Mike
11/29/2008, Vero Beach, Florida

November 27th , Thanksgiving Vero Beach, Fl


A little before 10am I took the dingy to the launch ramp at the south end of the mooring field. There is a park there and a very nice city owned event building. It's small and usually rents for $400 a day but the Harbor Master gets permission from the city for cruisers to celebrate Thanksgiving here without charge.

A call had gone out for set-up volunteers to meet at ten am and there was a great turnout. In twenty minutes we were finished. There were seats for 128. I had brought along some plates to reserve a table for eight.

We had been watching the "who's bringing what list" and determined that the only items that seemed to be lacking were dinner rolls and fruit which we had picked up the day before. Instead of just cutting everything and mixing things up in a bowl, we made fruit kabobs with some skewers that we had on board. It was more work but we thought it might be easier for people deal with on plates that were going to be overloaded.

At about 12:15 we motored back and spent 45 minutes chatting with friends and watching to tables of food fill up. The tables were numbered and after offering up a Thanksgiving prayer, we were called by table to the buffet line. The food was excellent and there was plenty for all.

At about 3pm we restacked the tables and chairs and rolled them back into their closet. The floors were swept and trash was hauled to the dumpster. Bob, one of our friends who make Vero Beach his winter home, stopped by to ask me to come back in to the Marina grounds in a while and bring my guitar. So...about 4:30 we dinghied in, found some folks at the picnic tables waiting for music. There were Bob and I and another guy with a case of harmonicas. We tuned up... but it was going to be a long night because all three of us are followers. There were no leaders. Then Jim from "Salty Paws" arrived with another guitar, a book of song lyrics, and a good voice. Things were looking up. Shortly after that a kid...(mid 20's) showed up and he knew words and songs for the whole night. We had our leader and had a great time until my fingers gave out. We said our good-byes and headed back to the boat to listen to the Spartans lose to Maryland.

With the exceptions on not being with our families, and the Spartans poor showing, it was a perfect day.

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Mike
11/29/2008, Vero Beach, Florida

November 25th Vero Beach, FL


We took the 10:00 bus across the bridge and stopped in the strip mall where West Marine is located. I purchased a weight belt at a dive shop there and Kathy found some Crocs.

Then it was across the street to Publix for some groceries. We are making a fruit salad for Thanksgiving and we picked up some dinner rolls as well.

Back at the boat in time for lunch, I made meat loaf sandwiches. We spent an hour or so picking up the boat: Kathy doing dishes and working below while I worked on straightening up the cockpit area. With the sanding and varnishing that have taken place back there things were out of place.

At 4:30 we went to shore and along with Craig and Kris, were picked up by Nancy who ran us across town to their condo. We ordered a pizza and had a great time as usual. We were back aboard by 8:30 and watched a movie.




November 24th Vero Beach, Fl


Another lazy day here in Vero...we did some laundry. I sanded our trail boards and got a coat of finish on them along with our companion way and taffrail spindles.

We read books and I made a meatloaf for dinner.

Talked to the girls in London in the afternoon.

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11/23/2008, Vero Beach, Florida

November 22... Vero Beach, Fl


If we catch the bus at the marina on the hour we can get off a West Marine and then cross the street to the grocery store. Meanwhile, the bus heads in to the transfer station and then returns at about 35 after the hour. We can make the trip from our boat and then back in an hour with about 30 minutes of shopping time ... which is usually enough.

That's exactly what we did this morning catching the 9am bus... and then back by 10.

One of our purchases was oatmeal for cookies which I spent the remainder of the morning baking. The first batch was a little droopy due to the maple syrup but a couple tablespoons of flour corrected the problem. I made some oyster stew for lunch as well. Unfortunately the combination of two bowls of oysters and all of the broken cookies did not sit especially well and I took a nap after lunch while Kathy cleaned up my mess.

At the store we found some fresh green beans so using our friend Bernie's cookbook we pickled the beans in the afternoon.

There was a get-together scheduled on shore for 3:00 so we rolled up some pickles in cream cheese and dried beef for our snack to pass. Although we take them for granted, most folks had never seen them.

The Spartans were on TV in the Clubhouse and I checked them out occasionally. Luckily I didn't need to stay.

In the evening we watched another of Nancy and Jim's movies. Thanks.

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