July 2014

July 1, 2014  Up st 5:05.  Motors started at 5:40 away from the dock at 5:55.  Downstream in the Tennessee River on my Birthday…YEA….but where is Melissa???? L  The Authur J Carlson is in the Pickwick lock so timing should be good for our arrival at the lock a little after 7AM.  Entered the chamber for our last lock through, this time down, at 7:30.  Out of the lock at 8AM.  Nice new bullords made for a very quiet decent.  Talked to lock master “Powell”….very nice guy.  We are getting pushed by a 3 mph current downstream  YEA!  I called Cuba Landing, they are closed on Monday and Tuesday.  No sense stopping there so I called Pebble Isle Marina and arranged for staying there.  We will arrive after they close but before sunset and I have been there before so no problem.  We did 119 miles today!!  We passed the Arthur J Calson again, the Capt Bill, and a couple other tows.  Very hot, very scenic but uneventful.  Arrived at 6:45, Craig docked from the bridge and I handled lines with the help of a local.  Veggie Burger for dinner, gonna shower and hit the sack…..WAIT, a BIG storm is moving in.  It started to blow very strong so I went up and threw some lines over the Binimi to secure it.  I notice a small boat with some locals trying to dock and call over to Craig to help out.  The locals are a little intoxicated but Craig gets them on the dock.  Then I hear some shouting, I look over and the house boat that had come in after us and on the other side of the dock, has broken free from the dock and is adrift in the storm. His lines broke in the wind (K Mart?)  Luckily, the guy on the houseboat gets the motor started and gets it pointed back to the dock.  The two drunk guys are trying to help but not accomplishing much.  I run over and grab some lines off of Aye Sea No Snow and run back to secure a line or two.  Craig grabs some more line off my boat….we used 5 of my lines to get him secure.  Now all I have to do is wait for him to get up in the morning before I leave so I can get my lines back.  Then another, bigger, house boat comes in so I went over to help them dock…the wind had died down significantly so it was no big deal.  I had been trying to talk with Missy on the cell phone and we kept missing each other.  Finally I did connect with her but the cell signal did not last so I did not get my usual night night from her.  Bummer.  2893.3 HRS

July 2^nd, 2014  Up at 5:30.  Retreived dock lines at 6:15.  Away at 6:30.  Light fog to start.  Easy day. Hot.  Light rain squall just before Kentucky Dam Marina.  Arrived at 3:00, pumped out, moved to our slip (22), did laundry, washed boat, ran to town for ice tea.  2902.5 HRS

July 3^rd, 2014.  Left boat at KDM and drove back to St. Paul.

June 2014

June 25^th.  I drove down to Dog River with Craig Bursell.  We left my van at Kentucky Dam Marina and grabbed a rental car for the rest of the way down.  Obviously Dog River took longer to replace the tanks then I had expected.  The also charged me significantly more than the estimate but what can you do?  The also removed the carpet in the aft cabin so I set down some foam flooring that works well.  Craig cleaned all day while I worked on getting the boat ready for the trip north.  I had the V Berth A/C charged again and the salon A/C checked out.  The salon unit needs to be replaced.  We took the rental car back at 5PM and provisioned with the courtesy car.  When the sun set at 8PM I realized we had less sunlight down in Mobile than up in Minnesota.  That is going to screw up my itinerary and plans for 16 hour days. We will do the best we can.

June 26^th, up at 4:45.  Motors started at 5:10.  Away from the dock at 5:26.  Sunrise at 5:51.  Into main shipping channel at 5:55.  Big ocean going vessel MSC Melissa was behind us heading into Mobile.  As we neared Mobile we were greeted with a Navy Catamaran at 6:50.  They had a police escort and the police boat motored along side us while we passed.  A helicopter was busy taking pictures or video or something secret?  We cruised through Mobile Harbor at 7AM.  After we left downtown Mobile we saw two (two!) alligators crossing the river.  WOW!  Around 9AM the “Megan Parker” passed us going downstream….they were going 12mph and kicked up the biggest wake I had ever seen from a tow!  Sunset at 8:01.  Entered Coffeeville Lock at 8:18.  I called Bobby’s Fish Camp on the phone from the lock at we were going up and ordered Catfish dinner for two to go.  It was as dark as the Ace of Spades when we found the dock at Bobby’s and tied up for the night.  Very successful first day!

