A Quiet Week

The week between Christmas and New Year has been quiet for Keith, Pengi and I.  Weather here has been chilly.  I know those of you north of us do not want to here it, but we were not expecting highs only in the 50s.  Hopefully things will improve and we can get a few more days in the upper 60s or maybe even 70 in the new year.  Keith and I had a late Christmas lunch at the main resort. Dolphin's with Santa hats at the resort.

They put on a very nice buffet with both turkey and pig with all the fixin's.  It was nice not to have to cook.  Shrimp and oysters on the buffet.

                                                     
                                                       Gingerbread house at main resort.

We have no particular plans for New Year's Eve.  There is a friend from New Bern coming through Palm coast on January 2nd who will be staying on board with us for a day or two.  I just hope if we borrow his car for errands, our bad car "mo jo" is gone (see previous post about Keith's parents car).

I also have plans to attempt to repair a few minor blemishes on the outside teak once the weather improves.  I have more than a little anxiety about taking a Dremel tool to the teak rail, but I must be strong.  I will take pictures no matter how it turns out and let ya'll know what happens.  If I go missing, you will know it did not go well.

It looks like 2018 is going to be a big year for us.  We are hoping to do the Great Loop this year so it will be quite the adventure.  Keith and I hope everyone's 2018 is filled with health and happiness.  Happy New Year!

A Boater's Christmas Poem

This past week we had a visit from Keith's mom and dad.  They drove from Stuart, FL up to us in Palm Coast.  They arrived on Tuesday which was a beautiful day.  We took Southern Style out for a ride and everyone enjoyed themselves.  Once we got back into our slip, Keith and I planned to take his parent's car to run some errands.  Unfortunately we got into the car and backed out of the parking space to find there was only reverse.  The transmission was not working and no matter what we did it would only go in reverse.  So I had to walk back to the boat and explain to Keith's parents that we had not even gotten out of the parking lot and had managed to break the car.  We had it towed to a garage and got a rental car.  Luckily it was not something to bad and was fixed the next day.  There is always something.  It was a very nice visit, despite the automotive problems.

                                               Everyone enjoying a ride on Southern Style

Keith enjoying a Bloody Mary

Keith and I plan on a quiet Christmas with a meal out at the resort.  I did want to share a poem that hopefully everyone following us will find entertaining.  It is the boaters version of Twas the Night Before Christmas.  Here goes...................

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the boat,
the bilge pumps were hustling to keep us afloat.
Dock lines were wrapped around cleats with care,
in hopes that Saint Nicholas soon would be there.

Pengi was nestled all snug in his berth,
while visions of fishies filled him with mirth.
And me in my ponytail and Keith in his cap,
had just settled ourselves for a Christmas Eve nap.

When out on the dock there arose such as clatter,
we sprang from the Nav Station to see what was the matter.
Away to the aft cabin, we flew like a flash,
tore open the door and through up the hatch.

The moon on the water lit the marina up bright.
Which was good as dead batteries were in our flashlight.
When what to my sunburned eyes should appear,
but a miniature dinghy and eight tiny reindeer.

With a little old captain singing a Caribbean shtick,
we knew in a moment it must be Saint Nick.
More rapid than jet skis his coursers they came
and he whistled and shouted and called them by name.

On Yanmar, on Cummins, on Caterpiller and Volvo.
To the top of the radar arch to the top of the seawall,
now dash away dash away dash away all.
As seabirds before a wild hurricane fly,
when met with an obstacle take to the sky.

Over twinkling anchor lights 'round the marina they flew
with a dinghy full of boat parts and Saint Nicholas too.
And then in a twinkling I heard on the bow,
the prancing and pawing, Santa's here now.

He then grabbed his bag, a bulging huge sack,
and hoisted it up onto his back.
He also had sponges and a mop in his grip,
as he waddled his way around our slip.

He said "my names Nick and my friend I can tell
that your gel coat needs buffing and your teak looks like hell.
Your vinyl needs cleaning, your lockers arranging,
your holding tank pumping, and your oil a-changing.
You've put these jobs off for too long and you know it.
So here's all you need, it's time to get to it."

Then as quick as he came, he was back on his boat,
His reindeer revving and eager to tote,
But I heard him exclaim as he idled out of sight.
Merry Christmas to all and to all a goodnight.

