A Visit to Carentoir and more

In an effort for us to get to know our surroundings, we did a small Tiki-Tour to Carentoir, which is 3 miles to our left (turning out of the driveway) vs 8 miles to Guer, turning right, out of the driveway:) you get the picture?:)
We have previously only driven through the town or visited the Super U supermarket on the outskirts, this side of town. The supermarket is a nice one and the choices are great!...more on the food later.
First...we found a War Memorial, just after Waz said that we hadn't seen any...so far, obviously!

The Memorial is in front of the lovely Cathedral in the center of town. The lovely plantings were everywhere.

We thought that if we parked behind the Cathedral, we would be able to find our car, such is the manner of French Villages....lots of little streets that one can easily get lost in. Fortunately the town wasn't that large, and we could always see the spire of the Church, so no problem finding said car.


The streets are invariably clean and well cared for. Few if any derelict homes in the town central, though the same cannot be said for the outskirts, where there are many old and run down buildings. By old, I mean centuries old!!

I always said I wanted to live in France in an apartment with a window box and Red Geraniums growing therein...how Romantic!:)

Le Centre Ville (town center), which has a couple of roundabouts, a square, to the right, in this photo, and with some pretty planter boxes full of the last of the summer flowers, and parking. The houses are all attached, and it isn't until you get towards the end of the street that you find the semi-detached, and the completely detached houses. They might even have gardens, on the outskirts! These places might have garages down the back alley...if they are lucky.
There is good bus service between towns, it seems, and people appear to make good use of them. Children are bussed to school, in these parts, and it all appears very orderly, unlike some of their American counterparts.

Of course there was much more to the town than just a couple of photos....well, not, actually...and we needed Kitty litter, so off to the supermarket yet again....they are beginning to recognize us now:) for better or worse, lol. I'm the weird lady that takes photos of all the food:) I did explain that I am a New Zealander, in the hope that it might explain the strange activity! They smiled politely and nodded sagely..I think it was sagely...I might never know! Je ne comprend pas! (I do not understand!)

I get a bit excited in Supermarkets, so while Waz was off doing the decent thing and finding the Kitty Litter, I was ogling the gorgeous fresh...FRESH...fish...so many different kinds. I should make this a quiz, to see how many you recognize, but I don't think you would succeed very well...but go ahead, if you like!

 

No extra points for this one!

 You might already have identified this as Skate...if you didn't, don't worry! I know it from long ago travels.

 These look like hefty crab claws.

 Arent these Langoustine pretty!

Aren't these shells gorgeous! I don't know what they taste like, but was very taken by the aesthetics of the whole thing!

Bear in mind this is a small regional or rather town supermarket. The town would have a population of around 2,544 (1999 census) people, and there are other supermarkets in nearby towns.  This is the bread selection at the end of the day.  I know you cant read the names or prices very well, but I can tell you that the prices are small.

Oh look!! more fish!:)  I had to show you the Atlantic WILD Salmon, at 17euros per kilo. Good price, and it looks wonderful.

 The wrapped cheeses....most of the cheeses in supermarkets are wrapped, of course, but sometimes there is a counter selling slice per customer. We drooled over most of these...

So, then we found ourselves on the road to Redon, except we never got there. Instead we bumped into..almost literally...Gacilly, which has a pop. of around 2,277 (1999 census! lol)...Waz isdoing the research tonight!....anyhoooo, this was a totally inspired bumping of the best kind.

The town is on a hill, and we parked on the wrong side of the road, as they are apt to do, in these parts...any parking space, anywhere! and walked up the hill to one of the main streets, where we encountered an Art Happening. It looks like this small town is full of Art Atelier, and we found a few of them.


Looking up the road to the top of the hill, from where we parked in Gacilly

Looking back down over the gorgeous garden opposite the car.

 Some interesting art in a shop window

 Public art

 More public art outside the artists workshop. No photos allowed in the store of course, but they are the kind of weird things we might collect. :) Good thing we live on a boat, and cant send it back from France!

Rather like this fella!

 

. There was plenty of outdoor artwork and photography. I believe this is part of an Arts Festival.

