2 February 2023
Our friends, JoAnn and Jim, from Michigan finally arrived. I have been counting the days and hours waiting for them to get here. Their dog, Sammy, travels with them, and she is a real sweetheart. We have known Jim, JoAnn, and Sammy since we met them on the Great Loop in 2015.
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| "The Concession" docking at Marlin Bay |
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| My friend Sammy |
I had homework to do today in preparation the library photography workshop on Friday, so I took some pictures around the marina paying attention to picture composition.
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| Closeup on bushes in marina |
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| Not-so-secret passageway to get from back of marina building to front |
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| Closeup of foliage lining not-so-secret passageway |
At 4:00 Clark and I loaded up our dinghy with us and his guitar and headed off to Banana Bay for docktails. Unlike previous times when we found an empty slip to tie up the dinghy, this time we tied up to our friend's dinghy and dock. A boating friend used to refer to the contortions we have to get into when getting on and off boats as "Boat Yoga". Climbing over and around dinghies to crawl up onto (and later off of) the dock is one example of this activity.
Walking around Banana Bay Marina, I spied some Christmas ornaments that have been forgotten. Taking a picture of Santa swinging in the breeze turned out to be a challenge. From my photography class I have learned that I can tell my phone to take pictures by talking to it. Wish I had known that when I took the "Flying Santa" shot. I had to hold the tree branch still in the wind while getting the shot and needed a third hand!
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| Paul - "Agape" Pat - "Reflection" Clark - "Sunset Delight" Jeff - "Indecision" |
The corner of the Banana Bay Marina where we have docktails offers an excellent view for sunsets.
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| Sunset over Marlin Bay Resort as seen from Banana Bay Marina |
3 February 2023
Karen from "Arabella" suggested we walk over to the photography workshop together. We met at 10:45 for the short walk over there. I really missed out last year when we stayed at Marlin Bay by not checking out the library early on. We stopped in for a tour just before we left to head back to New Jersey. This year I am spending several hours a week taking advantage of what they offer.
We had a new crowd of folks for today's photo workshop. Two Spanish-speaking folks came to the class, so the instructor said everything in two languages. Once again she covered f-stops and depth of field. I am slowly becoming more familiar with how to work with these settings though my phone and camera are both limited in setting options.
Jim and JoAnn had friends on board "The Concession" when they arrived yesterday. They invited us to join them for dinner on their boat tonight. JoAnn's friend, Debbie, made the meal which consisted of make-your-own chicken taco bowl. The base of which was a delicious rice with seasoned chicken and many toppings to choose from. We had a lovely time eating and talking.
Clark insisted on a photo shoot with Sammy!
We had an opportunity to grab some sunset shots as we walked over to dinner.
4 February 2023
Today was an overcast day. My friend Sandy was away for the week in Fort Meyers, so I was on my own for the Farmer's Market. Clark and I planned to go there shopping. However, perhaps due to windy weather, my weekly FM email that normally tells me what they will have on hand said that the market was closed for today. Clark grumbled, "You mean we woke up early for nothing?" We had other shopping to do, so we eventually got our bikes out and went to Walgreen's and Publix.
When Clark walked up to use the marina head, he found an egret wading in the marina pool! Clark put the phot on Facebook with a caption saying "Hey Dude - you won't find breadfast in there!"
In the afternoon, while trying to decide on something to do, I decided to try to sketch Whatley. I took the picture I had of him looking at me from the dock and worked in colored pencils. I was happy enough with the end result to gift the picture to DeAnna afterwards.
Adam and DeAnna took Whatley to Miami with them for the weekend to celebrate their Grandma's 91st birthday. I missed Whatley so I drew the picture of him. I gave the picture to DeAnna when I saw here a couple of days later. Unbeknownst to me, the day I gave her the picture, it was her birthday! Well, how's that for perfect timing?!
