Above Deck…Days 5 and 6, etc…

 Above Deck…Days 5 and 6, etc…

Our last full day on the boat, we woke up and motored over to Sandy Spit. Apparently it’s an Instagram famous island, one that Belle inquired about the first day on the boat. Our captain knew exactly what she was talking about. We got there early in hopes of having it to ourselves but that was not to be. Almost, but not quite. 

Sandy Spit…almost alone. 

There is another person back there among the palms. 

A quick exploration of the island, the kids filmed a short movie…catch it on TikTok here along with Belle’s other travel shorts. Bunny, Belle and I paddle boarded. I, of course, managed to totally face plant once off the paddle board…witnessed but not video-ed, at least. A little swimming and then we were off to Jost Van Dyke and the Soggy Dollar. 

The world’s most unflattering photo but PROOF that I can paddle board. A bit.  

We moored around the edge of the harbor.  Too crowded for our captain who  preferred the quieter spots away from traffic. (bare boaters who may or may not know what they are doing) Our faithful dinghy dropped us at the beach where we headed to the bar to score some of the drinks that had been prepaid for us by a)the charter company and b)a realtor acquaintance of Amazing Son in Law who had just left the area a few days before.  What a fun concept. If you know someone will be coming that way, buy them some drinks and it goes on the list above the bar. Once your friend shows up and claims their drinks, their name is crossed  off. Basic but it seems to work. We were told our names would be there and they were. 

There we are at the bottom! 

 

The water around Jost Van Dyke was easily the prettiest we saw. Love the contrast of orange umbrellas and turquoise waters. This will be a watercolor. I’m working on a selection of watercolors from the trip. 

T shirts were procured all the way around. I had a special request to pick up a couple for a friend and had to get a Soggy Dollar T for myself, too,   Lunch was grabbed next door at Hendo’s and then I retired to a lounge under the palms.

And then things started going downhill…at least for me. 

We stayed too long in the sun maybe. Or maybe I just was coming down with the 24 hour virus the captain had a few days earlier. But my feet were swelling, my head was stopped up, I was just uncomfortable. 

A last night dinner on board and then off to bed where I didn’t sleep.  Or slept fitfully. Or just had weird dreams.  I don’t know, it was a bit of a blur.

Up early on Tuesday, I felt better. Packed and ready to go, the water taxi picked us up about 9:30am. We bid Amber and Raf goodbye…but not before floating the idea that maybe Amber should come cook for us on land.

She said no. 

Do you blame us for asking? 

After a quick stop at customs, the water taxi dropped us at the marina where we waited for our car transfer. And waited. It was hot, I was fading. Finally he arrived and off to the airport where we quickly got through customs again.  Hugs for Bunny who headed back to New Mexico and then onto the  plane to Florida for the rest of us. 

Love a marina customs office. Didn’t love having to drag our bags off the boat

 to get them scanned and then back again to the boat. 

At that point I was freezing and feeling awful. I picked at dinner when we stopped on the way to Belle’s house. Once at their house, I immediately went to bed where I shivered until my fever broke. Apologies to anyone that might have been exposed to the 24 hour virus but I was fortunate to have empty seats next to me on every flight. 

And then, after so many flights going well, I tried to get back to North Carolina. Ha! 

Wednesday around noon Belle dropped me at the airport.  Checked in and waiting and the flight was delayed an hour. There were storms in Asheville and Charlotte.  Another hour delay.  Finally our plane arrives and we are ready to board. The gate attendant announces we have 15 minutes to get on the plane and pull away from the gate before our crew times out. Amazingly, everyone did their thing quickly and efficiently and we made it.  If only that announcement was made before every flight. Away from the gate, down the tarmac where we got word of a 20 minute delay. That’s OK! We are on the plane! 

Such a cheery sign. Don’t remember if this was the first or second attempt at leaving Florida, but I definitely spent my fair share of time at the Palm Beach         Airport Wednesday and Thursday. 

