Monday, April 1 - Friday, April 5, 2013 - More Fun!
The fun never stops! The kids enjoyed multiple trips to various pools throughout the complex. They believe the one farthest form our tower is the warmest, so that's the one they use. We don't mind the walk, except in the biting wind. We've also made a few trips to the arcade at the pier next door.
We did the obligatory trip to Margaritaville, still our personal favorite one. We also did a trip to Barefoot Landing. During a cold, rainy Thursday, we went to the mall to see the Croods. Everybody else did the same. It was the most crowded theater we've ever been in. Sandi and Matt got a refund because there weren't two seats together.
The week flew by! On Friday evening, our last for this trip together, we went to Pirates Voyage, at Rose's request. We had a blast! It was very entertaining and all the kids enjoyed it. Next year, they want to try Medieval Times.
Saturday, April 6, 2013 - Goodbye!
After returning the keys and breakfast at McDonald's, we headed our separate ways. Sandi, Matt and the kids are headed home. Spring break is almost over. Our trip back to the boat included a detour to Tennessee to see a Nimble Nomad. We have been thinking about the possibility of downsizing to a trailerable trawler. Nimble makes a couple (the Nomad and the Kodiak) that interest us.
We spent the night at the Holiday Inn Express in Cumberland Gap, Kentucky.
Sunday, April 7, 2013 - The Nomad!
We spent 45 minutes looking over the boat. Being a 2005 model, it is in good shape, almost like new. Unfortunately, the bottom has a huge blister problem. It will most certainly affect the selling price of the boat. We still have to determine if the Nomad will serve our style of cruising. When we get home, we'll check out a Kodiak that's for sale. Then we'll compare the two before making a decision.
After inspecting the boat, we headed south toward FL. Today's drive was a little over 500 miles. We spent the night at a Days Inn in Valdosta, GA, only 16 miles from FL.
Monday, April 8, 2013 - Heading Home (to SUNSHINE)!
Today's trip consisted of a 300+ mile drive. We were back aboard by Noon. After a little siesta, we took a long walk to beachside where we walked some more - the board walk and the beach. We stopped at Casey's for a cold soda before walking back to the marina.
Tuesday, April 9, 2013 - Trying to Get Back to the Routine!
While on vacation in Myrtle Beach, we got out of our daily routine. Now that we're back home, so to speak, we have to get back into the routine which usually goes something like this:
Breakfast in the cockpit;
Play the guitar;
Do some chores or walk or ride the bike;
Lunch aboard;
Ride the bike or take a walk;
Pre-dinner chores (if any);
Dinner;
Watch some DVDs;
Shower;
Hit the sack.
Sometimes we add entertainment to the mix. We are way over budget in that department this year!
Wednesday, April 10, 2013 - Uh-Oh!
For the last year or so, we've been considering downsizing. Hurricane Sandy started the process. It was not how we envisioned the downsizing would start. Besides a lot of miscellaneous "stuff," we lost a canoe, two inflatable kayaks, a hard kayak, a Coleman Crawdad Jon Boat, and two sunfish sailboats. The Skiff "sunk" in our yard rendering the 40hp motor useless. The Peep Hen was damaged but is repairable.
Considering the economic impact to us, and in the spirit of downsizing, we met with a yacht broker this morning. We had talked with him a few weeks ago and after much discussion, we invited him to look over SUNSHINE to give us his opinion on her value and marketability. He believes there will be a lot of interest in SUNSHINE. We signed the listing papers. SUNSHINE is officially "on the market."
If she sells, we won't be without for long as I have my eye on a trailerable trawler. If she doesn't sell, we'll be back aboard next season!
Thursday, April 11, 2013 - Remember ABBA?
I never paid much attention to ABBA when they were at the height of their popularity, although I did appreciate some of their songs. As I recall, they were lightweight, but fun! Our granddaughters loved to dance to the "Dancing Queen" when they were much younger... Three or four years ago. One of my favorites, "Thank You for the Music," expresses thoughts about the importance of music with which I wholeheartedly agree. We get a hoot out of watching Momma Mia with the " girls." and I am amazed that they wrote a story to tie what were independent songs together.
So with our new found interest in and, dare I say appreciation of ABBA, we thought it would be fun to go to an ABBA concert. No. It's not an ABBA reunion. Rather, it is a tribute band, reportedly the best one in the world! What publicist wouldn't say that about a client?
So we're off to Fort Pierce to see the show but we'll have an added bonus in that we'll be able to see the Frank Lloyd Wright: The Designed Interior at the Bacus Museum. That in itself will be worth the trip!
WRONG! The exhibit was a total disappointment. It consisted of two chairs, some utensils and about a dozen placards.
