Monday, 11/6
This morning was very busy.
Pete worked with George via phone, while I took my 2-mile walk. When I
got back to the boat, we untied the lines and moved to the main dock for fuel
and pump out. Pete continued to work
under the gun until about 2. Then it was time to organize and pack before the
driver from Enterprise arrived to take Pete to get his rental car.
While Pete was working, a gentleman stopped by. He though we
might have engine problems and offered assistance as a diesel mechanic. He
lives here at the resort and we chatted for a while.
I spent the afternoon updating and uploading the blog. I had to get it done while Pete was still
here, and I had the internet access through the JetPack, which travels with him
for work. Even though the marina
advertises internet service, it works only on the main dock. They are getting a better system later this
month, but that doesn’t help now.
Around 4:30, Pete left for Charleston airport, 2 hours away.
Shortly after he left, I was checking my phone and saw that our daughter-in
-law, Kelli, gave us a heads’ up that our good friend, Carolyn, fell in her
garden and broke her hip. I was able to
speak with Carolyn and she is going to have surgery in the next day or two.
What a bummer! Even though there are hundreds of miles separating us, I will be
there for her as she was there for me earlier this year.
Tuesday, 11/7
After Bailey and I took our walk, I spent most of the day reorganized
things. I cleaned up photos on my phone and organized other folders, then
continued on the computer.
Pete’s flight left at 6:50 this morning, which meant that he
has been up since 4 am Eastern time. He
made a mistake choosing to fly economy and he couldn’t even reserve his seating
choice. As a result, both legs of the
flight were miserable; middle and window seats, when he prefers the roomier
isle seating.
Around 4:30, I as I walked Bailey, I met Kitty. She invited me to join them for cocktails
aboard SV TAMURE. Kitty and Scott are from Norwalk, CT. They have circumnavigated the world twice, plus
completed the Atlantic Circle. They had such wonderful stories to share (including being aboard
their 32-foot sail boat during the strongest hurricane recorded in Fiji in the
70’s and working with the indigenous peoples of South America.) Joining us was
Mike and Tina of SV CHEROKA, out of Ontario. They were the couple who helped us
into the dock at Belhaven. This is their first cruise. As they entered the US,
they found themselves (and his brother’s boat) heading down the Niagara River
and, yes, towards the falls a few miles downstream! They turned around once they realized their
mistake, but with a 10 knot current they couldn’t make headway. They had to use Tow Boat. The other couple
were Elaine and Jeff, from MV ANEGADA DA VIDA, Greenwich Bay, RI. They have
cruised the east coast a few times and they hope to make it back to the Bahamas
after the first of the year. The two hours went very fast and an enjoyable time
was had by all.
I returned to PEKABU to fill the water tanks and to reheat
my dinner. After dinner, I talked with Pete.
Today was long and intense, and tomorrow will be more of the same. Pete and George their business and I am sure that
the solution they wind up with will be great for their client.
Bailey has been taking the same stick for a walk since
Sunday. Today, she exchanged it for one
that had been pulled from the water and been placed on our dock. She’s so proud of her sticks! As to her ears,
their eruptions seem to be cyclic. The
ears improve and then get worse. The
vasculitis, according to the vet, feels a bit like pins and needles. Her shaking of the head from time to time,
breaks off large pieces of scab, exposing new, raw areas. Right now, we seem to be in a declining
period. She is so good about taking the pills
and allowing the application of the cream twice a day. I just wish it would clear up.
Wednesday, 11/8
We had some rain and wind overnight. During our walk, I checked with the
dock master to see if my external storage has arrived. I finally max out the terabyte of storage on
my old portable hard drive. It hadn’t yet, but today's delivery should be
sometime after 11.
I had offered to help
TAMUR and CHEROKA cast off, but they left a little before 9. It seems a lot of boats are trying to get
farther south before the rains come tomorrow. These two a heading down to
Osprey Point Marina to wait out the weather.
Kyle, the dock hand, had stopped around 11 with my package. I spent most of the day organizing photos in
LightRoom. It was just the tip of the ice berg.
I want to cull out tons of duplicate and poor photos, and organize them
in LR database. I am hoping once we are docked for the 2 months in Riviera
Beach, I will be able to make a sizable dent in the work.
I was even able to catch up with some
friends and one of my sisters today. I miss Pete, but when he travels, I seems to be more productive.
