which, of course, we accepted.  We all rode into town to finish the Christmas

shopping and stopped at Schooner's Wharf for a "finished shopping" beverage

and a great girl on the guitar.

 

Happy hour and then dinner awaiting the Island Party.  We had a great time

meeting all our new friends and stayed out until about midnight.  Pulling the

dinghy from shore we lost the dinghy plug and a rock took its place.  We didn't

notice until we were about 100 feet from shore.  By the time we got back to the

boat we had about 8 inches of water in the bottom.  No problem, the inflatables

float (Jon & I found the plug the next day).  I hit the sack but Lynn, Jon, & Jen

stayed up until 0330 prancing around looking for Santa.