.
Our local friends Walter and Maggie loaned us their car one day and we visited Wal-Mart and Publix to restocked the boat with groceries and a few other items. After that came a day devoted to catching up on the laundry. Mother Nature always likes to help so she threw in a couple of cold fronts and lots of rain. Over two days we got 3.5“ of rain which really helped in our fight to control a mildew explosion on the boat. Sure glad we weren’t in Miami as they got 14” over the same period.
Donna got struck with the Christmas spirit so we reacquainted ourselves with the TCC (Treasure Coast Connector - public transportation buses) and went to the local mall. I took advantage of the trip and visited West Marine to get a patch kit for the dinghy (more on this later). The following day Donna walked to the local shops downtown and the post office to mail the booty to family back home. She got caught in some rain showers and was a whipped wet puppy when she returned.
While Donna was gone I tried to fix a problem with the dinghy. The dinghy is leaking water! The air tubes are holding up fine, but water is coming into the floor area. Thanks to a helpful (?) boater who pulled on a line as we were attempting to back away from the dock back in Palm Coast (Day 34), the dinghy got squeezed against a piling. There didn’t seem to be any damage until we put it in the water later. The squeeze caused the floor boards to push against the seam where the floor is glued to the tubes. Anyway, the patch job is helping, but a more permanent fix is going to be required as soon as an ordered repair kit arrives.
Donna spent Christmas Eve making rum balls and ham biscuits. These were to be our contributions to the marina party and Christmas dinner with Walter & Maggie. My contribution was to volunteer(?) to do some laundry while Donna slaved away in the galley.
Christmas day started off quietly with just the two of us exchanging gifts. Donna got a Sunset Bay T-shirt and a pair of earrings. I got a magnifying glass and dark chocolate covered cherries, Yum! We also opened a package from Donna’s mom and my sister which contained special gifts for both of us. Later that day we went to a pot luck Christmas party at the marina and then to Walter and Maggie’s for dinner.
Yesterday was spent fighting the mildew war again and another walk to the Publix for cat food and other incidentals. Today we went to the local flea market and wandered through all the shops. Some of the shops were closed for the holiday so our single purchase was fresh oranges.
That about catches us up. It’s not as glamorous a life as you might expect. But, all-in-all, we’re having lots of fun and enjoying this fabulous way to enjoy life.
Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas. Have a safe and Happy New Years celebration. More to follow in a few days.
Dick and Donna