And then. Another hour delay. We wait a few minutes and then back to the gate. The flight is cancelled. A frantic call to American to confirm I can get a refund. A quick rebook on Allegiant for Thursday. Phone Belle to come back and pick me up and finally retrieve my suitcases from the bowels of baggage services. Another dinner, another night at Belle and ASIL’s house in Florida and another trip back to the airport the next day. After an amazing and fabulous week, such a chore to get home. 

Maybe the universe is trying to tell me something?   I’ve been getting that feeling. There is something I need to be doing. A change? A move?  Maybe I need to sell everything and travel? But wait, there’s still Carlos.   Anyway, there is SOMETHING in the air. Haven’t figured out what, yet,  

Stay tuned.

 

Saturday, Day Three in Paradise

 Saturday, Day Three in Paradise

Saturday we woke up anchored by the beach to the Baths. I swam, Belle and I snorkeled.  A suitable shell still had not been found for the hermit crab. We did find these little puffballs though. Belle paddle boarded, Bunny sunned, Amazing SIL lounged. 

Aren’t these guys cute? 

Off the boat for a quick swim to the beach and an exploration of these giant boulders stacked on the beach. Imagine the forces of nature that rolled them, blew them, tossed them into these positions?  Volcanoes, hurricanes, ocean water and winds. Mother Nature never ceases to amaze. 

Big ol’ boulders. 

Kinda mind boggling.

Back to the boat and we were off to the other side of Virgin Gorda. Docked at Bitter End Yacht Club next to the most enormous yacht, we set off to explore the market, boutique and bar. More rum cocktails, a nap on the boat, I drew a bit. The hot tub was filled and even though it wasn’t warm yet, it felt amazing being bubbled in the cool water while the heat surrounded us. Bunny and Belle did their best to find out info on the yacht next door and possibly get an invite onboard.  Turns out it is owned by a Ukrainian oligarch that our miracle worker chef Amber had been on board with before, different city, different boat. They did not manage to gain access. 

The Amazing Son in Law in the hot tub with that giant yacht behind him. 

Bunny wanted on so badly….

Dinner was at the yacht club and the crew joined us. Bunny and Belle ordered us shots at the bar first. And cocktails. And then we ordered more food than we could possibly eat. More cocktails. We waddled back to the catamaran where I wisely headed to bed to read. The girls and ASIL headed for the hot tub. I think the crew disappeared and did crew things. I knew morning would come too soon for a couple of them….

Dinner Saturday night

And here we are, Sunday morning, Mother’s Day, sails up for the first time over to Scrub Island. Bunny is moving slowly, bummed that her favorite breakfast of Eggs Benedict was served the one morning she was …ahem… under the weather. 

Honestly, our food has been beyond. 

Sorceress Chef Amber works her magic multiple times a day. 

I’m looking forward to my Mother’s Day massage…..

And the hermit crab in my most beautiful spiral shell? I returned him to the wild. I really wanted to keep that shell but finally had to admit it was my treasure but it was his home. 

 At sea…Day two. 

After an early morning walk up to an abandoned house near our beach, some lazing around and yet another amazing meal (French toast, oatmeal with apples, breakfast sandwiches….was that JUST yesterday?) we raised anchor and set off for Cooper Island. 

This house was abandoned after a hurricane 

but it must have been so pretty at one time.

Ouch.

I’ve heard of snakes in the potty, but a cactus??

Beautiful view of the harbour.

So far all of the views have been beyond. 

Beautiful weather. Calm seas. Gorgeous beach.  I’m liking this vacation. 

Into the dinghy and off to snorkel. So.Many.Fish. Bunny spotted a parrot fish with a rock in his mouth. We each saw different large schools of fish…my school was a bunch of black beauties with purple tails. No, I don’t know what they were. I spotted this beautiful shell,  circular and  spiky, and I wanted it. I’m also crap at diving down to the ocean floor. Bunny came to my rescue and retrieved it for me.  

Isn’t this pretty? 

We saw all of these…except maybe the octopus.

Moored for a bit across from a private resort we popped back into our dinghy and motored over to check it out. The bar was open, rum drinks procured and a rousing (not really) game of hook the ring at the bar took place. Belle won. I napped. The kids moved to the coffee shop, then to the Rum Bar.  The boutique opened. The Amazing SIL needed a shirt. Back to the boat. 