 

This door and surround had obviously been newly painted. Loved the color against the traditional 'Pierre' (stone) house

Of course this alley way says "Walk down me" to us, so off we go!

 Of all the Typical French Scenes one might find at the end of the Rabbit Hole:) A Vespa with a wicker Panier (basket) on the back. Tres Jolie (very pretty)

The grape vines outside this home had grapes dying on the vine. We could have sat underneath and eaten till we were full to busting!

And then we had to go home....to find a bathroom. We were sure there was a public toilette somewhere in town, but couldn't remember where we had seen it, or was that the last town? who knows, so crossing both legs, we made our way back down the hill and a quick trip (French Rally Driving style) back home down the country roads. I can zoom up the long driveway in second gear, faster than Nikki Rikonnen (Finnish Rally Driver...forgive the spelling!)

And now we come, yet again, to food.

I love the prepared foods in France. These are Lardons. They  are pre-cut chunky bacon which flavor the food only. I use ordinary thick cut bacon and do the cutting myself, in the USA. Loved finidng these ready made, because the knives in our apartment wouldn't but pussies foot, as the saying goes.

 Into this pan went the lardons, then the mushrooms and courgette (zucchini in Italy and elsewhere) and the pre-cut chicken breast... another convenience I am very happy about.Add a dash of fresh cream, and some grated cheese of the Parmesan kinds, and Voila! Dinner!

How the Lardons are packaged. .97 euros, thanks. for two!

And joy of joys....I found, in the cheese sections, something I have been talking about for years...something I used to eat of lot of in  Aussie, to be exact, and finally found it...Walnut Cheese.
Heaven sent!

Waz has a new favorite...Mousse de Canard....Duck Pate. It is the smoothest loveliest pate you could wish to eat! That with Roquefort cheese on Ciabatta! For lunch!

And, following such a lovely chicken dinner, we had to have one of the prepared Tarte au Citron (lemon tart with meringue) Meringue, with fresh raspberries and Crème Anglais (custard) superbe!

I know you will all be drooling by now!! well, I hope you are:)

 

Time for bed. The cup of tea is over, and it is bed time.

I have another couple of days to tell you about, but it will have to wait until tomorrow..Sunday.

 

Au Revoir, and Bon Nuit.

More Construction!

With great enthusiasm we were up early and on the job in no time, after a scrambled egg breakfast with Croissant. We needed the protein, working this hard. What a great feeling it is to be ready to sleep at the end of the day:)

We had to go into Guer yet again, to the Brico Mache hardware store. This time we got it right! yay! We also decided to take half an hour, on the way home to check out the little town. what a pretty place! A nice cathedral in the middle, of course, and plenty to look at...including buying some patisserie! yes, we bought a chocolate and a café (coffee) Religieuse (Chou pastry with crème patissier in the middle)....thus...with frosting on the top!..we had to eat it for lunch, of course.

 

I didn't take a photo of the Croissants aux Armande, but I can tell you, they were wonderful for breakfast the next day!:) and no, we aren't putting on weight, just in case you thought we might be:)

Just as well we are driving a small car! we parked on this side street and walked around the Centre Ville (town center). On the corner (right) is the stone building where the Patisserie is! and below, Waz is holding the beautiful package that is our pastries! Pyramid of loveliness:)

Everywhere, in all the towns, are baskets of summer flowers...some of course are past their best. The morning temperature is very cool indeed, now.

I will have to tell you about our trip into Carentoir, tomorrow. Time for bed, and another work day tomorrow. Au Revoir!

Being Constructive!

