Back in Brunswick after Thanksgiving, our plan was to fix some lingering boat problems and leave on Friday, Nov. 30. While getting our work done, Mike found another potential problem – a leaking sea water pump on the engine. Installing a new gasket and impeller didn't fix the leak, so after consulting with our engine mechanic who confirmed Mike's suspicions that the seals were bad, we knew we weren't going anywhere anytime soon. On Friday we ordered a new pump and seals to rebuild the old pump (since we didn't want to be traveling without a spare). Assurances that the parts would be to us on Monday didn't materialize so we had to cool our jets and wait for their arrival on Tuesday. Problems didn't stop there – while trying to remove the nylon gear from the old pump so it could be installed on the new pump, the gear broke in half. A quick call to the supplier before he closed at 5pm and we had the replacement part Wednesday morning (just throw a little money at it and overnight delivery works!). Finally with a the new pump installed and working well, we could plan for a Thursday morning departure.

In spite of our woes, we enjoyed our stay in Brunswick. Top on my list was the Brunswick Christmas Parade – a typical small town parade with enthusiastic marchers, drummers, bands, and imaginative floats. It was a sunny, warm day but the show certainly put everyone in the holiday spirit. While Diana and I were off enjoying the parade, Mike and Ken found time to wander Lowe's and Walmart – and of course found things they just had to have. Our days weren't all play – waxing and cleaning to make the boat look good again was a huge accomplishment. But we found time to walk around town, check out a couple of lunch spots, and enjoy some leisure time. We even tracked down some fresh Georgia shrimp (a bit longer walk than we expected, but worth the effort) so now we have some extra in the freezer awaiting our pleasure. In case you don't know, Georgia shrimp can only be found in the wild so it is free of all the stuff that gets into commercially raised shrimp. Shrimp pasta that night and they were excellent!

All said, Brunswick was a good place to have to hang for a while. It looks like we can't make the Waterway Radio picnic in Melbourne on Sunday as previously planned, but it will be good to be back on the Waterway again – with Miami in our sights.