OMG! Boat-less in Nashville

Our home for The Great Loop Adventure

Mother’s Day May 8, 2016 we head for Ft. Myers Beach and Sunny Days with an offer on the table for Sunny Days.  Eddie and Andrea Toomer saw her sitting on the hard in Ft. Myers and saw that she was for sell and gave us a call while we were in Nashville selling Next Chapter.  We were always of a mind to put both boats on the market and hope that one would sell and we could pay off bills and simplify.  2 dockages, insurance, places to keep up plus our dirt home had gotten complicated.  Well, we met with Eddie and Andrea pretty quickly when we got to Ft. Myers and all of the sudden we were boat-less.  Sunny Days was a remarkable boat—we owned her for 3 years, she guided us around the eastern United States and was a safe, reliable vehicle for the greatest adventure of our life.  She is in great hands with Andrea and Eddie.  Now what to do?  The last 3 years has been like going to college—a continuous high, with some fear of the unknown, challenges daily but with a roommate that is your lover and best friend.   I only wish this for everyone.

The dolphin followed us from Fort Myers to Englewood where Sunny Days will live

Captain Eddie with friend Mike got a checkout cruise from Fitz--
Andrea and Eddie are planning a Bahamas' trip for August and the Loop in 2017

  Now we have graduated from the College of the Great Loop, with no job and in need of direction for the next phase.  We hightailed it home so we could go to Knoxville and see niece Abby and her significant Miles Smith off for a year in Germany.  Miles has a terrific new job with Bosh (the refrigeration company) and they leave this week for a year of training and adventure.  They have 6 months in Germany, then 3 months in China, then another 3 months in Germany.   They plan on traveling extensively while there (including staying in an ice house/hotel in Denmark).  She has promised me a blog of their adventure.

Abby and Miles-- we will miss them terribly but they are off for an adventure of a lifetime

Best lifetime girlfriends--Elizabeth and Mary --I am so lucky

This is perfect odds--8 adults to 1 baby-- niece Rae is a great running buddy

Great celebration dinner at Chesapeake's in Knoxville with our besties

  We are beginning to work on our dirt home and getting it ready for us again and reconnecting with our Nashville life. There is a lot to be done.   We go to boat sites daily to shop for our next boat.  Terry likes to say that in our forty years of marriage we have not been without a boat.  The real story is (I did take the pledge not to correct any of his stories in front of people) that in between houseboats The Kid and Therapy then Next Chapter,  we had about 6 weeks of being boat-less.  It was the longest 6 weeks of our married life.  We should be glad Katie and Nick even speak to us as we dragged them to marina after marina looking for the perfect replacement.  The fact of the matter is that we need to have a boat-- so we are actively looking for an ocean going, 2 stateroom boat we can go to Bahamas in and use as a winter cottage in warmer climes. We fell in love with the 49 Defevers, Oceans and Bayliners so we have a little bit of a blueprint.  Wouldn’t it be fun to find one in the Northeast so we could bring her south and revisit NYC, Cape May, Washington DC, Williamsburg,  Charleston and Southport OR find a boat on Lake Michigan and spend another week in Mackinac Island and Chicago. We would also like to bring her to Nashville or the Tennessee River for the warmer months.   In other words we have more adventures in our sites-- meanwhile we will stay connected to our new Loop buddies through their blogs/FB and see if we can entice them to come visit us in Nashville. 

We got to go to niece Emily's brunch after her high school graduation

Helped Cheryl celebrate her birthday

Nick helped us with the babysitting detail

The children were  our biggest cheerleaders

What a Month!

We left FMB on April 12^th with Sunny Days on the hard to get new paint on the bottom.  It is a 15 hour drive back to Nashville so we decided that retired people do not need to drive it all in one day.  We arrived at Next Chapter at Rock Harbor Marina on Wednesday the 13^th in time to reconnect with all our friends and family at our home dock.  Scott and Pamela Moore had seen our Boat Trader ad for Next Chapter and called about seeing her when we got back.  Well they came, they saw and they bought.  Suddenly we are one boat owners.  We worked much too hard moving our stuff out of Nick’s Condo, Katie's, Next Chapter and storage and moved into our “dirt” home.  The kids had come and gotten their stuff and anything we had that they could make use of 3 years ago—we did not repo very much from them so now we are left with a pretty empty dirt home.  It reminds us of when we first got married—the only difference is the furniture we had then was thrift shop bargains and now all we have are the antiques we inherited that the kids didn’t want to use, 1 bed and the back porch furniture.  We will work on the house this summer. 

