Florida: Anna Maria Island Lazy Days

Days 177 & 178
No Boat Travel

Sunday's rain stopped sometime during the night, and with the high winds, the docks were essentially dry when we got up and got going on Monday. Even without the rain the weather was not inviting to go out and do much of anything. After humid temperatures in the 80s the air felt decidedly chilly with dry air in the low 60s and upper 50 degree temps. That in conjunction with the gusty wind left us wanting to keep busy in the boat.

The one chore that required us to venture off the boat yesterday, however, was the laundry. Our one objective for Monday was to get that done. Unfortunately, the laundromat is not walking distance away, and we could not figure out how to balance the laundry on the bikes, so we needed transportation. I looked on the internet and could not find an address for the laundromat, which meant I could not call upon Uber since I did not know where I was going.

We learned from the dock master that there is a service on the island called the Monkey Bus that would come pick us up and drive us to the laundromat. They are a "free" service in that they work for tips only. We called them for a ride.

"Monkey Bus" 10-person golf cart in AMI, FL

I packed my laundry into two soft-sided suitcases for the trip through town. I did not want my undies flying out the back of the bus! The only drawback to "free" was that the driver said it "would take as much as 20 minutes" for him to get to the marina to pick us up. The golf cart finally pulled into the marina 45 minutes later.

I expect that normally the open-air approach to travel in Florida is great, but I have to say with the windy, cooler temperatures even the driver was cold on the bus. He dropped us off right at the laundromat that, if I were to believe my Google searches, does not exist, and we got the wash going.

We then went for a bit of a stroll while the washers did their thing. The first store we stopped at had clothes and live birds - lots of live birds with several of them saying "hello" and "hi" repeatedly. It was quite entertaining but extremely noisy as one old bird made a horrendous "awwwwkkkkk" noise that was loud even out on the street. In fact his noise is what brought us into the store for a look.

I use Google Chrome to view my blog. Below is a video of the birds which sadly is view-able only on some browsers.

By the time we were finished viewing the birds in the store, it was time to run back to put the wash in the dryers. Then back out we went for more exploring across the street this time. We found a couple of interesting murals done by local AMI (Anna Maria Island) artists.

They do love their pelicans in Florida!

Mermaid Mural

We found a store selling clothing. Clark needed shorts, so we stopped in. The store closed at 5:30, and it was 5:25. Even so they let him try on a pair of shorts which I thought was very nice of them. We ended up buying him two pair. Hopefully he can keep them oil-stain and hole free for at least a short while. By the time we finished our shopping, it was time to head back to the laundromat, collect and pack our clothes, and call the monkey bus for a return trip to the boat.

Fortunately the second time around the monkey bus arrived in under ten minutes, and it was a fast ride back to the marina after that. I am not sure why the trip to the laundromat seemed so very long and the ride back so very short. Very puzzling! It's not like he charges more for people who don't know where they are going since he works for "free".

After unpacking and putting all the clothes away, I made spaghetti and meat sauce for dinner as I seemed to have an abundance of burger meat in the freezer. We both enjoy that for a meal, and it is quick and easy to make. Continuing our lazy-day theme, we switched on the television and watched Supergirl and Scorpion to close out the night.

Clark is very busy these days planning our trip down the west coast of Florida and into the Keys. He had my laptop held prisoner for a portion of yesterday while he referenced the travel materials handed out at the AGLCA rendezvous we attended in October. He had the laptop on one side, his iPad with "Active Captain" open on the other, and charts and his notebook in his lap. He has a plan laid out for part of the trip but says he still has more research to do.  I am so glad that he does the planning work, and I just get to come along for the ride. (At one point I thought about working on my blog yesterday, but he was busy using my laptop and afterwards the mood had left me completely.)

Today was no better than yesterday as far as my energy level. Clark had seen a commercial on television last night for IHOP with mountains of pancakes, and he put in a request for pancakes for breakfast. So, after our trip to the marina restrooms and morning showers, I came back and made a pancake brunch as we had slept in to a ridiculously late hour. I remembered I had fresh-frozen blueberries, so the first thing I did was make Clark blueberry syrup to go with his pancakes.

