Our TIme in Ft Pierce - Summer 2015

Happy Birthday!

Very nice scenic area

One of the bands at Archie's on a
lazy Sunday afternoon

Bill and Patty coming in
for a visit!

On a scooter cruise -
one of the beautiful parks here
in Ft Pierce

A little blues goin' on
at the
12A Buoy Bar and Grill

Not sure who this guy is but he must be important
He traveled with an entourage.
They went out every morning on the Arrr Booty which
is a treasure hunting boat

His crew filming the adventure

They had quite a boat load.
Hope they found treasures!

Tiffany Ashton
I predict we'll be seeing more of her -
she's quite a country singer

Gathering up for a party!

This is the scene about every weekend

Beautiful sunrise!

Beach in Faber Cove

We made it to Ft Pierce on June 3 after spending the past two months in the Bahamas.  We are glad to be back “home in the USA” but we already miss the islands.  We pretty much spent the first week back here just recuperating.  We had been in vacation mode and now we need to get to doing what needs to be done so we can travel north.

Our first item to check off our list was to go to Marathon to get the silver bullet (our car).  So Tuesday, June 9, we rented a car to go pick it up.  The marina there was pretty much deserted.  However, we did get to visit with Mike on Calypso Poet.  It was nice to catch up on things.  Looking forward to another fun filled winter there in a few months!

We met a couple here through MTOA – Todd and Lorri.  Their boat is on the hard here in Ft Pierce having some work done.  They’ve only owned it a few months and it’s yet to be in the water!  They’re getting anxious! 

The second item on our list was to replace our refrigerator.  Mike found a bargain at the local Sears, of course.  We moved over to the gas dock and were able to get the old one out and the new one installed without any problems!  It’s a full sized home refrigerator so that took some doing – on Mike’s part anyway.  A big thank you to the delivery guys who helped load and unload the new and the old one.  We were back in our slip in no time!  AND so far it’s working like a jewel…..  J

After a couple of weeks of taking care of things and getting back to “normal” - we headed out on a road trip back to Joplin.  It had been way too long since we’d seen our family and friends.  I was anxious to get my hands on those grandbabies!  We were gone from NautiNell just over two weeks.  What a whirlwind that was!  We caught up with friends and I got to be Grandma for a few days.  It was way too short though.  Hopefully it won’t be so long between visits next time.  We’re tentatively planning to go back again in October. 

We’ve spent most of the time here exploring by dinghy.  We’re close to the inlet here and there are some nice beach areas.  There is a fun little place called “Little Jim’s Bait and Tackle” on the water.  It’s a funky little place that we like.  Of course, there is Archie’s Seabreeze, Taco Dive, 12A Buoy and several other fun places to go.  We’ve hit most of them!  Every Saturday morning there is a huge Farmer’s Market.  There is always good music there and good food.  I come home with fresh bread and produce about every time. 

Mike’s birthday was July 3 so that called for a celebration.  We went to the local Elks Lodge for prime rib.  The City also was having their monthly Friday Fest so there was a lot going on – including fireworks!  Mike always thinks the fireworks are for him anyway!  J

On the Fourth we went back to the Elks for ribs – took a dinghy ride to the beach and enjoyed the fireworks from the fly bridge.  It started raining lightly just as the fireworks began – so we were able to stay dry.  Perfect!

Patty and Bill (Conched Out Too) came in for a couple of days.  They were just coming back from the Bahamas and heading to Jacksonville.  It was a “hoot” visiting with them and hearing their stories.  We hit happy hour one night at the marina bar and had our own party on NautiNell the next night.  We hated to see them go.  They tried to get us to leave with them but we weren’t quite ready to head out yet.  They told us of an area called Faber Cove where there is a good anchorage. So we checked it out in the dinghy.  Nice area and also a nice beach there.  We’ll remember that when we’re heading south and back this way again.

We’ve been spiffing up NautiNell and taking care of a few things while we’ve been here.  Just for example here’s a short list - new fridge, new stereo for the dinghy (to replace the one that got swamped in the Bahamas), new phone and new camera,  new carpet for the fly bridge, parts for the Auto Helm, waxed the boat and painted the blue stripe and batteries for the inverter – whew!  - just a few things!  Some are complete and we’re still working on a few.   Hopefully there won’t be anything major added to our list before we leave!

We plan to head north to Norfolk the end of July which is only about a week away.  Hopefully we’ll make it there in 3-4 weeks. We’ll be finally crossing our wake in Norfolk where we started the Great Loop!  We started that “big circle” in 2011!   Obviously we haven’t been in a really big hurry!  We’ll probably hangout on the Chesapeake for the month of September and then start our trek south to the Keys sometime in October. 

Stay tuned!

Till next time!

Admiral “C”