KEY LARGO AND MARATHON

He Said: After all of the conversations we have had recently, we finally decided to pass on the Bahamas.  I mentioned that on Sunday the 16^th we headed out to the Atlantic but headed back to Ft. Lauderdale after about 45 minutes of bad water.  We spent the following week in Ft. Lauderdale at the city marina in downtown.  It is a great area with tons of cool things happening and terrific places to eat and drink. 

The weather for the week was pretty crappy, mostly 60-70 with lots of wind. I had a chance to watch the Buckeyes vs. Indiana game at a gr8 little sports bar about 300 yards from the boat.  I was there several times over the week.  Between OSU and the Cardinals, I watched all the football I needed.  We went to dinner at a cool Irish Pub located on the same little river we were at.  Later that nite the sports bar had a terrific blues band playing so I caught some of that action.  

 

Big lizard living at one of the bridges on the New River, Ft. Lauderdale

While in Ft. Lauderdale I was on the boat cleaning the windows when a 60 ft. sailboat tried to get between us and the 120 mega yacht directly in front of us.  The captain of the big boat yelled at the guy telling him his boat would not fit.  The guy on the sailboat didn’t buy into it.  Guess what??  He hit the shit out of the big dude, ripped off part of the railing, then pulled forward and his anchor hit our anchor.  Looked like dodgem cars.  There was no damage to MTB, but some pretty good damage to the big guy.  He should have listened.

 Following a fun week in downtown we decided to head towards the Keys.  We left on Monday the 24^th for a couple of long travel days to get to Marathon before the bad weather hit again.  We rolled out of bed and departed at about 7:45 for Key Largo.  It was a nice calm travel day but a very long one - we arrived to our little anchorage after about 9 long hours and about 75 miles.  This may have been the most peaceful evening in our 1 ½ years of boating.  We had no other boats anchoring and didn’t even see another boat the whole evening.  We of course ate in and called it an early nite.

 

Thursday Cove, Key Largo - our anchorage

Sunset at Thursday Cove

On Tuesday, believe it or not, we got up at 6AM for a 6:30 departure.  When leaving an anchor or mooring ball your departures are simple and fast - no lines, no power, no water, cable and anything else that you would have attached to your boat if you were docked.  We knew we had about another 75 mile day - about 20 were in the open water of the Atlantic Ocean.  It was very smooth except for the choppy-as-hell ocean water.  We still arrived at Burdine’s in Marathon at about 4PM.  Overall, it went well.

My last 2 arrivals into the Ft. Lauderdale Marina and Burdine’s both sucked.  A month ago I backed the boat into a city marina like a pro - not so much on my last 2.  Some wind and current can really mess with you.  The good news is we got in just fine.

 

Back at home at Burdine's Marina, Marathon

Since Tuesday we have been revisiting some of the places here in Marathon that we hung at before.  The weather here has been cool and very windy.  Pat fixed a gr8 little TGiving dinner for the 2 of us.  After some football, we jumped in the dingy and headed off to Dockside, a pretty cool bar on the water at a marina about 3 miles from us.  They had a big TG Dinner for the boaters and live music. We hung for a couple of cold ones and headed back to MTB.

 

Boot Harbor in Marathon is full of boats - some nicer than others.  This one sunk!

We will be staying here at Burdine’s for the next 5 weeks - thru the end of December.  Our January is a little in the air due to not knowing the turf all that much.  Our plan is to hang here in the Keys, cruise towards Key West, and just kick around for a month. Following that we will be back here in Marathon for the month of February.  We will be having lots of friends visiting that month - should be a blast.  

That’s about it for now, Take Care, Jack

 

She Said:  

After months of planning and excitement, we have reluctantly cancelled our plans for the Bahamas.  It was a tough decision emotionally, but an easy boating decision.  We called the Bahamas marina to cancel our reservations.  They told us that the recent seas were 6-8 feet with occasional 10 footers.   A couple of days after making our decision, the wind speed and direction matched our criteria.  Did we make the wrong decision?  We don’t think so because the water would have still been rough because of the previous weather.  Even if we did find a good crossing day, we’d have the same waiting game for a return crossing.  The weather this time of year is just rough on power boats like ours.  It sounds like March is the earliest time for us to cross – April and May are even better.  Like we’ve said so many times, our boating life is controlled by weather and we have to be flexible.

