Good Day, Good Water, Good Friends, Good Food and Good Times

We really enjoyed our stay at Sunset Bay Marina in Stuart, FL.  Yesterday we walked into the Old Town section of Stuart and explored all the shops and eateries (ice cream) and took a walk along the fitness path at the water's edge.  Next morning we dinghied the garbage ashore and brought back a 10-lb bag of ice from the Ships Store.  After securing Jazzy on the stern we fired up Viridian, slipped our lines off Red #68 mooring ball and idled out to the channel to call the Old Roosevelt Bascule Lift Bridge to request an opening.  A train was crossing the channel on the track just below the lift bridge so we had to wait for that to clear.  But soon both bridges were opened, and Viridian passed through and turned south for the St. Lucie Inlet to the Atlantic Ocean where we passed last Fall on our way to Key West; this time we turned to port and pointed the bow north.  The water was that perfect viridian color, and for the first time in quite a while we were not sailing directly into the sun.  Our eyes celebrated the squint-free view of our northward bearing, as everything looked sharp and brightly lit by the sun that was now on our stern.

Today's passage took us 31 miles to Ft. Pierce, FL, where we found a nice protected hole called Fabor Cove to drop our hook.  We are sharing this great anchorage with 5 other vessels, none of which are Loopers.  As it turned out, several of our Looper friends were docked just across the channel at Ft. Pierce City Marina, so we contacted them and we all met on board Unruly with the crew of Dash Away and Good Life.  War stories were exchanged at the docktales gathering on Dock A, as we heard of Bahamas Island cruising and the never- ending stories of boat maintenance issues.  We really enjoyed getting back together with some of our Looping mates we haven't seen for months.

As the tide began to turn we said our goodbyes, as it was time for the crew of Viridian to get into our dinghy and make our way back across the channel 2.5 miles to where our ship lay at anchor.  The channel water was pretty choppy but as soon as we entered our cove it flattened out and we glided back to our floating home on the water.

That's the news and here's the views:

We are here

Today's Passage from Stuart, FL to Ft. Pierce, FL

Our well protected anchorage location in Fabor Cove

Early morning in the mooring field at Stuart, FL

Busy, busy, busy at the turnaround at St. Lucie Inlet

This will be our heading for the next few months

Passing northbound sailboats heading home for the summer

Other boats sharing our anchor location

Local wildlife checking us out

Great scenery

"Docktales" with Looper Friends

Evening on the hook

A Long Way to Go and a Long Time to Get There

Viridian left Moore Haven City Docks at first light this morning and passed through the Moore Haven Lock just under the bridge and around the bend.  The starboard lock door would not open, but we had plenty of room to enter.  After the 4-ft lift, Viridian eased through the rising fog along the canal that rims Lake Okeechobee and headed for the channel that eventually crosses the lake.  Alligators were thick as fleas in this area and were slinking along the banks, only to slowly sink out of sight once we got by them.  There were no other vessels in the area, and the springtime bird show was in full chorus, giving us all kinds of calls and tweets as we passed by.

By the time we got to the crossing channel, the fog had lifted, giving way to a bright blue sky.  Large smoke plumes that looked like mushroom clouds lined the distant banks of the lake where sugar cane fields were being burned before harvesting the stalks.  The water on Okeechobee was almost like glass.  There was no wind today, making our crossing extra smooth.

The lock at Port Mayaca on the eastern side of Lake O. was fully open.  The doors on both ends of the lock were open since the water level was the same on both sides of the dam.  We just cruised right through without stopping.  The passage from Port Mayaca to Port St. Lucy, FL up the St. Lucy River was kind of like the Tenn-Tom, pretty remote until we got close to Stuart.

After our 70-mile passage, we found Red # 68 mooring ball that had a proper tether attached to it, and Meg snagged it with one try and had us secured in no time.  We launched Jazzy and putted over to the Ships Store to check in and get the combos to all the facilities, came back to Viridian to eat a bite of supper, then off again in Jazzy to walk the docks looking for other Loopers and checking out the boats docked at Sunset Marina.  We will stay here two nights to get laundry done and see what there is in the town of Stuart, FL.

