2010 - 10-31 - 11-12 - Home to Summerland Key

A kiss from Chef David

Paul & David - my 2 Chefs

On the 31st we pulled anchor and headed for home. Anchor down in Niles channel at 5:00pm. Dave and Paul had a yummy dinner waiting for us. Week of November 1st. Even though the weather wasn’t perfect and still a bit windy, we took everyone

fishing on BLUE MAX. It was too rough to go out and troll so we dropped the hook for bottom fishing. We pretty much got skunked and it was a good thing they took dinner out of the freezer. As you can
 see,the beggars were ever present when the snacks were opened. About 3:00, I began to feel really badly - you know, that icky feeling you get as you’re getting a cold. Head feels boggy, can’t get warm

enough, achy all over. Everyone was still fishing-I went to bed and never did get up until late the next afternoon. Shutting down like that and treating the symptoms really works. I felt much better and was doing yard work on the 3rd. They bought coolers 

           

                                                    Wayne @ rest in his new 'recliner'
filled to the brim with food - it looked like a Cosco super store! Dave and Paul made another wonderful meal, in fact, with the exception of only 1-2 nights, they cooked every night! Now, these are MY kinda guys ! On the 4th and on the high tide, we brought BLUE MAX to the house. She’ll remain at home until we leave after 1/1/11.

We were in the process of re-doing the living room with the hanging chairs, new love seat-sofa bed, 50” plasma flat screen and corner TV table when they arrived. I was selling the wicker armoires and wicker storage chest - Tina wanted them and I could see Paulie and Dave cringe as they knew they would be the ones to fit it all into the pick-up truck for the long ride to Philly.

                                       David, Scupper, Tina, Molly, me, Carol & Paul
The six of us had a great time, especially late afternoon when the boys were making dinner while we ‘girls’ enjoyed happy hour.
On the 12th It was time to have tearful goodbyes as we always do. The ‘girls’ managed to get into the
truck unobserved…they almost left with them! I love these Philly guys - I’ll miss them a lot !!
Ya know, we really did have plans for a nice cruise to somewhere this year. It’s not like we didn’t do a lot of things or travel somewhere special…but we never left Florida and, worse than that, we did a hell of a lot of work in 100 degree weather!
To me, the whole trip shouldn’t have been documented as a “log”. But on the other hand, we met a bunch of great people and had a lot of wonderful times and laughs with friends. So I think I’ll keep this ‘log’ as is…

Till next time...calm seas y’all.

2010 - 10/25 - 10/31 - Rated XXX - Crazy, Zany Fantasy Fest in Key West

Week of October 25th to 31st    Ahhhhh - the outrageous week of FANTASY FEST ! We returned to Oceanside on the 28th changed out the prop and performed a sea trial - better, but not perfect. Wayne needs perfection. We then high-tailed it to the other side of the island to pick up the dinghy. Anchored back in Key West, put the dinghy in and over to Dante’s to meet Eric and his buddies

                                             Eric & me

from ‘up north‘. They were staying at the cottage for a few days. Eric is close friend of Mickey’s which

makes him our close friend too. I reminded Eric not to stand with his hand on his hip cuz he was in Key West and some may get the wrong idea ! The two

beauties were at Dante’s - an example of things to come. The ‘lady’ in red is a guy. Wayne plants a kiss

 

our neighbor, Joey. Obviously, Wayne had a blast !! Well I did too but no one took my picture with all

those gorgeous men I saw! Paul, Carol, her daughter, Tina & Dave arrived from Philly for their annual two-week vacation. They arrived at the cottage about 2:00 am, Saturday, Oct. 30th.          

Body Painting

 

The gang wanted toattend the Fest parade that night. We decided to stay in KW and join them. This was the first time in over 10 years that I was a spectator and not working in the street. As usual, the parade started late. 

             

Code enforcement trying to upgrade their image! NOT!

YIKES !!

HUH ????????

Girl vs Guy ????????????/

                                            Now she's pretty

One tall dude

We waited and watched for them and by 8:30 I got them on the phone only to learn that they were still at home !! We never did catch up with them until the parade was over!

Motor Boat me Elmo ???????????

