Wednesday march 23 2011
Today we had every intention of leaving early for the first leg of our journey to north Florida. Ha.. Guess what.. We woke up to dense FOG ,in Florida!!! Oh boy, shades of things to come, I hope not. So we will wait for a hour or so & this gives me time to start this blog, which I have been intending to do for 4 weeks. Lazy ,lazy,lazy.
Our trip from Nova Scotia was uneventful. 4 days of driving , the only highlight being one sloppy morning, rain, snow & slop on the roads & the drivers in Massachusetts playing bumper cars , off in the ditches, up to their axles in snow banks. Not a snow tire to be seen. I guess snow doesn’t happen very often around Boston!!
Warm Rain had weathered the summer & winter very well. Apart from a ripped & shredded boat cover & a birds nest or two, all she needed was a VERY good scrub & she was good to go.
Of course ,all the systems have to be checked, oiled & greased, and everything to be unpacked from the vacuum bags & stowed, & then we go shopping for supplies. The boat slowly sinks deeper in the water as we pile on the essentials .
Today we had every intention of leaving early for the first leg of our journey to north Florida. Ha.. Guess what.. We woke up to dense FOG ,in Florida!!! Oh boy, shades of things to come, I hope not. So we will wait for a hour or so & this gives me time to start this blog, which I have been intending to do for 4 weeks. Lazy ,lazy,lazy.
Our trip from Nova Scotia was uneventful. 4 days of driving , the only highlight being one sloppy morning, rain, snow & slop on the roads & the drivers in Massachusetts playing bumper cars , off in the ditches, up to their axles in snow banks. Not a snow tire to be seen. I guess snow doesn’t happen very often around Boston!!
Warm Rain had weathered the summer & winter very well. Apart from a ripped & shredded boat cover & a birds nest or two, all she needed was a VERY good scrub & she was good to go.
Of course ,all the systems have to be checked, oiled & greased, and everything to be unpacked from the vacuum bags & stowed, & then we go shopping for supplies. The boat slowly sinks deeper in the water as we pile on the essentials .
Our neighbours in the funky little marina in Indiantown are very friendly, & stand guard one on each side of the entry channel. Anyone for a swim?The marina is 30 miles inland ,up the Okeechobee waterway which goes from Stuart on the east coast all the way across the state to Fort Myers on the west coast. A safe place to leave a boat & some of our Baddeck neighbours spend the winter here also . Jack & Jean Thiele have a winter home here & Bruce & Peggy Anderson are just up the road in their beautiful new RV at Okeechobee. This is cowboy country & is a side of Florida that most people never see. There are huge cattle herds here, hence cowboys with the full gear & stores to buy it in. You have never seen a big variety of boots ,stetsons jeans, chaps etc, & rodoes every few weeks.
We met for golf & dinner.. Lots of fun. We also took the time to see a ball game. Spring training in full swing, so we saw the Mets beat the Red Sox & ate $5 hot dogs & drank $10 beer.
As I write this we are sitting in the mooring field in Stuart . There is a big new beautiful marina here with showers, sitting room with TV, internet hook ups, right next door to the old town of Stuart, with some lovely little stores, a theatre (live performances not movies ), so lots to do & see. Also golf at very cheap rates at the country club, so we are very comfortable for the whole winter if we like!! But the weather is good & its time to think about moving north.