Have a wonderful Christmas everyone.

Twas the Week Before Christmas

It is the week before Christmas.  You would not guess from the weather we are supposed to have this week.  Temperatures in the mid 70s to 80.  Keith is loving it.  I find it it a bit odd, never having been someplace this warm for Christmas.  But when in Rome............kayak and walk on the beach.

We were busy this week doing boat chores.  Keith and I put special teak cleaner on the outside decks one day, then after letting them dry thoroughly for a day or two; we put conditioner on them.  We normally apply teak conditioner (Semco) every month, but this time we decided to give them a brightening treatment first.  Call it a Christmas gift to our decks.  At any rate, that job is done and now we are looking spiffy for the holidays.

Saturday was the Palm Coast Yacht club's Christmas flotilla.  The evening was very pretty with a beautiful sunset.
                           
                           The view out toward the intracoastal from the bow of Southern Style

They had 40 boats in the parade.  Keith and I watched from the end of the dock.  It was very festive.

I also tried my hand at making homemade pizza dough.  It has been bothering me to try to learn how to make yeast dough so I gave it a whirl.  Now, do not judge these stromboli from the look, because if I had smell-o-vision it would be more dramatic.

They tasted quite good but I need to work on the presentation.  The boat smelled like a pizza parlor for the rest of the day.

This coming week will be busy.  Keith's parents are driving up from Stuart, FL to visit.  We also have some other appointments to fit in before the Christmas holiday.  Never a dull moment.  With the nice weather we are forecast to have, I am itching to get some kayaking done or maybe get the dinghy down and go exploring.  I will keep you up to date.

Mid December update from Palm Coast

Our first week to 10 days in Palm Coast had some beautiful weather.  Sunny and temps in the 70s every day.  Yesterday that trend changed.  A front came through with rain and the temperature dropped significantly.  It was in the 30s overnight last night.  This put me in the mood  for Christmas and I decided to decorate.  This took about 5 minutes as we do not have many things for seasonal decorating.  I did have a few things and Pengi was excited to help.

                               
                                      Some chicken drummettes for lunch capped off the day.

Keith just purchased a drone and so he is excited to learn to use it.  This is him in the open space at the marina practicing.

He even videotaped an osprey that was sitting on a sail boat mast.  Luckily the osprey did not take offense.  I was prepared for a mid air battle.

Osprey with drone to the right in the picture.

Once Keith gets the hang of all the drone can do, hopefully we will have some cool pictures and video for everyone following us.  There is a HUGE learning curve but Keith is exceptionally good at this kind of thing.  Stay tuned.

Palm Coast Marina

After a few days, we are getting settled into the marina and resort here at Palm Coast.  The Resort (Hammock Beach Resort) has golf, tennis, several pools, a lazy river, and beach frontage.  Several restaurants are also located at the main resort.  The main resort is about 1 1/2 miles from the marina and is on the beach.  Luckily a shuttle goes back and forth between the marina and main resort, which is very handy.  We will likely be using that on a regular basis.  I hope to get over to the main resort and take some pictures to post next week.  Keith and I have biked around the main resort this week, but I did not have the camera with me.  Keith also played golf at the Ocean Course on Friday and said it was one of the best courses he has ever played.

The marina part of the resort is along the intracoastal waterway.  It has the marina and tennis courts as well as a pool and condos associated with the marina.  It is a very nice location.  Here is a view out into the marina.

                                       
                                          Here are the condos at the other end of the marina.

                           
                                   On the backside of the condos is the intracoastal waterway.

This is the area just off the back of the condos.  The intracoastal waterway is just out of the picture to the left.

                             
                                                        This is the pool here at the marina.

Route A1A goes right past the marina.  This road is the north/south road through coastal Florida and goes from Key West along the Atlantic Ocean to Fernandina Beach just south of Georgia.  There is a nice wide walking/bike path that follows A1A and is great for the bikes.  A grocery store is just 1.9 miles from the marina down A1A.  The perfect distance for a little exercise when making a grocery run.

So, we seem to be all set for the next several months.  I will  be doing some exploring with the bike and kayak and will keep everyone up to date.  Since we will not be moving the boat regularly like on our trip down, I may post less frequently over the winter.  I will probably do a weekly update of our boat projects and explorations.  And we do have several boat projects on our calendar, so keep checking in.