Oh how we love to get our hands dirty and really get stuck into something. The next day we slept rather late. Perhaps the time difference of 6 hours (forward) was catching up with us. After a breakfast of more croissants and fruit and tea, we took ourselves off to the Apartment we are renovating. Donning our coveralls we set to, spackling the very uneven concrete walls, so that they can be painted and don't look totally munted (kiwi terms for dreadful) afterwards. The spackle is taking a long time to dry, so I go from one wall to the other. There are plenty of walls to spackle!
In the meantime, Waz fits the new door handle...a bit of blue air, but for the most part things go well. We do have to go into Guer to the Hardware Store Bricomarche, to find some bits and pieces before we can go further. We did ok with the language, and found most of what we needed there. We did get a little bit lost getting there, and had to go via the Tourist Information office to ask....not sure why they don't speak English there, as there are so many English visitors to the region! Anyhoo...someone there knew a little English, and with my little French, we each made ourselves understood and got to the Marche. Problem solved!
The problem with these little towns is this: The roads are skinny between the houses, and it is a bit like a maze! seriously! one can literally go around in circles...well, maybe a few circles! didn't we just come down here???yep!

The last person to spend their time at the Chateau 'helping out', did some really 'interesting' things...like extending the door. You can see the original door with the door handle now on the extension. Waz installed that today.

This is the view as you walk into the apartment, straight into the Kitchen, with the large bathroom ahead (ladder in there). Waz has to put three new lights above the kitchen counter...not an easy job undoing what is already done! more blue air!:)

Someone had a nightmare and sponge painted the walls in the bathroom. The only good part of that is that you cannot see how horridly pocked the wall is. This is what I have been spackling...and the part underneath. On Saturday the drywall arrives for the toilet surround, ceiling and behind the shower stall. Waz will be installing that. We have some scaffolding to install to do the ceiling, which will be a large job!

 

This is what the wall looked like BEFORE I got in there with the mud. It took me ALL DAY to spackle this wall. There are four walls in the Bathroom, and three others in the kitchen, to spackle.

 

Looking back to the front door

 

The Caretakers apartment is above the garage. Such a pretty setting with lovely big windows on all sides . You could have a party in the bathroom, it is so large:)

We pretty much worked all day, and felt tired and well accomplished. A long walk down the road after dinner, and picking some wild blackberries! yum! End of the season though, so some of them are a bit old.
More tomorrow!

Nous Sommes Arrivons En France

Yes, we have arrived in France. More precisely, we arrived yesterday, 31st August, at Chateau Le Mur.
Let's go back to the beginning of the 30th August, Sunday. Waz and I were up at 6am, and decided to go to Waffle House for a good protein filled breakfast. Having packed everything up at the boat and made ready to leave, we didn't have much left to do. Our goodbyes with various people were  leisurely affairs and essential, as so many of them may not be at the Marina on our return. With Hurricane Season in full swing, as we left the country...3 in the Pacific region hovering around the Hawaiian Islands (my kids on Maui will hopefully be safe, though they wont be enjoying the 102F the last two days have given them), and Erik dissipating over the Florida Peninsula, we now only have Fred to worry about, somewhere in the Atlantic.....we did the best we could with making the boat ready for pretty much anything.

It is only a 15 minute drive to the Golden Isles Airport, Brunswick, and a fairly casual place to leave from. Parking is free, which is nice, compared to the hundreds of dollars required to park in either Jacksonville or Savanah Airports. Ticket agents checked our single large bag through on Air France, all the way to Charles De Gaulle/Roissey, Paris. We shouldered our backpacks and moved into the lounge through security, to await the arrival of our small aircraft.

On board the small jet aircraft, we sat on the tarmac with engines running for a full 45 minutes. As there is no Control Tower at Brunswick, they take all their instructions from Savannah, apparently. We waited for two planes to land, in that time, before getting the all clear. At least the Capt. kept us all informed, if a little impatient. No drink service on that 45 minute flight.

Arriving in Atlanta...wow! what a huge airport!. Caught the shuttle train to the International Terminal, found the Food Court and a healthy lunch of  wraps and a Latte, of course.

Just as well we had plenty of time between the delayed Brunswick flight and our Paris flight! It took the whole hour allotted, to seat the full plane. Some unreasonable people aboard, making demands which adds stress unnecessarily to all those around. Only one of the flight attendants was a French speaker, which added to the stress, with many passengers being non-English speaking. All was sorted in time to take off, and the flight was otherwise uneventful. I took a sleeping tablet which only afforded me 2 1/2 hours sleep, and Waz stayed awake the whole time. We watched various movie choices...two I might not have seen otherwise, but was happy I watched them. Don't ask me the titles...completely flown out the other ear!:)

Arrival En France was 20 minutes early at 10 mins to 6am. It appeared that a gazillion flights had the same arrival time and the French do not believe in air conditioning their arrival hall. Waz advised me NOT to take a photo of all the people there at the same time...seriously....it was chock full of almost every nationality you could imagine. Too many Douane (customs) officers lurking around (fully armed), and I didn't want to lose my brand new spy camera!