We ended the afternoon at the Baths (Baaaaths according to our Brit captain). Entering right at the last minute we were supposed to (ok, ten minutes past) we had the place to ourselves. Apparently I am one step from the nursing home because I kept hearing “hold on, mom”, “give mom a hand”, “mom, maybe you better come this way, it’s safer”.    

Aren’t they cute? Belle and the Amazing SIL In the Baaaaths.

I’ve always said when I get old and decrepit the kids are supposed to take me on a fishing trip and accidentally have me fall overboard, right before speeding off. I was a bit suspicious of their motives when they invited me on this trip. I’m not that old YET, am I?   But maybe they aren’t putting me out to sea on this trip? Probably lulling me into a false sense of security, THEN they will toss me overboard.  I need to make a deal with the Captain so he will swing back for me…

My shell? It had an inhabitant, a tiny hermit crab. We put it in a dish of salt water and searched for a new shell for him to move into. The whole Caribbean surrounding us…not a single appropriate shell.  The water was changed. Options discussed. Slow death while we searched?  That’s mean. Dip him in fresh water and just be done with it? Rather not kill two sweet animals in one week…don’t want to be compared to Kristin Noem.  Amber came up with a plot. Put him on the slats of the deck overhanging the water. He will want to get back into the water, step out of his shell and Plop! down he will go between the slats…leaving me with an empty shell. 

Exhausted from swimming and snorkeling and exploring  (and EATING) we all headed to bed. It rained during the night. Hard. I figured my shell was a goner, but no. I think Amber’s evil plot worked. No crab to be found this morning in my beautiful shell. 

Today we head over to Bitter End, our furthest point out. Dinner tonight at the Bitter End Yacht Club. Wonder if today is the day the sails come up? 

Sunset over our neighbors.

ETA: the crab is still there…..   shell  hunting today.

ABOVE DECK...Day 1

 ABOVE DECK...TRAVELING AND DAY ONE...

So, in order to earn my keep, I've been tasked with documenting our trip.  Easy peasy.

Except my morning started early Wednesday with a frantic call to the vet. Miss Mina, who had been doing so well, took a turn for the worse Tuesday night and quit eating and started missing the kitty box again.  I knew what had to be done...she was uncomfortable, her kidneys would not recover, and I did not want her suffering with a stranger or in a cage at the vet. A quick phone call and the vet snuck me in first thing.   She was the sweetest, prettiest cat I've ever owned and this is the first time since I was 5 that I don't have a cat and don't plan on getting another any time soon. 

Miss Mina, named by the BigGuy, found under a bush in Lampasas at 

the Sister in Law's farm on Ellery's birthday. She went from feral kitten to domesticated longhair 

in about 30 minutes.

And then off to the airport....

Props to American for getting me out of Asheville and into West Palm Beach ahead of the many storms that tore through North Carolina.  

Thursday morning bright and early (4:30AM!) we were off to the Miami airport to meet Bunny who had flown in from Albuquerque. Poor baby had left New Mexico the night before at 9pm.  A quick 2.5 hour flight to Saint Thomas, a driver to the marina and a water taxi to our boat and Voila! we are on the Lena catamaran for the next 6 days. 

Lena

in the BritishVirgin Islands for the next 6 days

Raf, our captain, and Amber, our chef, met us with Prosecco, flowers for me (Happy early Mother's Day!) and an amazing lunch.    Swimsuits were donned, sunscreen applied, and snorkels were snorkeled. 

Early Mom's Day for me!

Stingrays floated gently below us. There were sea turtles!!!  Tiny brightly colored fishies darted around the rocks. The girlies brought back shells. I lounged. Mitchell worked....

A fabulous dinner- Wagyu beef, Bao buns, Rice paper rolls- and then we headed out for a sunset run to Willie T's boat bar.  

Willie T's Boat Bar

Rum and Cokes- we are in the islands after all-fortified the girls enough to jump off the back of the boat. Used to be if you jumped off topless you got a free t-shirt, but they kept running out of tees so they stopped that deal.  Belle says she knows why women jumped topless- you end up that way anyway when you hit the water.

