Christmas in Florida

We think the boat is ready to go!  While Captain Man was working on some system issues, I traveled back to NC last week to check on my parents and drop off the car, (and grab some extra love from baby girl) then flew back to Florida to hop on board Sun Daze.  After provisioning for the trip, we left our dear friend's dock and headed to Fort Pierce to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

The Town Square has a light/music show on Christmas Eve, and people were enjoying synchronized lights to Christmas music.  A fun evening putting us in a bit of spirit. 

Christmas morning, we enjoyed our coffee in the sling seat on the back of the boat and was surprised by an alligator making his morning rounds.   A fellow boater in the marina informed us he is a local in the basin, looking for free breakfasts.  Guess no swimming here!

The rest of the day was spent making phone calls to NC to wish my family "Merry Christmas", then relaxing by reading and napping.  We will be leaving the marina this morning heading further south until Wednesday, which looks like a weather window to cross over to the Abacos.  Will see, as the weather could change.

Sunrise at the marina

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!!

Sun Daze

While Captain Man was busy selling Kittywampus, he was also busy looking for smaller boat.  And he found one....Sun Daze, which is a Gemini catamaran.  While he was transitioning from the larger boat to this boat, he was in bit of a hurry to get back to NC, so he just transferred stuff to Sun Daze without sorting anything.  He tried to warn me that this boat would be dirty and cluttered.  This is what it looked like when we got to Florida on Sunday.  😟

I put on my work clothes and got myself into cleaning mode.  It has taken me a few days of scrubbing and organizing, but it looks a little better.  Still tons more to do before we take off, but now at least I am able to see what the boat looks like.  Not real fond of the striped hunter green cushions, but they are in good shape, so we will make it work.  

Both Captain Man and I have been working up a sweat, as it has been in the upper 80's and low 90's here during the day.  The pic below shows the area where Sun Daze is docked.  Beautiful!  

Yesterday, while I was on the boat, I heard splashing outside.  Rushed out to see a pod of dolphin playing in the water.  Later, our neighbor for the time being, called my attention to a manatee and her baby swimming by our boat.  I ran backed inside to grab my camera and by the time I got back on deck, she was gone.  Dang!!!  Oh well, time to get back to work...

Heading South! Our Journey Has Begun...

It is finally time.  We are officially heading south.  This trip will be different for us in that the new boat is already in Florida, so we are driving to Florida rather than sailing down the coast.  We packed the car, turned off water at the house and off we went.  The first leg of our journey took us to Charleston.   We spent a day with dear friends who live on John's Island, SC.  John's Island is an island in Charleston County, the 4th largest island on the east coast.  Approximately one third of the island is within Charleston city limits.  The movie The Notebook was filmed here in 2004.

One of the Saturday Markets in Charleston

The Old Citadel in Charleston

Inside enclosed courtyard of the Old Citadel which now operates as a hotel

Both Captain Man and I love to visit Charleston.  Each time we come, we find something new to experience.   The flavors...like shrimp and grits or tomato pie, the sights...cobblestone streets with horse-drawn carriages and the Battery promenade, the sounds...jazz artists playing in the streets and clapping of horses hooves on the stones, along with the rich history of this town, keep us coming back. 

Fortyeight Wine Bar

We were also introduced to Fortyeight, a wine bar with 48 "wine stations" where wines are offered by the glass for wine tasting.  The wines are in these stations and served at the appropriate temperature.  You browse around with your glass, find a wine you are interested in, place your glass under the dispenser and a sampling taste is poured into your glass.  If you like the wine, you have the option of purchasing another "taste" or you can purchase 1/2 glass or full glass.   It's wonderful...this process allows you the opportunity to taste a really expensive wine (one that I would never buy), or find a wine that you really enjoy and get a 1/2 or full glass (and purchase bottle for take home).  We enjoyed a few hours of good wine and a few tasty nibbles.  A great afternoon!

Later in the evening, we went to one of our favorite restaurants...Wild Olive.  This wonderful restaurant offers a simple menu with outstanding dishes.  If you are in Charleston, please find this place and have their lasagna made with lamb sausage...absolutely the best lasagna I have ever had.  Although the other dishes on the menu sound amazing, I always get the lasagna.  The BEST!!

As much as we love to visit our good friends in this wonderful city, this was a short visit...it was time to move on.  The next morning, we said our goodbyes and continued our journey south.  Next stop...Eau Gallie, Florida, where our new boat...Sun Daze is awaiting us!