Nov 16th, 2013 thru December 31st

November 16^th, I found out when I got home that Dan will be joining us when we come back to the boat on December 7^th.  Trick and I left in such a rush that the boat was not ready for guests….it needed some TLC.  So I flew back to Tampa early on Saturday Nov. 16^th (delayed a couple of hours in Atlanta) and got back to the boat that afternoon.  When I arrive, I discovered the electrical connection had come lose from the outlet on the pier and the electricity was off on the boat.  The food in the freezer has thawed but not spoiled so I really lucked out.  I cleaned out the fridge and threw away a bunch of food.  I spent the rest of the day and Sunday morning cleaning and scrubbing.    Flew back home Sunday afternoon.

December 7^th…..Flew down to Tampa with Rachael and Missy.  Dan was on a different flight a few hours later.  We did a little provisioning and then had a very nice dinner at one of the Greek restaurants in town.

December 8^th…….Hung around Tarpon Springs….Dan and Rachael went to the beach.

December 9^th…..Motors started at 6:45…left the marina at 7:15..(Dan and Rachael are not early risers).  MV Ajax pulled out into the river just ahead of us and we followed them down to the first bridge on the GICW.   It was very smooth motoring all day.  Dan and Rachael had a blast watching dolphins….they were around us continuously.  There were a dozen bridges between 22’ and 25’ so I had to drop my tall VHS antennae several times.

Skipper Bob’s was very helpful bringing to my attention a short cut at Tampa Bay that cut 6 miles off the trip and gave us a smoother ride than going right into the Bay.  We came upon a narrow channel just past Cortez.  I passed SV Journey as he was idling to avoid grounding.  After I got past him I gave him soundings on the VHS but he ran aground anyway.  I asked if they wanted help but they declined.  I did hear later on the radio they made it to Marina Jack.

We pulled into Marina Jack about 4:30…..perfect timing.  It was a great day on the water although my autopilot was not working….it is very temperamental. I also dropped my camera and messed up the auto focus on the zoom lens along with pinching my hand and hitting Missy in the chin with the Bimini when I was putting that up mid-morning….I felt so bad I must have asked Missy if she was okay 50 times over the next couple of days….she was fine.  When we got to the marina I rented a car and then Rachael, Dan and I drove to Tarpon Springs to get the car we rented on December 7^th. 

December 10^th through 15^th……Rachael and Dan when to Sesta Key Beach on the 10^th and then we all went on the 11^th.  It is one of the best beaches in the world….awesome sand!!!  Dan flew home on the 12^th.  It was a great week of quality time and sunshine.

December 15^th….Rachael and I both flew home.  She had a later flight then I did so she got to spend a little time with Missy.

December 20^th…..I flew back to the boat.  Missy had been by herself all week (along with Taffy).  It was not a good week for her as she aggravated her ankle injury and was in tears by the time I got back to Sarasota. 

December 21^st through December 25th……We took it real easy for the first couple of days while Missy recovered from her ankle pain.  I picked up a really cool fold up bike in town and it really helps her with low impact exercise and makes it possible for her to get around without much pain.  Every day she got better. 

I worked on a few boat projects and rowed around the area in my kayak a lot.  It was sunny and worm almost every day.  Christmas Eve we went to a very nice restaurant for a great meal.  On Christmas, we were having coffee at Starbucks when we observed something wonderful…. A gentleman came to the park in the middle of Sarasota and handed out $20.00 bills to the homeless people gathered there.  It was a very moving experience….such unconditional kindness. 

December 26^th through December 31^st.  Missy continues to improve.  We found her some new shoes in town that really help take the pressure off of her heal.  Missy and I both get some work done every day via the internet.  Sunday the 29^th it rained all day but there was a “Breaking Bad” marathon in TV plus the Packer Bear game so we did not mind staying close to the boat.

Marina Jack’s had a great fireworks display New Years Eve….it scared the crap out of Taffy, she was not happy at all.  It was a great end to a challenging year and we look forward to an interesting and exciting 2014!