Back in the dinghy and into some caves where the last  pirate treasure was found in 1990-recent enough that maybe we could have found something, too, if it hadn't been PITCH BLACK in there.  

We watched the tarpon feeding around the boat in the underwater lights a bit before everyone faded. 

Skinny silver tarpon

Our first day done, everyone was in bed by 9:30pm. Sea air and salt water will wear you out. 

Voilà! Asheville and gone again...

 Asheville and then gone...

For Part One of this odyssey, click here.

This is Part Two where my friend and I leave Asheville after dropping off my car load of stuff and head South. 

From Asheville we headed to Saint Augustine for the night. It was too long of a drive. We ended up having a decent seafood dinner at a loud touristy seafood restaurant in Saint Augustine Beach after a very harrowing wrong turn into a dead end street. Poor Roger thought he could get through behind a building but..oops!..that was not the case. He went about half way down the street before he realized it was a total dead end, not even a cul-de-sac to turn around in.  Which meant he had to back up 27 feet of RV with another 10ft of car hauler on this narrow street at apparently the exact hour all of the residents arrived home. And no one was interested in waiting for us, instead they just yelled at us because "people are always turning around here, it says 'no outlet'". Ok. Thanks. That was so helpful. We made a mistake. No one died and nothing was run over. Roger persevered and was still smiling once we got turned around. Whew.

Also, there was zero social distancing or mask wearing at that touristy restaurant. Thank goodness for being vaccinated. 

Saturday we arrived at the Lion Country Safari RV Park outside West Palm Beach where Belle lives with her very patient and sweet boyfriend. We dumped the RV, loaded up the dog (Miss Mina stayed behind in the air conditioned comfort of the RV)and headed to the Hilton Canopy hotel which backs up to Belle's condo. We were immediately whisked away to dinner at PB Catch. Lovely and quiet and not touristy- the perfect antidote to the previous night. The seafood was excellent. Drinks followed at the Leopard Lounge. Check out their cool ceiling. 

I loved this painted ceiling with faces. 

 After dinner Belle and Mitchell came back to the room to see Carlos and it was such a happy reunion. Roger's daughter, also living in West Palm for the winter, stopped to see Carlos, too, as she had lived with him last summer.  I'm sure Carlos was totally confused but also so happy to see all of these people that had disappeared on him.

And Sunday was sad. Belle came out to the RV park to see Mina and then Roger and I made a mad dash through Lion Country Safari. Well, as mad a dash as you can make on a busy Sunday. 

Belle looking a little two-headed with me behind her. 

But look how happy she is to see Mina.

Belle brought both Carlos and Mina home as a teenager and then promptly moved away-

 leaving her pets with me. 

Sigh. Isn't that how it always goes? 

This ostrich pecked at everyone's decals.

A whole line of cars was waiting for him to get out of the road and 

he took advantage and inspected everyone's windshield.

Once the animals had been seen, Roger and I  parted ways.  He headed to his daughter's to pick up some furniture to haul back to Colorado. I drove to Tampa to see Bunny. While I am confident that I don't want to live in Colorado full time, I am certainly going to miss my friend.  I'm working on convincing him he can live in two places. 

Miss Bunny was just as happy as Belle to see her family pets. Carlos was not quite as welcoming to Bunny's boyfriend without Roger around. Carlos takes his family protection VERY seriously. Fortunately, that was short lived. 

Me, Carlos, Bunny.  

He really was happy to see her even though he looks concerned here. 

Carlos frequently looks concerned. 

We had a lovely quick dinner at the boyfriend's parents' house and then I came back to her house and crashed. All of that driving just caught up with me. 

I stayed an extra day at Bunny's house, ran some errands and then met the sweet boyfriend and family for another dinner at Bartaco. Confusing ordering online but the tacos were yummy. I just wanted someone to take my order, though, rather than figure out how or if I had ordered my dinner. 

Tuesday morning Carlos, Mina and I were loaded in the Subaru and off. 

