March 10, 2016

This is day 10 of our trip. 

Our boat is still in the marina waiting for the travel lift to be repaired.  At our last contact with them they had not received the part for the hydraulics.   The waiting and not knowing about the damage and how we are going to be billed by the marina for our stay is a bit unnerving to me, that’s life!

Monday the marina took us to a better location to wait for the haul out.  We are closer to the facilities/laundry. Our friends Mary and Walt Keith drove into Ormond Beach to meet us for dinner at Mario’s Italian Restaurant.  They are headed home to Reedville, VA after two months in Marathon, FL.  Their company is always fun and being boaters who have traveled the Inter Coastal Waterway themselves they enjoyed and commiserated with our adventure and mishaps.  They had to stay 20 miles west of I 95 to get a decent priced room.   This is Bike Week and Spring Breakers are here also.

So Tuesday was exciting. Several weeks ago Dave was checking Mustangs on EBay. (Weeks before he had worked on his Mustang and thought he had repaired the problem and it did not make a difference.  Many things need work and he was discouraged.  Identifications did check out that the engine was a Cobra engine and he could part out the car for a good amount.) That day he called me home, hurry there is only 3 hours left on the auction and I have to make a decision.  He showed me all the other prices and cars and this was a peach and a good price.  He bid and won the auction.  He convinced the seller to hold the car until we reached Florida, agreed.  The Ballards agreed to drive us to Port Charlotte to take possession of the car.  Everything checked out, the second set of tires and wheels and two tunnel covers,  not to mention that it was FAST!  Money exchanged and we were off.  Dave was like a kid with his first car, 4^th Mustang.

The Ballards went off to visit friends on the West Coast and we realized we were going by Sun City Center, home to our friends Nancy and Jess Shrom.  We called and they most graciously invited us to spend the night with them.  It was a fun time catching up and a good meal.  Thank you Nancy and Jess.

The drive back to Dayton Beach was tiring at high speeds and I was scrunched in my seat with the tires in the back.  We spent about an hour getting by a place outside of Daytona called the Cabbage Patch.  This is a campground for the bikers and scheduled activities.  Come to realize they were having the girl’s wrestling match in coleslaw that day.  Then we missed the turn and got in to the bike traffic going to events at International Speedway.  Even the frustration of the traffic did not dampen Dave’s excitement of having a good Mustang.  Now we are looking at scenarios to get the car back to North Myrtle Beach and return to the boat.  Flights in to Orlando and Sanford are booked with Spring Break and Easter.   The car must be registered in 45 days.  I will have to inform you later of the outcome. 

We have enjoyed several Face Time sessions with our grandson Nathan.  He watches THE VOICE  and was excited to hear that we were watching too.   He also sang for us, lots of inflection and good pitch.  Maybe one day it will be his turn.

Today Dave and Jim Ballard are looking at a truck and going to Pick and Pull looking for parts.   Suerae and I walked the beach and enjoyed the sun and the 80 degree temperatures.  Oh, and of course watching the Spring Breakers, both boys and girls.  How times have changed!

I am glad we are not on the water traveling the winds are 8 to 16 MPH.  with white caps on the Halifax River.  A 101 footer never got to our marina yesterday because of travel conditions.  He marina lost a fuel sale of over 1000 gallons.