MIDORI ADVENTURES

It’s been a rush to get down here, but work on the boat is progressing well. We left Manitoba on Wednesday, Oct 12th at 1230 (noon) and arrived in northern Florida on Saturday evening, Oct. 15th. We were usually on the road by 8:30 a.m. and checked into a motel by 6:30 p.m. In the past, when we drove a gasoline powered vehicle, I could time my “pit stops” for around the same time, but the VW TDI can go about 40 miles to the gallon, so it goes much further, and so we have to make extra pit stops for me. Thank goodness for AAA/CAA maps that show all the rest spots! The lunch stop is a little longer, and we usually end up at Wendy’s because we really enjoy their salads.

On Sunday, we took some time off to visit cruising friends, Gene and Charlene, just south of Ocala. We had a tour of their new house and lunch - just a real nice visit. We arrived at the boatyard around 4:30 p.m. Except for the dirty decks, the boat was in good shape. I proceeded to untie the boat cover while Brian checked on the batteries and then plugged into shore power to get the battery charger going.

We checked into the Lemon Bay Motel, and after three full days of washing the exterior and wiping down every surface of the interior, including cupboards and holds, and hauling stuff from our storage unit, we moved aboard on Thursday, Oct. 20th. (I should add that after six months, it usually takes some time to find what we’re looking for!)

Sunday, three days later, and Brian has had to buy a new start battery; but he has had both 9.9 h.p. Yamaha outboards running and is now working on the 8 h.p. dinghy motor.

Did I mention that the weather is perfect right now? 80F temps during the day and 60F temps at night.

Stay tuned,

First Mate Lynn