6 am, 70 Degrees

It's warm these days.  Supposed to get to 85 degrees today here in Fernandina Beach.  It's humid, but not unbearably so.  Last night Dave cooked local shrimp and veggies from the Farmers Market and couscous.  Delish.  We tried to sell the car yesterday but ran into an issue with the used car dealer who said he'd buy it but ended up offering a much lower price than what we were led to believe.  We should have made him put it in writing early on, so that was our mistake.  Went to a couple of other dealers who offered more, but could not write a check until Monday.  Frustrating, but it's OK because it just gives us another day and a half to organize.

Conan has been a champ in jumping right in with a smile.  He's leant a hand and given good advice from route planning to engine maintenance to dinghy davit rigging (hanging our inflatable boat off the stern mount) to stowage.  Truthfully, in most instances, it is we who try to lend him a hand as he's the one with the expertise and mechanical chops.  A friendly guy with a can-do attitude, we truly appreciate his presence.
Selling the car is the last big hurdle.  We hope to do that tomorrow, then take off, weather permitting.  We'll head down the coast of Florida about 10 miles offshore.  When we're near the Lake Worth area, which will take about 24 hours of straight sailing, we'll choose one of three routes depending on the weather and how we are feeling.  We are bound for Turks and Caicos first just southeast of the Bahamas.  We have the option of a southern route skirting just north of Cuba then east, a middle route which heads southeast through the Bahamas then cuts east to deep water, or the direct route north of the Bahamas all in deep water.  If it's all good, we'll continue sailing.  If we need a rest or something comes up, we'll duck into Lake Worth and do what needs to be done.

Still a lot to do today.  I'm excited and nervous and happy and scared, but most of all I'm ready.