Prepared for Isaac

What a beautiful sky!

Spending the day at Cocoa Beach

A camper or a boat - maybe both!

Shining up the Whaler - making it his...

Judy giving us a performance

Fishin' instead of just a wishin'

It's not always sunshine in the sunshine state!

There's a storm a brewin'

After the storm - a double rainbow!

To answer all your texts and postings regarding Hurricane Isaac - I want to say that we are prepared.  We are still in Cocoa Village Marina which has breakwaters on all sides.  We are about 12 miles or so from the Atlantic with the ICW in between us.  We have put out extra lines and have readied NautiNell the best we can.  Locals around here say that we shouldn't have much to worry about.  It looks like the brunt of the storm is going mostly to the west so that should help us out immensely.  We should get some wind but mostly just rain.  Last week we rode out two different storms that had winds clocked at 82 mph.  Isaac is only producing 65 mph as of now.  So the bottom line is - we should be okay.  We really do appreciate all your concerns.  That being said though - this Midwest girl is still pretty nervous!

In the last few weeks we have been having a great time here at Cocoa Village.  Last weekend there was a concert in the park.  We didn't know the bands but we thought we'd check it out anyway.  We went over in the "Whaler" so we didn't have to pay for tickets.  The bands were "Rebelution", "Pacifyre" and "Expendables".  Mean anything to you?  Not to us either....  :-)  They had a little reggae sound to them.  Very young and billed themselves as Modern Reggae.  Whatever that is.....  Anyway, they weren't bad and the price was right for us.  We enjoyed the evening sitting out in the new Whaler under the stars.

We've met another couple who has their boat here.  They are from the Kansas City area!  Go figure!  They also have a car here and invited us to go to the beach with them one day.  It was a beautiful day and we really enjoyed it.  They've also offered us rides to the grocery, etc.  That definitely beats the bus rides!  We have really enjoyed visiting with them.  Not sure what their plans are for now.  They aren't "full-timers" yet.  They have to go back to KC soon for a few months.

I've started going to Zumba!  It's really a fun time.  Gets me out and about - and helps work off all those cocktails!  LOL!  I didn't realize just how bad a shape I've gotten myself into!

Every Wednesday there is a Farmer's Market in the Village.  It's really a great place to get fresh veggies and fruits.  I haven't missed a Wednesday yet!

We have a little excitement here the other day after a storm came through.  One of the electric pedestals on the dock over from us caught fire.  The flames were at least 4 feet high!  Some think it was struck by lightning but we didn't hear it strike.  I think that would have been one heck of a noise.  The boat that was plugged into it luckily didn't have any damage.  Quick thinking on the part of a guy who was cleaning the bottom of another boat close by helped that.  He grabbed an extinguisher and got it out pretty fast.  Still was rather unnerving though.   Always something................!

There is another couple here that has traveled to Trinidad several times.  They have lots of interesting stories and she has even learned to play the steel drums.  She put on a little performance for us the other night.  That was cool.  We just love the sound of the steel drums.  Mike wanted to get his "percussion section" out that he has on the boat but I was able to distract him.  Luckily!  HA!

Last night we went to the local Elks Lodge.  We have been there a couple of times for drinks but they were having their Saturday night steak dinner so we headed up there on our bikes to check it out.  It turned out to be quite a fun night.  The people there are very friendly and have welcomed us into their Lodge.  In fact, they were having a drawing for $1000.  They were raising money to purchase the NFL package for the lodge and were selling 100 tickets a $20 each.  They split the pot and the winner got a $1000.  That was pretty good odds so we, of course, bought a ticket.  After dinner they started the drawing and can you believe it!  WE WON!!  We won a $1000 bucks!  We bought the house a round and everyone wanted to be our friend.  That was so fun!  Now I'm trying to figure out what to do special with the money.  Hmmm!  A trip to the Mall?  Just kidding....!!

Well, it's raining a little now and the wind has picked up.  The Weather Channel keeps telling us that we should get some storms around early evening.  Guess I better go around and give NautiNell one last check.

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I wasn't able to get this to the blog - so I'm adding a little before I try again...

We spent Sunday hanging out waiting to see what was going to happen with the weather.  We got a little rain but not much of anything else. 

Jeff and Linda (Jeremiah) stopped by on their way home to Venice from a trip to Pennsylvania.  We walked up to the local Pizza and Wing Pub.  It was really good to visit with them and to get out of the boat!!  HA!

Now it's Monday and we are getting hammered with the rain.  The wind is blowing but not too bad yet.  It looks like the worst will be headed to New Orleans.  On the anniversary of Katrina, no less.

We are sitting here waiting for the weather to finally clear off.  Maybe tomorrow??

Till next time!

Admiral "C"