If you've been keeping up with us on Facebook, (Aboard 'Bout Time) you know that we are back on board after spending three weeks in Kentucky for Christmas with our family. And you also know that we're not making great progress getting to south Florida and warmer weather. Of all the things we have learned while cruising, at the top of the list is, "Do Not Have a Schedule!" With our only set date for this trip being February 8, 2018 to leave Florida for Cuba, we felt no time pressure, but the weather has once again shown us who's boss. We should still be okay on time, but it might not be the leisurely trip down the west coast of Florida that we had hoped for.
Another item on the list of lessons learned would be, "Just because there's a guy from the marina standing on the dock to catch a line when you're docking, it doesn't mean that he's going to be as careful as he should." That was an expensive lesson learned a couple of days ago when I relied upon someone else to keep our aft mounted solar panels away for the pilings used to tie the boat up. I should have hopped off the boat as I usually do to handle that job myself. My daddy always said "Bought sense is the best kind." Buying a new solar panel should give me my money's worth!
Maybe not exactly on that list, but suddenly a frequent topic of conversation since we left home this year is the fact that five years have passed since our first cruise, and our bodies are feeling those years. Boating, and sailing in particular, can be quite physically challenging. We believe that we have several more years to enjoy this part of our lives, but we recognize the need to be realistic in our expectation of ourselves and each other. The good news is that we're both in excellent health, and we believe that staying active is one of the keys to maintaining that.
A corollary to the above is accepting that we just might not be able to squeeze everything we once did into a day, week, or month. We have often set unrealistic expectations for what we could accomplish, and somehow we usually managed to meet those expectations, but we are learning that sometimes pushing too hard results in diminished returns in enjoyment of the things we do.
Enough about us...back to travel! While we were home for Christmas, we connected with the gentleman who literally co-wrote the best cruising guide to Cuba. He is working with us to be sure that we follow all of the current guidelines for travel by boat and that we make the most of our allotted two weeks in the country. We're reading all we can to prepare for this adventure. We met a couple last week in Apalachicola who visited Cuba last year, and while they did not travel by boat, they had lots of great info to share including the name of a restaurant her cousin owns. We expect it to be a most enjoyable, exciting visit.
As of now, we plan to return to the states from Cuba via the Bahamas. We'll visit familiar places and see many old friends there. Just sitting here at the dock on a cloudy, chilly day and thinking about the beautiful water and beaches there makes me smile really big😍
There's a load of laundry drying that I need to go check on,then the soup Capt'n made for lunch, then a book to settle in with, and later the college national championship game to watch at a local hangout. Such is this life we love!