Bradenton,  Our Departure Post

Wednesday, May 4 2016

Our decision to return to Bradenton on Tuesday was well founded.  Rain began Wednesday AM before we were up.  By 8 AM we experienced strong winds and heavy rain accompanied by thunder and lightning.  It was comforting to be surrounded by the tall masts of other boats.  The boat rocked but we were dry inside.  We read and I finished a knitting project.  My 14th book was completed. 
By late afternoon, we were in sunshine and beginning the process of drying out.  The boat was super clean now.  Another small group of storms materialized during cocktail hour but were gone in time for us to walk to Main Street for an Italian meal.

Thursday 

Our day was destined to be a busy one.   I started to do our laundry, my detergent was nowhere to be found.  I came to the realization that I must have left the new bottle in the laundry room last week.  I had one packet of powered and got a second from our neighbor. Next, Don arrived to deliver our poly carbonate side panels.  They are amazing; so clear you don’t know they are there.  He and Dave put fasteners in the hard top so we can stow them up under the hard top.  The last piece of screen is for the windshield.  Don took the patterns before the wind became too strong.  As he left our friends, Nancy and Jess arrived with a wonderful lunch the included fresh fruit topped with Limoncello.  See recipe below:
After lunch they were good enough to drive us to grocery shop. They had another mission and that was to bring us the remainder of their wallpaper primer paint and paper paste.  No, the boat has not sunk yet.  Thanks again to both of you.
After all that excitement we were invited to tour another dock mate’s 41’, 1984 DeFever trawler.  A very nicely appointed  boat in great condition.  He also has a herb garden and tomato plants on the aft deck.  We learned that  Bob is headed to Key Largo tomorrow to complete his Loop Passage.
We passed on the  Cinco de Mayo celebration on Old Main Street. Instead, Dave worked on weather forecasts and projection our trip home.

Friday

It was so nice to sleep with the hatches open and no AC running. I stripped the bed and went to the laundry with my detergent.  Well, no it was fabric softener.  Did I feel stupid just reaching for something in the right shaped bottle yesterday at the store! Two caps of softener and our sheets smell good and that was the purpose I intended.  
Don arrived with a bag to store our screens, the patterns for the work he did and the screen for the windshield. We will miss seeing him and are so pleased with the work he has done and the designs he and Dave collaborated on together.  It is like having a new boat.
As he finished, Dave’s sister, Joyce and her husband, arrived.  They are vacationing from Lynchburg and staying in Venice, FL.  We showed them around the immediate downtown and went to several thrift shops followed by a nice lunch at Pier 22.   It was very windy and Joyce made a good call when she grabbed her sweater.
Dave put the bikes aboard and began the preparations for departure in the morning.  We took the time for one last soak in the hot tub before we say goodbye here. An eighth grader in the hot tub with us had a Rubik cube and in less than two minutes he could solve the puzzle and most of the time he was not watching what he was doing, Kids are amazing!
Our boat neighbors next door invited us for cocktails and we spent several hours talking. A great couple, married 52 years, with many adventures from their native California and down the coast of South America to Argentina and back here to the West Coast of Florida.   They will fly home for the summer months and then plan for more time on the water.

You may not get another post for a time as we will be doing on nighters back to the East Coast.  We plan to stop briefly in Daytona and St Augustine and be in North Myrtle Beach on or about the 22nd of May.