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| This never gets old! |
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| They always want to play! |
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| Still playing |
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| Getting ready for a feast! |
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| Happy Halloween feast! |
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| What a great costume! |
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| Enjoying some Home Cookin' |
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| Mama and baby |
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| Unique crowd for Home Cookin' |
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| Beautiful sky |
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| Collecting sunsets |
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| Peaceful evening |
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| Dinghy ride to the beach |
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| What a nice day! |
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| Supermoon over the harbor |
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| Here we go again! |
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| Giving her a once over |
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| We came dressed as "boaters" for Halloween! |
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| The marina put on a spread for Halloween |
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| Listening to our fav band! |
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| Different type of venue! But fun! |
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| They call him FLIPPER! |
Here’s what we’ve been doing while we wait…… We voted!
Whoopee!
There was a Halloween Party here at the marina. It was pretty low key – not many people here
who actually stay on their boats.
However, it was still fun! The
marina furnished chili which was really good!
There were some kids in their costumes and course, some pets. We weren’t up to doing costumes this
time. We passed on our pirates get-up
and came dressed at “transients”! That
worked!
Later we went to Captain Bill’s again to hear our favorite
band, Home Cookin’. It’s always a great
escape from the boat issues. It’s nice
to relax and kick back. They’re a great
bunch of guys. I think we’ve become
groupies! They know our names now! HA! I
wish they could get together with some local musicians from back home – now
that would be a show!
We really need to get back in our actual slip instead of
being tied next to it. Plus, we really
want to take her out one more time – this could be our last time (by ourselves,
anyway). Trying to think positive! The
winds just won’t let up though! Finally,
later on this afternoon (10/30/16) it settled down along with the tide. We took her out to Three Rookers Island
(sandbar). It’s a nice anchorage close
by. It’s a local hangout on the weekends but since it’s a late Sunday afternoon
we should be all by ourselves. Along the
way a line came loose that was helping hold the whaler in its cradle. We almost drowned the thing before we
realized it. We had to shut things down
and fix that before we could go on. AND
we really were wanting to see a great sunset – nope, the clouds moved in. We’ve been told there are sharks that hang
out around the island but we didn’t get a chance to see them either. And by the time we were all settled in we
realized it was a new moon which means “no moon”. It was as dark as coalie’s hole! We grilled some turkey tenderloins – enjoyed
the night – even though we rolled a lot.
It was nice to be out of the marina.
Happy Halloween! We
were up early so we could hopefully get back in our slip before the winds
picked up again. After almost 6 years of
being on this boat we’ve only had one other place that we couldn’t get in a
slip. ONE! In other words, this doesn’t
happen to us! We came in and things
looked good but looks can be deceiving.
We tried several times and still couldn’t get in. SO we tied up alongside again. That was ok, right? That’s where we had been
yesterday! We had no longer tied up and the office
informs us that it was a good thing we didn’t go into the slip because it was
no longer ours! Did that happen overnight!!! Oh no, someone was supposed to tell us that
they have someone coming in there in a few days. But we could stay out alongside. Only three days ago we were told that we
couldn’t stay alongside and needed to get back into our slip and that we had
that slip through December! Everyone
here is really nice, but their line of communication sucks! SO there we were on the outside and very
close to the slip that we can’t get into.
Now what if the next guy has the same problem?? Mike decided to talk to the “marina director”
to see just what options we might have.
Low and behold, she came up with another place. Just south across the fairway from where we
are now but the dock is quite a bit longer so we won’t be sticking out and we
won’t be close to the slip that seems to cause everyone a problem.
So this morning we untied from our spot alongside C Dock and
“drifted over” to a spot alongside B Dock.
This is much better. Hopefully,
they won’t change their minds again and want us somewhere else! I’m not sure there are any other places we’d
fit! The place is filling up fast due to
Loopers crossing the Gulf.
Also, for the last couple of days, Mike has been helping a
guy who is here in the marina. He has a
fabricating shop in Clearwater and has built a 10’ x 30’ barge inside his shop
and needs to get it out and over to its new owner. Now that’s a first for Mike and I think for
Eric, too! They got the job done. However, I’ve been told it wasn’t easy!! It weighed over 8000 pounds and they had to
move it only inches at a time! So
needless to say, he was tired when he got back to the boat. We hung out and watched the 7th
game of the World Series – watching the Cubs end their long streak of being
losers. Darn!