Some photos you just HAVE to take...like this one:)

As it was so early, and we had enjoyed a small (emphasis) breakfast from a cardboard box, on the plane at 5am, we sought what any good kiwi would, when overseas...a Latte or whatever might pass for same. A Capuccino did just fine, in conjunction with  a Pain Chocolat, and later two more Capucinno and a large Pain au Raisin..you have to have something to do when you have almost three hours to wait in the Gare Charles de Gaulle....waiting with large crowds in Railway Stations in the heat, with people who don't know what a deodorant looks like...seriously!!! means you seek other places with fresh (albeit polluted) air outside.

Our second Breakfast....

Outside of the main Train Station at Charles de Gaulle airport, where we attempted to find some fresh air. This is where the smokers are allowed...so it wasn't too fresh. We made do with the cooler air, anyway.

Our train to Rennes in Brittany arrived and we duly boarded, found our comfy first class seats and settled in. We were feeling pretty spacey by this stage. Sleep was hard to come by, although Waz did manage a few winks towards the end of the 3 hr trip. It was great watching the countryside whiz by, being on the TGV (Train Grande Vitesse..or Very Fast Train) and we could see all kinds of interesting sights on the way. Small towns dotted all over...Large fields of Maize and some of sunflowers, now all past their bright best, and hanging their heads ...Some church spires, the odd chateau in the distance on a hill, but mostly farm land. France is still very much like NZ, an Agrarian Country.

Little cars everywhere! You forget the necessity for small cars...big ones just wont fit down some of the skinny village streets, and besides, they are expensive to run, insure and keep. I read this morning that the French are terrible drivers...another thing they have in common with Aucklanders!...and also there is a lot of car theft in this country. It almost doesn't pay to have a new vehicle! Insurance is expensive too.

We arrived at Rennes around 1.30pm and sought a bathroom. We know they are hard to find, and the public toilets we have visited so far have been none too clean. I bought some croissants for our next two mornings breakfasts, at a boulangerie at the train station. I made the purchase successfully, in French, and we then went in search of our Rental car...or the rental car people. This was accomplished, the car inspected for dings and anything else, and away we went....albeit slowly, at first...or perhaps I should say...with a few rabbit hops, stalls and much laughter. It has been 20 something years since I drove a stick shift (manual) vehicle, and it took a lot of concentration to remember to put my foot on the clutch to change gear, and then to synchronize everything. Waz is such a patient man!

With the GPS on, and instructed to take us to the Chateau Le Mur, just out of Carentoir, we had a 40 minute drive ahead of us. We found that the French like to tail gate and then zoom past you, if you are not going as fast as they think you should.

We arrived without too many hassles and wrong turns and after stopping at a Supermarket of sorts in the small town of Guer, just about 6 miles from the Chateau. This is a weird sort of supermarket that we have since returned to. Not big box, but not standard fare either. We bought wine...nearly falling off our perches when we saw the price...1.99euros! eh? yes, we had to look three times, before loading 6 bottles into our trolley:) Also bought some pate...canard (duck), which is divine!!!, some Roquefort cheese (blue) which was so inexpensive for a large wedge (2.49 euros) some grapes, tomatoes and other fruit and a few veg, some Crème Anglais (custard), and a couple of little soufflé vanille which we have enjoyed for dessert. ...have I digressed again? oh dear me!

Back to our arrival. Terry and Ernie (Owners) were at the Chateau, where they live with their daughter and grandson, as we drove on up to the front door. I guess they thought we were arriving earlier, but we had told them late afternoon. It was in fact 4pm  by the time we pulled the car to a stop.