June 27^th, motors started at 5:35.  Away from the dock at 5:45.  Beautiful Morning with a light haze.  We say 1 more alligator!  Who knew there were alligators this far north????  A barge had passed Bobby’s at 3:30AM and rocked us a bit but no traffic on the river until afternoon and then we passed a series of barges.  We had to wait a bit for “Jane Ann Blessing” to come around a sharp turn before we passed.  Sunny afternoon and warm.  Met S/V Vanguard coming downstream at 2:30.  Arrived at Demopolis Lock at 5:10 and waited a short time for the lockmaster to turn the chamber around.  Entered at 5:35, doors closed at 5:36, doors opened at 5:48.  Got to Demopolis Yacht Basin at 6:20 and fueled (161 gal for $599.92)  2748 HRS.  Mileage was not all that great but we had run really hard the first day to get to Bobby’s before they closed at 9PM.  There was a serious looking storm cloud heading toward us as we pulled away from the fuel dock to get to a slip for the night.  I noticed a problem with the port transmission engaging and then I really screwed up docking as I left the dog dawn starboard motor in gear and jumped off the boat.  Craig and I really struggled with the lines until it dawned on me I had left the boat in gear.  Sometimes I wonder if all the lights are on in the belfry.   After we got things sorted out I heard screaming from the next dock over…it sounded like HELP with some banging!  I asked Craig if he heard it and it took off like a shot running over to the next dock while I grabbed my phone if we needed to call for help.  Some poor guy had climbed down into his motor compartment and the strong winds from the approaching storm blew the hatch closed on him and it latched!  He was trapped in his own boat!  Craig rescued him.  What a hero!  I went below to check on the transmission.  Fluid level and smell were both okay but the transmission was a good 20 degrees hotter than the starboard transmission.  The packing on the shaft was fine though.

June 28, 2014  Up at 5AM.  Not much sleep…I worried about the port transmission most of the night.  It did not give me any thrust in gear at idle from the fuel dock.  This is the same transmission I had rebuilt in Key West a couple of years ago.  After my protein shake I went below to check things out.  Fluid level and smell were both okay as they were the night before.  Color of the fluid was exactly the same as the other transmission.  I started the motor up at 6AM and it went into gear just fine.  I have zero indications of problems so I am going to continue the trip.  I had spent half the night worried I would have to leave the boat at Demopolis! 

Away from the dock at 6:30 headed for Pirates Cove.  Once we got out into the channel I checked out the efficiency of the port motor compared to the starboard motor.  It all looks good as equal speed is achieved with 75 more RPM on the port motor when using the tachs on the bridge and 50 more RPM on the tacks at the lower helm.  Since everything checks out okay I will continue to head north.  There was a fishing contest on the river this morning so we were rocked by fast boats at 5:30.  No way I am going to slow down for any of them on the way up river.  Cloudy day to start but the sun came out around 10:15.  Craig operated from the bridge while I caught up on the boat log. Passed cruiser Crystal Blue Persuasion around noon.  Arrived at Howell Heflin lock at 12:35.  I decided to try to single hand the lock and have Craig stand by to assist if I needed any help.  I drove from the lower helm and had the line to grab the bollard all set.  Everything went just fine with no problem at all so I am very confident that I can handle a lock by myself if I need to in the future.  We entered Tom Belville lock at 5:52 right on time.  Pirates Cove Marina called on the phone to see when we would arrive.  Exited the lock at 6:10 and then hustled over to the marina as a strong thunderstorm was approaching fast.  Dock hand helped us back into the slip and all went the way it is supposed to (much better than last night at Demopolis).  After I checked in at the marina office it started to storm.  I got back to the boat and secured the bimini and Craig watched for signs of strong cells.  The storm blew through pretty quick and we had a very pleasant evening.  Sardines for dinner and watched a Nascar race on the satellite TV.  2859.2 HRS

June 29^th, 2014              Up at 5AM.  I am having an issue with a leak from the tub/shower.  Dog River Marina thought it was the shower walls and chalked them up and charged me $190.00.  Problem is the tub still leaks.  I have been trying to find the source of the leak every day and last night I notice a crack in the tube near the drain for I sealed it up.  This morning I tested it to see if I have solved the problem….NOPE!  UGH!  Motors started at 5:55, away from the dock at 6:15.  Very nice morning.  Columbus lock at 9:45, Aberdeen Lock at 1PM, Amory Lock at 3:05, Wilkins Lock at 4PM, out at 4:15.  I notice the American Tug “True North” tied up at Smithsville Marina along with a 36’ American Tug with red hull.  The red boat might have been Phillis and Bud but it looked older than their boat so perhaps not.  Fulton lock had it’s doors open for us at 6PM, out by 6:15, and arrived at Midway Marina at 6:35.  Nice marina.  “George” grabbed our lines.  It got a little noisy at sunset when the locals came back to the marina in their boats after a day on the water drinking.  2871.3 HRS