6 February 2023
Clark went off on his bicycle to physical therapy for his hand this morning, so I was left to entertain myself. Given that, I decided to go to the 3-D Printing workshop again. Using what I learned from the first session, I did my homework before class and picked out what I wanted printed ahead of time. Looking at potential projects on thingiverse.com I found a set of earrings with matching necklace that I thought would be a cute gift for my granddaughter's birthday that I figured would be a quick print.
Unlike last time where a couple of folks trickled in and out of the workshop, today we had a full house and, of course, everyone wanted to have something printed. The instructor changed the format to more of a classroom lecture where he explained the process and the tools used to do the 3-D prints.
I was glad I had done my homework as I was quickly able to show the instructor what I had selected. He gave out library-owned laptops where we searched for and chose our object to be printed. In no time, while others were still deciding what they wanted, I could hand him back the laptop, and he could download the file to a thumb drive and start the printing process.
For the earrings, I had 3 choices: 1) quick print in 23 minutes would yield something very thin in plastic and extremely fragile, 2) normal print in 45 minutes would yield fragile but not super thin, and 3) high quality print in 1 hour 55 mins. I chose option 2 partially to open the machine up faster for other projects and partially because I wanted to take the printed objects home with me as opposed to coming back another day to pick them up.
I just happened to have the necessary "hardware" on board the boat to turn the plastic pieces into jewelry. DeAnna kindly offered to sacrifice her earrings from our jewelry-making session if I did not have what I needed. Thankfully, no sacrifice was required.
7 February 2023
I woke up this morning and decided to hold a dinner party tonight. I sent text messages to three other couples and all immediately replied in the affirmative. We did a pot luck of sorts. One couple brought deviled eggs. Another came with a veggie / fruit plate. The third brought a salad to go with dinner. I made teriyaki chicken stir fry with rice and served cookies and ice cream for dessert.
Our dinner party was a little out of the ordinary as we invited Whatley and Sammy to join us for the evening. When Adam and DeAnna arrived, I disappointedly said, "Where's Whatley?" Adam thought he should leave him on their boat, but at my urging he went back to get him whereupon Whatley and I were both happy.
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| Whatley and Sammy like each other |
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| JoAnn admiring my doll's dress I made |
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| Brenda admiring Sammy |
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| Sammy chilling out |
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| Adam and DeAnna - "Saltaire" |
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| Jim and JoAnn - "The Concession" Brenda and Scott - "Heliopause" |
We all had a lovely time as we formed an interesting group. We are from New Jersey. Brenda and Scott are from Ontario, so we learned a lot about Canada as we talked during dinner. JoAnn and Jim are from Michigan, and Adam and DeAnna are from Florida. Whatley and Sammy took turns patrolling the boat.
When she arrived at the gathering, DeAnna presented me with a ready-to-bloom tulip plant. Plants are not usually my friend, but this one seems hearty enough to withstand my care.
8 February 2023
When I walked up to visit the marina heads, I found a bird wading in the marina pool. For Clark it was a heron. For me it was an Ibis. With no people in the pool, he must have thought it the ideal time to go wading.
While I was in the head, the ibis invited at least 9 of his friends to join him. I grabbed my camera to get a group shot just as the head of marina maintenance clapped his hands to get the birds to leave.
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| Ibis departing the pool enmasse |
Clark spent today assembling, partially installing, and configuring a used satellite system that he got for free from a fellow boater. After spending the day playing with it, he decided he liked what we had already better rather than the alternate unit.
Since he was preoccupied, I wandered up to the pool and talked with DeAnna to pass the time.
Later, when I opened the refrigerator to find something for dinner, I quickly closed the door again. I told Clark I couldn't find anything in there I wanted to cook / eat, so we decided to walk to a local restaurant - Overseas Pub and Grill. They have loud, live music, so we picked a place inside in a corner away from other diners.
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| Sun going down as we make our way to dinner |
The restaurant has murals galore - outside and inside. I took a few pictures while waiting for our food to arrive.
