Struck a Deal!

Our offer was accepted on a Freedom 45 sailboat!  On Friday we plan to have the survey (inspection) and sea trial (test sail).  Hopefully that will go smoothly and without much more need for negotiation.  Will post photos of the boat once the deal is closed.

Here in St. Augustine, we've rented a motel room for a week.  It's good to be in one spot for a change.  I'm happy because we're close to the old city, so I get up early and go for a morning walk each day.  So far, everyday I've found a new area to explore.  Some of the highlights include the Spanish influence throughout the city, the area where the first Greek settlers lived, the Bridge of Lions spanning the beautiful river, the Freedom Trail where many events of the Civil rights movement took place, the unassuming Baptist Church where Martin Luther King, Jr. addressed the congregation, and the oldest wooden schoolhouse in America.

We've also enjoyed some good Southern cooking including crab burgers and grits.

And a trip to St. Augustine would not be complete without a visit to the Alligator Farm!  I had to drag Dave to this tourist trap, but guess who bought special nibbles and fed the gators!  Below is a liitle video of a couple of gators with a sound track of visiting class of school kids.





Into Georgia

Three more boats.  Well, really four, but one doesn’t count.  Susurru is a grand old 44 Kelly Peterson resurrected by her owner from a field.  Adding everything himself to get her ready for a circumnavigation, the owner and his wife set out from San Diego a few years back.  They went through the Panama Canal and headed east, but due to family illness docked in St Marys, Georgia.  In speaking with the owner on the phone, we could tell that he’d put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into this vessel.  But after sitting for a couple of years, she was now in sad shape.  I’ve learned that boats are meant to be sailed – not to lay around.  Sort of like hunting dogs who, when they spot a bird, chase it.  It’s in their bones.  So it goes with the bones of boats.  Must sail. 

Back in Ft. Lauderdale, we saw a Moody that we liked except inside it was too dark – not enough ventilation and portholes, a necessity in the tropics.  In Palm Coast we saw a Freedom 45, which is unique with its carbon fiber mast, so no stays (wires that go from the deck to nearly the top of the mast to hold it steady which double as good supports to grab onto while walking up the deck when it’s roll-y).  Dave, at first, winced when he heard of this system, but, leaving no stone unturned, we had a look.  Though she was intriguing, she didn’t grab us.  What did grab us, however, was the boat in the next birth, a 43 Bristol.  She reminded us of the first boat we saw, beautiful Cynosure, a 47 Bristol.  Esconditas had the same excellent Bristol features but in a more compact layout.  The price is quite reasonable and the owner is motivated, so the big question is – is it too small?

We mulled over this question over crab cakes, broiled flounder, fried okra and our first hush puppies – incredibly tasty deep fried lumps of dough.  Afterwards we wandered around St. Augustine, the oldest continuously inhabited city in the US, beautifully illuminated with strands of white lights that gave it an ancient magical feel.  The next morning I awoke before dawn and walked over the Bridge of Lions into the historic section.  It was misty and quiet in the town square where I saw the oldest monument to the Spanish government dated 1812.  The masonry in nearby 19^th Century buildings included bits of sea shells and gravel.  I love to touch these walls and think about the hands that built them 200 years before.  I also touched the iron cannons that guarded the former fort during the Civil War.  So much history here.  In the late 1800s, two grand hotels were built by businessmen as a destination for wealthy Northerners.  One now houses a museum and the other a college.  This building is noted as the first poured concrete building in the US.  I looked for cracks, having just been through the drama of a cracked concrete foundation.  I saw a few, but the building has been standing for well over a hundred years, and it’s huge, so I think it’s good.  The added ornamentation makes it a stunning building. 

Another enchanting aspect of St. Augustine is the waterway.  On one side of the bridge, sailboats and trawlers are docked at the marina, and anchored out on the other side are several sailboats.  As I walked over the bridge, in the dawn’s early light, I stopped to watch a sailboat backing out of a slip while the owner of the boat in the next slip stood on the dock directing with hand signals.  The captain slowly motored out of the marina while his wife attended to the lines.  They waved good-bye to their neighbor who waved back, then stood for several moments watching the couple go.  Who knows how long their acquaintance had been, but because it was more than just a moment, I could tell that they’d made a connection and cared about each other.  I imagined myself and Dave going through this very thing – making connections, waving good-bye, venturing to new places, and on.

Now we are in St. Marys, Georgia and I have one word:  shrimp.  Dave had shrimp in marinara sauce over angel hair pasta, and I had shrimp and scallops in lemon and chardonnay also over angel hair pasta.  There was, however, nothing shrimpy about he serving, not the usual California miniscule serving, but a Georgia gigantic bowl.  It was deliciously savory, and we look forward to enjoying it again for brunch.  We’ll explore St. Marys today and make plans to see a couple of more boats in the area. 

Oh, and yesterday we may have found THE boat...more to follow!