June 30, 2014 Last day of being 63.  Up at 5:30.  I decided to further investigate the port transmission issue.  I decided to change transmission fluid and with Craig’s help worked below from 6AM to 7:30.  It sure is nice to have him on board to assist, especially lifting the heavy latch to get at the transmission.  We washed up and left the dock at 7:45.  When I pulled out into the channel I realized there was a north bound tow to our south.  AIS showed me we also had a south bound tow to our north and it was pretty close to the Rankin lock.  Turns out we were too far away to bet the southbound tow so we had to wait for both tows to lock through.  We turned around and went behind the Arthur J Carlson rather than get in the way at the entrance to the lock. We would have arrived at Rankin Lock at 8:30 but we had to wait until 10:40 with the Arthur J Carlson going ahead of us.  The tow Baffin Bay let us go ahead of him when in fact the commercial vessel has priority….very nice of him.  The Roger Whitiker is behind Baffin Bay.  So if Baffin Bay had jumped ahead of us and then the Roger Whitiker we never would have proceeded past Midway Marina all freaking day.  There were two cruisers (True North and unknown American Tug red hull) that had come out of Smithville trying to get north but I bet they stopped at Midway with the logjam of tows ahead of them.  Then the Corp of Engineers vessel “Tenn Tom” proceeded upstream and held us up a little also.  I called Montgomery lock to see if we could lock through with Tenn Tom…he called back and told me Tenn Tom was too big and we would not be able to fit into the lock with them.  Then the “Mary Artie Bannon” is coming downstream.  We arrived at Montgomery lock a little after noon and watched the Arthur J go up and then the Mary Artie came down.  The lock master was nice enouh to lock us through at 2PM ahead of the Baffin Bay that arrived at 1:30.  The Arthur J stopped to wait for the Alice Jane..I tried to jump ahead of him but neither the lock master or the Captain of the Arthur J would go for it.  The Captain of the Arthur J did try to get the lock master to let us lock with him at the Jamie Whitten Lock but that was a no go.  The AJC had to tie off his load on top and then come back for three more barges and the lock master would have waited for him to come back but the Captain of the AJC told him to go ahead and lock us through.  Very Very Nice!  Without that courtesy we would not have been able to make Grand Harbor.  I called Grand Harbor from the lock at 4PM when we started up to let them know it would be after 8PM when I expected to arrive.  Very sad news……The Broken Spoke Restaurant is closed.  Bummer!  We pulled into Grand Harbor just after sunset but with enough light to see just fine.  “Ron” the security guard was very friendly.  I tested the port transmission – better than before but still does not engage at pure idle.  I have to bump the throttle just a bit to get it to connect.  I think we will be okay for the rest of the trip.  Gonna shower (very hot day) and hit the sack.  2880.5 HRS

May 2014

May 1^st.  Explored Port St. Joe and Apalachicola with Melissa and Rachael (Taffy too).  I liked the junk at the “Tin Shed” in Apalachicola.  Lunch in Apalachicola then dinner at the marina.  Then the three of us went to the Haughty Heron to drink wine and listen to live music (Buddy Ham).  It was a hoot don’t chya know!

May 2^nd.  Up at 6AM eastern.  Motors started at 7AM, away from the dock at 7:20.  Missy and Rachael are driving the van to Baytowne where we will meet up.  They were not awake and slept in the van in the parking lot for a while.  Rain for the first few hours so I stayed at the lower helm.  It stopped raining by the time I got to Panama City.  Airforce Jets put on a show for me!  I took a picture of a drone coming back down via parachute!  Then there was some helicopters buzzing around.  The some Navy boats pulling a submersible something or another.  There was significant shoaling in the “Grand Canyon” from the storms on April 29^th.  The “Roger Wicker” had to tie up as he could not get through.  I met up with the dredge “Kelly L” heading over to open the channel up.  I had a great Dolphin show in Choctawhatchee Bay.  I pulled into Baytowne channel at 5:10.  Tied up at 5:40 with the girls waiting for me on the dock….it was kinda special to have them waiting for me.  2793.9 HRS.

May 3^rd.  Day at the resort.  Bike ride, paddle boards, and kayaking.  There was a 37’ Center cockpit Irwin next to us in the marina with a for sale sign on it so I called the broker and we took a look at it.  Not a liveaboard by our standards but a nice boat.  Sushi for dinner.  Very nice day.  Great location!