All of this traveling is just exhausting.

My goal was Savannah. I had booked a boring hotel on the highway since I had the animals with me. But then I had an Aha! moment. I REALLY wanted to see downtown Savannah. It's hard to leave Carlos in a hotel room though because he opens the door and lets himself out. But I downloaded a walking tour on my phone, told Mina to behave and off the two of us went to explore Savannah. And O!  Driving into downtown I had the instinct to just ditch Asheville and move to Savannah. How beautiful. 

There were statues...

It even SMELLED good. We gave up on the tour pretty quickly- I got turned around reading the map- and just wandered. So many people out, the parks are gorgeous, the downtown historic district was amazing and I just don't understand why I'm not living in one of those beautiful historic townhomes.   I WILL go back. It's also on my Zillow morning real estate porn list now.

And trees dripping Spanish moss...

Plus historic buildings with gorgeous stairs.

The next day I loaded up the animals and decided to visit Tybee Island before we left the area. Only 30 minutes from downtown, it seemed a shame not to go. But...it turns out dogs are not allowed on the beaches at all. So I went to the Lighthouse-climbed all 150 stairs to the top- and took a picture of the beach at least. It looked so inviting.  Again, I will go back.

The Tybee Island Lighthouse.

My legs were sore for dayyyyyyssss.

And the beach. No dogs allowed, $300 fine. Bah humbug.

And then...

we headed North West.   Arrived in Asheville early evening. And have been here ever since. A total of 3200 miles traveled to get here.

I did wake up the first morning in this very sparsely furnished apartment and think "what the Hell am I doing?"  I have a blow up air mattress, two chairs and a folding table. One friend in Asheville, another couple in Hendersonville just 30 minutes away are my only connections. 

Then I remembered the rule I used when I moved to Colorado full time. Do it like you mean it.

Also I reminded myself that there is no law that says I can't change my mind. This is an exploratory adventure. I can live just about anywhere. This is my time to figure out where that will be. 

So I researched parks, museums, contacted a woman about a silver working class, joined MeetUp, and  perused Bumble. (Bit of a waste unless I'm looking for Conservative Christians...a group I have soured on.)  Took the first two days to put the apartment in order and stock the kitchen.  Joined a MeetUp group for Taco Tuesday. Met some new people. Visited the arboretum and walked Carlos until we both dropped. It's exhausting being social after a solid year spent with basically one person. But.  I am doing it like I mean it.

So much green at the Arboretum.

Friend Diana is coming this weekend. I am slowly getting plans in place for the rest of the month. I do want to go spend some days in Savannah. I've heard its a great place to visit, but not so great to live. I need to see for myself. 

Day 470billion

Day 470billion and counting....

Well, here we are still...smack dab in the middle of the pandemic. I finally caved and bought myself a laptop because this thing doesn't seem to be going away and I need connection. 

How is everyone holding up?   My former home state of Texas is getting hammered right now and I know sooo many people who are sick and too many people who have lost loved ones.

Still unemployed although my benefits will run out before the end of the year so...yea...that's a problem. I am trying desperately to come up with a way to support myself that does not include going to a 9 to 5 job. If anyone has suggestions, I am all ears. 

And how have I been passing the time?  Surprisingly, by traveling. 

I spent a week in Texas packing up my mom's house. 

One closet down, the rest of the house to go...

Visiting with friends was cut short by my brother's announcement that he tested positive for Covid19 about an hour after we had lunch together. Fortunately that was a false positive but still...no one (including me) was willing to interact with that possible diagnosis hanging over my head. 

My most favorite discovery amongst the millions of photos
and souvenirs of lives well lived:
My Great Aunt Louise and her sorority sisters
at the University of Texas
Circa 1919

Anyway, I got the house mostly packed up before heading back to Colorado.

Bunny graduated from Ole Miss (YAY!) and moved to Tampa.  She liked the idea of being closer to her sister but wasn't that fond of the East coast of Florida. Current boyfriend lives in Tampa and his mom was a lifesaver in finding her an apartment. Of course, the job opportunities that were everywhere in March completely dried up by her move in May and she has just now gotten a job.  Anyway, I wanted to get to Florida to see both girls before life intervened and we all were working and unable to visit. A long weekend in Tampa at the beginning of June was perfect. 