That's the news and here are a few views.

We are here

Today's passage from Moore Haven, FL to Stuart, FL

Misty morning start leaving Moore Haven Lock

Birds were everywhere

 Smooth sailing on Lake Okeechobee, FL

 Leaving Port Mayaca lock

 View from Port Mayaca to Port St. Lucy, FL

 Hanging on Red # 68 at sunset

Sunset Marina, FL

More Moore Haven

Just "Moore" Views

Dockside Moore Haven, FL

 Dressed for church

 

First Baptist of Moore Haven

Easter Lunch

The Lone Cypress tree that was used as a navigational marker 

Enjoying relaxing on the bow of Viridian.  

April Fool's  ;)

Back in Business

It was good to take a break from the Loop and reconnect with family and friends back in Alabama.  We had some good visits, good eats, helped plant a garden and even attended a retirement luncheon for one of my office mates.  Filed the ole income tax, mowed the lawn for the first time this year and burned a brush pile that I stacked up before leaving on the Loop.  Our number 2 son is keeping the house in tip-top shape, and after spending 4 1/2 months onboard Viridian, the house seemed bigger than we remembered it being.   It was good to hear the old screen door slam, a familiar sound that is missed when away, but we can also say we missed the feel of Viridian moving under us and the sights and sounds of life on the water.  I guess we have two homes now and each one is a special place

Viridian is back to 96% after the repairs done at River Forest Yacht Center, and we were glad to see her back to her old self.  The thruster is fixed, the generator leak is fixed and new water hoses installed on both the main engine and the gen-set.  Five of the six batteries passed the load test at 100% and the 6th one passed at 80%.  Provisions were purchased at the new Wal-Mart Super Center in LaBelle, FL and loaded onboard to keep us fed for the next week or so while heading east for the Atlantic ICWW.  After settling up with the boat yard foreman, we felt truly back into the swing of things and started planning our next few days of cruising that will take us back to the east coast and north to Canada.  It will take a week or so to get out of Florida, but we are in no hurry to get anywhere fast.  Our first passage today was a short 2-hour cruise from River Forest to Moore Haven, FL, a small town on the west side of Lake Okeechobee, FL.  We are docked at the Moore Haven City Docks for two days while the wind settles down across the lake before attempting a crossing.  Since tomorrow is Easter Sunday, we will visit one of the local churches here and then do some exploring.

We arrived here at lunch time and had all afternoon to clean Viridian since she was pretty dirty after sitting out in a boat yard; she was dusted with a fine gray powder that is a by-product of hull grinding and wind.  All the windows on the fly bridge had to be washed inside and out and treated with a special protective coating.  The decks were scrubbed, the upper cabin washed and all surfaces facing skyward were waxed.  Yes, the boatyard did wash her but they just took off the top layer. Now we feel like everything is back in good working order and ready for action.

Well that's the news and here are some views:

We are here

Today's Passage from River Forest Yacht Center to Moore Haven, FL

 Viridian ready for cruising

 Our old friend is back!

 Walking off some "Home Cooking"

There's nothing in the tree, just thought it looked interesting

 Dock Lighting

Pointed out

River Forest Yacht Ctr.

It's good to see the AGLCA flag back on the bow

The work never ends

View aft after leaving the dock

Back in our home away from home

Heading east 

Sounds like a good place to stop

View out the port side of Viridian, the Moore Haven City Hall, FL 

 View of Viridian from the Moore Haven City Hall

On the Road Again (Willie Nelson)

