Travel Day 18 ~ St. Augustine to Daytona, FL ~ A Week's Stay

Wednesday, 11/6/19 ~  Pete was up and out by 7:40 am in order to make the 8:30 opening of the Bridge of Lyons.  There was only 2 other boats waiting with him for this bridge. As they traveled south, they were joined by 4 other boats. Since there were slower boats behind him, Pete slowed so that they could catch up.  This way the Crescent Street Bridge would only have to open once.

     Once through the bridge, even with the current against him, he was traveling faster than the other boats.  He still thinks the increased speed is due to the new bottom paint.  What ever the cause, it is a welcomed plus!

     PEKABU cruised at 6.2-6.4 mph for a good deal of the day. Once she found the favorable current, she was cruising in the high 8's and made up a lot of lost time.  Pete pulled into Halifax Marina around 4:20. He fueled up and pumped out prior docking, since he will be here for the next week.

     The new bridge that has been under construction for the past 2 years here in Daytona, is having the decking completed.  It won't be long before it should be opening.

Bailey in Lizzie's Bed

    Once secure in the dock, Pete spent the next 3 hours completing work that is needed for a conference tomorrow morning.  Once finished, he was too tired to eat anything more than "a little of this and a little of that."

   While we were catching up on our day, I was able to tell Pete that Bailey is really enjoying her stay at my sister, Deneen's, home.  She is even playing with "wild Lizzie."  She has also taken over Lizzie's very big, thick, comfy bed. Our little lady likes her comfort!  Now I just need to figure how to fit something like that into the boat.

     

Thursday, 11/7/19 ~ After the conference call, the next priority on the list was to do laundry.  When he got up to the facilities, he had to wait for a free washer. So he opted to sit outside on the bench that overlooks the marina, and read.  Somehow, he didn't realize someone else came along and used one of the 2 washers.  Since the other washer was free, he did both loads individually and the same with the driers.  He spent a lot more time than he planned on laundry today.

     Once the laundry was put away and things straightened out on board, Pete started looking for a good deal on a rental car.  He really needs a hair cut (well, it really is he needs ALL his hair cut, as he likes to remind me!) There is also provisioning and other errands that he would like to do AND get his feet on land for a while!

     While Pet is enjoying the 80 degree weather, we here in NJ started in the low 50's and by 11 am, the temps had plummeted to the mid 30's. The winds are making it feel much worse.  The temps are also supposed to drop in the south due to the same cold front.  Pete will have to start wearing his jeans again!

     I took advantage in a lull in Debi's therapy to see Heather and Jenn,  Greg is still down in Memphis and couldn't come up this weekend.  After her therapy this morning, we ate lunch, and I packed for a 2-day stay.  That packing required me to once again reorganize the two canvas bags I am traveling with.  After the countless times I have reorganized since I have been here, I think I finally came up with a real working solution.  I have placed my short sleeve shirts in a plastic grocery bag, into others, I placed my warmer shirts, my underwear, and finally my pants in the last bag. Now I just lift the bag for the item I need.  Everything is easy access and not wrinkled!

     According to GPS it should have taken about an hour and 45 minutes to get to Heather's new apartment. Traffic was moderate, but there was still ongoing construction sites on the turnpike and  some of the main roads. I lost 45 minutes due to those delays, but still made it to Heather's in time for dinner.

     She recently moved into larger apartment.  This once is so much better than her last.  There is considerably more room, better lay out, easy and close parking and only 10 minutes from work.  It is really homey and welcoming.

Thor and Loki

     Heather has adopted two furry, 4-legged, furry brothers.  Thor and Loki are 10 month old orange tabby's.  They are fully of craziness and personality.  They have really proved to be great companions to Heather.  Pete and I are astounded that our children, who were raised with dogs, have all opted to have cats as pets.  Chris and Kel have Rubble, a sweet and BIG lug of a dog along with Rider, the cat that rules over Rubble, while Jenn and Greg have Cinnabon ("Buns") and Nala,  Whatever, the furry, 4-legged friends, they are family. We both miss our furry family member, Bailey.  Hopefully, we will all be united in the not too distant future.

    Speaking of dinner, while Pete dined on franks and salads, Heather introduced me to the most unusual pizza.  One of the specialty pizzas at the local eatery is the "BLT" Pizza. Yes, a bacon, lettuce and tomato on a thin crust pizza with mozzarella and ricotta.  Believe it or not, it was delicious!  Can't wait to have it again!  The TV played in the background as Heather and I talked until well past midnight!  It was great to catch up.