So the new plan is to spend the months of December through February in the Florida Keys.  We will stay in Marathon December and February and take the boat to Key West in January.  We hope to find some small, pretty Keys where we can drop the anchor and do some snorkeling.  Not quite the Bahamas, but we’ll make the best of it.

 

Our week in Ft. Lauderdale was fun.  I really liked the location – there was a lot of activity up and down the river and plenty of places to walk.  One day while we were sitting on MTB we were visited by fellow boaters we first met in St. Michael, MD last year.  We ran into them several times traveling down the ICW, and hope to cross paths with them again. 

 

Night time view from MTB, New River, Ft Lauderdale 

When we made the decision to skip the Bahamas, we planned a one week trip from Ft. Lauderdale to Marathon.  Unfortunately, because of weather we had to make the 130 mile trip in 2 days.  We like to travel less than 50 miles a day, so two 65 mile days back-to-back was not something we were looking forward to.   

It was finally time to leave Ft. Lauderdale.  We were underway at 7:30am.  The day was mostly uneventful, although we did have a few bridges where the posted and published clearance heights didn’t agree.  That meant that I had to stand on the front of the boat with my pole “feeling” our way under the bridges.  Waiting on a bridge opening, we met up with fellow boaters we met earlier in the month in Clewiston.  It’s always fun meeting up with familiar boats.  We arrived at Thursday Cove outside Key Largo at 4:00pm.  We dropped the anchor and settled in for a quiet evening.  It would have been a perfect evening if it weren’t for the darn no-see-ums that come out at dusk.  I was full of welts by the time I admitted defeat and went inside.  It was early to bed because we planned on an early departure the next day.



ICW - the old and the new.  Margaritaville Hotel under construction with an old tiki bar across the street

Gilbert's Tiki Bar - the largest in the Keys.  We hoped to stay here, but weather forced us to pass

On day 2 we were up at 6:00am, the anchor was up by 6:30am and we were on our way.  The first 40 miles we were in the Florida Bay which is on the west side of the Keys.  The water was calm and shallow, but there were so many fishing traps it was a challenge.  Often they’re hard to see, and maneuvering around them is a pain in the neck.  We were in a marked channel (no traps) when we came across several dolphins.  Jack sped up and three dolphins joined us for a while.  It is so much fun watching them swim in our wake.  I don’t care how many times we see (and especially when we play with) the dolphins, it’s always exciting.  I’m glad we had that fun experience, because the rest of the day went down hill.

 

Sunrise as we are leaving Thursday Cove, Key Largo

We decided to take Hawk Channel (on the east side of the Keys in the Atlantic) for the last 20 miles to Marathon.  We took this route last season and it was a great trip.  We learned that the reef helps keep the water calm – especially near the shore.  Since the winds were supposed to be less than10 MPH we were expecting a calm trip.  But the winds were more like 15 MPH, and they created rolling waves.  It was miserable.  We tried changing speed and directions to minimize the rolling, but nothing did the trick.  Things were moving around all over MTB and I wasn’t doing much better.  We weren’t in any danger and didn’t feel unsafe – it was just uncomfortable.  We finally got in, and the winds reeked havoc on our docking effort.  It took two tries, and we finally made it.  The only good thing about a bad docking is that we learn something.  We rehash what happened and talk about what we should do differently in the future.

 


Three dolphins swimming with us

 

 

 

 



Our dolphin buddies

It’s fun to back in Marathon and get reacquainted with the area.  In three days we’ve gone back to three of our favorite spots, taken a dinghy ride through Boot Harbor, and walked 3 miles into “town.”  Buddy, the marina cat, came for a visit already.  We can’t be too nice to him or he’ll never leave! 

Since we bought food to take to the Bahamas for a Thanksgiving feast we cooked in Thanksgiving Day.  Our Turkey Day dinner last year was a disaster, but I redeemed myself this year.  The biggest challenge was rotating things in and out of our tiny oven, but with a little planning I got it done!

 The weather’s been all over the place.  We had record highs followed by down right cold temps (60s).  We’re getting better at understanding high/low pressure, fronts, and the impact on winds and temps.  Overall, it’s probably the best place to be in the states this time of year.