When our family traveled to Yellowstone by car, we would get up early, eat breakfast, jump in the car and George would tune his Willie Nelson cassette to  "On the Road Again".  It helped us be a little happier about driving 400 miles!  Our Rodeo was packed to the brim with the 4 of us our luggage, a cooler in the back seat between Stephen and William and a large cloth sack that was once used at William’s birthday party to have sack races in.  You remember that fun outdoor game where two people each step into a big cloth sack that comes up to their waist and they hold onto the rim and when someone yells go the two players start jumping to see who can cross the finish line first?  I love those kinds of games!  I'm getting distracted, but you can imagine how big this sack was.  George called this sack the "Food Bag".  It contained boxes of cereal, chips, bread, cookies, napkins, paper plates, etc.  Instead of stopping at the fast food restaurants, which could be scarce out west, we would make a sandwich and have chips, apples and drinks for lunch.  Sometimes we just made lunch and ate while we drove, and sometimes we would stop at a nice picnic area.   Those were the days.  Why did I title this blog “On the Road Again” you ask?   Because that song reminds me of traveling somewhere with George, and we're back on Viridian about to travel up the east coast of America the beautiful.  Except "On the Boat Again" has been playing in my mind.  AND while we were in Alabama, we got to spend a lot of fun time with Stephen, Sarah and William, and I kind of miss them and it's fun to remember those days when they were young.  We love hearing about Sarah's family vacations, too.  
  

Family night selfie!  William always loves to make a goofy face!  

We left Huntsville yesterday and flew to Atlanta, then onto Fort Myers. George's one weaknesses is Popeye's fried chicken.  And there just happened to be a Popeye's in the Atlanta airport NEAR our gate so you guessed it, we shared a 3-piece chicken dinner for lunch. But you know how all of the fresh chicken you buy at the grocery store is sooo big nowadays?  Well Popeye's gets the little, normal-sized chickens.  That was disappointing.  But I have to say; Popeye's is some of the best fried chicken I've ever eaten.  

George standing in line humming "Oh Happy Day" to himself while I hold a table

We got up this morning and drove to a brand new Wal-Mart to provision the boat.  If you're not a boat person you may wonder, like I did, what provisioning the boat means.  It just means going to the grocery store to get food, paper goods, etc.  We had 2 buggies today, and it took me several hours to put it all away.

Here's the list. 

I made a list on my iPhone before we left the boat to come home for the month and added to it as George and I thought of more things.  Then I made a paper copy of the list and broke it down into categories.  I love using a clipboard to hold my list so I can mark off each item as I put it in the buggy.  

 Our water tanks hold 200 gallons, and while we are in a marina we have access to all the water we need, but it's a little more complicated filling the tanks up than just getting the hose and filling them up.  You have to get out the special hose that is only used for drinking water.  Then you have to get the water filter attachment out and screw it onto the drinking water hose.  Then you have to attach the drinking water hose to the faucet on the dock.  You get the picture.  It's a little time consuming so I want to be as frugal with water usage as I can be.  I am very excited about my new way of washing all my vegetables and fruits when I get home from the grocery with them.  I put a large stainless bowl in my little kitchen sink and fill it about 3/4 ways full of water.  Then I put my romaine lettuce in the water for a little soak, then slosh it around, it them out to drain on a large tea towel, pull all 4 corners of the towel together, hold those corners and go outside and sling the lettuce. The water flies out (thanks Barefoot Contessa for that tip).  This is my salad spinner.  I do not like wet lettuce. I love the convenience of pre-washed lettuce, but I like the taste of home-washed lettuce better.  Romaine is such a hearty leaf lettuce that it works well for us on the boat.  It doesn't bruise easily and it lasts longer than some of the more fragile lettuces.  Then I wash all the apples, oranges, etc. in the water bowl.  It just seems to go so much faster this way.  I confess, when I'm at home, I never wash all my fruits and vegetables until I'm ready to use them, but I may start doing this when we get back.  It makes me feel so happy when I can just reach for an apple and it's already washed and ready to eat.  

Romaine is washed and packed into zip top bags with paper towels to absorb any leftover water remaining 

It was so good to see family and friends in Alabama.  There's no place like home :-)

Happy Easter everyone!