May 4^th.  Up at 5:10, motors started at 5:40.  Out of the slip at 5:55.  Two sleepy girls watched me leave as they headed for the van for more sleep.  Beautiful sunrise!  Dolphins greeted me in the channel.  I talked to Stan on “Folly” via VHS at 7:45.  He had been in the slip next to us in Port St. Joe and left a day ahead of us.  I passed Navarre Beach at 9:30…I would like to anchor out there some day.  I heard on the VHS the Coast Guard was going out to rescue “Stray Cat”.  Later “Tom B ox” called the USCG to report they were adrift in the Gulf.  The CG called Boat US for them and they tied off to an oil platform to wait for a tow.  Nice sunny Sunday afternoon so lots of traffic with a couple of tows.  Mobile Bay had a light chop of 2’ to the beam so Missy would not have like the ride.  I pulled into Dog River Marina at 7:10 PM with Missy just arriving after dropping Rachael off at the airport.  2806.8 HRS.

I am having Dog River Marina replace my fresh water tanks under the bunk in the aft cabin.  I hope to be back the end of the month to continue north.

April 2014

Missy and I headed back to Ft. Meyers with the van on April 21^st.  Darrell and I are going to a Commercial Vehicle Training Association conference in St. Petersburg the 24^th, 25^th, and 26^th.  It is also Missy’s Birthday on the 24^th.  Darrell and Julie flew into Ft. Meyers the afternoon of the 23^rd and we met them at the airport. 

Thursday April 24^th, Missy’s 55^th Birthday.  We all drove up to St. Petersburg first thing in the morning (8AM is mid morning for me).  Darrell and I went to the morning conference meetings and then we all had lunch at the marina in St. Pete.  I went back to the conference and Darrell hung out with the girls.  We drove back to Ft. Meyers and had a nice dinner at an Italian restaurant. 

I had a diver clean the bottom first thing Friday morning (25^th) then we ran over to Ft. Meyers Yacht Basin to fuel (136 gal at 2738.5 HRS).  We left Ft. Meyers at 11:20 and headed down river to the Gulf ICW.  Lots and lots of boats…it was like Lake Minnetonka!  We wanted to stop at Cabbage Key but they were at capacity with a fishing tournament.  Charlotte Harbor was nice and calm so Missy was very comfortable.  We picked up some dolphins toward the end of the harbor and they entertained the group.  I timed the swing bridge at Bocha perfectly for a 4:30 opening.  Then we arrived at Palm Island Marina at 5:15.  The dock hands were very helpful as we had a stiff breeze blowing us into the dock.  2744.3 HRS.  Dinner at the restaurant at the marina.

April 26^th  We left Palm Island at 6:55 and arrived at Gulfport Municipal Marina at 4:15.  Nice day on the water…very warm when we docked as the breeze while traveling kept it comfortable.  Darrell and I took a cab to the St. Pete airport and picked up a rental car.  We drove back to the marina and picked up the girls, then drove to Ft. Meyers to get the van.  Then we took the rental car back to the Ft. Meyers airport.  Dinner at Applebees on the way back to Gulfport.  Back on the boat at midnight.

April 27^th.  Up at 7am – Lots to do to get ready for our crossing of the Gulf of Mexico tonight.  Darrell helped me fix the nav lights.  Washed and pumped up the dingy (life raft!).  I hooked up the night vision camera.  Missy and Julie went to town to provision.  Darrell, Julie, and I left the dock at 11:45.  Missy is driving the van and will meet us the next day in Port St. Joe.

The weather is acceptable for the crossing…not perfect but well within the safe range.  We got waked significantly on the way to Clearwater in the GICW.  There are some real clowns driving boats in Florida!  We stopped at the Clearwater Municipal Marina for fuel….73.8 gal 2757.5 HRS.

We are off!  Left the fuel dock at 3:30 and crossed under the bridge into the Gulf at 4PM.  Darrell and Julie have the first watch from 4 to 8PM.  I took over watch at 8PM for four hours.  There were several boats around….beautiful sunset, mile chop.  Darrell and Julie took over at Midnight.  I came back on watch at 4AM.  Julie went below right away but Darrell stayed on the bridge with me until 5:30…he wanted to see the sunrise.  It was a little cloudy so he went below before it came up.  The wind started to pick up around 6AM (just as predicted) and the waves built to 2 feet.  At sunrise (7AM) it picked up even more and the sea built to 3 feet.  I increased speed to try to smooth out the ride but the sea was confused so it did not help much.  It was difficult to maintain a steady heading.