Ernie showed us to our apartment, down the drive and around the corner from the Chateau. It is one of five apartments in the Manoir, opposite the Dairy. The property is 181 acres, and includes many outbuildings, a Manoir, Chateau and Dairy Farm. This latter is leased to a French Farmer. The smell of cows is ever present, but we don't mind. We are kiwis from the 'country' (rural) , after all:)

We were left to settle in for a bit, before going up the driveway on foot to find out what is expected of us while we are here and to earn our accommodation for the 4 weeks.

We are happy to be off the boat and doing something interesting with our time. We really don't mind the exchange that is taking place because it gives us a chance to be 'local' and go to stores to buy things that we might need...building supplies mostly, and all with the idea that we might like to find our own little piece of paradise in France somewhere (near water) for a few years or more and to enjoy the lovely food, countryside and all that France has to offer...including all the History. Something about living with and discovering all this history around us.

We slept well our first night, waking initially around 4am, and then going back to sleep for another couple of hours, rising around 9am feeling very groggy. Should have risen at 4!

We spent time having some breakfast and getting up before meeting with Ernie to discuss some further progress on the building front...our jobs while here.

It was decided to go into Rennes, initially for Lunch and then to a large Home Depot type of Hardware store. We spent the best part of two hours in this store finding all the bits and pieces needed to do the job we have for the rest of our time here. Renovating the Caretakers Apartment above the garage. Ernie and Terry are hopeful they will find a Caretaker to live on the property and do all the things Ernie has been doing to date but doesn't really have time for anymore. It is a LOT to take care of, and would be pretty much a full time job. There is need of a vehicle too, as there is no public transport locally, and the two towns are rather isolated, though not far from the Chateau.

We slept well for our second night, after enjoying some delicious food... and cups of British Lipton's Tea, which tastes wonderful.

Breakfast this morning was the last of the croissants and Viennoiserie...little pain au chocolat, pain au raisin and mini croissants. VERY good. Fruit and cappuccino!

We were up and at it early, getting to the job around 7.45am....oops...I forgot to tell you about the lunch yesterday! aiee!!

They took us to a Chinese Buffet just this side of Rennes. We thought this was rather weird initially, but the food was excellent, a bit different to what we are used to in the USA at these kinds of places, and it was inexpensive at 10euros each. The ice-cream for dessert was superb! and so was the flan au citron (lemon pie) ...the other food was pretty good too:)

Back to today. Our hosts have gone and left us to it. Waz installed a new door handle and lock, removed the old oil heaters in the bathroom, installed some new lights in the kitchen and many other small tasks. I put on my overalls and began the spackling in the bathroom. I am trying to make the old walls smoother than they are...which isn't hard, frankly, and tomorrow, if they are dry, we will sand them and the living room, if we can. I still have some spackling to do in the bathroom, but that should be possible tomorrow also. Nice to be working and doing renovating...we like this kind of work!

This is giving us a good look at what it is like to live En France, and to see if we would like to live here for a while. Real Estate is not very expensive, and if we could find the right property near the ocean, we could be tempted. Lots of places to see and things to do in the meantime. We may not be able to do this for a while. The boat has to sell first! Who knows what our future holds, right now.

Tomorrow, after a good night's sleep, we will up and at it yet again. So satisfying to be working hard, using our brains and feeling tired at the end of the day so that we look forward to sleep.

Au Revoir...

Sorry for the lack of photos...having trouble uploading them.

Always Finding New Stuff!

...and what a good thing it is too, wouldn't you say?

Life would be pretty boring if we didn't constantly discover new fields of interest and new places.

Somehow the above two sentences were started and the thought never finished....Waz would say "That train left the station without the passengers!" I have to agree...:)
Not to say that I wont think of what was supposed to follow on, but in the meantime, I will document what has happened around these parts in the past week.


OH! I know!!! I was going to tell you about the new Supermarket we found. This will be old news to some people, but for us, it was a mighty discovery of the Awesome kind! I don't use the A word lightly, you understand.