On April 19^th Leeton turned 6 and on May 1^st Holden turned 4, they had a joint birthday party on April 30^th.  Katie and Scott are sooooo smart—they had about 25 children at the Y for a swim party and where the children had a lot of fun and options.  Great Fun or as Leeton put it—the best day of her life.  We celebrated Mother’s Day by going to dinner with Nick at the Family Wash—a trendy place in East Nashville that was wonderful.  Best Mother’s Day present –Nick paid for dinner.  I would recommend this place for sure.  And our children definitely are the best—I feel very loved.   Sunday of Mother’s Day (the 8^th) we left for FMB to either sell Sunny Days or put her away at Glades Boat Storage near Lake Okeechobee for Hurricane Season. 

 

 

Katie and Leeton went to a Daisy's Tea

 

The Norris Family

 

Holden and his Buds at his 4th Birthday Party

 

We sold Next Chapter--she is in great hands

 

We caught up and had dinner with Terry's siblings while in town

 

Cayo Costa near Boca Grande

Cayo Costa—we decided to clean out the refrigerator and prepare the boat to be put away for the summer by anchoring out at one of the most secluded, beautiful beaches in southwest Florida.  Our vacation from vacation.  We had the most company at our anchorage there since Canada—about 30 boats mostly sailboats—and it is not even a weekend.  Then we found a little inlet where the manatees hang out.  Oh my—you see these overhead shots on the net of pods of manatees and in Cayo Costa we found one.  Of course we did not have our camera with us but we had the experience- up close and personal with the cows of the sea.  Then we motored the 35 miles back to Ft. Myers Beach/Salty Sam’s where on April 12^th we put Sunny Days on the hard at Olsen’s Boatyard where she will get a bottom job.  We go to Nashville until May 9^th-see you in a month!

Beautiful Beach with white sand, lots of shells and terns



Crowded anchorage



Real Florida!?

New friends--Melissa and George Irving from Fort Worth aboard a
beautiful Carver named Paradise Falls they just retired and are ready to cruise

Salty Sam's Marina was a good stay.

 

Grandkids and their Momma come to visit

Katie and the kids drove down from Nashville for the week without any drama stopping near Atlanta to see Cousin Brooke.  The Pink Shell Resort at Ft. Myers Beach turned out to be the perfect choice for spring break for a 5 year old and 3 year old.  They had a pool, beach, movies, tattoos and lots of children.  Leeton and Holden have grown up while we weren’t watching.  Leeton proved to be quite the social butterfly and Holden thinks anything Leeton approves of is fine with him.  We had an ice cream disaster and a couple of meltdowns but all in all it was a most excellent week with Katie and the kids. Their drive home, however, seemed like Florida was evacuating –long and harsh.   Additionally, the Lady Vols made it to the Elite 8 and saved Holly Warlick’s job— and Villanova beat Scott's team --UNC for the NCAA final--sports are on hiatus until football starts in August.  We also caught up with Looper friends--Pam and Jim Shipp aboard Silver Boots.  We had not seen them since Whitaker Point Marina in Oriental, NC two years ago--it was great to see them.

Great Beach-Great Kids

Dancing on the Pirate Ship--Pieces of Eight

Easter Egg Hunt

Salty Sam's

Out to lunch at the Matanzas Inn

Tatoos!

