A Bit of a Kick in the Teeth: March 4 2015
We
are well but this boat thing definitely has a roller coaster ride for the
emotions. We have been two months touching every system with maintenance,
look see or repair. It has been divide and conquer all the way. For
example, I have handled all the linens, towels, etc. inventory as well as food inventory
and cooking. While Chris has lubed, tightened and mended every system on
the boat. Oh, and I have slid into some
of the Rosie the Riverter jobs such as cleaning residual grease on the
stabilizers, searching out and replacing bow and stern thruster zincs,
disposing of used oil... We have been at it non-stop and feel great for the
knowledge and progress – the boat is now a more familiar friend. We think we are at the end of the prep and
can target some playing - bought snorkel gear over the weekend and took a last ride in the old dinghy. We hope to get
to the Bahamas end of this week or next. Phew...but you have heard this
all before...fingers crossed it pans out this time.
The
real sign we are coming out the other side is that Chris made pizza for the
first time on the boat. It was delicious and he has not lost his piazzalo
touch (Mar 2). All that remains is the
new dinghy to be delivered.
Drat! Famous last words. We were kicked in the teeth after I returned
from the supermarket with the final load of fresh veg...no dinghy until…time unknown. The
dinghy folks have been a bit quiet and now they are not returning our calls at
all. The credit card has been crunched
and delivery was promised. Aaagghh. Weather windows closing...friends with
tickets to George Town, Bahamas…old dinghy sold and gone. Chris was
so angry he was scouring the decks with all the strength in his bones…might
have even lost some gel coat in the process. The bright spot in the day
was the ear-to-ear grin on the proud new owner of our old dinghy. He was positively tickled! We felt great about the transaction.
Well,
that was yesterday and we have shaken it off. All will happen...and we
are barefoot. Let’s go explore some of
the non-industrial and non-commercial Ft Lauderdale. No
more hardware stores or hydraulic pipefitters or marine stores or
anything boat related. We rented a car for $26/day and off we
went
(Mar 4). John and Travis were in town so
we met for lunch at 15th
Street Fisheries (http://www.15streetfisheries.com/).
It is a casual spot on the water with a great view of the boat activity
in Ft
Lauderdale…and massive tarpon swimming below the wooden patio.
Travis and John leave tomorrow for a trip back to Boston after fun Florida
cruising in the winter. See ya down the road, guys.
With
another day to wait for the delivery of the dinghy we headed for the tourist
track (Mar 5). We visited the Bonnet
House in Ft Lauderdale followed by an air boat ride in the Everglades. The Bonnet House is the former home and
grounds of a wealthy New England family now donated to the State of
Florida. The matriarch conducted the
transaction in her nineties with one stipulation…she be allowed to winter in
the home until she died. She lived to be
109 and is remembered fondly by several docents. It
is an eclectic house built by the owners for their own tastes and
relaxation. No stuffy high society rules here. The house
has interesting tid
bits like massive hanging orchids lining the interior courtyard,
brightly
painted walls and doors, menagerie animals scattered
around…charming bamboo bar/shell display room. Erin
wants one of those! The only thing we
missed were the monkeys…originally from a nearby bar who ran away when the bar burned
down.
However,
we saw plenty of critters on our next stop at Gator Park in the
Everglades. We boarded an air boat and
off we went. Our tour guide was quite a
character and was on a first name basis with the crocs who all came out to say
“hi” when he called for them (and tossed them a small snack). We saw adult and baby crocs, several birds, a
water snake and marveled at the stunning panorama of the everglades…nothing but
nature as far as the eye could see.
The
whole time we were visiting the sights we were on pins and needles hoping the
dinghy would be ready. We called in the
morning at 9.04am and were promised a call back when the delivery status was
known. Not able to be patient any longer
we called at 4pm. The dinghy was ready
and could be delivered tonight. What?! Our heads spun as we tried to calculate our next moves. All sounded
good but we were in bumper-to-bumper Miami traffic. A heads-up would have been nice but that was
not the way of this dinghy odyssey. We
scrambled to return the rental car, get dinghy driving supplies from the boat
and deliver ourselves to the designated boat ramp (no more rental car so it was Uber to the rescue). It was a stressful time with a few snippy
comments between us as we sorted out the order of operations.
It was a mad scramble from start to finish...including the local
water police who watched us take delivery of the dinghy only to
"politely" mention the need for registration, etc. Really?!
The sun was setting and we had to get back up river. We
accepted the advice with smiles and moved on once Johnny Law had
finished his chat. Thankfully, at 8pm we were sitting and
smiling in Tamarindo Café, a favorite Cuban restaurant, with margaritas
toasting our new dinghy secured on the deck of the boat AND our impending
departure for the Bahamas the next day at 6am.