Friday, 11/8/19 ~ Pete cleaned the boat and scrubbed the enclosure. Since it was a quiet day work wise, after a shower, he sat in the cockpit and read.  This dock has activity except for the mechanics. Unusual for this time of year.

View from 78 miles
away from launch

     Even though it is a way away, Pete saw the launch of the Falcon 9 Starlink 1 which launched this afternoon from Cape Canaveral.

     It was different sleeping last night.  I forgot that cats are usually active at night.  Not only did they decide to play and sing in the living room at 3 this morning, they also enjoyed walking all over me while I slept.

    Once up we ate, talked and watched "the boy's" antics.  Around 11, we headed over to Jenn's, then headed out for our massages.  This was only my 3rd massage.  I really wonder why I allow so much time to pass between this wonderful, relaxed and refreshed feelings! Afterwards, we three ladies headed to Pete's Steak & Tavern for lunch. Lunch was full of delicious Fish and Chips and great conversation. We had to end our day early as Jenn had class to teach and I had to return to Debi's. I was sorry to see our time together had to come to an end.  We will have to do this again!

Saturday, 11/9/19 ~ Pete was able to get the car before noon. Some errands were run and dessert bought.  Pete then headed to Port Canaveral to join Deb and Hugh, SV SIMPLICITY for dinner.  As he was walking the docks, he found George and Lisa, SV BAY WIND, who are friends from our sail club.  Needless to say, he was just a wee bit late for dinner after catching up briefly with George and Lisa.  Spending time ashore felt really good.  It turned out to be a great day, between getting stuff checked off his list and sharing time with friends.

Sunday, 11/10/19 ~ Pete ran a few errands and did the food shopping, before returning the car. The afternoon was spent enjoying football.  I transcribed some of my notes onto the blog, but it is not ready for posting.  Hopefully soon!

     

Monday, 11/11/19 ~ Pete and George had a full day of work.  Their day started at 7 am in order to prep for the 9 am conference call.  The rest of the day was busy making modifications based on the call.  It wasn't until after 5 that they called it quits.  Dinner was just sandwiches and salads.  He was too tired to watch Monday Night Football.

     Today Debi had her MRI to evaluate the treatment.  Hopefully, the successful end of treatment is in site. 

Tuesday, 11/12/19 ~ Once again, Pete put in a full day of work.  

     After Debi's hydration appointment, we headed over to Park Ridge Wigs.  We had an interesting few hours learning about custom made wigs.  They had her try on wigs of various colors and styles.  These wonderful people strive to make a wig as close to her original hair and style as possible. There are different types of hair used in making wigs and for certain styles, specific type of hair must be used. Since these are wigs made of human hair, they can be died, highlighted and/or permed, depending on the specific quality of the hair. Her head was also measured so that the wig will properly fit her head.  Once completed, the stylist will cut and finalize the style of the wig. She is excited as once she has the wig, she will hopefully be returning to work. 

     Unfortunately, once home, Debi received the news no one saw coming. . . her cancer has spread.  Right now we have more questions than we have answers. Time for more research and questions to prep prior to meeting with the oncologist.

Wednesday, 11/13/19 ~ Pete was awakened by the strong winds around 5:30 this morning.  Since the alarm was set for 6 so that he could depart at 7, he turned off the alarm and went back to sleep.  At 8, he called that marina office and requested to stay another day.  They were glad he wasn't leaving with the winds 30-35 mph with stronger gusts.  After getting off the phone with Halifax Marina, he had a call from the Titusville Marina, where he has reservations for tonight.  She questioned if Pete planned on arriving today.  When he said "no," she was relieved. "There are white caps IN the marina and we don't think we could help you safely dock! " This also allowed boats there to stay put. He then called Eau Gallie Yacht Basin in Melbourne, where he had reservations for tomorrow night.  She was glad he called. She was going down the list to confirm/change reservations so now she had one less call to make.

     It wasn't a day to do chores on board. Just a few work related calls, then reading and enjoying the rocking of the boat for most of the day.   The winds finally began to die down around 4.  The sun came out and while the temperatures were lower than normal, it was a nice end of the day.

~ ~ ~ /) ~ ~ P & K