Melbourne, FL

I’d heard about Dick Sanders for several years - short, muscular, pony-tailed ex-marine with a taste for beer, a heart of gold and the brains and hands to build or fix anything.  Then I met him.  All true.  Dick and his lovely wife, Terry, put us up for the night in their cozy home.  They came to Melbourne from the Bay Area and found their fixer-upper on a nice lot.  Let me say, it’s a pleasure to be in a home that has been lovingly and artistically improved from the wood floors to the porcelain cabinet knobs to the paintings on the walls to the blue tiles in the swimming pool and, yes, even to the fake snake and severed leg sticking out from the wooden platform over the creek in back where Dick feeds his wild turtles.  (He does have a sense of humor.)  Terry works in her home office of warm colors and Asian art.  She is gracious and insightful, and it was great to make a connection with her.  She and Dick love to travel and we enjoyed hearing of their adventures in exotic locales while we dined on spanokopita and moussaka at a local Greek eatery.  Thank you, Terry and Dick.

Ft. Lauderdale

Bella power, Christian cool guy, and Angie and Scot warmth greeted us in Ft. Lauderdale.  What a lovely family.  Scot, Angie and I remembered our Damascus teaching days and, along with Dave, caught up on our new stories    And it was so much fun to hang out with Christian, the ever-so-cool football ace, history lover (what a surprise with two history teachers as parents) and Bella, the bouncing beautiful ball of energy.  They both continuously brought smiles to our faces.  This along with Angie's delicious home cooking and Scot's cheerfulness made it hard to leave.  Big hugs and thanks again to our friends.

Still looking at boats.

St. Pete's Beach

St.Pete’s Beach, FL

We’ve seen our first two boats now, both in the St. Petersburg area, both with funny small world connections.  The owners of the second boat, Aeolia just bought 20 acres in Forestville, California, about a half an hour from Petaluma.  We joked that it was too bad we didn’t know because maybe we could have made some sort of Victorian/sailboat trade.  The connection, however, with the owners of the first boat, Cynosure, was even more incredible. 

The owner, Art, asked Dave when he returned from his circumnavigation.  Dave at first said ’97 then remembered that, no, he returned in ’99 and said that in ’97, he was in Borneo.  Art said quizzically, “We were in Borneo in ’97.”  A few more questions and Art said, “I know you.”   Turns out that during their five-year circumnavigation, Dave and his family spent time together with Art and Pat who spent nine years circumnavigating, returning in 2001.  We called Pat down to the boat and when she made the connection, we all had tears in our eyes.  She said to Dave, “You still have those beautiful blue eyes.”  Many stories were shared and plans were made to have dinner together the next night, which we did.  It was a pleasure to spend time with this lovely couple and hear about their adventures.

Regarding Cynosure, she sure is a lovely boat.  Not only is she beautiful, inside and out, but she has been meticulously maintained.  Tricia (In Singapore where she celebrated her 60^th birthday, Pat decided to change her name to Tricia) says that Cynosure is Art’s play thing and that everyday he finds a reason to go down to the dock and work on her.  He has added many features to make her more safe, efficient, and comfortable.  He was particularly proud of the remote keychain switch which turns on the spreader lights that illuminate the entire deck useful at night when returning to the boat via dinghy.  Art calls Tricia his “varnisher” because she loves to varnish, and Cynosure lives up to its “shiny penny” description.  Lordee, she is tempting.  Time to review the finances. - L.

TX, OK, AR, TN, MS, AL

We've been zooming through the states but spent two nights in Clarksville, Arkansas due to severe weather in the South.  The countryside continues to be beautiful.  The red rocky cliffs of the the Southwest morphed into flat prairie in Texas, then became low scrubby hills in Oklahoma with plants growing taller though Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, and now Alabama.  Lots of snow, for the South, that is.  Today will be Georgia and finally Florida. 

Of interest in Clarksville, in asking the Indian hotel clerk where to find a grocery store, she told us of a Wal-mart.  Thinking it was a language barrier, we stopped by another hotel where the clerk also happened to be Indian, we asked where to buy milk and bread.  He pointed us to the gas station down the street.  Stymied, we asked a native speaking local where to find a grocery store.  She scrunched her nose and told us Wal-mart was it.  So no local mom-and-pop grocer in this town.  Then we found out that we were just 70 or so miles from Wal-mart headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas.  Guess that explains it. 

It's true, that there is an honest friendliness with the Southerners that you meet.  It's strange because there are also some clearly defined philosophies outlined in billboards and bumper stickeres.  One billboard read, "Use the rod, save the child."  Guess there ain't no sassin' back here!

Standin' on the corner in Winslow, Arizona














It's a girl, my Lord, in a flatbed Ford....














Dave scraping snow off the car in Clarksville, Alabama















Near Sherman, Mississippi

AZ, NM, TX

We're now in Amarillo, Texas.  Had a wonderful visit with my brother Dave and his wife Rhonda in Reno.  It was so good to catch up, share stories, and just be together.  Then on to Las Vegas, which met my every expectation.  I'm just not a Vegas gal, I guess.  The low point for me was driving down the strip behind a trailer with an image of what I'd classify as soft porn, larger than life, three scantily clad women in compromising positions, right there for young and old to see.  So much for not objectifying women. 

On to better visions - the Grand Canyon.  My first time.  So beautiful with snow lacing layers of red rock.  

We turned on the radio and heard, "She thinks my tractor's sexyyyyy" and we knew we were not in Sonoma County anymore.  We've been talking about how different it is in the back country of Arizona and New Mexico.  The land is starkly beautiful and the homes are really basic.  What would it be like to live here?  The colors are different here.  When the sun sets, the grass is a surreal yellow with green tinge. 

Rolled into Texas after dark, so now we'll see what Texas and Oklahoma are like.  Maybe we'll see an armadillo.