The supermarkets in these parts are average, for the most part. We are blessed with a Walmart Market, Winn Dixie  x 2, and up the far end of town there sits a Publix with no sign on the front of it to tell you it is a Publix, which is probably why we drove  past it several times before figuring out it was our actually destination....the GPS kept telling us!

Our  new discovery of the awesome kind was a Harris Teeter Supermarket! WOW! This is the next best thing to a Whole Foods! The prices are competitive, but the produce in particular was/is of superior quality, unlike some other places. Their cooked food sections overflowed, the breads were exceptional and did I mention the cheeses??? I had to take a photo of the New Zealand WHITE wine selections...we didn't get around to discovering the Reds!

I think I told you about the local "First Friday' of the month, in the Brunswick Historic District.. what is known as 'Downtown Brunswick'. This is an effort by the Chamber of Commerce to generate business in a depressed but beautiful area that struggles for the rest of the month, to do much business. We can think of a gazillion ways they might do things differently, but apparently, the chamber committee is filled to overflowing with die-hards who have lived here their whole lives and THINK they know everything. Don't most places have public bodies who are like this? lol.

Well, we met up with a few of the others from the marina...namely, the Aussies and Kiwis who are here right now. We stood around and listened to the music in one of the 12 squares in the center of the Downtown area.
Liam and Annie are Aussies from Sydney, and they have literally been around the world for the past 10 yrs on their 50ft Catamaran. You name it, they have been there! Before that, they motorcycled everywhere! They are similar age to us, and we enjoy their company. The kiwis on another large boat, this one a 54ft Jeanneau single hull, have their 8 yr old along with them. They have had some 'issues' with their boat in their absence! We should NEVER leave our boats to others to do 'work' when we are not present. Sometimes that is not possible, but the work they had done on their boat by unqualified and inexperienced 'tradesmen' should never have happened, and wouldn't have IF they had been in the country and been present! Kim, Kerry Anne (she is an Aussie/ Kiwi) and Keiley, their son, are here until Hurricane Season ends on November 1st. Another set of Kiwis, Ray and Fiona...well, SHE is the kiwi, and HE is the Aussie...returned this past week from spending a couple of months touring Canada. They had trouble re-entering the USA, as do most of our kind who are on 6 month visas. The print in black and white says that we have to leave the ENVIRONS of the USA, including the Bahamas, Canada and Mexico...so may as well go home, or to Europe for the required minimum of 15 days out of the country before re-entry is allowed. Woe betide those who try to skirt around the regulations.

 Kiwi Waz, Aussie Liam, US Mark, Kiwi Kim, Kiwi Keely and Aussi/kiwi Kelly Anne, with Aussie Annie on the far right.

Waz and I had an idea to take something new and distinctly kiwi to one of the get-togethers. It took us forever to find some really thin sliced bread. Finally we found some Arnolds Melba Cut bread. We wanted to make Asparagus Rolls. After opening four different cans of Asparagus, and finding some weird white substance in each tin, we found the fifth to be normal, as it were, and made the rolls out of that. This is one of NZ's and apparently Australia's favorite 'take a plate' kind of dish for sharing. They were snapped up and enjoyed by all.

Harris Teeter has the most wonderful meat department, and steak was on sale...we had to have some, of course, and enjoyed that meal a couple of nights ago. We also purchased 5 scallops which were also on sale and because they were so large...I cut them into 3 pieces each. We had them lightly poached with onion and garlic in a little cream with some fresh shrimp on Lemon pepper Linguine. Delish! Needing some greens, I steamed broccoli and fresh asparagus.

Two nights before, I made a Cauliflower Risotto with squash and shrimp. That too was delish...the garlic chives come from my own garden!

I guess you could say we eat very well?

In between all the other action, we have had some momentus storms. I love watching the clouds roll in and the rain in the distance, and calculating how long it will be before the storm deluges us. Of course we sometimes get great sunsets too:)

The storm clouds build around the fluffy white ones. Those can be deceiving though!

About 5 mins after I took these photos, the rain came down, suddenly. The river had white caps and the wind whipped the boat around on the dock. The ropes creaked and we had to adjust how we walked around inside, with all that rocking.

