Picking Up the Nimble!

It's 0530! The alarm starts ringing. Up and at 'em? Nope! It's time to hit the snooze button to get an extra 10 minutes of shut eye. When it goes off the second time, we're up! After attending to our personal hygiene and loading the truck, we were off on another adventure.

 The 250 miles went by quickly. At least until a big Jam-O on Big Pine Key. Doesn't if figure? Smooth sailing until the last 8 miles of the trip. The annual Big Pine Nautical Flea Market caused us to be in a 30 tie up with only 8 miles to go!

We persevered and were able to pick up the Nimble's trailer at A-1 Auto. Those folks were nice enough to get it from Lawrence's place so they could make sure everything is in good shape for the long drive to NJ.

We met the Cooter's owner, Lawrence, at the boat dock. We talked for a while after which we set about wiping down the interior on the vessel and applying some wood care treatment. The exterior is in need of a good buffing, but that will wait until we get it back to NJ.

I checked the battery wiring and found only the house battery is connected to the battery charger. When we add a second house battery, we'll reconfigure the wiring so the starter battery can be charged while the boat is plugged into a 120 line.

In no time, it was dinner time. Lawrence and Ann graciously invited us to dinner. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner exchanging stories about our lives and experiences. We very much enjoyed their hospitality. And the Cuban fusion dinner they provided was delicious and fun!

We returned to the boat, converted the dinette into our bed and hit the sack. Tomorrow we'll continue to set up the interior for cruising, check the engine and load the truck with the extra gear that came with the boat. We'll also decide which ramp we're going to use to retrieve the boat and position the truck. We'll probably leave the dock on Monday morning.