Since we’re hanging here for a month, we probably won’t be sending out any updates until Christmas.  I hope you enjoy all of the holiday festivities that are coming your way!   

 

 

RIVIERA BEACH AND FT. LAUDERDALE

Hello from Florida: As my hero Jimmy Buffett says it – “Changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes, some things never remain quite the same.”  I believe that JB was talking to all of us who have been lucky enough to own a boat.  I have talked in the past about the boat world being controlled by the weatherman, and it has really hit us this past week or so.  

We departed Stuart following a great 5 days staying on the mooring ball and headed to Riviera Beach.  We anchored for a couple of days - it was a cute little town but not too much going down.  

 

View from the ICW

Since Tim got here from Seattle our game plan has been to make a move to the Bahamas when we get the much needed weather window - no N winds or very, very slight.  We have had our hopes deflated about 3 times in the past week.  I would say that this past Sunday was the most frustrating.  We did all of the preparation for an early departure and rolled out of bed at 6 so we could make the crossing earlier than later on Sunday.  We arrived in the Big Pond about 6:30 and headed out for about 5 miles or so.  All had changed with winds, weather - everything kind of headed south and it was a mess.  Tim said when we get to the gulf stream it will be much worse.  That was all we needed to hear, and we turned MTB around and headed back to Fort Lauderdale.  We feel really bad that Tim took 9 days away from Seattle and he won’t make it to the Bahamas.  As great as Florida is, the 3 of us were really excited about leaving for the Bahamas.

 

Another beautiful sunset

The good news is we had a chance to do some snorkeling, watch the Buckeyes last Saturday, and most important do some boat fixing. Tim has been a gr8 help, and we even got Mr. Dingy’s engine sort of rebuilt.  We had a fuel/carburetor issue and all seems to be just fine now.  

We are staying in a downtown Ft. Lauderdale marina.  It’s a great area to hang with lots of restaurants, bars, and great walking areas.  In our year plus of the boat world, I believe here in Ft. Lauderdale there are more mega yachts than you could ever imagine.  I would say the average boat within our view is about 100 feet - the yacht in front of us is 120 feet.  Of course, when you are pulling in behind one of these 10 million dollar yachts it certainly gets your ticker ticking.

 

One of the many yachts moving up and down the New River, Ft. Lauderdale

 

MTB is small compared to the yachts docked along the New River

After seeing all this weather all over the country (other than Phoenix), it is pretty tough to complain about 80 degree Florida.  I don’t mean to be bitching – it’s just a little frustrating, but that’s the way the boat world can be.  

Tim leaves here on Wednesday.  Pat and I will probably make a decision around Thanksgiving about what we are going to do. Our options are to keep trying for the Bahamas or to pass on the Bahamas and spend more time in the Keys - not a bad deal if that’s what we decide.  One thing for certain is that we will make a good decision because we never shoot from the hip when making big boat moves.  We also are very, very safe so we will certainly take no chances on the crossing if we decide to head to the Bahamas. 

Not much more happening here but we will keep everybody posted on our world of “Where is Waldo??” 

Have a GR8 Thanksgiving,  Jack

 

She Said:  

We left Stuart and had a pleasant day on the water.  We decided to anchor at Phil Foster Park just north of the Lake Worth Inlet in Riviera Beach.  We got in around 3pm, set the anchor and settled in for a quiet, early night.  I took out our passports and filled out 5 pages of Immigration and Customs paperwork.  The plan was to cross to the Bahamas early Thursday morning and I was ready.  We were looking for winds less than 10MPH and from any direction but the north.  As Thursday morning got closer, the wind speed increased and it wasn’t clocking around as we expected.  Bottom line – we weren’t crossing Thursday.  We were all bummed out, but we did our best to make a disappointing situation enjoyable.  It was 82 degrees outside so we hopped in the dinghy and did some exploring. 

We found Peanut Island – what a delight.  Peanut Island was created in the early 1900s from the dirt dredged from the ICW.  In the early 1960s, bunkers were built here to house the Kennedys in case of a Cuban conflict.  Today the island is a great picnic and camping area.  There’s also a nice snorkeling area.  All 3 of us grabbed our snorkeling gear and went for a swim in 78 degree water.  I was the first one out of the water – there were jelly fish and that sort of freaked me out.  That night we went into town for dinner at Two Drunken Goats.  The Cuban sandwich was the best I’ve ever had. 

