Day 259 to 262:

We borrow a car from my sister, Betsy, and set about to do errands, refill RX's, clear Customs and Immigration. I have managed to get a Frequent Flyer seat from West Palm to Boston as I am determined to see Kate and Mark's new golden retriever puppy, Hadley, while she is still a real puppy and not the gangly teenager she will be by the time we get home. I go up on Sat and back on Sunday. A quick trip but SO worth it.

While I am gone Steve does boat chores and runs a few errands, writes a couple of ads, and hangs out waiting to pick me up Sunday evening. I regale Steve with pix and movies of Hadley who is SOOO CUTE and really fun to be around.

It's Sunday and Steve is flying the Union Jack. He is approached by a man who owns a powerboat from Edgartown in a nearby slip. He indicates that it's nice to see someone flying the Jack. An hour later some Riviera Beach guy walks down to his outboard, spots the Union Jack and comes up to Steve who is sitting reading the paper and asks what kind of a boat Katannah is. Next question=priceless. "Are you an admiral?" "Only when I'm standing in the companionway," says Steve. Yikes, the types you meet on the dock! :)

Off the dock the next morning around 7 for the motoring trip up the bridge-laden ICW through West Palm to Jupiter and Hobe Sound and eventually Stuart. We wait patiently for 3 or 4 bridges before Jupiter and then only a couple on into Stuart, where we stay in a slip at the Mariner Cay Marina, the same place we had stayed on the way down. It is very hot so we have a swim in marina the pool to cool down. Tomorrow it's heading North up the ICW to Vero Beach.

A routine day Tues., May 1st, again in sunny hot weather for the trip to Vero. We get a mooring and fortunately did not have to raft up with anyone as the traffic is much lighter than it was in the fall when boats were rafted up three across in here.

The Eplers, folks we met in Hope Town, are on a boat out of Stuartwhich comes through Vero sometime this day. They email the next day to say that they had spotted the boat, but we are not aboard. They very kindly invite us to stop and see them in Guilford, CT when we pass through. It's so much fun to have this network of cruisers!