Darrell and Julie came up around 8:30.  I stayed at the helm until we made it in through East Pass and rejoined the Intercoastal at 10AM.  Darrell took the helm while I took a nap for an hour.  He stayed at the helm all the way to the canal heading to Port St. Joe.  We arrive at 3:45 with an easy tie up at the end of their dock.  2782.1 HRS.  Washed the boat, took a shower, had dinner at the marina restaurant and hit the sack.  Good trip!  Nice Marina!

April 29^th, slept in to 7AM.  Big storms – tornado warnings!  I took the bimini down and prepped for some wind.  We received tornado warnings on our cell phones so we took shelter at the marina building.  At noon we took Darrell and Julie to Panama City to get a rental car so they could drive home.  Back to the boat and did laundry while eating shrimp and drinking wine at the marina restaurant!

April 30^th…lazy day…raining and thunderstorms all day.  We drove to Mobile AL late afternoon to pick Rachael up at the airport.  Returned to the boat at 1:15AM.

February and March 2014

I flew back down to Ft. Meyers in February to check on the boat.  I hung out a few days and picked up a VW Jetta for Josh then drove home.

I flew back down in March to check on the boat and help out Kerm Wold.  He had a stoke while on his boat in the Bahamas and he need a place to stay stateside for a couple of weeks.  I sent him a key overnight but to the wrong address so Sabrina from the Marina was kind enough to climb in the boat through a window (at my request) to let Kerm and his wife Chris in. The two of them stayed on the boat for a couple of days and then Chris headed back to the Bahamas.  I showed up the next day to make sure Kerm was not being left along while he recovered.

I looked around for a new vehicle and found a 2001 Chevy conversion van with 34,000 miles on it that I purchased. On Saturday March Kerm’s brother in law, Joe Hauser (who lives near by) called Kerm and said “Let’s go to Sebring!”  So off we went on a short road trip with my new van. On Tuesday I started the drive home.

January 2014

2014 BOAT LOG

Melissa, Taffy, and I spent the first week of 2014 hanging out in Sarasota.  I futzed on a few small boat projects while Melissa continued to heal.  The weather was nice until Jan 6^th when it became windy and cold.

Jan 8^th…time to head south.  We plan on leaving the boat in Ft. Meyers when we fly back to Minnesota for the birth of Josh and Lisa’s first child. Took on 60 gal of fuel at Marina Jacks at 8AM and left the dock at 8”30.  Cold overcast day with some sprinkles so we might as well motor rather than hang around inside in Sarasota.  With the additional Garmin at the lower helm we stayed warm and comfortable.  I checked out the conditions outside the intracoastal at Venice but it was too much for Melissa so we ducked back inside for the rest of the trip.  The extra miles of using the GICW would not allow us to get all the way to Ft. Meyers.  After debating options we decided to shoot for Cabbage Key.

We had to wait a bit for the swing bridge to open at Boca Grande.  As soon as we turned into the beginning of Charlotte Harbor the wind really picked up and it got a little rocky.  A short while later I heard a clunk up on the fly bridge.  I went up to investigate and found the Bimini coming apart from the cross wind.  I struggled to get it secured without killing myself or grounding the boat.

Charlotte Harbor was too rough for Missy and Taffy.  They huddled in the aft cabin while we bounced around for 30 or 40 minutes.  I feel so bad for Missy when it is choppy and I wish I had 60k for a stabilizer system.

We pulled into Cabbage Key at 4PM.  Dock Master Jeff was very helpful getting us tied up in the wind. 2732.2 Hrs

The binimi will need some repair so I took it down.  We are looking forward to a nice dinner and an easy day tomorrow of 45 miles.  We had the restaurant to ourselves and the meal was fantastic!  We need to go back!

Jan 9^th…Had coffee in the restaurant and put some dollar bills on the ceiling.  They estimate they have $80,000 in 1s taped to the ceiling and walls.  About 10% falls down every year and they donate it to a charity.  We grabbed some smoked salmon for lunch on our trip south…..best smoked salmon EVER!  Lots of boat traffic but mild weather so just cruised along.  We arrived at Legacy Harbor at 2:30.  I washed the boat after checking in….very nice marina.  Dinner on board.  2736.9 HRS

Missy and I hung out in Ft. Meyers for a few days.  Nice but not as nice as Sarasota.  I kayaked and biked every day.  We flew home on Jan 12^th to be home in time for the new baby!

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!