 


Snorkeling off Peanut Island - beautiful water

 



The Kennedy bunker on Peanut Island

Our next crossing opportunity looked to be Sunday.  We decided to head to Ft. Lauderdale and wait out the weather there.  I remember last year that the trip from Lake Worth to Ft. Lauderdale was slow because of the bridges, boat traffic and No-Wake zones – but it was even longer than I remembered.  We finally grabbed a mooring ball at Las Olas Marina at 5:00pm.  Jack and I went to Quarter Deck (a favorite from last year) for dinner.

 

Night time view from MTB at Las Olas Marina, Ft. Lauderdale

 

Our AM/FM radio wasn’t working, and we thought we might be able to get it fixed in Ft. Lauderdale.  Mission accomplished - we got it fixed Saturday morning.  We headed into town – Jack to watch football, Tim to explore, and me to the beach.  We kept a close eye on the weather and were excited by what we saw – the forecast for a Sunday crossing looked near perfect.  We went into town for a quick dinner and to bed early.  The plan was to get up at 6:00AM and depart by 6:30AM.  A weather check at 3:00AM had the conditions deteriorating and by 6:00AM it didn’t look good – winds were around 15MPH and the winds were ENE, but we decided to give it a try.  The inlet was choppy and it didn’t get any better as made our way northeast.  After about 30 minutes at sea we decided to admit defeat and head back into town. 

A gorgeous day on the beach in Ft. Lauderdale

Instead of going back to Las Olas Marina, we decided to take the New River 1.8 miles into downtown Ft. Lauderdale.  The docks are right on the river and there’s lots of boat traffic – pleasure boats, sightseeing boats, and mega yachts.  Within an easy walk of the docks there are lots of restaurants and shopping.  It’s a great place to settle in for an extended stay.  Really bad weather is predicted for the foreseeable future (7 days out), so we’re going to stay put for at least the next week. 

Tugs are used to move the mega yachts up and down the New River

We've never stayed in a marina quite like this one, 100 slips along the New River - City Docks, Ft. Lauderdale

We will continue to do small boat projects while we’re waiting out the weather.  The dinghy motor’s been acting up, and Jack and Tim spent several hours working on it; I think they fixed it (knock on wood).  We’re also working on alternative plans in case a Bahamas crossing doesn’t materialize.   

We probably won’t send another update for about a week while we’re waiting out the weather.  As soon as we have a plan we’ll let you know.  Thanks for reading.

LABELLE, CLEWISTON, STUART

BACK ON MEANT TO BE

 

He Said: After 5 ½ months of no blogging, the English major has returned.  Pat and I had a terrific summer but now begin the second half of our world of boating. We flew into Ft. Myers and spent the nite at a hotel near the airport.  Our flight did not get in until after midnite so it was about 1:00AM when we finally got to the hotel.

The following day we headed to Moore Haven to reintroduce ourselves to Meant To Be. The drive is about an hour and the last 15 minutes are what I would call Hillbilly Haven.  MTB was doing just fine, but 5 months of the hot Florida summer had MTB looking a little beat-up.  We spent the following 5 days working our asses off getting ready to toss MTB into the water.  Most of my time was spent with my new buffer - lots of work but the boat looks mighty nice.  While I was busy shining for a few days, Pat was just as busy cleaning the inside of MTB - lots of work also.  At the same time we had our bottom dude taking care of the bottom of the boat – cleaning barnacles and other crap that had traveled with us for a year.  They did a great job cleaning and painting the entire bottom of the boat.     

 

MTB before she was bottom painted

MTB after bottom painting

On Monday Nov. 3 away we went to LaBelle where we got the deal of the day. We spent the following 3 nites on a nice city dock with no charge - even the 50 amp was free.  The town was cute and a short walk away, different from Moore Haven which was 16 miles to a flipping Circle K.  We met our friends Mike and Lori for dinner and of course had a terrific evening. The rest of our time in LaBelle was spent just kind of killing time and hanging out.

