Walking Buddies...

For the last month Ellen from Westwind and I have had the goal of walking 20,000 steps daily. Now, for those of you thinking.....20,000 steps that's easy.....think again. The only way we've found to accomplish it is to start each day with a 90 minute powerwalk. This gives us about 11-12 thousand steps. We are then able to get the remaining 8000+ steps through the normal course of our day.

With all the stepping one would think I'd have dropped a few pounds. Unfortunately not. We have, however, started a trend and there are now at least 6 other boater friends of ours who are pedometer converts. Of course, some are more converted than others. Captain Dave and Ellen's husband, Captain Eric, only seem interested in getting their steps in when it involves going out for food or drink. Oh my.

The Admiral

3/28/2010

PS. Dave.....thanks for the manatee song! Now I know that I need to coax the manatee with verses of French.

The MS POOP...

Ok.....many of you may not appreciate this blog post - consider yourself warned!! But think about it....while on the boat we are essentially a floating house. We need to carry all our electrical, water, plumbing and yes, sewage right along with us. So at some point the sewage has to end up somewhere and that is when the MS POOP is appreciated most!

The MS POOP makes house calls weekly and takes away with it your 'excess' making room for new #@!%. Not sure there is a politer way to put this.

So, consider yourself informed.

The Admiral

3/25/2010

The Mega Marine Store...

A boater's shopping is never done!!! Since we had a car, we decided to check out a marine store we'd heard about in Fort Pierce. It was just a little store!!

We walked around (for hours) and must have seen every conceivable size of propeller imaginable. You name it - this place had it. The boys, remarkably, were pretty civilized as they went up and down the aisles looking at all the boat toys available.

We also had a day for our favorite Irish terrier, Murphy. We went to the doggie beach and enjoyed a game of fetch. It was much more fun than our attempts to seek out the manatee. Despite efforts, the manatee continue to elude us. Perhaps next time.

More to come.

The Admiral

3/20/2010

The Governor...

We had a visitor to the marina. Florida Governor, and Senate candidate, Charlie Christ stopped by to check out the marina. While Dave didn't have an opportunity to speak with him, we were able to catch a photo of the two. Boy....Dave hanging with the Governor....who'd have thought!!

The Admiral
3/18/2010

Fort Lauderdale...

It was a banner day for the Captain. We started the day by traveling to the Dania Beach Nautical Flea Market. It is the country's largest nautical market and we had great fun rummaging around boat stuff looking for some things on the Captain's wish list. We were successful - and found some line and additional fenders for Tropical Breeze.

But the largest nautical flea market wasn't enough to exhaust the Captain. From there we went to Sailorman, a dealer of new and used nautical equipment. Dave quickly grabbed a shopping cart with the intention of filling it with boat goodies.

After reducing some of Sailorman's inventory we made a final stop at the West Marine. It was, without question, the largest West Marine store we'd ever seen. Dave really wanted to replace the dinghy with a 10 foot inflatable jet boat - fortunately, I was able to talk him out of it!!

The Admiral

3/20/2010

Meet Murphy...

St. Patrick's Day would not be complete without Murphy, an Irish Terrier all dressed up for the holiday.

While Murphy got lots of attention, his parents, Jim and Kathy, Dave, I and others all chose to celebrate Murphy's Day at the local drinking establishment Duffy's followed by an evening of card play.

Great food and great fun was had by all.

The Admiral
3/17/2010

Beach Days...

The spring-like weather brought over 7 inches of rain in one day last week. The rain had us hiding out and seeking shelter.

Following all the rain, we were greeted with a beautiful sunny day which we chose to spend walking the beach. We found lots of shells and plenty of man-of-war.

We also went in search of manatee at a popular manatee hangout in the river. Unfortunately, no manatee were seen but we did find a sting ray loitering in the sun. (Christopher, I remain jealous of your manatee photo from last season. They continue to elude me - and my camera.)

The Admiral

3/13/2010

More Exploring...

With the spring-like weather continuing, we decided it was time for our annual trolley tour of Stuart.

We toured all around town and had a great time....but Eric driving......oh my!!

The Admiral

3/11/2010

The Weather...

While we've enjoyed our winter in Florida (vs. the brisk Midwest), the weather has been a bit unpredictable. High winds and unseasonably low temperatures have kept us from some activities. One of those activities is installing a lightning protector on the mast.

Fortunately, the winds cleared and Dave (with help from Jim) was able to hoist up the mast for the install. Timing is good. Last spring, during our northbound voyage, we ran into some frightening pop up storms with plenty of lightning and thunder. Hopefully the lightning protector will keep us safe from any stray bolts Mother Nature may throw in our direction.

The Admiral

3/8/2010

Exploring Stuart...

With the weather warming, we've been exploring the town of Stuart Florida. Its a great little city. Sunday they had their weekly farmers market, antiques for sale in the park and jazz playing alog the riverwalk.

It made for a perfect stroll - stopping at Kilwins for ice cream, of course.

The Admiral

3/7/2010

Food...Glorious Food....

The cruising life, of course, would not be complete without finding the best happy hour and meal deals in town. PA's Grille is one of our favorites. Their special on Monday nights is a rack of ribs and sides for $10.99. The ribs are excellent!

The only problem Dave has had lately is that I will only let him eat out once a week......so he must choose. Will it be ribs at PA's. The 40% off menu and 2 for 1 happy hour at Duffy's or the $4.99 lunch special at Flanigan's.

Such challenges the Captain faces........

The Admiral

3/1/2010

Olympic Fever...

The marina has had Olympic fever for almost two weeks now but that was nothing compared to the rallying we had on Sunday afternoon with the gang all gathering and displaying their colors in anticipation of the big USA vs. Canada hockey match.

The spectators were evenly matched between the US and Canada. Most were cheering on their home countries....and some (like the Admiral) just decided to throw their support over to the home team.

It was a nail biter but when Crosby found the net during OT I think you could here the shouts from the marina all the way to Vancouver.

The Admiral

2/28/2010