                                                           

2010 - 10/10 - 10/24 - Key West - Stock Island

October 10th to the 17th: We were towed to Oceanside Marina/boat yard at 4:30pm on the 11th and tied up to the seawall. Mark started work on the engine on the 12th. It rained and rained a good day to work inside. Frank and Joey brought the VW down but left the lights on - battery deader than a door nail. (always wondered where that saying originated?) Got a jump, headed for Key West but then engine overheated !! OK…what’s going on? I’m afraid to ask what else can possibly happen !! Thank goodness for all our towing insurance! Got towed to Hans Hommel and the tow driver was kind enough to take us back to the marina. Rainy, drab day - kinda goes with how things are going… Ahhh, a bright spot, sunny and gorgeous on Friday the 15th and Mickey and Kathryn will be here today. The engine is running but still not doing the RPMs as recommended. Thinking it might be the propeller, we sent it out to be re-pitched. We left the marina heading to Fish N Race on the other side of the island. We left the dinghy for repair then got a dock at the City docks. Mickey and Kate
                                  Bill, W&W, Kate, Mary & Mickey

                                          Inside Cap't Tony's

arrived just as we were going to the roof top bar at Turtle Krawls to meet up with Bill and Mary (boating friends we met in 2002 in the dry Tortugas). We all had a nice happy hour get-together but I was craving Lobster. We adjourned to Two Friends restaurant where tails were only $19.95 - YUM!! 16th The four of us wandered Duval St and had lunch at the Hard Rock. Kate and I told the server we were ‘military’ to get the discount. When Mick & Kate left, Wayne and I went back into town. We found a store that had just the chair he was looking for…foot rest and all. We bought two of them - what were we thinking??? October 18th to 24th Mario called, he found some ‘strange things’ inside the motor. Back to Fish n’Race again. It seems Sara Bay must have broken the shift rod while trying to remove it and instead of notifying us, they tried to fix the problem. We found epoxy all around the shift shaft seal assembly and something

unidentifiable being used to bond it all together (Looked like a cigarette butt). In addition, he found the carburetor intake spacer mounted upside down!

I’m not a mechanic but even I can see the problems. Our bill at Sara Bay was over $1200; the bill at Fish n’ Race to repair what Sara Bay screwed up was over $1800 !! I called Debbie, the service manager, at Fish n’ Race and explained the situation then sent her the pictures. No call back after a week so I called again. She forwarded the information to the General Manager. After a few weeks we received a check for Fish n’ Race’s entire bill. Wayne is, and continues to be, amazed that not only do I pursue the wrong, I get results. Ahhhh….lessons learned. The rest of the week was spent finishing up on the engine and waiting for the prop to be returned, hoping that the wrong pitch could be the problem.On Saturday the 23rd we went to a house warming party at Marie’s house - she’s Mark’s daughter. Nice

                                         Marie & her dad, Mark

                                                   Bubba & me
time, GREAT food catered by El Sibony, a Cuban restaurant, in Key West - yummy as always. Bubba makes the BEST Conch salad and homemade hot sauce I‘ve ever had! I’m in love! We left Oceanside on the 24th and anchored at Fleming Key to veg out after a zany week.

2010 - 10/1 - 10/9 - Naples - Ft. Myers

We left the anchorage about 8:45 am on Friday, Oct. 1st. The wind had been blowing from the N-NW so seas were 5-6 feet but not too bad since we had the floppers deployed. I had a trolling line out waiting for dinner to strike. At about 1:00 pm the engine suddenly stopped ?? - we were dead in the water.
This is when all our troubles began…Wayne’s theory…lack of fuel to the engine - blockage? I called the Coast Guard on the VHF radio and gave them our coordinates - they called Tow Boat US in Marco. Wayne monkeyed around bypassing a fuel valve that wouldn’t turn thus thinking the valve was faulty. No luck. I called Tow Boat and said, “the Captain said come get us”. We got towed back to Marco and about 7:45 pm, tied up at the Marco River Marina. Saturday, the 2nd turned out to be the most beautiful day…humidity was low, temp dropped to the mid 80’s , nice steady breeze - no A/C needed. I only wish the rest of the day was as wonderful. Wayne messed around a bit more in the engine room then started the engine. Holy S_ _ T !!!!!!!!!! Water was blowing out of the engine !! We’re in deep doo doo now. Wayne fished while waiting for the tow boat. Not much else could be done because it was - say it with me now - another weekend. Sorry, this might get a bit technical but I must document some of the events. Week of October 3rd. The weather was amazing-mid 80’s during the day with light breeze and 60-70’s at night. David, Shannon and Alexis made a surprise visit. Plans were made for that afternoon to go to the Naples Beach Club. The last time I was there was in the late 80’s when Dr. Lusk, (a neurosurgeon I worked for), got tickets to see Peter, Paul & Mary- David remembers it vividly. This band was great and Wayne even danced to a Reggae tune with me. Took this picture at the bar.
                                        Wayne, David, Ed, Shannon

