Florida: Marathon - Manatee and Farkle

Day 226

John on Nuclear Fishin' asked Clark and Ken from Friar Tuck to help him move his boat from the marina to "the hard". He is putting his boat on land for storage for a few months. As Clark headed up to meet up with John and Ken, he saw a manatee that was hanging around on our side of the Faro Blanco marina. The manatee moved through the marina from boat to boat seeing where s/he could find a drink.

Manatee on the move

Stopping for a quick drink

Several boats had water flowing out the side from running air conditioners and such, The manatee made a point of taking a drink wherever possible. They particularly like fresh water. I have been told it is bad for their kidneys, but I guess they don't know that since they seek it out and drink it whenever possible. (Water coming from running air conditioners is salt water.)

Since it was around 10:00 when Clark walked up to find John, he passed by water aerobics in full swing. They had a good crowd today as, for once, the weather was inviting for a dip in the pool. Note, however, that I am not in the pool. I did not attend water aerobics today.

Aerobics Class at Faro Blanco Marina
Moe, Trish, Liz, Jane, Ben and a few more of our friends in the pool

I decided that since Clark would be away with John for several hours that I should take advantage of his absence to get some much-needed cleaning done on the boat. I started with the dinghy cover which was just as filthy from diesel exhaust soot as the dinghy had been before I cleaned it a few days ago.

Besides the dinghy cover, I had a mountain of dishes to wash - some how they way got out of hand. I also needed to sweep the floor in the salon and clean the bathroom big time. Water aerobics would have been a lot more fun, but I definitely got my exercise today. I kept busy right up until around 1:30 or 2:00 when I finally stopped to make and eat lunch because Clark had come back.

Clark took a few pictures of his boat-moving activity.

John Gunnning at the helm of Nuclear Fishin'

With first mates Ken Roddenberry from Friar Tuck

And Clark Woodworth from Sea Moss

To get to the marina where John will keep his boat for a few months, they took the ICW towards Key West bypassed Knights Channel and then took the Moser Channel to head back east to Boot Key Harbor Inlet. Taking this route, they got a bit of a longer, but choppier, ride.

Some scenery along the way to the marina

Nuclear Fishin' on the slings ready to be lifted

and she's out of the water! So sad!

 Clark called me when the boat was out of the water to let me know they had reached their destination. He texted me periodically along the way, so I knew their progress to some limited extent. When he called, I told him I had waited to have lunch with him, so he walked back to our boat from the marina instead of stopping out somewhere to have lunch along the way.

I was just starting to make lunch when he appeared. I had been busy right up until that time with my odd jobs. Besides the boat move, the other agenda item for today was a much-needed trip to the farmer's market food stand. After finishing our lunch, we grabbed our bikes to head down to the post office, Publix, and then the farmer's market. I convinced Clark to stop for an ice cream cone since the store is in the same plaza as the post office.

Since we had a late start going to the stores, we didn't get back until after 5:00, so docktails had already started. Before we could head over there, however, I had to unpack my groceries and put away the perishables. We got over there in time to have some good conversation and some pretty fantastic views of clouds, rainbows, and the sunset.

Clouds, Pelicans, and Palm Trees

One of two rainbows that appeared simultaneously during docktails

The other rainbow that was visible at the same time as the first.

When we got to docktails, several people were already there. One person was dressed in a rather unusual manner however. Nancy was wearing a headband with two pink flowers sticking out from it. Besides the headdress, she had a magic pink wand. I asked her what the occasion was and she said that she had just been named the "Docktails Queen" (the wand was her scepter) by Anne from Morning Star. Apparently we can thank her for the fact that we even have docktails every night at 5:00 as it was her idea to make it happen. Now it is a tradition!

Deep in conversation with
Nancy from California Lady and
Jeanne from Daybreak

Clark has been doing some miscellaneous improvements to our boat. The last project that he just completed was the installation of a macerator pump for emptying the holding tank on the boat. We used to have one, but he removed it years ago. He connected the new pump to the old wiring in the boat, and it's ready for use when we need it.

The other project that he has started is the installation of an overhead light over the table in the upper helm. He purchased a steel rod that fundamentally matches the Bimini top frame. The new LED light will be attached to this stainless steel rod that will hang down from the Bimini top assembly. On occasion, in the past, we have tried to eat up there when the sun was setting. Afterwards, when it gets dark, we can hardly find the food on our plates to eat it! This new light should help and expand our nighttime living space.

After docktails and before making dinner I helped Clark measure the space for the steel bar. We decided that he needed to cut one foot of length off the 8-foot long rod before installing it. While I cooked dinner, Clark cut the metal bar down to size.

I made a grilled steak with potatoes, sauteed onions and yellow squash for dinner. As we were enjoying our meal, Bob from Knot Sew Easy stopped by to deliver us a piece of the strawberry rhubarb pie he made today. We had that for dessert. It was delicious - the perfect ending to a great meal!

After dinner and dessert, we walked over to find Bob to tell him thank you for the treat and found him on Ben and Jane's boat (Jammin Jane) with Carol and Tim from Liquid Assets playing the dice game Farkle. We did not have trouble finding him as the noise coming from Ben's boat was a dead giveaway that the action could be found right there on Jammin Jane! Next thing we knew, Clark and I were deeply embedded in the game, trying to play catch up, since the others had a big lead on playing time.

The game was loud and rowdy and lots of fun since a player could rack up a large number of points only to have the points stolen if the next player decided to try for a steal and got a lucky roll of the dice.  Maybe Ben thought we were not rowdy enough as, during the game, he pulled out the ingredients to make chocolate martinis. Clark was not interested in sampling the drink. I not only sampled but came back for seconds. Ben's chocolate martinis are served chilled in shot glass sized cups. Even so, I felt warm all over since I am not used to drinking any alcohol. They were a special treat!

The party ended at 9:50 so that Liz and Bob could walk their dog and get back to their boat in time to watch Castle. They have satellite TV. We do not. Mostly I do not miss television, but I do have a few shows I like. Castle is one of them. We have not been able to watch any television since we left Everglades Isle resort back in late January, so I am way behind on my favorite shows! Big sigh!

When we left to go back to our boat, we took a second pieced of that yummy pie with us. This one was for me!