ABBA: The Concert was great fun. We enjoyed the performers and the music. They had the aduience dancing in the isles.
Friday, April 12, 2013 - GREASE!
Anna Marie painted the interior of some of the cabinets this morning. When finished, we walked to Casey's for lunch. In the evening, we saw a performance of Grease at the Riverside Theater. This is the first time we've been disappointed in a Riverside performance. The director changed scenes, cut some significant dialog and some of the vocals weren't up to snuff. One of two reed players in the band flubbed a few notes to boot. On top of it all, the actors seemed to be going through the motions.
Tonight marks the end of theater/concert performances that we had planned for 2013 Cruise. We saw 11 shows or concerts in total. Les Miserables (Riverside Theater) and Mozart's Requieum (Community Church), were the two biggest highlights of the many enjoyable performances we saw.
Saturday April 13, 2013 - Last Farmers Market Visit!
Today is our last opportunity to shop at the Vero Beach Farmers Market this season. We will depart Vero Beach on Tuesday so the farmers will have to get along without us!
Exercise consisted of two walks totaling 2:40. Of note was our first after dark stroll to the boardwalk. We wanted to see it with it's rope lights lit. There were about two dozen people walking, sitting on the park benches scattered along the length of the walk while others were on the beach.
Being that Cravings was still open, we stopped in for cool beverages.
Sunday, April 14, 2013 - Thunder, Lightening, Rain and 42!
It's been hot and muggy in Florida. The temp has reached 90 several days since our return from Myrtle Beach. The last four nights have seen overnight temps in the low 80s. Today we had an electrical storm that brought a fair amount of rain.
Rather than hang out on the boat with all the hatches closed, we decide to go to a movie matinee. "42" is the story of Jackie Robinson. It was very well done. Harrison Ford plays Branch Rickey. Who knew he could act?
Anna Marie finished painting some interior fiberglass. Tomorrow we'll put the moldings back.
Monday, April 15, 2013 - Last Day in Vero Beach!
Our last full day in Vero Beach was chock full of our favorite Vero " things to do!" besides going for a walk, we had a Grouper Reuben for lunch. Between activities, we readied SUNSHINE for the trip to Stuart.
Tuesday, April 16, 2013 - Goodbye Vero, Hello Stuart!
After a quick stop at the fuel dock to pump out the holding tank, we left the harbor, pointed the bows south, and we're on our way. With the wind and the current helping us along, we made it to the crossroads ( the intersection of the Atlantic ICW and the Okeechobee Waterway) in relatively short order. In fact, we made such good time, rather than anchoring in Manatee Pocket, we headed up the St. Lucie River, past Sunset Bay Marina, to the turn off for Stuart Yacht Harbor.
The last couple of miles were something of a jungle cruise straight out of the African Queen! The banks of the river were lush and overgrown with foliage. There were many twists and turns, some being hairpin turns with was shoaling along the banks. It's always fun heading to someplace new! In short order, the challenge was over and we were tied up to a face wall at Stuart Yacht Harbor.
Wednesday through Tuesday, April 17 - 23, 2013 - Preparing SUNSHINE!
We are not entirely sure that we're doing the right thing, but we have signed an agreement listing SUNSHINE for sale with Stuart Yacht Sales. She is performing well and looking good! We spent this week removing all of the stuff from the boat. There is so much stuff that we need to rent a U-Haul trailer to get it all home!
On the lighter side, friends invited us to a cocktail party and dinner. All of the folks have been long term seasonal customers of Marathon Marina. We shared stories of our experiences in Marathon and Key West. After the cocktail party, most of the folks headed to the Sailors Return for Prime rib night. We were going to order fish, but a mid-westerner from the group suggested that the prime rib was superb, rivaling the best prime rib in Kansas City. We decided to give it a try and we were not disappointed. It was a great meal.
We also bumped into our friends while strolling the downtown streets on Sunday morning. We joined them for breakfast at a little sidewalk cafe.
Off loading our possessions and doing little fix-up chores continued with some down time mixed in until we hitched up and left on Wednesday, April 24.
Wednesday, April 24, 2013 - Happy Birthday Anna Marie!
To celebrate, we decided to take a little drive... up I 95 and as far north as we could comfortably go. It is also a sad day in that we may not be back aboard SUNSHINE, if she sells, that is.
It was a pleasant drive and we stopped for a birthday dinner at a nondescript restaurant. The restaurant was noisy (loud music) but the food was good and reasonably priced.
Sunday, April 25, 2013 Home!
We made it home after another long but pleasant drive. Needless to say, it was great to see the family!
That concludes Cruise 2013!
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