Leeton made a friend--Tess on the boat next door

Friends South

We got to be “those people” yet again when our friends Sally and Steve Gilliam came down with his brother and sister-in-law (Keith and SuEllen) in Keith’s center console fishing boat and anchored off FMB.  We have walked this beach many times over the last month and wondered: who were those people?  Keith and SuEllen live down here year round and gave us lots of tips on good restaurants and fun things to do when the kids are here.  As always we had a blast with the Gilliam’s and Sally and I got to catch up as did Steve and Fitz.  Then on Friday we went into Naples and picnicked with Marsha and the Tennyson’s at the park across from Marsha’s condo at Beacon House.  What fun to have friends with which to visit.  Storms due Saturday and Sunday with extra wind on Monday, we settle in to watch a little March Madness—NOT—what has happened to basketball when representing the homefront is MTSU –good for them but that is about all to brag about.   Even the Lady Vols are struggling- maybe NASCAR will be entertaining. 

SuEllen and Sally--Girlfriends should never be underestimated.

 

Cute Guys!

 

The gang came out to Sunny Days

 

Wedding on the beach--we thought they were going to run into the surf.

 

Picnicking with the buds.

 

Great place for sunset

 

 

Loved the yacht in the horizon

 

Fitz fixing the $3 flashlight--no project is too small.

FMB—this is how the locals refer to Ft. Myers Beach

The Shrimp Festival was great with a parade (still not as good as Canada Day's in Bobcaygeon but good), vendors/artists set up with their wares, great eats and terrific people watching.  Lots of people come here for the season and they seem to have the Happy Hours routine down pat—you sort of follow the crowds about 3-4pm and find the deals.  But you have to ask—at the recommended TiKi  Hut  the beers were $3 a piece which made us look at each other like:  this is not a good deal, but on further research we found out the tokens they handed you with the beer were good for another.  We still won’t go back unless we have cash—they want to keep your credit card and ring you up when you leave—we don’t go for that.  This week brought fog on the bay in the mornings and mid-80’s –we don’t complain.  Monday we sent off LiLa Blue—Larry and Linda are headed for the Keys then over to the Berry Islands near Bimini—may have to do that in the next couple of years.   Fitz and I are a little bored and fight for projects—I don’t care a thing about his mechanical projects (just that they work, then he is a happy camper) but when I start something he would like to micro-manage—we are having to work that out. While out provisioning at Walmart on March 15th,  the phone started ringing. First we get a text that our buddy Terry O’Donnell is headed to the CCU in Franklin—seems he had an aneurism waiting to happen and they went in and did a little patchwork on his artery.  Doing OK now but scared us for the day.  Then the rental agent on the “dirt” house called and said he had someone interested in renting for the next 6 months with the ability to rent for the next year.  We have been toying with moving back in in May or even selling.  Decisions, Decisions.  Then we get a serious call about Next Chapter –our houseboat we have had for sell for 3 years.  If that works out then there will be more decisions.   Happy St. Paddy’s Day everyone—2 years ago we were in Ft. Myers (the city) and enjoyed their celebration—now we are just down the road …full circle? 

Geriatrics show girls

 

Great cars were a big part of the parade

 

Loved the Outboard

 



Man Iron Apron??????

Turtle Art

Fog in the Bay

Living Life in the Mooring Field

This is a super busy waterway when the weather is perfect (except for exceptionally strong winds during the days) and spring break begins (Fitz calls it Urban Water Traffic).  This version of learning how to “squat” involves a five minute dingy ride to shore for shopping or any major exercise (a wet ride back when the strong current and the winds kick up).  There is great cell service but limited TV so keeping up with the news of the day or our favorite programs is spotty.  Since we have the car here we can go places but pretty much need to pick our times so that we will have a parking place when we get home.   Back home Katie had strep throat and I had a bad case of home-sickness because I could have helped out! She has forgiven me, I hope, and is on the mend.   It was so great to see Diann and Bruce Tennyson (who winter in Naples) at Coconut Jack’s in Bonita Beach—I needed a dose of friend badly and this worked.  I finished up my scanning project (digitizing all our photos) and Fitz did caulking work on the rub rails --if this is  retirement it is a good start. 

Great Sunset

 

Diann and Bruce were fun

 

Favorite t-shirt

 


Fitz getting some exercise--the wind and current were so strong it looked like he was sitting still

Big Adirondack Chairs seem to be Ft. Myers Beach yard art of choice 



Cool Beach buggies