Thursday, March 31, 2016

This is our last night in Daytona, Halifax Harbor Marina.  There are live boards here that are very friendly, we had offers for the use of cars and such but we decided to rent one for three day.  How cute were we in a bright yellow KIA  Reo!  Yes, it was appropriate, it looked like and Easter egg.

We spent Easter weekend doing things with Dave’s cousins and extended family.  They were a bright spot on a rather rainy weekend.  The only pool time I got with the girls at the hotel was on a cloudy afternoon but the water in the heated pool must have been 85 degrees.

Dave has spent numerous hours cleaning the boat exterior and the bilge and also the dinghy.  Our spot in the boat yard was next to the street and boats next to us  were having  their bottoms sanded.  Add that to all the maintenance men climbing aboard and iron shavings from cutting off the coupling on the prop shaft.  He took the time to reseal the forward hatch over our bunk.  Thank You!  The insurance company reimbursed us on a graduated scale for the secondary  anchor I had to cut loose when we were being pulled off the sand bar.  (A correction:  We were towed by BOAT US not Sea Tow as I stated in a previous blog.)  A trip to West Marine and the surplus boat store has us prepared with new anchor, chain and rode.

We have ridden our bikes and I love my new big, wide seat.  I feel fortunate that I feel no pain after I ride.  There are some new interesting restaurants in the historic section.  Zappi’s Italian would be on the top of the list. The food is very good, nice selection and reasonably priced.   We will leave the others for our return trip.

Yesterday Dave and I explored the Sugar Mill Plantation.  The old trees were spectacular but there was not much in bloom.  (http://dunlawtonsugarmillgardens.org/index.html)  The remains of the sugar mill and the explanations were very informative.  Dave was amazed at the kettles and the size of the cast iron gears from that time period.

Yesterday afternoon my good friend from Kempton  days, Theresa Nilles, stopped by the boat for a visit.  We hope to get together with her and Bill on our return trip.  They are super busy people.

This morning Dave returned the rental car while Jim Ballard could still drive him back to the marina.  During the trip he found himself in a liquor store and they carried Ezra Brooks, his preferred bourbon.  It was $2 less than at home.  I did 2 loads of laundry; got it dry after losing $1.50 because I put my money in the washer slot instead of the dryer slot.

More boat washing and filling water tank for our leaving tomorrow.  I updated my computer and had to relearn my pictures program before I could edit photos for the blog.  We took a break and went for a bike ride through downtown and over to Bowman Street and said goodbye to Ricci Ballard.  The temperature was 91 degrees but the breeze made it comfortable.

We were waiting to hear the results of Adrienne’s surgery, all went well but recovery will take some time.  Knowing that all is well we will move on south.   Tomorrow we leave for   Melbourne  for two nights.  This is a new stop for us and should be fun.