 

At the free city dock in LaBelle

Following our departure from LaBelle we headed to Clewiston at a very famous bass fishing type of marina. We pulled up to a long face dock, but the dockhand moved us about 100 yards stating that the karaoke tiki bar can get a little loud.  Of course, we headed to the bar and had dinner and listened to some pretty good ol’ boys sing some pretty good ol’ cowboy music.  We met the owner, and she is very famous in the bass fishing world.  I liked her a lot because she said that she knew me from when I was with the Beach Boys - how about that!!  We had a blast and headed back to MTB.  We could still hear the tunes until about 11 or so. 

The following morning we left for the fine little city of Stuart, we spent time here on our last trip so it is always fun to go back to a city that we are familiar with. We spent Friday thru Tuesday on the ball and had a fun time. Stuart is very cool but the weather was a little damp. We, of course, found some great happy hours and some fun food.  On Saturday, I found a bar to catch the Buckeyes vs. Michigan State game.  For the first time in maybe 45 years of watching the Bucks there was not 1 OSU fan in the bar so Pat and I headed back to MTB for the 2^nd half.

 

Relaxing on MTB - Stuart

On Monday our good buddy Tim from Seattle arrived and our plan is to cross the big pond (Atlantic) in the next few days. We left Stuart on Wednesday and we are anchored in Riviera/Palm Beach waiting for a weather break. Tim has about 5 days remaining so we hope like hell we can cross while he is with us.  The shitty news is that the north winds are not being very friendly in the Gulf Stream - we don’t like northern winds due to the collision with the stream which travels from the south.  The combo of N winds and S Gulf Stream can easily create 5 to 10 ft. waves - we will not travel in those conditions.

 

We will keep you posted as the weather is always changing.  We may have to push our Bahamas trip back a week and travel without Tim - we hope not.  If we can’t leave we may hang our hats in Ft. Lauderdale for a while and wait it out.  That’s it for now. 

Take Care,  Jack

 

 

She Said:

Departure for MTB was finally upon us.  We arrived in Ft. Myers around midnight, picked up our rental car, and checked into an airportS hotel for a quick night’s sleep.  We were up early the next morning and made the 50 mile trip to MTB, outside LaBelle, FL.  Enroute to LaBelle, we texted our friends Mike & Lori to see if they were in Ft. Myers.  We were delighted to find out they were, and we made plans to meet for drinks that night. 

 

We got to Glades Boat Yard and were pleased to find that MTB had been moved from the storage yard to the working yard, AND, most importantly, we had 50-AMP.  That meant we could live aboard MTB while she was being readied to go back in the water.  The only thing we didn’t have was heat/AC – no problem.  We checked out MTB (the inside was in better shape than we expected – the dehumidifier worked out great, but the outside was a disaster), we adjusted our shopping list, and headed back to Ft Myers.  We had a great visit with Mike & Lori before settling into three grueling days of getting MTB back in shape.

 

We spent a fortune at Wal-Mart stocking MTB with food, general supplies and tons of cleaning products.  While we were doing that, the bottom of MTB was being stripped and repainted.  I took the car into LaBelle to do laundry and more grocery shopping (I was so focused on stocking up for the Bahamas, I forgot to buy food for the next few days!) while Jack started on the outside of MTB.  This was our last day with the car, so we had dinner in LaBelle then caught a ride back to the boat yard (20 minutes away).  All of the lifting, cleaning and steps on MTB (along with the ladder we used to get on and off) took their toll on us, so we popped some Aleve and were off to bed early.

 

Climbing up and down that ladder got old really fast

We awoke the next morning to a record setting low of 42 degrees.  We turned the space heater on that morning and barely turned it off all day.  In addition to the low temps, the winds were gusting at 40 MPH.  I worked inside all day while Jack toughed it out outside – I don’t know how he did it.  The mechanic was on and off the boat all day checking out all the mechanical stuff – better to do it now than run into problems down the road, especially in the Bahamas.  It was another early night accompanied by more Aleve.

 

Our last day “on the hard” was just as busy as all the others.  Things were in pretty good order, so I was able to help Jack buff and wax the boat.  I was quickly comfortable back on MTB, but I haven’t quite gotten used to the compact space – I’m going to be a bruised mess until I remember to turn sideways when walking around.  Other than that, we are really looking forward to getting back on the water.

