Thursday,
1/25 - After Bailey was walked, we went over for the free breakfast at the
hotel. It has change somewhat in seven
years. The toaster waffles are no
longer, instead there is cereal, milk, juice, repackaged bagels, prepackaged
muffins, and prepackage Danish, available with the offerings of butter, cream
cheese, and jellies, with coffee, tea and hot coco to round out the offerings.
As breakfasts go, it is ok, but the chance to meet people and view are pretty
great. With limited seating, we were able to sit with Polly and her husband,
Don, and visit over breakfast.
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| Bailey waiting for Pete |
The harbormaster, Brian, stopped by today
to say “Hi.” Accompanying him was the
most adorable 9-week old beagle puppy. Without a leash, he simply followed
Brian as he made his rounds. Pete and Bailey got to see the puppy. I am looking
forward to meeting him.
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| Bath Time |
Pete decided that Bailey needed a bath, so
she was washed in the cockpit. She
wasn’t very happy when Pete joined me below and she had to dry off in the
cockpit.
After some chores, I worked on some photos
and catching up the blog. The internet
is pretty poor; only have 1 bar. Hopefully, I will be able to update the
blog. Once everything is ready, I might
go sit on the patio outside the lobby, where the internet might be better.
We invited another couple, who are
vacationing here at the hotel, on board to answer a few questions.
Unfortunately, I lost the paper where I wrote down their names. They are here for a short, 8-day escape from
the Michigan winters. They, too, are
sailors; enjoying summers on an Irwin 32.
They were very interested in discussion long-term cruising and living
aboard. We spent a wonderful hour and a
half visiting. We gave them some resources and our card, inviting them to keep
in touch.
 |
| Cool condensation on the crock pot |
After dinner, we watched some TV and I was
surprised to learn that we are able to see some additional channels on
DISH. Pete started watching Star Trek Voyager on BBC America. (It
was the 2-part episode of the temporary alliance with the Borg and the
introduction of Seven of Nine.) According to our package information, we should
not have access. After Voyager, Pete and I checked additional
stations and found that we have 10 additional channels, including Discovery,
Discovery Investigations and Science, some of our favorites!
 |
| Views from our dock |
Friday, 1/26 - As to the
winds, the local weather has the winds sustained at 29 mph, but Passage Weather
has them just outside the canals at 33 in Hawk Channel. Safe in the harbor, the
boat rocks gently and moves from side to side. Walking around the harbor, the
winds feel like 15-20, but once on the outer side of the hotels, the winds is
substantial. With the front hatch open about 2 inches and the cabin hatch also
open about 6 inches, there was a wonderful breeze that accompanied the gentle
rocking of the boat all night, which is great for sleeping. Boy, did we make
the right choice booking a slip here! We
would not want to be anchored by Rodriguez Key with no protection from the
winds and waves, and 1.5-mile dinghy ride to take Bailey to shore. It looks
like we will be able to get to Marathon on Monday and hopefully, to Stock
Island on Tuesday. Currently, for Tuesday, they are predicting NNE winds at 20.
PEKABU likes sailing in 18-20, but we will definitely continue keeping an eye
on the weather.
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| Different ages of Iguana soaking up the heat |
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| Who's who's pet? |
I have been thinking about Dorine, John and
Cindy, and where SV DOLCE VENTE has hunkered down for this blow. I spoke with
Cindy and they are safe, but rocking a bit in the dock in Marathon. We will touch base before arriving in
Marathon. Besides Cindy, I was able to catch up with Betty and Carolyn, as well
as Heather. Pete spoke with Dan and got
the updates on Martha. Thankfully,
everyone is doing well or in Martha’s case, as well as expected. (Martha, we
are sending healing hugs!)
 |
| Sharkey's Pub at night |
The blog is almost up to date and the
photos still need processing. Hopefully, tomorrow I will be able to start
posting. Fingers crossed!
Saturday,
1/27 - Due to the head tank being more
full than we thought, we have been using the on boater’s bathroom, which is
adding to my daily steps! Unfortunately,
the Pup boat only comes around on Tuesday. Since it is free, there is no other
competition, and no chance for a pump-out any other time!
At breakfast, we sat with a couple
recently retired and driving all over , visiting friends. They are here for the week. They, too are boaters on the Erie River in
Ohio, between Cleveland and Chagrin Falls. Once again it was great to share
experiences with others.
Pete enjoyed some down time and read. As usual, there is more people watching than
reading, but who’s complaining?!? I
worked on the bog. It was almost ready for posting, when I hit a wrong key and
wiped out most of 3 day’s entries. After
a lot of grumbling, I reconstructed the missing days.
Bailey loves our spot here on the
bulkhead. She gets to greet everyone
who goes by. All dogs are met with
wagging tales and heavy huffing. There
is frequent activity.
I enjoyed my 2.75 mile work. I walked the
streets for the homes along the canal. I
love how the mailboxes are so different.
Glad I had the trusty camera on the phone. I even included a walk past the some of the
shops along the highway. . . and I felt good when I returned, even walking into
the 20+ winds!
Wonderful Mailboxes, but here are 2 views of my favorite:
I had a lot of photos to weed thru. I have been using my phone camera a lot,
which I must stop. The quality is
compromised, but it is lighter and quicker, especially when moving in the boat
or car.
There was a character earlier today, who spent a couple
of hours walking the docks, sitting on the wall and “checking” the power boxes
on the docks as well as the boats in this area of the canal. The harbor
master and Tom both asked questions about him.
Thankfully, he went away and nothing was touched.
Tom came aboard and visited for over an
hour. He had to leave to meet friends
for dinner.
With Sharkey’s cooking for most of the
afternoon, the mouth-watering aromas really made us hungry, so home-made
hamburgers and salads were really enjoyed.
After dinner I had hoped to start
posting. Unfortunately, I started on a
migraine that I babied instead. I did
take the migraine medicine, but forgot it has caffeine. The headache didn’t progress into the
moderate pain levels, but the caffeine kept me awake until 5 am!
Sunday, 1/28 – I
did sleep until 8:30. I am tired, but little pain. So, it was off to
breakfast. We joined Tom and continued
our visit from yesterday.
Sharkey’s has
been cooking bacon and home fires since 5 am.
The aromas are driving us crazy.
Apparently, they were providing food for the Breast Cancer fund raiser
that kicked off at 10 am. We were
entertained by all the people walking by the boat dressed in strange costumes
and bright colored and decorated bras on the outside of their clothes. The
gals, guys, kids and even the dogs wore their bras proudly! 
Pete did the engine checks while I processed a bunch of photos and prepped to post. Unfortunately, by 2 pm, I needed to catch a few Z’s. After 90 minutes, I was able to return and try to get internet access. I am so glad, Pete has the JetPak for internet access. With the exception of this entry, the other 5 are posted as drafts. Now to add the photos. We will see how far I get. Once again, my fingers are crossed. I won’t be working late as we plan to be up and out before nautical twilight.
I worked up until
9. I was able most of the photographs
and get 4 posts uploaded to the blog.
Hope sleep comes quickly as the alarm is set for 5:30 am. Nite all!
~ ~ ~ /) ~ ~ K
& P
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