For pancakes it really was a rather healthy, or if not healthy at least natural, meal. I use whole wheat pancake mix and instead of oil in the batter, I use no-sugar-added applesauce. I use only real maple syrup - nothing artificially flavored, and since I insist on some kind of protein, I made a small cheese omelet that we shared to go with the pancakes.  I cooked it all on my relatively new electric griddle - the one that toured the U.S. before finally being delivered to us on the boat (see earlier blog entry for details on that one). I just love it though it is about two inches too wide to fit comfortably where I want to use it / store it which is sitting on the stove top!

Our one agenda item for today was to get out on our bikes and go to the AMI museum. With most of the day gone, while we waited without success for the wind to subside, we finally headed on our way at 3:15. I forgot the museum closes at 4:00 every day. Still we should have been able to get there to have a bit of a look around. However, as we pulled out of the parking lot, Clark saw the parts and service department of the marina and decided he needed to go in to see what they had and talk with them.

Eventually, he came out with a brass fitting in his hand which he said is a plug for the propane tank connection. It has been months since we first noticed a problem with a gas leak and it is still not fixed. He said he can use the brass fitting for troubleshooting the problem to see where the leak might be occurring.

After the unscheduled stop at the marina service desk, we stopped by the post office to mail two holiday cards and then continued on to the museum. We arrived at 3:55 and they would not let us in. Gee I wonder why?! They told us to come back another day as they turned the sign from open to closed as we watched. We are really good at showing up too late for sightseeing. We started that practice while on our honeymoon in Virginia Beach and continue it 35 years later. We still have a few more days on the island, so we can try another day. The museum is free, so Clark is motivated to go back.

After our very brief excursion into town, Clark announced that he was ready to head back to the boat. The sun was out all day up until we decided to go out on our bikes. When we came out, the sun went behind the clouds and did not reappear. Since there was no sun, he said he could not take pictures so there was no point to going anywhere. Since I had been on the boat for three straight days, I wanted to be out and about.

Trying to delay the inevitable, i.e. being shut up on the boat for more hours, I suggested we at least stop for an ice cream at Two Scoops before heading back. How is it that when he wants an ice cream, we stop. When he does not feel like having an ice cream, he cannot be bothered. Well, today he did not want ice cream, but I did, so I had to be persistent, i.e. nag, to get him to stop. I cannot count how many times we have gone for ice cream when I did not want any and did not buy any. One time I really want to stop, and I get moaned at and cannot even enjoy the treat after I buy it! He reluctantly bought himself an ice cream after seeing me come out with mine. He held it up and proudly said, "I bought a kiddie size."

So, here I am back on the boat, with the wind still blowing and the burgee still going wild. I expected to see it in shreds when I got up this morning or hanging by a thread to the flagpole. Miraculously it is still "hanging in there", but I wonder "when will this cold wind stop blowing?!"

As soon as we got back to the boat Clark rushed up top to connect up his brass fitting to the propane tank before he lost all daylight. When he came back down, he said, "we are out of propane". Great, now our next mission will be to find a place to fill the tank. We have two 5-pound tanks which are too small for the exchange-a-tank programs that exist all over the place. We have to find a place that actually fills tanks and that is not easy. The best place is usually a campsite for motor homes. I do not expect there to be one of those on AMI. We have a second tank, so we can switch over for now, but we need to get the empty one filled so it is ready when this one empties. It must have been that applesauce cake I made for Clark that used up all the propane. It takes about 45 minutes to bake.

As Clark was explaining to me about the propane tank situation, I looked up and saw the sky displaying pinks and purples galore. I exclaimed, "Look at that purple sky!"  He grabbed a photo for me. It is a little shaky due to the rocking and rolling of the boat, but the colors show well.

Purple sunset at the marina

Because he is doing an experiment with the brass fitting, he asked me to cook without using propane tonight. Fortunately I have a nice assortment of small electric appliances on board from which to choose. Speaking of which, it is already going on for 6:30, and I have no meal planned. I must start on that.

Sunday night we did not turn on the heat on the boat and should have. Last night we did turn on the heat and slept better for it. Tonight already I can feel a definite chill in the boat even now, so I am thinking that we will need heat once again. With the wind making the boat sway and rock, however, it is no trouble sleeping at night - "rock-a-bye baby" for sure.