Tuesday, November 27, 2012 – Cocoa:
Yesterday
turned out to be a pretty productive day.
After breakfast we did what has become our usual morning routine since
we are not cruising and that is to go up on the flybridge and plan the day’s
activities. First up – another morning
walk along the riverfront. The morning
is already warm, so we put on short sleeve shirts and ditched the sweaters and
sweatshirts. First excuse to prolong the
actual exercise is to check to see if the mail has come yet. So up to the office we go, and there’s no
mail, but there is home made ginger bread which stops Bob in his tracks – so we
have to have another cup of coffee and a “small” piece of that gingerbread
cake. Heavy sighs are in order from me
as I see the walk getting put off again, and I’m thinking, “Oh, please don’t
turn on that TV!” I will admit the
gingerbread was very yummy, but we do get going , and I think we walk about two
miles. It really is a pretty walk – a
paved road with a sidewalk alongside residential homes with nicely landscaped
grounds, and the river side is tree-lined with private piers and docks out over
the water with little sitting areas on them – some of them even have a roof. There is not much traffic on this road, and
it seems like you can walk forever. We
don’t know where the road ends yet, but maybe if we walk longer and longer each
day, we may find out. When I said to Bob
this morning that we should go for our walk, he agreed as we have walked now
three days in a row. I said, “No, this
is only our second day.” He said,
actually I think it’s our fourth day.” I
said, “How do you figure that?!” He
said, “Well, I count going and coming two times!!” Aaarrrgghgh…
After our
walk yesterday, we had lunch, and then decided it was time to check out the
hardware store. We needed another
propane canister for the grill, and Bob wanted some other sundry hardware store
stuff for the boat. Old hardware stores
are the best – they completely evoke Norman Rockwell times gone-by. Travis Hardware was opened in 1885, and was
no exception. Some of the items in the
store look like they have been there since that time. It is really a fascinating and interesting
place – a labyrinth of rooms, levels and odd spaces and two antique staircases
with elaborate banisters and balusters.
It went on forever, twisting and turning into areas with the most
unusual items – like WWII communications equipment. They were very helpful, but they needed
radios to talk to each other while they sent you to different places on
different levels in this mammoth storehouse of sundry goods. We had the best time “browsing,” we found
what we needed, then proceeded to the check-out counter which was another
experience. There was an “old-timer”
there (maybe one of the generations of owners) who was dispensing advice and
instruction on any subject to any and all who would listen. I almost hated to leave.
We did
finally get our mail yesterday, so a good part of the afternoon was taken up
with paperwork. You can’t escape
paperwork no matter what, and, as a matter of fact, I think it is harder to
deal with if you are on a boat. We have
a great mail service back home that picks up our mail at the post office and
sends it to us whenever we call, but it is still a challenge to pay bills on
time and to know how much you need to pay if you don’t have the hard copy of
the bill in front of you. You can look
at your accounts on line (after you put in 18 different passwords and user
id’s), but I personally don’t think any of the websites are user friendly. As a matter of fact, it is about impossible
to figure out your credit card bill on line, and I dare anyone to decipher
their phone bill.
Then last
night we decided to sign up for streaming Netflix, and actually watched a movie
on the computer! Then this morning we
did realize we could watch streaming CNN, so it was news with breakfast again. So I guess our television addiction will be
able to continue.
So this
morning, we woke up to a really nice day.
It is “spring-time warm,” with a blue sky with just a few clouds, and
birds searching for their breakfast everywhere.
We have not gone for a walk as yet this morning as Bob has been on the
computer checking out car rentals. Uh
oh, I think a car may have an impact on our walking activities. But, success, we will have a rental car
tomorrow and now we are headed off on our daily walk again. I hope we can continue our exercise routine
in spite of the car ,which, actually, we are only planning on keeping for a day
or two! However, just a short while into
our “stroll”, Bob says he wants to turn around and head back. It’s around 11:00 a.m., and it will be lunch
time when we get back, and we are making threatening noises about getting out
the bikes and heading to the grocery store again!
And so it
comes to pass that Bob wants to try the bike routine again! This time the bikes are already unfolded and
are in the stern ready to be hoisted off onto the dock. I suggest we put air in the tires again,
which works out well, because the gizmo that does amazing things, plus acts as
an air compressor, is stowed conveniently at hand this time, and Bob puts air
in all the tires again. At the hardware
store, we bought these handy little bungee cords, so we should be able to
fasten our groceries to the back of the bikes more securely this time. Our daughter-in-law intelligently reminded us
that a back-pack would come in quite handy for this type of venture, which we
will have to remember for future shopping trips!
Our trip to
the store this time was much easier than last time. We followed the scenic river road as far as
we could, then just a couple of turns later, we were at the Publix. We got everything we needed, including Bob’s
favorite pastry…but…
Horror of
horrors…I have discovered that I am in terrible, terrible trouble. I thought I had planned so well for every
eventuality – from October 8 (when we left) to December 13 (when we return
home)…and I had hoped beyond all hope that this particular occurrence would not
happen. But the best laid plans…
The cat has
been on a marathon eating binge, and I fear I am running out of her “wet” cat
food. C’mon – I brought six boxes of the
stuff! But she has been an eating
machine since she has been on the boat!
And, guess what…the stores in these parts don’t have the kind of cat food she is used to eating! Do you have any idea how hard it is to change
a cat’s diet?? It is virtually
impossible! Bob, in his usual genius
mode, suggested that I mix up the two different kinds until she accepts that
she has been fooled into thinking that nothing is different, but I have my
doubts… there will be more on this later – trust me!
So homeward
bound we go, and on the way back, we ride by the nice man that gave us the bungee
cords to return them to him with a nice note thanking him for his
kindness. Groceries get unpacked, bikes
get stowed away, and we settle in for the rest of the afternoon. Dinner tonight will be steak on the grill,
spinach sautéed in a little garlic and olive oil, and leftover wild pecan
rice. It’s been a good day.
This is
such a nice marina and definitely worth a stop on the way home, but I thought
you might be interested in why Bob likes it so much – so here are the top ten
reasons why this marina is one of Bob’s favorites:
10 – The
area is relatively flat and easy to get around by walking or biking
9 – The roads are not heavily travelled
8 -
The town has interesting stores and restaurants
7 -
The road along the river is beautiful and scenic to walk or bike along
6 -
There is a professional theatre here
5 – The marina facilities are top of the line
4 – The marina clubhouse has a big TV
3 -
The staff is unbelievably competent, helpful, and nice
2 – It’s not terribly expensive
But the
number one reason that this is Bob’s favorite marina –
It has a 24
hour surveillance camera, that is aimed right at our boat, and Bob can turn on
the computer and with a few clicks of the mouse can look at the boat anytime of
day or night anywhere in the world!
