Week 10

Saturday, March 11, 2017

The Original Marathon Seafood Festival!

It's day 1 of the Seafood Festival. Before heading there, we walked to the entrance of Crane Point to buy some veggies from the weekly Farmers Market. They had some really nice looking items that were picked yesterday.

At lunch time, we walked to the park where the festival is being held. We go for the music, but we had lunch there and visited some of the vendors during breaks in the music. There are five acts scheduled for today and we want to see Island Vibe (Reggae) and the Red Elvises (Siberian Rock and Roll). We're going to see Cabernet at the theater so we'll miss the Regs (classic rock).

Island Vibe was great and really connected with the crowd. A lot of folks were dancing and moving and grooving to the reggae beat.

The Red Elvises were a spectacle!

They were loud and boisterous. They had quite a following and many of their fans were singing along to the obscure songs. We'll get to see them again at the Hurricane on Monday night, but we're wearing ear plugs! They're that LOUD!

Sunday, March 12, 2017

Fish Festival (as Island Vibe called it) Day 2!

We awoke to a shower of liquid sunshine this morning. By 1030 hours the rain had stopped and the sky started to clear. It looks like a good time for Anna Marie's daily constitutional to Publix. We need fresh bread for lunch! We're having fresh tomato and onion sandwiches. 

Boy those sandwiches were good! While we were eating, a 31' Ranger Tug arrived. After lunch, we went to the festival were we visited vendors in between the musical acts. We even returned to the boat to rest up for a few minutes. Following our rest we went back to catch the end of Samantha Russell followed by Maggie Baugh. The hey we're both entertaining. As the festival was drawing to a close, we score two big portions of Mahi Mahi for a small donation. There was enough for dinner tonight and tomorrow and it was delicious! Anna Marie made a couple of purchases from the vendors before we left.

Monday, March 13, 2017

Just Another Hot Day in Paradise!

This could be the last time we see the thermometer reach 80° for a week or more. A cold front is moving in, bring highs in the mid 70s and lows in the low 60s! There might be wind in excess of 20 knots for a few days. We postponed a 20 mile bike ride to Wednesday when it will be cooler.

Anna Marie spent the afternoon working out our entertainment schedule for the summer. She also worked on the tenth year reunion of the Phlock.

I helped with the reunion planning and the played the Uke. During the heat of the day, we went to the pool. The water was nice but the air felt chilly when we got out.

We finished the fish and had a nice salad for dinner.

Tuesday, March 14, 2017

What's Going On?

I awoke at 0200 when a bead of water hit my face. "That's not right," I thought. I looked out to see the screens of the enclosure covered with droplets of water. As I got up, I noticed that a small portion of the bed was wet. I quickly closed the overhead hatch. Anna Marie closed the windows and within a minute or so we were secure from the unexpected rain. At 80° it is our warmest night so far. It's not a good night to have the windows shut. The fans helped considerably and by 0330, the temperature dropped to 77° making it time to use a sheet. 

The 20+ wind was prevalent throughout the day. It made the 77° weather feel comfortable. Rather than fight the wind on our bikes we chose to go for a walk instead. We walked a total of 5.8 miles, stopping to checkout the new and very nice Courtyard Marriott Blue Waters. We say a spell and sipped on Starbucks coffee/tea. 

Anna Marie walked an extra mile and a half, returning to Publix, when she decided to change the menu for tonight's dinner.

Later in the evening, we watched a movie, the Edge of Seventeen, which depicts the trials and tribulations of a young, somewhat awkward teenager as she grows up. The movie should be required watching for folks who criticize millennial. Those folks don't appreciate the pressures kids face as they grow. It's not the 1950s anymore.

Wednesday, March 25, 2017

Wow! It Really is a Cold Front!

The temperature dropped into the mid 60s overnight. As I write this at 2100 hours, it is 67° and still windy! Looks like another day to go for a walk. If we're going to walk, we might as well have a purpose, so we're walking to Burdines for lunch. On the way back we stopped off at the Park to play Bocce Ball. Then we walked to the Key's Fisheries for some fresh fish. This time we bought two Yellowtail Snapper fillets. We'll make Snapper Ruebens for lunch tomorrow.

Thursday, March 16, 2017

MTOA!

We dilly dallied this morning and before we knew it it was lunchtime. Kevin (Koastal Karma) told us that the Marine Trawler Owners Association was having its monthly meeting at the Hurricane. We decided to go. The featured speaker, Captain Sandy, talked about LED lights. He brought a multimeter, battery and various bulbs to show how many amps were being used. The difference between LED and incandescent bulbs was dramatic. He stayed after the lunch long enough for us to retrieve our bulbs so we could buy replacements. I installed them immediately and, viola, they all worked. We're energy efficient now. By replacing these three bulbs, all of our lights are now LEDs.

The lunch was good. We each had the $5.00 fish sandwich. We had a nice conversation with a delightful couple, Mike and Dotty (Cool Beans) who sat across from us. 

Because of the luncheon, we made the Rubens that I mentioned in yesterday's entry for dinner. After dinner, we went back to the Hurricane to watch Villanova play in the first round of the NCAA tournament, otherwise known as March Madness. Nova made the last shot of the first half to take a 20 - 29 lead over Mt. saint Mary's, the sixteenth seed and one of the teams to win a "first four" game to get into the tournament. 

Nova had a much better second half and won by a final score of 76 - 56. Coach Wright expressed the opinion that Mount Saint Mary was the better team in that game.

Friday, March 17, 2017

Yoga!

Having awoken at 0925, Anna Marie rushed to get ready for yoga. She left the boat at 0940 with no morning nourishment in her system. I didn't feel like rushing so I didn't go. Instead, I tended to some domestic chores, making the bed and brewing a cuppa joe. I straightened up a bit, but there are a couple of things that go in places I don't know about. 

The temperature dropped into the mid 60s again last night and the wind continues to blow at about 20mph. There is constant motion in the boat, but it is gentle and soothing. The high should be in the low 70s as it was yesterday. The wind is out of the northeast making the marina cool and causing most people to wear sweaters. Walking a tenth of a mile inland to US 1, it gets warmer and sweaters are not needed. 

When Anna Marie returned from yoga, it was time for lunch. Of course we were both hungry since neither of us have breakfast. 

After lunch, we watched a diver fix the bubbler pipe. Air is blown through the pipe and the resulting bubbles keep the seaweed out of the marina. Apparently one of the compression joints came apart. The diver took about 30 minutes to get it back together, after having to switch tanks. He thought he was out of air. In reality, he didn't open the valve all the way.

Before dinner, we made the usual walk to Publix. On the way back we bought phosphoric acid from Home Depot. I'm going to clean the brass with it. Yes, I bought chemical resistant gloves too. I might try to clean the brass on Sunday.