 

The day finally came to put MTB in the water.  The morning was busy, but uneventful.  As MTB was lowered into the water, I had to go on board to check for leaks – that was a bit unsettling, but everything was good.  We were now on our own!  We’re at the dock getting ready to leave and, I’m not kidding, Jack looked at the electronics and didn’t know how to turn them on.  This was not a reassuring moment.  We planned for a short day – we wanted to take it slow and get our sea legs back – and the LaBelle City Docks were only 10 miles away.  The city of LaBelle offers the docks for free, but there’s no dock assistance to catch our lines – this had us a bit nervous.  Fortunately, there were 3 boats docked when we arrived and they helped out.  Unfortunately, there was a catamaran in the only 20’ foot slip, so we had to make our first docking into a 15’ slip (we’re 13’9”), stern in and with an audience.  Jack backed us into that slip without touching a pylon.  It was amazing, especially after our rocky start!

 

Since we spent the last few nights in the middle of nowhere, we were excited to head into LaBelle for dinner.  We were surprised to find that Beef O’Brady’s, where we went to eat, closed at 9:00pm, so it was another early night.  The next night we met with Mike & Lori at Forrey Grill, a short walk from MTB, for a great pasta dinner.  We always had a great time with them and hope our cruising paths will cross later this season.

 

After three pleasant days in LaBelle, it was time to head east.  We had three locks and handled them like pros.  We spent the night at Martin & MaryAnn Roland’s Marina in Clewiston.  If you’re into bass fishing, you’re familiar with this place.  MaryAnn was the first woman to grace the cover of Field & Stream magazine back in the early 70s. Tim McGraw was here recently to kick-off a big bass fishing tournament.  For us, it was a fun karaoke night (we listened, didn’t sing) night at the tiki bar. 

 

We were up early the next morning to make the 30+ mile trek across Lake Okeechobee (the 2^nd largest fresh water lake entirely in the U.S.).  We ran our twin-diesels at 2000 RMPs/16MPH for 30 minutes.  We typically travel at a much slower speed for fuel economy reasons, but our plan is to make a quick crossing from FL to the Bahamas so we wanted to make sure MTB was up for the task.  Thumbs up!!  We ended the day at Sunset Bay Marina in Stuart.  We stayed here last year and it’s always nice to come into a familiar marina.

 

Back in familiar territory - Sunset Bay Marina, Stuart

 

 

We stayed on a mooring ball here last year and decided to do the same.  It was like riding a bike and we picked up the mooring ball on the first try.  We remembered there was a nice restaurant/bar on site, Sailor’s Return, so headed up for happy hour before having dinner on MTB.  We used the marina bikes to run errands on Saturday, and then Jack settled in for college football.  It was drizzling as we walked to Duffy’s Sports Bar for dinner and it didn’t stop raining all night.  Jack watched the Ohio State game at Sailor’s Return and I hung out at the marina’s lounge.  There was a break in the rain so we dinghied back to MTB and Jack watched the end of the game aboard. 

 

Great sunset at Sunset Bay Marina, Stuarat

Our Seattle sailing friend, Tim, arrived on Monday – we are hoping to make the crossing to the Bahamas with Tim.  Checking numerous weather sites and talking with other boaters it looked like we might have a couple options in the next week.  On Wednesday I got up at 6:30am to listen to the forecast of Chris Parker (a weather guru for the Caribbean) – he said our best bet looked like Thursday or Sunday.  We decided to try for the Thursday crossing, so we quickly got MTB ready to go and we headed to the Lake Worth Inlet where we anchored for the night.  We’re going to bed early tonight hoping to depart tomorrow.  Will keep you posted on our progress.

 

SUMMER RECAP

We Said:

 

We’re back!!!!!  I know we said that we were going to send out some updates this summer, but obviously we didn’t.  It was a crazy, busy, fun summer with lots of activities. Here’s a short recap of our time off MTB.  WARNING . . . it sounds like an early Christmas letter, but the pictures are fun.

