Captain's log: 11-30-11

      Well, it"s really hard to get in the X-mas spirit when it's 80 degrees outside. Thankfully a cold spell is going through (only 70 degrees tomorrow) burrrrrrr. So what do people do when they don't have a house?..... They decorate their boat of course.
complete with palm tree and icicle lights. It's not really a palm tree. It actually has fake pine needles instead of palms.

     OK, so you all know that the beach across the street from us is known for all the shark's teeth that can be found.    Today Dorene found something a little unusual on the beach. See if you can pick it out in the Photo below.

Yup , shark's teeth and what's left from their last lunch. Lots of speculation at the tiki hut but, I'm going with either captain Ahabs gold tooth or gramma opened her mouth too wide while hunting shark's teeth. Either way, it's about 200 dollars worth of gold in todays market. Now even I'm thinking of looking for beach teeth tomorrow.
         Oh, since it takes me about 1/2 hour to type this short blog I don't respond individually to comments but in answer to a couple questions....We plan on hanging at Chadwick cove most of winter but maybe Jan . or Feb heading down to the keys. Possibly Marathon for a few weeks.
      High winds and big waves brought us this sunset and a set of gold teeth!

Next time maybe an update on the bamboo floor.

Captain's log: 11/28/11

     I'm a little late for the Thanksgiving blog but, I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and ate way too much. We were hosted by the lovely couple below for their 1st Thanksgiving as newlyweds.

We started out with about an 8 lb. turkey for 5 people which would have been enough. They thought we needed more so I offered up the following plump morsel......

    It was 3 votes to 2 nay. You lucked out this time moka!
      So we opted for a 20 pounder,3 desserts, stuffing, potatoes, gravey ,etc, etc for 5 people. A little excessive. Gotta love America. 
     So, what da ya do after that? Watch the Packers and take a nap, of course.

This is not trick photography. The dog is actual size. It really is longer than we are. It's actually a horse.
   Are you bored yet? Well you asked for it.    Happy Thanksgiving everyone !(Belated)

Captain's log:11-27-11

    So what does a former type "A" individual do at dock in paradise?.....

     Tear out all the carpet in your boat and put in bamboo floors. Can you say parallelograms and spheres? I can say it but probably can't spell it. Anyway every board has two angle cuts and they are all different. So 4 days into it and I finally got past the steps.

Moka......(the dog says)    Ya, they do look good but, they scare the crap out of me . They are very slippery. The dinette area does remind me of that spot under the piano where I used to relieve myself.... maybe this will work out after all.

      This next one is mostly for you,Dad. Remember that big a$$ table? I cut it down to size .  Good idea but, what I didn't realize until after the first cut was that the ugly linoleum top was really an ugly brass top. The good /bad news was it was a borrowed skill saw. Good thing the owner has a good boaters attitude.

      I think sunrises (the sun doesn't really rise) ,think about it, .... are probably more consistantly beautifull than sunsets but , most of us just aren,t awake to see them.

                                            sunclipse/sunsight/sunrise off the bow of our boat '30 Below"

Captain's log: 11/10/11-11/15/11

      As you can see this blog-thing is not going to be an everyday thing. I'll keep trying but, even on essay tests I was not a very good bulls#$%er. " just the facts ma'am.... Just the facts"   Not good at just filling in space.

       So, What's been happening?  Cleaning the boat , starting the engines, painting the bottom, potluck, storing the coach. Geez!!! It's a lot of work being homeless!  Dorene did see something we didn't see last year. ..A 5 foot gator! Right next to where we always walked the dog! She must not have been plump enough yet.
     Look close it's in the middle of the picture. Of course size is just a guestimate but, guaranteed to be accurate for sure. For some reason that is as close as Dorene was going to get. Maybe next time she'll "Steve Irwin" sp? it for you.


I Know I showed you this last year but, there is something about guys and big equipment moving things that never gets old. This is Brady putting our boat in the water. He operates the travel lift remotely with a joy stick. It looks close but it is actually closer. He actually touches some of the boats/cars on the way by.

                                                                      CLOSE!
      This next pic reminds me of that final scene in Indiana Jones when the holy grail is put in the giant government warehouse never to be seen again.