I had an appointment (finally) with an Orthopedic Surgeon yesterday in Jacksonville (JAX). The purpose was to investigate how far along the osteoarthritis is in my left hip. It was decided (by him) that he would replace the hip joint. May as well, he said, it will only get worse, and you should have enjoyment of life, at your young age. I liked him immediately!:)

So, I filled out a bunch of paperwork, and they gave me some more inside a folder, with times and dates and all kinds of information to cover their butts, and told me they would also investigate why I have numb feet and left side pain, not associated with the hip joint. An MRI is ordered for a lower back investigation. I have a prolapsed disk, I know that already, but how that is affecting the nerve, since the last X-ray (6 yrs ago) is the whole reason for the MRI. So, we have made some plans to dock the boat in nearby Ortega River, for the duration of the Operation and Physical Therapy that is required, so that will take place over about 3 months, November through February.

In the meantime, we have lots to do.
The Bimini will be removed on Tuesday, and the outdoor cushions will go with them too, to be recovered. The Bimini will be away only a couple of days, because we will be very exposed up top without it. Things will get VERY wet otherwise.

Waz and I have some other plans which I will tell you about in a couple of weeks. Lots going on!!!:)

For now...we are off to eat dinner...crab cakes with salad! new recipe!...and it is Saturday night, which means it is game night at the Yacht Club. Dominoes and Euchre! Ciao

Fun and Games in the Boating world

We live-aboard boaters (includes Cruisers (motor boats)  and sail boaters) have to have some fun during Hurricane Season holed up here in Brunswick, Georgia.

We are a community of around 50, at any given time, with folks coming and going during the summer season.

A multi-talented group of people, as any you would find in a community, some of the women gather in the laundry 'waiting room' or 'little salon' which happens to be the coldest room anywhere (AC) on Tuesdays for a 'craft' session, where they sit around the circular table, do their thing and chat and exchange both useful and useless information...take your pick, obviously! lol.

Tuesday night was 'music' night, or Jam session. If you have an instrument, bring it and join in, or there is a tub full of percussion thangs to choose from to keep time with. All aboard the merrier!

Get-together time is Mon/Wed/Fri...which involves a representative of the marina owner's family pouring the wine in the large lounge at the 'Yacht Club'. We all tend to take nibbles to share, for this 'happy hour' from 5pm onwards. This gathering often spills over into someone's sailboat or motor yacht and the die-hards also gather on the covered area at the head of each of the 15 docks. There you will find tables and chairs (mostly), fans recently installed to keep the air flowing during those times when breezes are scarces, and to keep the Mozzies away. (Mosquitos!). The folks on some docks are more 'active' in these places, than others. Those on smaller craft tend to gather at the dock head for the cooler temps and they can cook meals at the Bar-B-Q that is also provided. We are well taken care of in this place! The management is vigilant, and security at night is spot-on and efficient. Folks leave their boats in good hands, when they go away for short and long periods, and we all take care of our neighbors.

Being boaters, our neighbors are mostly 'of like kind', we find. We are a peculiar type:) So many of us have sold our homes in favor of a life on the water, less encumbered and with goals that vary from place to place and season to season.

I have an advertisement in the Yacht Club to cut hair. Having been a Hairdresser since I finished my training in 1977, I have a skill that is much sought after in Marinas. We see some wild and woolly types in these parts. Most sailors have little time to attend to the haircutting type of necessities, so I get some interesting clients. Today's client was Ed. He and his wife have lived aboard their 37ft trawler since they left New Orleans (their previous home) 14 yrs ago. They have no desire to live on land again, until, as Ed put it, "we are forced to"...by this, I gather he is referring to very old age or being carried off his boat in a coffin. I had his vote of confidence, because he said he would be back in a month for his next cut!

Saturday nights are Game night in the Lounge at the Yacht Club. Some are rabid card players, and highly competitive! phew! Waz goes there to play Euchre, and I go there to play a form of Dominoes known as the Mexican Train Game. Some of you will know of what I speak.

Wednesday (yesterday) we went to the Methodist Church Hall to give blood. As usual, I was rejected because I lived in Europe from 1980...Mad Cow Disease was prevalent then... and we don't want to share the possibility of infecting anyone with blood that might be a carrier.