Belle, Me, Bunny
at the beach in Florida

Belle and her BF came over from Palm Beach and I got to meet Bunny's BF for the first time. 

Love love love Bunny's little apartment-walking distance to restaurants and stores- and the beach at Clearwater is gorgeous.  Her job starts this week so cross your fingers all goes well. Belle is also back to work after being laid off but she says it is impossibly slow. Florida being another hot spot for the virus makes her job a challenge. 

Home from Florida I headed to the cabin for a week to supervise a new roof installation. I'm on the fence about what to do with that cabin. 

New roof, fresh paint. 
Want to buy it? 

Love it dearly but it has its drawbacks.  I've been staying in Golden for 5 months now and enjoying being back in civilization. After my hospital stay last November I realized that living in a rural area was maybe not the best of long term plans. Add to that the need/desire to be within an hour of the airport and the cabin looks less and less inviting. Welcoming any suggestions or extravagant offers to purchase it...

For July 4th we drove to Montana (No. 65: Visit a new state!) to visit Friend's brother. We took the RV which was a fun experiment, my having only been in an RV once before. (And even then we stayed local.) So we drove for two days through Wyoming and Montana to Bigfork. I expected the Eastern side of Wyoming to be more mountainous...I guess because my only other experience with Wyoming was Yellowstone National Park.  I had volunteered to drive the RV until I realized the speed limit was 80 and that sucker was bigger than I expected. Nope, couldn't do it. 

Ok. So it doesn't seem that big here. 
But I was more comfortable driving the Smart Car....
And isn't this a magnificent Montana Sunset? 

Working on No. 99, we stopped at the Battlefield of the Little Bighorn (aka Custer's Last Stand). It's fascinating to drive through the fields (I had my own personal historian and park buff driving me) and even with other cars and people, I could imagine the horses coming over the hills, how easy it must have been for Custer to miscalculate the number of Native Americans down below, see the whole scenario play out....

Bigfork, MT is darling and the brother's house on the water was perfect for July 4 fireworks. Honestly, I've never seen so many explosives in the sky in one night. There was a professional display from the Lodge across the lake and then the neighbors were all competing against each other and it was almost overload. And that's from someone who ADORES fireworks. 

Magical

Love!

Like the Milky Way exploding!

We tried to go through Glacier National Park but, like many public areas, it was overwhelmed with visitors and many parts shut down. We ended up with a picnic by the lake and a stop on the way home for cherries. 

A particularly awful pic of me in front of 
Lake McDonald.  
Riding in a convertible will give you that lovely hairdo. 

Home from Montana for two days and then off again to Texas. JeanMom's house had sold and the deadline to be out was fast approaching. Fortunately, emptying houses is my jam. I packed, I sorted and I emptied. 

Little house ready to move on to a new owner.

We did not disclose the ghost that came with the house.

He's friendly.

The Ft Bend Women's Center was the beneficiary of some items, the rest went to storage to be sorted through when it isn't July in Texas.  

Someone at the Women's Center has a sense of humor.
Woody hanging on to the back of a moving truck!

WHY do I seem to end up doing my moving in the heat of the summer? No clue. I'll probably end up moving out of the cabin in the middle of January during a blizzard. 

The storage unit filled!

And now, as the Corona virus seems to be having a come back and states are grappling with masks and shut downs and the impending school year, I am back in Golden. The one project I started back in May, a baby quilt for a friend, has FINALLY been completed. Like everything else this year, this project was filled with false starts and corrections and mistakes. I completed the top once, only to trash it and start completely over. The new top was attached to the backing and  then ripped apart to be redone because I didn't like the batting. This is one project I will be happy to put in the mail. At least I can say I am happy with the results. 

In progress here, and now done. 
Into the mail today!

So. Any suggestions for gainful employment, creative (paying) endeavors and or housing solutions will be welcomed. 

Everyone stay safe, wear your masks and wash your hands.