Once we were tied up in our slip on Saturday, we plugged in, cooled off, checked in, iced down the coolers, took out the trash, cooled off again (it was 93 and hu-mid!), showered, fed ourselves (and Howard), and collapsed. Yesterday morning, we spent a few hours washing the boat, while we had endless water.
We are staying at Las Olas Marina, which is right off of Fort Lauderdale Beach.
Our neighbors here at the marina are definitely large,
And so are the people across the street,
Despite being right near a drawbridge, and right off of A1A, it’s very quiet here. We see schools of fish swim by frequently, and when the tide changes, we’re treated to a parade of coconuts!
Our brother-in-law has family here, and they have been gracious enough to allow us to have packages sent to their house over the past few weeks. Yesterday afternoon, Mark and Shannon brought us our boxes and we gave them a quick boat tour. Then we went for lunch at the Quarterdeck, where Mark and Shannon’s daughter Nikki works. Their friend Pepe joined us, and we had a great meal, with terrific service and company. Afterward, Nikki took a photo for us.
And, and old school selfie!
They are good peeps! Thanks to Bobby for sharing them!!
When we got back, we opened our various packages, most being things for boat projects and maintenance. Howard loves when we get packages, it means a new playhouse!
Once the cardboard carnage was cleaned up, we set to defrosting the freezer, which had been growing more angry at the build up of ice in it.
Today, we went back to old school boat work. We painted our decks last year, after having trashed them while refitting the boat. Over this past year, they’ve gotten trashed again, during our extensive varnishing and painting projects.While we have plugged-in power, we want to have the decks ready to paint, when we have time and good weather.
I scraped my varnish drippings, and then dug out some areas of old caulk, so Scott could replace it. Then we dug out the sanding bin, and I reacquainted myself with my old friends: my knee pads, dust mask and goggles…and, of course my orbital sander! For those of you who don’t know, this has been my wardrobe for most of the last two years:
Armed with 80 grit sand paper, I scuffed the decks.
In the meantime, Scott was addressing small cracks in the faring compound that was used when the original teak decks were replaced. They are in various places around the deck surface. He used a dremel tool to dig out the crack, and get down to good surface. Then came his old friend…epoxy! It was a hot, sweaty day, but now the decks are ready for painting….and we’re ready to put that stuff away again!
“Shells Sink, Dreams Float. Life’s Good On Our Boat!”