THANKSGIVING IN STYLE
We traveled
to Colleen’s childhood friend Marla’s house to share Thanksgiving with her and
24 other friends and family members.
Thanks for including us, Marla.
And, especially thanks for sharing your washer and dryer. With Marla’s and Barbie’s generosity we have yet
to endure marina laundromats. Believe
me, given the iffy state of many marina washers and dryers, that’s a big deal. Additionally, both have shared their showers
with us, a real treat when one lives on a boat.
Thanksgiving
Feast at Marla's
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| Plenty of food for all twenty-six of us |
Before we
returned to the marina in Sanford we stopped off at Harbortown Marina in Merritt Island, FL to
make reservations to stay there the month of December. This has been our December stopoff point on the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway for
the past three years. It recommends
itself not because of superior accommodations (you may recall we’ve complained
about their laundry area and narrow old docks in years past) but because it’s
close to our friends Roger and Marcy and also Marla as well as family members
in Orlando.
We walked the docks with a list of available slips and found one we
thought we would like and then arranged to be there by December 9th. The price has gone way up. Ouch!
We’ll be there anyway. Drop by if
you can.
BOAT ISSUES
We wanted to
pump out our holding tanks (i.e. sewage) before we left Sanford but our boat would not fit the space
at the marina fuel dock and still have the pump out hose reach our boat. We actually did not have to be pumped out yet.
We just wanted to be ahead of the game.
We had also hoped to fuel up while we were in
Sanford but there were only gas pumps on the dock. “No problem,” said the marina office. “We can get a tank truck to come to the dock
and fuel you up.” Sure enough, next day
a 2,700 gallon tank truck pulled up to the fixed dock near our boat, handed over
the hose and stood by while we pumped in 155 gallons. Average cost/gallon - $4.03. Gasp!!
A new
problem is creeping up. Our starboard
starter motor does not engage with the first turn of the ignition key. It starts only on the second turn. We know that it will fail sometime soon. So…when we get to Merritt Island out it comes
for repair or replacement. Oh goody..it
is on the inaccessible side of the motor!
We have been
considering how we will get back on the boat should we fall overboard. Our swim ladder is blocked by the dinghy and
the dinghy will have to be lowered and unsnapped from its davits to gain access
to the swim ladder. We have a knotted
rope that we use to pull ourselves onto the boat when we dock at a low fixed
dock. We will also be able to quickly
attach this rope to a cleat at our stern to give someone in the water a good
grip to hang onto during dinghy removal.
We may also be able to pull up onto the swim platform with this
rope. Anyway, it is another method for
recovery if we fall overboard. Wayne is
always considering the whatifs.
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| Rescue Rope |
SANFORD ANIMALS PICTS
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| The only turtle that did NOT jump into the water when we wanted a look |
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| Friendly Blue Heron posing in front of our boat |
MORE VISITS FROM FRIENDS AND
RELATIONS
Sunday,
December 1st brought a real
treat to the docks. We’d arranged for
Colleen’s cousin Midge and her husband Earl to visit that day. Then Wayne called his cousin Victor to let
him know that we wouldn’t be able to stop back at their house as we traveled
north. This is because the old railroad
bridge in Jacksonville is broken and is on a limited opening schedule. For the week between December 6th-13th
the bridge will be completely closed for
repair. Therefore, we need to hustle to
get to and through the bridge before we get trapped on the St. John’s River
side for a week.
Vic said, “Well, then we’ll come and see
you.” Super. The more the merrier. While we were all at lunch Orlando friends
Pam and Richard called to say they would be near Sanford in an
hour-and-a-half. Could they stop
by? Sure, come on over. The result was a fun lunch and visit with
people we enjoy. Oh, and Midge and I
made her a pencil holder just like
the one I’d already done with Barbie and sister-in-law Patty.
COUSINS PHOTO
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| Colleen with her cousin Midge |
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| From left: Earl, Midge, Wayne, Colleen, Barbie, Victor We neglected to take photos of Pam and Richard. Very sorry guys. |
SAYING GOOD-BYE TO SANFORD
December 2nd
we made a very early start, pulling out of the marina in a just-lifting fog and
chilly weather. We were determined to cover
as many miles as possible in our quest to get to Jacksonville before the bridge
issue stalled us. So breakfast had to wait until we
were underway. Once we were comfortably
on the river Colleen made one of our favorites – Bob’s Red Mill Oatmeal
Here’s the
recipe for two servings:
2/3 cup Bob’s Red Mill Oatmeal (not the steel cut variety)
1 1/3 cup water
A sprinkle of salt
1/8 cup of dried cranberries or raisins
Put all into a large, microwave safe bowl and cook for 3
minutes. Stir and cook for an additional
1-2 minutes. Spike it with brown sugar,
butter and milk
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| A pitiful sight of a starving man! |
VIEWS OF THE RIVER TODAY
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| About an hour into today's trip. No sun anywhere |
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| Invasive water hyancinths lay on the river's surface like blankets |
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| Blue sky just starting to show around 1:00 PM |
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| Gulls catching minnows in our wake on Lake George. Wow...18.4mph |
We traveled
over eighty miles today, burning up the water at a sizzling ten miles an hour
and eighteen mph over Lake George…on plane.
We don’t even want to consider how much diesel fuel ($$$) we used in that 45
minutes. Monday night (tonight) we
anchored in the river about twelve miles north of Palatka, FL. We can see several homes about 500 yards from
us but it still feels like we are in the middle of nowhere. Oh, what stars are on view tonight!! No one out here tonight but us and the Navy helicopters from NAS Jax. We calculate that we can make the restricted
RR bridge opening at 2:00-3:00 PM tomorrow (Tuesday).
Stay tuned for the next exciting installment.
TEST
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