Today is such a boring blog...the fun has ended and the drudgery begins. Last night we were invited to Matt and Karie's for fresh Mahi Mahi on the grill- oh my goodness was it ever delicious! If only we could have caught one ourselves- maybe next time.
We got up and immediately got busy, and it has been a long hard day of cleaning, cleaning, and more cleaning. Every locker, every hidey hole has been emptied out, bleached down, and contents either pitched, packed for home, or repacked for long term storage. Donnie had the worst job, by far. When Bessie overheated yesterday morning, we discovered that there must have been a hole in the exhaust hose coming out of the manifold. Everything that was stored in that deep hatch, all our dive gear, extra line, anchors, crap and such were all covered in soot. It was a black, greasy mess. Bless him, he emptied it all out, crawled down in there, scrubbed every last bit, and then did a quick repair with some hose tape to get us to the boatyard. He will replace the hose first thing in December, when we return.
An equally yucky job is cleaning and tearing down the dinghy. Mark that one off the list. Matt came over to help Donnie remove the bimini and dodger, the railing, and the mainsail. It dried for the ONE HOUR it didn't rain today. It rained off and on, more on than off, the entire day and evening. I was down below scrubbing and packing away, and it got very steamy down there!
Biddi came by, and we made plans for dinner. I had a pound of hamburger left, so she offered up Danny to grill burgers for everyone. I made baked beans and pasta salad, and she fixed strawberry shortcake. We are ourselves silly, but we had worked up quite the appetite!
So for tonight, the main salon is all clean, the galley is clean, the stateroom is clean and our clothes are mostly packed. Tomorrow I have to defrost the refridgerator, clean the head, and sweep the floors, and I will be done down below. Donnie needs to bring the dinghy on board, and the rails for the bimini and dodger to store down below, clean the cockpit, and then we will be off to Driftwood. It will take about three hours to get over there, as we have to go under the Seven Mile Bridge, then sail past Sombrero Beach down to Coco Plum. We have decided to store it 'up on the hard' this time, rather than keeping it in the water. The best deal in the Keys is $7.50/foot/month. I'll let you do the math. Add a haul out to that, and Florida sales tax, and you can see why Mr. & Mrs. Fix It need to get home to start making money rather than spending it!
Let's see, the 'To Buy' list for next year....
new jib sail
new roller furling
new dodger and new wheel cover
new foulies for Cap'n
new sail sewing kit for me
new trolling rod
50-100' ft of anchor chain
new lines and sheets for the sails
new VHS radio....and that's just for starters. I'm sure there will be more. A boat always needs MORE of something!
Got to get to bed. It's going to be a long day tomorrow, and then two long days of driving on Tuesday and Wednesday. The good Lord willing, and the creek don't rise, we should be back to the log cabin sometime late Wednesday evening. Willis is ready for the car ride- he loves going to motels. That means he gets to sprawl in the king sized bed with Mom and Dad...G'nite y'all!
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