We just got a call for our agent – Greg. We’re scheduled for a sea trial and survey on
November 11. We will be going to Pitman
again in Tarpon Springs for the haul out.
Only this time we are going up the night before so “everyone” won’t be
tagging along with us for the trip there.
This way it should be a lot shorter “timewise” for the sea trial and
survey than the last one! Get them on,
get them off – per Greg. We’ll see. We’ve reserved a slip at Turtle Cove in
Tarpon for Thursday night. Hopefully
this will work out better. Again, we’re
excited but not counting our chickens!
Patty and Bill (Conched Out Too) will be heading this way in
a couple of days. They couldn’t get in
here so they’re staying at the Dunedin Municipal Marina. It will be really good to see them! We haven’t had a chance to visit since they
left Ft Myers Beach back in the spring!
We have lots of catching up to do!
Friday (Nov 4) morning was the first Farmer’s Market of the
season. They are always interesting. We’ve been to several in several different areas,
you never know what you’re going to see.
After that we stopped at the Elks for lunch. Later on it was Happy Hour time with Bill and
Patty! We spent the evening visiting on
the back of Conched Out Too. Like ol’
times! There was even some entertainment. We spotted a 30’ boat floundering out beside
Conched Out. Turns out someone was in
his slip and he wasn’t happy. But that
wasn’t all! One of his motors was down
and he had no power steering. Oh yeah,
and he was drunk as a skunk. Mike and
Bill tried to get him over to the dock but he had no lines. What he had was at
his slip, he repeatedly told us. It just goes on and on…..! Finally he got close enough that they were
able to grab his boat using boat hooks. After they got him tied up using extra
lines of Bill’s and he then fell in the water!
Luckily he didn’t hurt himself and he came up sputtering. He then went toward the restaurant, I assume
to find out who was in his slip. Later
on, we heard “Ahoy Mates”! He was back
in his boat and needed help from us to untie.
The boat had moved and he was going to go to his slip after all. Bless his heart!! J
Saturday Bill and Mike went over to the huge marine salvage
yard that is here. After that Mike and I
went to a couple of yard sales and then had lunch at the Sandbar. Later on William and Judy decided to drive up
from Bradenton to visit with us! So we
met them along with Bill and Patty at the Hog Island Fish Camp for Happy
Hour! Then we took them all to hear our
favorite local band. This time they
weren’t playing in a bar. They were
playing at a type of flea market called Antiques ‘N Uniques! It was definitely unique! We all had a great time! I’m going back to that place next week. There were definitely some “unique” things I
want to check out. After all, I will be
decorating my home in Joplin again one of these days!
Sunday we met Bill and Patty at the 53rd Annual Art Fest. There were lots of vendors with lots of
things to see. We hung out there for a
while but soon we decided to go to the American Legion. After all there we could visit with $1.00
drafts instead of $5.00 ones! We had a
great time visiting – lots of laughter!
Monday morning I went back to Antiques ‘N Uniques like I
promised. There is so much to see! No purchases yet, but I’ll be back! We had an engine guy here to check out our
diesels. We needed to get them checked
out after the first surveyor’s report.
All is good – pretty much what we expected! Now we’re ready for the next one. Although it’s been put off another week till
Friday, November 18! Oh well……. We “celebrated” the good news about the
motors by going out to dinner at Cricketers.
Hopefully things just may be turning around in our favor. We’ll see!
Tuesday, of course, was Election Day. I’m so glad this will finally be over. So tired of this stress and negativity. No matter how it comes out – it will be done! (or so we thought)
Wednesday turned out to be a little cool so I put on a pot
of chili and dug out a long sleeve shirt!
We have definitely become Floridians these past years. I even went to Beall’s to find me a pair of
shoes that aren’t flip flops! My toes
are cold! LOL!
Mike has spent most of his time these past few days fixing
the little stuff and spiffing her up for her next inspection. We’re now just waiting till next week to see
what happens!
Happy Veteran’s Day!
Today we decided to replace the inverter batteries since they were
testing marginal. We want everything on NautiNell to be ready for the “new
buyers”. (Keeping our fingers crossed). So after having lunch at Chili’s (a free lunch
for Mike!), we headed to the nearest Sam’s Club which is in Clearwater. New batteries may not sound like such a big
job – but those suckers are heavy!