9 February 2023
Every day since I got the tulip plant, I check how it has changed. I gave it water and put it out in the cockpit the day after I received it. The plant immediately reacted to the sun, and blooms appeared where none were expected to be.
DeAnna and Adam walk by our boat multiple times a day, so with the plant on the deck, they get to see as it changes as well.
Today was Clark's last session of physical therapy for his hand. Medicare will not pay for any more visits. Fortunately, they said that he does so well with his homework that it is a reasonable stopping place for their participation. They said they would send a copy of his records to the NJ therapist for continuity purposes.
I got more fun supplies in the mail including several variety word puzzle books and a set of watercolor pencils to entertain myself with. While Clark was away, I filled in the time by filling in crossword puzzles.
Today being Thursday, it was time once again for docktails at Banana Bay. Early in the day, the weather did not look like it would cooperate for a dinghy ride there. When it came time to actually leave, however, it looked like we could have taken the dinghy. JoAnn and Jim planned to walk there after taking Sammy to the vet hospital across the street for a doggy flu shot. Since we planned to walk back with them, we walked to the venue. Clark found out ahead of time that the guitar jam would not happen this week, so we did not need to carry a guitar with us.
Sammy is 12 and not good at walking long distances, so she has a wagon to make life easier. It is collapsible for easy storage on the boat.
Last week I had leftovers in the fridge and said I should plan that way for dinner every Thursday. We don't get back from docktails at Banana Bay until 7:00. Having gone out to dinner last night, I had nothing leftover for tonight. I planned on throwing a frozen pizza in the oven, but Clark wanted me to cook the Bok Choy we were gifted by Sandy before it went bad, so I made a whole meal around that instead.
10 February 2023
Clark decided that, even though he did not have physical therapy today, he would go there at his usual tie to drop off some cookies as a thank you to the staff that worked with him. I figured he would go alone, but he wanted me to come to have the team meet me. Apparently he has been talking about me (just a little he said).
I planned to go to photography at 11:00, and he wanted me to meet them at 10:00. I worried I would not have enough time to make both as I told JoAnn we could walk to the library together. We left just after 9:30. Clark biked so slowly I almost passed him a few times. Usually I have to race to keep up. Turned out he was worried about arriving too soon. I actually enjoyed not feeling like I was chasing him the whole time.
We spent no more than 5 minutes at the place because they had a schedule to keep with patients. When we traveled north on Route 1 we faced into the wind. Heading back to the boat, we had the wind to our backs. With no worries about arriving too soon and a tail wind, Clark flew up Route 1 and left me in the dust. Once again I was left chasing him!
On the bright side, I made it back to the marina in plenty of time to spare for the walk to the library. Along the way I stopped to take a picture in the marina.
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| Someone's toy guarding the walkway |
I was relieved when we got to class that the instructor was not going to talk about f-stops and focal length. I had decided not to do my homework as I was tired of fighting with f-stops (or lack thereof) on my camera. She never mentioned f-stops in today's class, and I was a very happy camper.
Today's theme was doorways. We found pictures of doorways in magazines and then discussed them. Afterwards, we went out with our cameras to take pictures of doorways. It turns out doorways are everywhere!
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| doorway to the seating area |
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| doorway on a toy barn |
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| doorway to the library |
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| doorway to the adult ed center |
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| Lego doorway! |
With doorways on our minds, we found doorways as we walked back to the boat.
I got back to the boat at 1:30. Clark had been busy on his computer the whole time I was gone. He was just making his lunch when I arrived, so we ate together.
Before I knew I would have such a busy day, I had prearranged with our friend's Sandy and Bill that we would go out this afternoon for ice cream. Our treat; they drive. At 2:30 they picked us up for a trip to Sweet Savannah's. Afterwards they drove us to a place where we could stop the car briefly and get a view of the Atlantic Ocean. The water was unbelievably calm.
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