 

We spent the month of June in Naples, FL.  Thanks to Jack’s brother and our friends Ken & Debi for making their Naples homes available to us.  We decided to drive to South Beach Miami for a day since we didn’t stop there while on MTB.  We also spent time with friends Dale & Clara in Bonita Springs.  Jack and Dale golfed while Clara and I relaxed – beach, lunch & paddleboards.  Naples made our list of favorite places while on MTB and we enjoyed it just as much this time around.

My first experience paddleboarding.  I did OK, if I do say so myself.

Lifeguard stand on South Beach - Miami

July was spent in Columbus, OH (10day) and on a European Cruise (17 days).  We had a great time visiting Jack’s family in Columbus.  Between Jack’s mom, his 3 brothers/sisters-in-law, 6 nephews/niece and 8 great nephews/nieces you can only imagine how busy we were and how much fun we had.   

Jack with his nephew Kevin and brothers Jerry, Terry and Jim outside Papa Boo's 4th of July weekend

Then we were off to meet my parents, brother/sister-in-law, and sister/niece in Venice, Italy for 3 days before hopping on a 2 week cruise to Greece, Turkey and Italy.  We saw great sights, ate way too much and had a lot of fun.

 

St Mark's Square, Venice during flooding

Her I am with my niece Hailey on a gondola ride in Venice

Beautiful Venetian Canal
 

Venice - you've got to love this place!

Santorini - the whitewashed building make it look like a snow topped mountain

Jack riding the donkey up to the top of Santorini.  We laughed so hard that day!

Santorini - We finally made it to the top

The famous public bathroom at the ruins of Kusadasi, Turkey

Kusadasi, Turkey



Inside the Blue Mosque, Istanbul



Istanbul - torrential rains, bad for sightseeing



Mykonos - Jack's favorite port

I was on the cruise ship's version of "Top Chef."  Unfortunately, I was eliminated early, but it was still fun



Malta - built right on the water's edge

Hustling, bustling Sicily.  This is the fish market

We finally made it back to Phoenix in August.  We rented a furnished condo for the month and it worked out really well.  Thanks to all our friends who hosted us, listened to our stories, and made us feel welcomed and missed.  Special thanks to Gary & Kathy who made the supreme sacrifice and let us stay with them on and off while we were in town. 

 

In September we hit the road.  In one month we traveled 3200 miles – the same distance it took us one year to do on MTB.  We started in Vegas where we house/dog sat for my parents, golfed with my sister, and took my almost-16-year-old niece “student driving.”  Jack had her out driving for about 2 hours one day – what a trooper!  Then we were off to Seattle (a favorite spot of mine) with an overnight stop in Boise (it’s a great little city).  In Seattle Tim & Pam were great hosts – kayaking, golf, wine tasting, sailing, fabulous food and camaraderie.  We took a side trip to Vancouver, BC where we pedaled around Stanley Park.  From Seattle we headed to the wine country of Paso Robles, CA and friends Lance & Amy.  We met lots of their friends at a paella party that they hosted on our first night in town.  Instead of the doing a typical wine tasting, we brought our own picnic lunch to the winery, bought a bottle of their local wine and enjoyed the beautiful views of the vineyards while listening to live music.  It was delightful we did it a few times!  We had such a good time it was hard to leave, but our Phoenix condo awaited our return.

 

Mt. Rainier from our sunset sail - Seattle

 

Here I am alongside Tim & Pam's "floating house" heading out in the Kayak

Vancouver, BC skyline

Picturesque Cambria, CA

Our final month in Phoenix was filled with annual doctor appointments, planning for the Bahamas, and general administrative stuff.  We did set aside time to travel to Rocky Point.  Twelve of us from Phoenix met up down there and, as always, it was a great time.  Being on the water got us ready for the flight back to MTB.

 

Shrimp boats were out in full force while in Rocky Point.  We had a lot of shrimp on MTB, but you can't beat the ones from Rocky Point.

 

All and all – it was a great summer and a nice break from MTB.  We went from the Atlantic to the Pacific and from Canada to Mexico.  It’s amazing, but I don’t think we saw a 110 degree day in either of the last two summers!   We’re looking forward to getting back on MTB and finishing up our vagabond, life-on-the-water, two year adventure. 

We will start publishing our blog again about every 10-14 days.  Wish us luck!!