Especially when you have to lift the four old ones out of the engine
room, haul them to the car in a cart, take them in to Sam’s and then do the
reversal with the new ones. It wasn’t
bad for me but Mike had to do all the lifting!
Anyway we got that taken care of so we were off on another road trip to
Land O Lakes – about an hour drive.
Hurricane Hermine swept away our life ring sometime during the height of
the storm. We didn’t notice it for a few
days. A life ring is a pretty important
part of our safety equipment. Mike found
a new one on Craigslist for half the price of ones in the stores so off we
go. Now the best part is the place was a
gated community so we had to check in at the gate. We called the guy when we got close for
better directions. No big deal – but
during his directions he just happened to mention “now this is a clothing
optional resort, so you’re possibly going to see naked people once you’re in
the gate”! How do we get into these
things! As it turns out we did see a few
topless women but that was about it. We
bought our life ring and headed out. Of
course, Mike wanted to keep driving around a bit but I made him head towards
the gate – away from the “Clubhouse/Pool!
LOL!
Sunday, November 13 we decided to take a dinghy ride out to
Caladesi and Honeymoon Islands. The beaches are so pretty and it was a
beautiful day. The water has definitely
become colder but it was still an enjoyable ride.
We spent the next couple of days with Mike still spiffing
her up. There is always something to do...
Oh and of course we made it to the Elks Lodge again for Taco Monday! It’s really been cold here! Well, compared to the Keys anyway. We’re usually on our way south by now!
On Thursday, November 17 we headed up to Turtle Cove Marina
in Tarpon Springs. It’s only for one
night but it’s nice to have a change of scenery. Our agent thought it would be easier for us
to be there rather than the surveyors come to us. SO we got to the marina about 3:00. We took a short break and then it was off to
the Sponge Docks again. We decided to
splurge for some authentic Greek food at Hellas Café. Mike had lamb and I had Moussaka. We weren’t disappointed! Oh and we shared the best Baklava! We should have had some Ouzo but we
passed. Opa! We walked around a little but got back to the
boat pretty early. After all it’s going
to be a busy day tomorrow.
Friday, November 18
Big Day! Again! We were up at 6:30. Everyone was here by 8:00 a.m. or before. We had the future “buyer”, three surveyors,
the agent on board. That’s a total of
seven! It wasn’t all that bad this
time. They did what they needed to do,
then we were off to the haul out by 10:30.
That took about an hour so we were off to the sea trial which can be
very stressful but it didn’t seem as bad as last time. We even had a visit by several dolphins! They played in our wake for quite some time!
We dropped off everyone back at Turtle Cove Marina and then
headed back to our home slip in Dunedin.
What a nice quiet ride back with just the two of us. Who knows if this is our last ride in
NautiNell! Maybe – or maybe not! We’ll see.
We made it back in time for Happy Hour.
We were so tired when we got back we pretty much just collapsed! Now it’s just a matter of waiting. The buyer will want to review the
findings. Those results won’t be ready
till sometime the first of the week.
We both felt better Saturday morning after a good night’s
sleep. We’ve done all we can so the
pressure is pretty much off. There was a
huge Arts and Crafts Festival here in Dunedin so I dragged Mike to check it
out. We had lunch at Flanagan’s. He did
pretty good walking around with me but I finally told him to go have a cold
beer at Skip’s and I’d see the rest by myself.
He had no problem with that!
We spent the next few days killing time and trying to stay
warm! A cold front came through here and
it was pretty chilly on the boat! We
spent Sunday holed up with our electric heater watching the Nascar Championship
Race. Monday we found the Mall where
Mike could get his sunglasses fixed. I
talked him into eating at the Food Court.
Ha! That is definitely not his
thing. We’re getting to know some of the
Loopers that have come in. We’re having
a potluck on Thanksgiving. It looks like there will be about a dozen of
us. It’s a little smaller than the ones we’ve
been to in Marathon but it should be fun!
We’re still waiting on the decision from the “buyer”. Nothing like just waiting - and trying to figure out what you’re going to
do next! Oh and the dates have been amended again to December 9. Sheeh!
Thanksgiving went as planned! We had ten people and way too much food. At least we all took home leftovers! It’s days like this that we all reflect on
just how thankful we should be. Mike and
I are so thankful for our family and our friends. These past six years on NautiNell have been
wonderful. We’ve met so many new
friends. Friends that we now consider
part of our family. We love the life we’re
living.
Stay tuned!
Admiral “C”
