the kindness of strangers...

spring has sprung here in the Keys...

the tropical foliage is in full bloom...

and there's a sweetness in the air...

and I savored all of this on my walk to the mailbox this morning.  God makes the most beautiful things.

The storms last evening left the marina parking lot in puddles.  When Emily and Ellen were wee little, they called a puddle a "floody"...I miss those days.  But the rain left an earthy sweet smell in the air today.  And the stinky sea grass was blown back out to sea!

The project plan for the day was to tackle Agnes, our autopilot that also took a crap.  Cap'n was looking through the chart table this morning to see if we had any literature on it, and wouldn't you know, Willis was right there, "helping" Dad.  We didn't have anything, but I did manage to find online that our Navico wp5000 has been discontinued (but of course, it's our luck).  However, I also located a user manual in pdf format that I downloaded to my laptop.  It was a place to start.

 

Donnie and I drove to a couple of places that work on marine electronics to pick the technician's brain's on Agnes (the autopilot) that went swimming in our cockpit for three months this past summer.  With some encouragement and suggestions, Cap'n decided to perform surgery on her today, in between rain showers.  He soon got the motor worked loose, and was feeling like perhaps she could be resurrected from the dead after all. Things were beginning to look up!  It's a good thing, too, as some quick research online and it looked like a new autopilot would cost at least two B.O.A.T.S.  NOOOOOO, no more B.O.A.T.S!!!  Our cruising kitty (not Willis) can't take any more B.O.A.T.S!

And then...along came Peter, from Maryland, via Slovakia.  As he was taking a stroll down the docks, he peeked in the cockpit and asked Cap'n if he'd like some help.  Donnie never met a stranger, and neither has Peter.  The two were fast friends.  If you can believe it, the good Lord sent us Saint Peter, who happens to be an electrical engineer!  That's no joke! 

It is safe to say that the man had fun (only as electrical engineers can do :) in solving this Agnes riddle.  He worked for FOUR HOURS on Agnes, chatting it up all the way, in his Slovakian accent.  It was awesome to see him enjoy his work and tell stories of his life.  Donnie was like a kid in a candy store.  And he got schooled today in electronics, by Saint Peter!

After about three hours, his wife eventually called looking for him, and he told her that Donnie had asked for his papers. When he could produce none, he was immediately kidnapped and enslaved in a labor camp!  I don't think she had ever been on a sailboat before, and she was captivated by our lifestyle.  Willis especially had her enraptured!  He's such a flirt.

Peter even went to his room and brought down his own briefcase/tool kit.  What engineer doesn't carry his own tools?  Including his own soldiering iron, of course, which he put to good use.  He made our connections neat and tidy, and pretty y'all!  We told him we'd like to take them both out for a sunset cruise this next week after this front moves through to thank them.  What a gift he gave us...unbelieveable.  After the rusted out mess you saw a few days ago, Agnes now looks brand new.  And, she works perfectly!  Praise the Lord!!!

While the boys were working in the cockpit, I went and printed out the Bahamas pet import forms and filled them out.  Willis can truly be called a 'sailor cat' once he crosses the Gulfstream and lives aboard in the islands.  We plan to sail to the Abacos the end of March thru April, and Willis is coming along this year.  He must have his traveling papers with him, else he would get quarantined upon arrival.  We can't have that happen!  I think Kenny is upset with us that he can't stay with him and Frannie this year.  Sorry, you two, Mr. Ridiculous is going with us!

This was Willis flirting with Peter's wife, just beggin' for a belly rub.  She caved; he grinned :)  Dern cat.  He's an embarrassment sometimes.

By the time the boat got reasonably put back together, we had all of 10 minutes to get ourselves to the Hurricane for Friday Night Pizza Night with our friends.  Only a party of twelve this time.

This is Fran, with her great niece, Alexa.  What a sweet girl :)

And Big Ron is back in town!  He's at Banana Bay for nearly a month this year.  Now the party officially begins!

And because the Good Lord saw fit to smile upon us today, wouldn't you know, our favorite band, The Doerfels were playing at the Hurricane tonight!  Here, the youngest two joined them on stage for a song.  Charlie is just seven, the next one is eleven, the drummer is fifteen, the lead singer and on guitar is seventeen, the bass player is eighteen, the mandolin is twenty one, and the oldest, TJ (on banjo) is twenty-four.  You have to check them out! www.thedoerfels.com.

I danced my sandals off!

...with random creepy guy.  Once was more than enough for me.  I was done in when he shook his butt at me.  Nancy, however, cracked up at him, lol.

Another local and I stomped it out to some bluegrass...he lost his flip flops, too.

Then they brought out their hockey stick instruments.  The family is originally from the Buffalo, NY area, and the kids did play hockey.  Since there aren't any hockey rinks in the Keys, they re-purposed them into an electric guitar, mandolin and bass.  Those crazy home school kids!

...and before the night was through, random Cuban guy and I shared another dance.  He spoke no English, and I was having trouble with my Spanish after two margaritas. I'm pretty sure he was whispering sweet Cuban nothings in my ear. 

But my best dance partner, by a long shot, is my honey, Cap'n Donnie. He's the very best :)  Time to go soak my aching feet.  G'nite y'all!