Best Life

                                         Our view from our dinner table.  Quiet Time is anchored just behind the monohull under the arrow.  Good food (fish tacos), good drinks (Margaritas) and good friends (Sally and Rick) - always a good time!                               Despite being edible - I could not bring myself to chew on the orchid.                               The dinghy ride over to the restaurant was calm and beautiful.  We have anchored here several times and are comfortable knowing we are set for the night.   It's a pretty popular spot but we have plenty of swing room and are well out of the channel.  And the welcome by the dozens of dolphin...

  Goodbye Titusville.  An early morning start in the warm sun!   No sweatshirt required!  Still, I am reluctant to put our coats away yet.  We are down to only two blankets on the bed though - maybe one tonight! A bit of boat traffic (most heading south), a manatee, few dolphin and  many pelicans made the 25 miles pass quickly.  We anchored just outside Georgiana and enjoyed quiet time in the Florida sun!   Finally! A few housekeeping chores.  A murder mystery.  Dinner and a movie.  Life at anchor!                                                                           Our "front yard" for the night.                           ...

                                         Panoramic sunrise at Mosquito Lagoon We dawdled leaving the lagoon this morning.  With only 16 miles on the agenda, we had no worries about arriving too late.  So peaceful and calm. Shorts and short sleeve shirt - perfect for the almost 70 degrees.  Even on the water, I was quite comfortable without layers! So many birds!  Some dolphins but the birds were abundant!  Must be good fishing waters.                                        Even lined up on both sides of the railroad bridge. After grabbing a mooring ball at Titusville Marina (which we executed perfectly!), we headed over by dinghy to pay, grab our key card and do a bit of walking.  Just south of the marina is Sand Point Park....

  Tonight we are watching the Super Bowl from Mosquito Lagoon.  We are the only ones anchored here and with low winds - super quiet!  Though Paul was a bit concerned about his "rabbit ears" working from essentially the middle of nowhere, the reception is actually better than it was just south of St Augustine.   Dinner always tastes better on anchor but tonight - shrimp tacos with homemade guac and homemade salsa - super yummy!  (Yes I know I keep using the word super - totally intentional!) Leaving Daytona Marina should have been a breeze.  No boats surrounding us, calm waters, lots of sunshine.  Yet somehow I had Paul toss me the wrong dock line and he wound up having to jump back on the boat and grab the helm to keep us from bumping into the dock.  (No bump occurred!) Once on course, I took over the helm so Paul could do engine checks.  Good thing too!  The port engine was leaking fuel.  What?!?  So while he diagnosed th...

 Today's goal - find cheap but usable bicycles that we can take on the boat.  With bikes we can explore so much easier than walking.  And hopefully save on using Uber.   First pawn shop - too much money and too heavy.  If we wind up lifting them on and off the dinghy and up and down dinghy docks - they must be light.  If they wind up rusting due to the salt air (or we accidently drop one in the ocean) we do not want to have spent a lot of money.   The second pawn shop - we scored!  We found two light weight bikes and after Paul wheedled the guy down - less then $60 for both, tax included!  Paul rode one back to the marina while I drove the other stored in the car trunk. They are temporarily bungeed to the starboard side stanchions, out of our way.   Of course we rode up and down Beach Street and The Esplanade.  As much as I enjoy walking - riding is soooo much better! Mass at 4pm, drop off the car and walk back to the...

  Beautiful, though windy, day.  We opened doors and hatches and let the sunshine in!  Temps up to 62 made for comfortable walking.  And the wind ensured no sweat!  Many of the area birds were out sunning (and they do not move when people walk by). While I did laundry, painted and read, Paul completed the high water bilge alarm on the  port side.  He also ran the hose through the hatches and scrubbed both bilges.   A quick trip to the beach before dinner.  Too cold and windy to walk though and with the sun setting momentarily - we headed back to the car.  The plan - complete preparations for Sunday departure. Word of the day - Schmaltzy - excessively sentimental.  Love it!