                            Beautiful sunset from the Beach Club
Great time and a stroll back in time for me. To Café Luna for another yummy dinner. - the end of another perfect day. From Monday to Thursday, It was in the 80’s during the day, breezy with little to no humidity. The nights were chilly in the 60’s-70’s - perfect sleeping temperatures. Wayne worked on different aspects of the problem; he put a new piece of exhaust hose on; we had the fuel polished (Fuel is cleaned & returned to the fuel tank) thinking there was something that could cause a blockage; a diesel mechanic named Kit, bled the system - the engine seemed to be running fine. Turns out that Kit is best friends of Richard ! Small world. Wayne forgot my birthday on Thursday, the 7th - I was hurt so I went shopping for new shoes - got 2 pair of wedge-heeled Teevas - on sale, of course. We left the dock and headed South at 5 am on Saturday the 9th. Everything seemed to be running smoothly - all conditions were a ‘go’. After some time, I went into the cabin and heard a very weak alarm but I didn’t know which one. I hated to bother Wayne as he looked so comfortable but I just knew something was terribly wrong. I was surprised when he didn’t seem too worried about it but I persisted. We had been cruising about 4 hours, coincidentally, the same amount of time the engine shut down the first time! This was getting way too weird for me. He opened the engine room hatch - OMG! oil was spewed out everywhere! He shut down the engine immediately. He found a hose disconnected from the engine. We called the Coast Guard - again - they called Marco Tow Boat - again. After much discussion, we decided to be towed all the way to Key West some some 60 miles. We know a great mechanic there and we can take a bus home to get our car if needed. Thankfully, we have unlimited towing insurance. The tow began at 5 pm - we had a satisfying dinner, watched TV, used no fuel & felt like we were on a cruise ship. I went to sleep about 10. We anchored by Fleming Key at 3 am. Tomorrow, they will tow us over to Oceanside Marina where Mark de Jong, our mechanic is located.

2010 - 9/24 -9/30 - Naples

Sept. 24th David visited after he took Shannon to Café Luna. A surprise visit from my long-lost (other) son, Richard. Best friends since they were kids

Richard & David

& haven’t seen each other in six years. Emotional reunion. Saturday the 25th  Leisurely day on the boat. No work on the boat because it’s another weekend-we’re dead in the water. Richard and his wife, “yo” Adrienne picked us up for dinner & took us to Café Luna. Being a bit late was a good thing since the majority of the customers were already gone and we had more private time with David & Shannon.                     Wayne, David, Shannon, Richard, Adrienne 

Shannon operates this restaurant with her partner, Ed. We got to meet Ed & Shannon’s mom, Susan & her brother, Mike. We were able to have dinner in peace and Shannon could join us at the very cozy ’Godfather’ table in the corner. This drawing of the cast of the Godfather hangs above

 

 the cozy corner table - it’s fabulous! I just couldn’t get a good picture using the flash. It was a perfect night of good food, story telling and (reunited) good friends. It just doesn’t get any better than this… We took David, Shannon, Susan and Shannon’s sister, Alexis, for a boat ride on Sunday, September 26th . Magnificent weather, just enough clouds so it wasn’t too hot. We toured Port Royal going in and out of canals…then proceeded south down the ICW towards Marco. We stopped for a swim at a beach

                                                                   Alexis & Shannon

visited by many locals. David jumped in off the fly bridge just like he did when he was a kid. I don’t think he anticipated such a strong current but he made it to the beach OK. Glorious day. On Monday 27th we met Dave and Shannon for a quick drink then they were off to the races again. Shannon works full time for Caldwell Banker, a Real Estate company & also is part owner & works at Cafe Luna. On Tuesday, Sept.28^th we hung out on the boat and at 4pm Shannon picked us up, made a few stops for dog food and groceries then on to her home for her first-ever dinner party - David was cooking. She has a beautiful and unique home in a quiet neighborhood off the East Trail. Coincidentally, their home is around the corner from Manor Health Care, a long-term care facility, I transferred to from Philly in 1983. Note the entry way that leads into a screened-in pool area. All doors opens into this protected area. The single door on the right is the ‘cabana’ - a full bedroom/bath. Very neat design. Fabulous dinner of steaks cooked to perfection, veggies in oil and garlic and real mashed potatoes. Wednesday 29th, we stayed an extra day due to the uncertainty of TS Nicole but thankfully, no threat to us on the west coast. We left the dock on Thursday 30 about 10:30 we headed south on the ICW and anchored in Marco at 12:15 pm…shortest trip we’ve taken but we’ll be close to the Capri Pass and an easy out to the Gulf in the morning.