Thursday, 11/9
Set my alarm so that I could walked Bailey before the heavy
rains came. Good thing I did. We were back to the boat only 20 minutes when the
heavy rains came. Knowing it was going to pour all day, I thoroughly cleaned the boat. Poor Bailey, she couldn’t find a good spot to stay out of my way.
Things out of place, were placed where they belong so I was moving all around
the boat all day. Since I have also been successful using up the leftovers and small food
items in the fridge, it was a good time to defrost it. It might have been a poor day to be on the
water (only 2 boats headed south, and no boats was added to the marina) but it
was a very successful day on board.
Pete and George are taking the red-eye home tonight. Pete has already accepted that he will not
get any sleep as he has the middle seat again.
When I took Bailey for her final walk, the rains finally
stopped and the air is crisp, clear, and clean.
If it were warmer, I would have loved to open the hatches, but I’m not
crazy. It is supposed to be in the low
40’s by morning.
Friday, 11/10
Bailey and I resumed our longer morning walks. Once back, I
defrosted the freezer. While it was defrosting, I made up a quick
reference sheet of all our stops on the cruise, including miles including notes on inlets from which we might be able to “jump” for ocean passages as a way of
shortening the travel time. We planned
to be in West Palm Beach by Thanksgiving, However, with my medical appointments
in Florida being over 2 weeks instead of 4 days, it pushed things back. Weather delays as well as Pete trip
to California have also pushed things further behind. Once Pete has recouped
and slept, I let him to do calculations to see if it is possible. We can’t do jumps if they are longer than 12 hours due to Bailey.
She is not trained to take care of business on board. Even if any are feasible, it will depend on
the weather when the time comes for the jump.
I went over and started 2 loads of laundry, then jumped into
the shower. It is wonderful to have
water over head when washing hair! When
I returned to the laundry to switch the loads into the dryer, I was joined by Shirley. They arrived earlier today. She and her
husband live in Toms River, NJ, joined the “dark side” about 2 years ago. They
gave up their 30-foot Hunter for a 32-foot Juneau Swift Trawler, traveling
between the Chesapeake and Fort Meyers, FL.
Not a bad way to travel.
As I took Bailey for her before dinner walk, we passed the
gate for A-Dock. There was a beautiful
young boxer at the gate definitely wanting to play. The gate is at the top of a flexible ramp
that attaches to the floating dock, and sits about 10 -12 feet lower than the gate. There is
no space to play. As we continued our walk, the boxer ran along the cement
capstone of the sea wall. It is only 18
inches wide and I was worried that she would fall. Thankfully, nothing bad happened and we
returned to the boat. Knowing Pete would be home by seven, I made sure dinner
would be ready
As predicted, Pete didn’t sleep on the flight last
night. Before sunrise, George drove him to the marina to
pick up our car. He then started driving
south on 95. Thankfully, he missed all
the traffic. He drove to Charleston,
deposited our car at the airport long term parking and retrieved the rental car
from Monday. (Our car will stay in long term parking until we get to Florida.) He was here at the marina
by 7. After a hardy dinner, he made himself comfortable on the couch and napped
until it was time to head to bed.
Saturday, 11/11
It was 34 degrees at 7 this morning. The coldest we have
experienced this fall. Hopefully, the
next few mornings will be a bit warmer.
Pete was able to sleep until 8. The plans were to stop for groceries and West
Marine before returning the rental car by noon.
Pete suggested that we go out for breakfast. He knows that it is my favorite meal to eat
out. Besides being delicious, somehow
it sets the tone for the entire day. We were able to do everything planned and
Pete returned the car by 11:50. Unfortunately, there was no staff to drive him
back to the marina, but a customer offered to drop him nearby as he was coming
that way. It was a longer walk than he anticipated from Route 17 back to the
marina, but it gave me time to stow all the provisions and clean up by the time Pete
arrived back at the boat.
Thankfully, the marina was OK with us staying another day.
When I went up to pay the balance, I was pleasantly surprised that we owed
$17.20 for the extra night’s dockage. The
discount now kicked in for the total number of days.
It was a nice relaxing afternoon of reading and updating the
blog. Pete read for most of the afternoon until
the temperature began to drop. Once inside, he did the engine checks, tried to
repair the printer, which no longer prints in color, and cleaned out 2
flashlights where the batteries corroded. I am sure that after dinner, we will
call it an early night. We will be
departing for Georgetown shortly after sunrise.
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