The equipment was not what one would call up-to-date, and was probably one of the most unsophisticated locations Waz has donated his blood.

He is a long time donor and we don't mind spending our time doing this. I will remember to take a book next time, though.

At last night's get together, Rhonda, off one of the 40 ft Cats in the Marina, showed us her Megaladon teeth that she had found in the 'tailings' dump, across the river from here.

This one is the largest of the day's haul. It measures about 2 inches in length. She has a huge collection of these now...both large and small, and has become the resident expert. Megaladon sharks existed between 15.9 and 2.6 million years ago, during the Cenozoic Era.

Not only was Megaladon the largest marine predator by far, making today's Great Whites look like Guppies, but they weighed in around 50 tons and measured around 70ft long~ phew! that is one massive shark!

 

These are not the prettiest teeth she has found...the larges is around 3 inches long, and in almost pristine condition. The site of discovery is an area of dredge tailings which is strictly speaking off limits, but with a bicycle for transport and nothing to dig with but her hands, she feels she isn't breaking any laws:)

 

We all eagerly await Rhonda's daily treasure finds:)

 

Our music evening the other night ended in a 'Cat' party. You know there is a party going on, on a boat, by the number of  shoes on the dock! Rhonda's birthday on the 3rd, August is being celebrated for a week, it would appear. We enjoyed Banana bars (made by the b'day girl on the bar-b-q...she is an expert!) and Ice-cream. She and husband Bruce invited us all to share the ongoing celebrations onboard their 40ft Catamaran.

 12 of us crammed into the salon on their boat..it was cozy and lots of fun. We laughed so much I almost lost my voice!!! I was still pretty hoarse yesterday!!

 What is left of the banana bars and the Ice-cream. Gary brought the latter, and we all enjoyed plenty of it.

 Birthday Girl Rhonda in with Ice-cream in hand.:)

Susan and David arrived from their Carver 53, further down the dock. I think they could hear the hilarity!

 

We have enjoyed their company while they were here for the 4 days. They live and work in Cincinnati, and visit the boat to get away from corporate life. David and Waz enjoy each other...David is a Food Chemist, while Waz is an Industrial Chemist.

 

Yesterday, we had a space visitor arrive on the dock. She is a carbon-fibre, custom-built, 61 foot behemoth of a catamaran. Her captain is French, from Brittany (near Brest) and has been with her since she was designed and built (all French) in South Africa. He has sailed her (she is light and can reach speeds of 30 knots under sail! aieee!!!) just about around the world, in many cases on his own, although he told me he usually does no more than 500 miles on his own. He has arrived with a first mate, this time, and because of his height...a 90ft mast..he is unable to go into many ports with bridges. The Sidney Lanier bridge at the entry to Brunswick Port is high enough to allow them to dock here.

This is her in the foreground, as the sun was leaving us, last night. Her sides are so high, that it is impossible to look over the side when we are walking along the dock. She has circular doors on the rear of the salon cabin, which gives her some 'eyes'. I was surprised to find her there when we returned from an outing, yesterday. Her captain and crew were immediately out cleaning and putting away equipment. Her owner is French, and lives between France, Hong Kong and New York. She is custom built, of course, and apparently the owner enjoys racing her off Rhode Island, during the summer...normally! Not this year, however. She has come from Rio, this year, taking just two weeks of sailing to get from there to Brunswick! Amazing! I believe they had to dock briefly in Miami to clear customs, which was their only other landfall.

So, we have had an interesting week. Our kiwi friends on their lovely 53ft Jeanneau came with us for a tiki-tour yesterday, and we introduced them to Dairy Queen ice-cream...namely 'Blizzards'! They enjoyed them...so did we!!! naughty, naughty!
Well, we are off to our neighbor's Gallery opening shortly. Suzie is excited to be a featured artist, and we want to support her. Life in this little town is full of surprises and action. Tomorrow night is the First Friday in Brunswick, and all the local merchants have nibbles and wine/soda in their stores, and the locals all turn out to sample and buy:)