Lovely to have the window shades on the front of the boat down and the Pilot house door open. This is the door on which I almost amputated the top of my right index finger!
Waz is checking that all the 'equipment' is in order before I sweep in there with my cleaning rags:)
After getting up late yesterday (Monday) we went food shopping to fill the larder, though we didn't need much, but this was a different supermarket chain, now that we are in Florida - Publix.
So, of course we wanted to have a good look around. Not as good as Rouses in LA but ok. We didn't have that much time before having to have the car back at Enterprise, so we did hustle a bit.
We also ended uo back at Walmart. Don't have me folks; because I know they have disgusting hiring practices, but they are the place we knew we could get a red light bulb...and quickly, now that they have self check out.
What for the red bulb?
Well, when you are travelling at night, a red light is essential to be able to see where you are going when a light is turned on. We have changed all the stairwell lamps out into red lights so that there isn't glow and interference at night. A bright white light creates reflections and we cant be having those when we are in the middle of the pond that is the Gulf of Mexico and wanting a cuppa. So we bought a large 60w red bulb to put into one of our 'work' lights that clamps onto a shelf in the kitchen or wherever else you need red light. We will be wanting a meal or two while we are on our Gulf crossing, so this will work well without creating problems for him/her who mans/womans the helm at any given time.
We were going to deliver the food back to the boat before car return, but time as running out and noon approaching fast, so we just made a detour to Enterprise and a driver brought us and all our parcels back to the marina. Nice people, they have driving for them.
As usual, new food means taking almost everything in the fridge, out. Fresh fruit is the hardest to accommodate in our little fridge, but I squeezed it all in there. We have taken to buying frozen veg to cook, as our meals are morphing into winter-type food, which means cooked, instead of cold meat and salad.
The rain was intermittent but still enough to be a pain if you are wanting to do anything outside. We didn't and are grateful that the rain did a reasonable job of washing the boat down for us. She feels ok, but could still do with a good soap and rinse.
We did a large wash in the afternoon..two machines...and finished that up as it was getting dark. Thank goodness for rice cookers and left over curry! nothing quite beats a good chicken curry. We will have more chicken available for meals as I am in the process of boiling up some thighs in the veg. soup, currently on the burner. One of them will be chopped up for the soup and the rest will be contained in the fridge for other tasty dishes. Pasta comes to mind:)
I just wanted to mention that the time changes forward an hour half way to Apalachacola...hmm...so now it is 2.30 here and 3.30 in A! So, we have to reset our clocks yet again.
We have made contact with another couple of boats that are planning the Gulf crossing like us, this coming weekend. Most seem to leave from Carrabelle, but we were informed by a professional boat captain that A is the place to leave from..shorter distance, all up. That doesn't bother me, but a shallow channel (Government Cut) out into the deep blue does, having been burnt by two shallow and narrow channels, to date.
Our Looping advisor also says Carrabelle is a better natural harbor and there are more places to anchor out. We don't intend sitting in a marina there waiting for the weather window, so we will be anchored out...hopefully in shelter somewhere.
We are evaluating both places.
Waz has a parcel due on Thursday, so we wont be leaving here before then. I guess that means Friday is out day.
We are rocking and rolling, so something large has gone by at the rate of knots and their wake is causing us some serious discomfort! We are not far inside the marina confines, so we tend to get a bit of this.
We have ended up paying for a month...cheaper than by the day or week, so we took it. Marina fees can seriously eat into your budget, so next year we will be spending most of our time anchored out, we think. The only time we really need to go in anywhere is to pump out and get Diesel. We can do both of those things without paying for a nights accommodation. As long as there is a dinghy dock, we are sweet.
We had a long discussion this morning about our plans next year. Waz has been checking to see that we have all the right charts and I have been looking at the funds..as you do!
We know what we can spend on diesel each month, and that will be our major expense as we will be moving most of the time. Time is of the essence especially when you are going into Canada during their short summer.
We cannot afford to mess around too long in the lower states before the Canals open up for the Canadian Summer. The Eerie Canal was late this year and they had loopers for China waiting in various places along the way for the locks to open and allow them through. The Great Lakes have been lower than normal in 2013, and this has caused all kinds of problems for not just boaters, but also the mom and pop businesses along the way who rely on the loopers for their summer income. When all the wheels don't grind right, someone somewhere misses out.
We are still planning to go up the Champlain Canal which will necessitate a few structural changes (well, temporary changes) to the radar arch in order to get under ONE bridge. We have another similarly low bridge getting out of Chicago, if we go that way..there is apparently a second way we can go where that wont be necessary.
Along with the cleaning jag I had this morning..well, his nibs did too:) I made some cheese scones for lunch and we sat up on the fly deck for a change, to eat. How lovely that was, in the sun. It has been either too wet, too windy or too cool to do so in the last week, but today has been perfect.
This is my Xmas Prezzie from Waz...I have a set back in NZ just like this, but you cant beat a cup of tea made with fine china...so we now have that and it tastes fantastic! We had tea with out scones!Waz put the dinghy in the water behind the boat. Last time he went to use it, the motor wouldn't start. This was when we were stuck on the mid at Joes Bayou. Wouldn't you know it...the motor started just fine, thanks. It was good to take the cover off the dinghy, though and have a chance to clean some of the mold off the sides and inside her. I also started cleaning out back...lots of 'soot' along the back of the boat from the emissions which leave a greasy scum on the girl. Degreaser gets it all off and then a soapy wash does the final job, but some elbow grease is also required. I must get out there and finish it. He has filled the boat water tank up, so the sloshing under our bed will decrease, hopefully, for the time being. We are running off water at the dock right now, so he wont have to fill her up again before we take the lines off.
Well, time for me to stop this and get out there and do some more work. IT is getting cool enough now for me to go and do the hot stuff. We might even make it up the bridge for another long walk in an hour or so.
Cheerio for now:)
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