That's the boat half way down the row.
          It's all worth it when it's back in the water. The boat is happy again!

                                         View the first night on the water.

            It's been awhile, now was that red on right or left?

Must have been left. We made it!

      Finally! Gulf water ahead!

      
        I really didn't want to do these next few pics (I do like to keep a few friends) but, What are you doing still living up "Nort"  for  anyway?

Dolphins just love our slow moving boat. They spot us about a half mile off and then make a torpedo line straight for us. This guy/gal ( they're close but I can't tell the diff.) swam just under the bow on his side looking up at me like a Lab saying, "come on just throw the ball already"

       This next pic is how us "southerners" watch the Pack vs. Vikings game.

     It's 80 degrees at game time, the gulf water is at the tip of my right hand and yes I am related to "Hobbits" .  I know some of you were already going there anyway. Come on they're only size 13, (12 and a half on a cold day) (shrinkage)  and it's a bad camera angle!

Go Pack!

(Dorene comment:).....GO VIKES  ---yes, "I" am still a loyal Viking fan!

(Jeff says:)  ....and I hope this doesn't get into a back and forth exchange here, but, capital letters? REALLY?  I thought she would make a comment on the "shrinkage"....not the Vikings!!!

....till next time!

Wife response!!

"To clarify things.....I was "grocery shopping" AND the only reason he has me "edit" his writings is to do his "spell checking" as he puts it!!!

Wife!!! (The Admiral)

;-)))))

Captain's log:11-9-11

     Yesterday was Dorene's B-Day. So I gave her the day off. No cleaning the boat....and I gave her something special. Remember I love puns.   Look closely and see if you can spot what she got for her B-Day.  Hint, she is giving you a hint with her body language......

That's right !   She got a bottom job! And I have to admit it looks pretty darn good too!  Nice  lines, smooth curves, firm set. You realize we are talking about the boat here?

This is before/during.

After.                    Almost ready to go back in the water!

     We moved out of the coach 3 days ago and are now living on the boat on land. Hidden somewhere between all those sailboat masts.

      For those interested , I did promise before and after pics of the bilge cleaning.

    I know. Boring but, it excites me sooo, who cares.

      This is the dog: You know, Moka. You may have forgotten about me but I just wanted to confirm, yes, he is boring! This whole place is boring.

If they don't get this "tub" in the water soon I'm going to go live with the parrot next door.
     Just a disclaimer here.   Dorene did not preview this post like she usually requires..... She is shopping....If you shop you don't get to  chop.

   

Captain's log: 11-2-11

  Wow! We get 24 TV channels on our coach antenna . Just a reminder we are parked in a U-haul storage yard. Could it be that this is right outside our front door?

     I don't know what it is for but, it hums alot.( That can't be good for you.)

     Anyway , we are making progress with the boat cleaning ( two days worth) and maybe ready to get the "twins" running tomorrow. That's one of my nicknames for the "girls" , "Beasts", or 351 Fords depending on their moods.
        I thought about that last statement and seriously I don't want to pi---  /..tick them off. They performed flawwlessly for 350 hours and some 1700 miles last year and hope they will be kind again this year.( I'm not superstitious)   Did you hear that girls? I love you!   (crazy, maybe)
     Found one more bilge that needed some serious cleaning today. The picture doesn't do it justice. Usually all that black (in the background) you see is white. Tomorrow it will be again.. (white that is).

       I think once it is in the water again the carpet is coming out and wood floors are going in. There is just too many critters/funghi  that like to live in any kind of material down here.! (constant cleaning)..

         Dorene's back went out 3 days ago. Does anyone know a good Chiropractor???   ....I said "good"...(LOL).....too much sitting in the coach on our drive down from Wisconsin.!   Seriously, she is doing a good job of cleaning even tho she's only bendy to about 15 degrees!  Makes for some funny positions when attempting to get into the depths of the bilge cleaning!  What a trooper! Isn't my wife GREAT!.....can you tell she is typing this for ME!.....I'm in some serious trouble now....gotta go!  Hopefully we will chat more tomorrow nite!  Goodnite!