On Our Way

Today being Wednesday, we were up bright and early...well, 7.35am, to be exact! Waz's appointment at the Surgeons office was for 9.30, and we needed to get there on time. Half an hour in the traffic at that hour of the day.

We turned up and the waiting room was full up to busting! What??? I asked someone sitting close by when they had come into the waiting room...8.30am was the reply. That didn't bode well!

At 10.40am, I departed, leaving Waz to visit with the Dr, whenever that might be, and took myself off to the hastily arranged hair cutting appointment. Sally, the hairdresser was born in NZ to kiwi parents, but then the family moved to California, so she has grown up an American.

She and I are the same age and we did our hairdressing training using the same method...Marinello-Comer Method. Nice to know she will cut my hair similarly to the way I do!:)

In the meantime, Waz got in to the Dr, and was finished with the appointment by 11.10am. Not acceptable, really! We had arranged to meet across the road at the Charlotte Mall Food Court.

I was done with my new hair do at 11.30, and joined Waz for lunch at the mall. We had notes to exchange. I had received the final bill, on the phone, for the Path Lab. and he had been advised to have a Colonoscopy as soon as possible. Healing well otherwise, but better to be safe than sorry.

On Monday afternoon, we had arranged to meet a couple selling Florida Health Insurance that we had met at the Punta Gorda Farmer's Market.  Amy and Bill were very good in helping us understand the ins and outs of what is Blue Cross/Blue Shield Medical Insurance, and signing us up for the most appropriate one. We enjoyed their company and the fact that they are sailors, having circumnavigated the globe over 7 yrs in their 38ft Sailboat. They have just built their land base, but still love to get out on the water...their yacht is on their home dock, giving them an advantage over those of us who are purely boat-bound.

All signed up with US health insurance gives us peace of mind. We had been wondering how we were going to do all this, and if we are planning to stay longer in the USA, then we surely needed that.

Tuesday was spent finalizing plans for moving on, buying last minute supplies and looking for a boat waxer/buffer that both of us can handle. We finally found one at Lowes, and bought more supplies at Ace Hardware. We aren't that happy with the wax job we paid for prior to going to NZ, so have decided to do most of it ourselves, if we can. At least we can keep it up when we need to, without wasting money...which is how we feel, having paid the waxers plenty!

I made a pasta-less lasagna made with egg plant and spinach with the meat sauce and ricotta. It was yummy, and enough food for two dinners and one lunch to the two of us. Nice:)

We have just come back to the boat after going across the road to visit with the neighbors, and to leave them our contact details. We spent an hour with Billy and Barb (sisters) and laughed our heads off. Barb has just bought a new car, and is having fun discovering all the things her new car can do...and how to operate all the gadgets:) They are a well travelled pair, and off to Scandinavia later in the year. We will enjoy hearing about their trip, eventually. They have been to Aussie and NZ, so they know from whence we come:)

Our intention was to go for a walk, but having spent too much time laughing, we have cut that short, and come back to put the wet laundry in the dryer...wet? yes...it absolutely persisted down around 4pm, with the lightening and thunder straight overhead...we wondered if we should take down some of the aerials, at one stage...lightening rods we don't want them to be!

I still haven't planted the herbs and tomatoes...oh well...some time. They are thriving despite my limited ministrations.

Sorry..no photos today. We have been too busy.

I like that we are leaving, finally, but I don't like the build up to going, if you know what I mean. There are only so many things you can do ahead of time, and that doesn't include taking all the curtains down...because the sun came out again and the 10 degree drop that happened when it rained soon came back up again towards the 90'sF. 

We plan to leave between 9 and 10am, according to the tide chart. Should be more water for us. There is also plenty of water in Lake Okeechobee, right now. About 13feet, to be more exact. Nice! We should be in Fort Meyers by 4pm, and on Friday, make our way to Moore Haven where we will spend the second night. From there straight across the Lake to Stuart where we will fill up with fuel, probably...we think. Depends on the price when we get there. Otherwise we will fill with just enough fuel to get us to St Augustine, and fill up there to get us to Brunswick, Georgia, where we will stay until I have hand surgery and have sufficient ability to move on to North Carolina. We have the rest of the summer to do these things, after all. I guess we have to make a time for Waz to get his Colonoscopy too!

So, I now have laundry to fold and put away, and drink my cup of tea. it is 9.35pm...time is flying, and we need to be up and doing fairly early in the morning.

I don't know when I will post again, but keep us in your positive thoughts for safe cruising on our journey. Thanks:)

Ciao for now, and Good Night.