Florida: Connecticut Trip

Day 247 - 252

I took a break from marina life for five days and flew to Connecticut to see my brand new granddaughter Lillian Martha Woodworth. She is just as adorable as can be and such a small bundle of joy. She weighs just about seven pounds now; at birth, she weighed 6 lb. 9 oz.

Nighty-Night in Rocking Cradle

Some St. Patty's Day fun at Lillian's expense

Long Pants and Jacket Weather in CT in March
(I left my shorts in Florida)

Lillian Sleeps Better when Swaddled and Held
(in my lap)

Finally a picture with Lillian Awake

I flew into Hartford from Fort Lauderdale on the 15th and flew back to Florida on the 19th. Chris picked me up at the airport when I arrived on Tuesday. We stopped at the grocery store before going home and had real good eats for my entire stay. With the exception of the one day I made meatloaf Chris and Heather did the food prep and cooking.

I had a lot of cuddle time with Lillian. She likes to be held and rocked, so I spent a lot of time in a rocking chair or swaying back and forth on my feet with her in my arms. (I have lots of practice swaying from living on a boat for the past nine plus months.)  Chris was working while I visited. I spent the days with Heather and the nights with them both, but mostly I focused on mega amounts of time with Lillian.  All too soon it was time to return to boat life. Chris and Lillian drove me to the airport while Heather tried to catch up on some much needed sleep.

The flight boarded on time, but shortly after we pulled away from the gate, the captain came on the speaker and said that we would be sitting by the side of the runway for the next 45 minutes waiting our turn. Sigh! Once we took off though the flight was pretty uneventful other than some exciting turbulence. One of the two twenty-something girls sitting next to me said, "Good thing my mom isn't on this flight. She'd be freaking out right now!" Then she turned and looked at me. I wondered if she expected me to be freaking out.

When the plane landed in Fort Lauderdale, several passengers on board starting applauding - including the two girls next to me. In fact I think they started the spontaneous applause. Afterwards the captain came back on the speaker and said with a big heartfelt sigh, "Let me finally welcome you to sunny Fort Lauderdale, Florida!" Clearly he was as happy to be on the ground as the passengers were.

I took the Keys Shuttle to and from the airport. The trip to the airport went well and I got to my flight with plenty of time to spare. I cannot say I was pleased with the trip back to Marathon however. The shuttle arrived at the pickup point at 6:25 for 6:30 departure and then proceeded to wait for 40 minutes for people who had reserved seats but not yet appeared. Finally the driver declared that we had all the passengers and we started on our way.

As we drove past one of the terminals on our way out of the airport, I saw a woman waving her arms madly. I wondered if she was trying to flag down our shuttle. Our driver obviously did not see her as he just kept going. I decided that if she was trying to flag down our shuttle that our driver's cellphone should ring in just about one minute. Sure enough "ring - ring" . The driver is told by dispatch, "You missed some of your passengers. You need to go back!"

We all collectively groaned when the bus driver said we had to go back (including the bus driver). I think this all happened because it was the last shuttle of the day. One poor fellow sitting next to me said he missed the 4:30 shuttle by 5 minutes, and they refused to come back for him. They said he would have to wait for the 6:30. By the time we finally got back to the pickup point, we were an hour late leaving the airport.

When we pulled up to the stop, the missed passengers were nowhere to be seen. I wondered, since I had seen them at the wrong place, if they had been told to come to the right place. Sure enough I see the same woman moving as fast as she could dragging her big suitcase (not very fast) and looking ready to expire from the effort. The driver saw her too and went to assist.

Finally with everyone on board we headed for the Miami airport. All of us except the driver had forgotten we had yet another airport to deal with before we could start heading for the Keys. The long and short of it is that the trip from Chris and Heather's house in Connecticut to the boat took almost exactly twelve hours. I left their house at 11:00 a.m. and arrived at the boat at 11:00 p.m.

When I got on the shuttle in Fort Lauderdale, three guys got on with me. One guy named Michael (Mike / Mikey) has his own business with a charter boat for fishing trips. It must be a real hoot to be out with him on the water. He is a true extrovert and helped make the long shuttle trip somewhat palatable. He brought a bottle of rum with him and passed it around the van. I think he only had one taker besides himself. By the time we got to Marathon, I think he had pretty much finished off that bottle.

Fortunately he was a "happy" drunk. He desperately wanted music to go with his partying mood, but the driver refused. He complained that the driver was no fun every time the driver stopped the van to add or lose passengers. At one point he complained that we all were no fun because it was too quiet. He said he felt like he was in a library. Eventually he decided to play country songs via Pandora on his cellphone. Of course he sang along. Here's his favorite George Strait song:

"Blue Marlin Blues"

I got the blue marlin blues...

First one off the dock, long before dawn
Headed to the blue water, won't take long
A box full of ballyhoo, rigged just right
Still hurtin' from that party last night
30 miles later, get the call lines in
Scramble' round the cockpit thinkin' we're gonna win
Seven hours later, we still ain't caught a thing
Mood on this boat sure has changed

I got the blue marlin blues
From my hat to my shoes
I used to catch 'em in twos
No matter which bait I choose
How many more can I lose
They got me drinkin' the booze
I got the blue marlin blues

I had one swimmin' right behind my bait
All lit up man, I just couldn't wait
I picked up the rod, I put it in free spool
Thinkin' I'll shake these blue marlin blues
He knocked it out of the clip
And I fed him some line
I locked it up and I began to wind
He came out of the water
Spit the bait right at me
And disappeared back into the sea

I got the blue marlin blues
From my hat to my shoes
I used to catch 'em in twos
No matter which bait I choose
How many more can I lose
They got me drinkin' the booze
I got the blue marlin blue

Every once in a while Mike would offer the rum again to be sure no one had changed their minds. He repeatedly asked if us ladies (me and the woman next to me) were enjoying the music. Of course we said, "Yes! Absolutely!" It made him very happy. He made us laugh.

Even with the "Mikey" entertainment factor added in, I felt totally wiped out given the travel time and the lack of decent food. I survived the day on Cookies and Pistachio Nuts. Fortunately Clark still had some food left over from the supplies I left him before leaving for Connecticut. I ate some meatloaf and felt 100 times better for it.