the last 10 miles...

We woke up Easter Sunday morning to two candy-filled Easter eggs on our
bow at the town of LaBelle.  Have I said how much I love this place?!

Donnie went exploring in the dink last evening while I was getting dinner
ready and he wanted to show me all the out of the way places he found.
The Easter bunny went along for the ride, too.  No really, she did.

There's a story behind this boat that goes something like this...
The man who owned this boat had developed a new prototype marine
engine back around 1940.  He was a tinkerer and fancied himself
as quite the inventor.  The country of Germany expressed an interest in
purchasing the new-found technology, and then WWII broke out. 
In spite of having achieved his dream in developing this efficient marine
engine, his patriotism got the best of him, and he felt it would have been
an act of treason to pursue selling the technology.  I don't know what
happened to the man, but the engine and its story are now in the town
of LaBelle's historical museum, and his boat lays in ruin. 

His wasn't the only boat in ruin along those creeks.

Remember Melinda and her dog, Girlfriend?
We found the motor-sailor where they live, and as we
pulled up, we saw the alligator swim by in front of their bow.
They have a beautiful boat, don't they?  I wonder if she sails well?

It was a beautiful morning to go exploring.

As we headed back to Marquesa, we came across Melinda rowing
her boat and the dog.  Donnie offered to tow her back, but she
refused saying it was the only thing she does to try to keep her
boobs perky!  lol.  We lingered for awhile longer and let her entertain
us with her stories in that genteel southern accent of hers :)

We lingered a little longer...

...and soon we were one of only two boats left in LaBelle.  It was
time to cast off the dock lines for a final time this season...

As we waited for our final bridge opening, I spied this
alligator kill in the lily pads.  It was the remains of a pig.  Eww.

Then it was time to bid LaBelle goodbye.
We will most definitely be back.  November 2015.

An hour and a half later, we were approaching Ortega lock.
the last one on the Waterway for us before arriving at The Glades.
 

All tied off, and fenders out the port side, it was time
to go up, up, up- eight feet in all.

I left our mark above the water line :)

We both took a few minutes,

to savor this last experience on Marquesa...

...as the water came rushing in.  It was a pretty cool experience, not gonna lie.

As we rose to the top, I looked above me, and there was a sticker from the
Happy Clam!  I squealed when I saw it.  The Happy Clam is the restaurant
in Maine that is owned and operated by Greg and Corinna, the neighbors
in front of us this season at Banana Bay on the Wanderer.  How crazy
is that?!  Life sure is funny and strange sometimes.

Within the hour, our friend Len caught us coming around the bend.

We made it to The Glades!  It was great to run Marquesa in fresh water
for 80 miles, too.  Cap'n got to flush the AC unit, and was able to
run freshwater through Bessie, too.

We no sooner docked, and then we immediately went to work!  We had a lot to
get accomplished before our 8am haul out the next morning.  The first thing we
 did was to take down all the sails.  Len and I set about folding them up, but
 apparently tackling the job like folding a bed sheet was too much for some
 fella in the boat yard.  He had to come over and school us, because what
we were doing was 'wearing him out.'  Lol.  He must have really
been listening and watching us to get himself so worked up!

Occasionally we let the 'crew' rest- but then we were
back at it.  It was hot, thirsty work, y'all.

 

By the time we got the dinghy bottom scrubbed and deflated, we all needed
a break. We were making good progress.  I have to say, too, that it sure was
 nice (no, it was incredible) to have an extra set of hands willing to help.

 

Cap'n started telling stories, like the time he accidentally
shot his sister Diane's cat "stone cold dead."
IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!

 

I'm not sure what Len was thinking, but I know that
nothing makes me laugh harder than hearing these
two boys laugh :)  They crack me up!

After the dinghy was folded and stored, I elected myself
to stand on the piling to disassemble Windy.  I hadn't
had any beer, so I figured it was easier for me to perch, lol.
I still managed to slice my pinky on one of the blades.
They are razor sharp :/

 

After several more hours of packing and stowing, Momma K declared
it all "good enough" for the night and made a pitcher of sangria for us all.

While the boys played music, I got busy in the galley making chicken
fajitas and black beans and rice.  I also packed all of our clothes, toiletries
and such into tubs- and refilled their glasses a time or two...

...while Donnie got acquainted with his new Epiphone :)  I didn't hear the cool
story that went with buying this guitar at the pawn shop in LaBelle until that
night. It seems Donnie asked to see the guitar and began to play it in the store.
Some bleached blonde rough looking chick came up to him and said she was a
 singer and dancer (just what kind of dancer, I'm wondering?) and she proceeded
 to join in on a couple of songs.  The guy wanted much more for the guitar,
but gave it Donnie for only $100.  He told him, "Everybody that has picked
up that guitar sounded like crap until (him), so he deserved to have it for
less money.  The icing on the cake was selling the real piece of crap guitar
that he had been playing for $80.00, so he was only out $20 for a guitar
he has been wanting for quite some time. Cap'n gets that wheelin' and dealin'
gene from his momma, no doubt, whose name happens to be Jean ;)

After a hard day's work, some sangria, and dinner,
our last night on Marquesa was feeling pretty good.
We listened to music and cooked up plans to sail
around the world together.  That naturally led to
the discussion of a bigger boat, and all that we'd
need to be able to really 'do it' some day.
First on the list- a larger boat with two staterooms
and two heads- at the First Mate's request!
I must say we all work well together though, and
we'd sure have a lot of fun. (As if there was any doubt :)

As I was cleaning up the galley, I noticed the sun was setting.  Though it
was cloudy, and I wasn't looking out at the ocean, I ran up topside
and sat on the bow to take in the moment.  I never tire of sunsets.

The boys continued playing late into the night, until the sangria was gone...

...though they had some help from a couple of guys who came down to join us.

It was a beautiful night of friends, listening to music, and sharing
lots of laughs.  The only thing missing this trip...

...was Willis T, who seemed perfectly
content to be with Uncle Kenny and
Fran. He was helping her do laundry,
just like he does with me back home.
Dern cat.

G'nite, y'all!