MIDORI ADVENTURES

Last week we rented a car and drove to Clearwater to visit Brian's parents, with stops en route at the Charlotte Harbour Boat Yard to pick up some parcels, and a stop in Bradenton to deliver the parachute/drogue which we had sold to another PDQ owner.

We had a good two-day visit in Clearwater, and then we drove back down and across to Florida City/Homestead where we decided to go to the Miami Boat Show for a day. Not the wisest decision - traffic was bumper to bumper going and coming, hotel rooms were hard to find and at a premium.

We rushed through the strictly sail portion and then took the shuttle bus over to the Convention Centre at Miami Beach where we met up with friends Geoff and Ruth (s/v GERU) who had taken a few days off work in Ottawa to come down to warmer weather and enjoy the boat show and the South Beach area. It was so great to see them again! They hope to resume cruising on their Prout catamaran in three years.

It's a small world. While at the boat show we kept bumping into boatyard friends, Doug and Bernice (from Manitoba) who are travelling with Rob and Gail and they may all be heading down to Boot Key soon.

We were so happy to return from the crowds and traffic of Miami to MIDORI! This is our home during the winter and we are truly comfortable on the water.

Before leaving for almost a week, we had defrosted the fridge and turned it off. This made a huge drop in battery power consumption and Greg and Liz-Ann from s/v LANGNIAPPE only had to check on her a couple of times and run the generator for a minimum of 30 minutes. However, our first order of business was to turn the fridge back on and go back out and buy groceries. Having the rental car for one more day came in handy.

Since we've been back, Keys Rigging has been aboard to replace our burnt out mast light and "tune" the standing rigging. We went to a "going away" dinner at Dockside for Verne and Rose's Charleston friends, and we have attended two free movies hosted by the Sanctuary Friends Organization on Reef Sharks and Lion Fish. We found the one on Lion Fish particularly enlightening. They are an invasive species with no known predators, therefore, no limits on catching them and once you get past the venomous spiky fins, the white flesh is apparently, very tasty.

Captain Brian has completed his course of allergy treatment, but we will continue to diarize what he eats and drinks. As shellfish is the likely suspect, he will refrain from eating any!

Life is good,

First Mate Lynn
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