Back to Our Winter Boat...

Our flight from Cuba arrived back in Toronto around midnight.  We slept at an airport hotel and twelve hours after landing crossed into the States by car.  Three countries in one eighteen hour period. A bit of a whirlwind!

We both love a road trip and we chose a nice scenic route through the States.  On the way we took a very welcomed pit-stop in Charleston to visit with Dave and Michelle on the boat Just Us. This is a new boat for them and WOW, what a beauty, a fifty plus foot Viking.  Jeff was drooling all over the engine room with two big Mann Diesels and still plenty of room to move around comfortably. Thanks Dave and Michelle for the hospitality!  We look forward to catching up with you in Fort Myers.

The next stop was St. Augustine to have a visit with our buddies Connie, Joe and their sweet puppy Chase on board the boat Chesapeake.  Chase was rescued by Connie and Joe last year and they had a bit of an "adjustment period" with him as they all got used to each other.  He's like a new dog now.  So settled, relaxed and calm.  It was so nice to catch up with them.

We couldn't put if off any longer.  Gran Vida was parked in a boat storage lot for the summer which is located in the sugar cane region.  When we dropped her off we saw the burning of the stocks going on, with the thick, black smoke, and we knew she was going to be dirty.  Not to mention that Hurricane Matthew had just passed close by and had thrown up some wind.  We arrived to find the boat had been moved to the work area as requested, in one piece but very dirty!  After a quick survey we spun on our heals and headed out of there.

No, we weren't being lazy, Brian and Janice, our friends from Ontario and from the boat, Fugitive, were visiting their condo in Naples and had invited us over for a visit.  Their hot tub was very much appreciated after several long days in the car.  We enjoyed a great visit and a nice dinner out.  Thanks Brian and Janice for the warm welcome.

Back at the boat we put our noses to the grindstone and started in on the clean-up.  After a week of thorough cleaning, re-organizing, buff and waxing, mechanical repairs, washing/waterproofing of the canvas, bottom painting and a start on the metal polishing, we were launched and on our way.

The plan for this month is to stay in the municipal marina in Fort Myers and continue to work on the boat, cleaning, sprucing it up a bit along with socializing with other boaters.  Throw a little golf into the mix and what's not to love!  Sounds like a gran vida to us!

Check out the shine!

Cuba

Early November. The first snowfalls were beginning. Jeff had finished work for the season. The boat was hauled out of the water and about to be shrink-wrapped for the winter. The American election, which we really were preferring to avoid (no offence to our American friends!) was set for November 8th.  What to do?  What to do?We decided to treat ourselves to a week get-away at an all inclusive resort in Varadero, Cuba.  We'd never done anything like that and we weren't sure what to expect.

It was lovely. Most of the week was spent lazing or playing ball by the pool or on the beach.  There was a show every night which was actually pretty good!  One was a show in the pool with synchronized swimmers dressed in sparkly costumes.  Of course Jeff and I had a blast making complete fools of ourselves trying to replicate some of the moves the next day in the pool (not to mention sinuses full of water).

We took two excursions, one to Havana with a couple we met from a small town outside of Edmonton and their two teenagers, Christine, Peter, Korban and Kindra.  The other excursion was a jeep safari, where we got to drive our own little 4-wheel drive.  We shared our vehicle with a sweet young couple from Toronto, Taylor and Hamad.  On the agenda for the day was a visit to a spot for snorkling, an underwater cave with a natural, crystal clear pool for swimming that was absolutely beautiful and probably one of the most refreshing experiences in a long time, a little fishing boat we used to take a spin up a river, and a farm, where I got to ride a bull (Save a cowboy, ride a bull).

Here are a few highlights:

Every day was warm and sunny, with only a couple of very short rain showers all week.  

Days were spent playing ball on the beach or in the pool and chatting with other vacationers.

Many long walks along the shore were enjoyed.  One day we went out on little hobby cat, with feet dangling in crystal clear turquoise water. We even stayed up really late and danced a few nights away in the disco!!  And guess who was leading the congo line (Hint: Jeff).  It was a nice escape.

Summer Interlude 2016

Here it is almost the end of the season already.  It's been a busy summer but things are winding down and we're preparing for our winter in the South again.

Jeff's been working hard all summer with my son-in-law at his family business, Harbour West Marina, launching boats in the spring, then working part-time through the slower summer season, and now back at it full bore, hauling boats out of the water and closing things down.

Not being one to sit around idle, during the slower summer season Jeff joined a crew from our buddy Brian's (m/v Fugitive) company that installs arena board systems all over North America.   He's been on jobs in California, here in the Georgian Bay area and most interestingly, way up in Northern Labrador in a small Inuit community.  This place, with the whooping population of about 350 souls, has no road access and is only accessible by air or water. Pretty interesting !  Pictured are the work dogs, tied up, waiting for the snow to come so they can get back to work.

Me, I've been mostly spending time watching the grandkids, hanging out with friends and taking some painting lessons.





It's been a great summer with lots of friends/family time and work completed, but it's getting cold. There's not much R-value in a boat and I'm pretty sure that was little ice pellets I was hearing pinging on the boat roof early today. It's time to go. We've scheduled a little hiatus for the two of us at an all-inclusive resort in Cuba, which will see us on a beach but out of the States for

the American election (no offense to the our American friends but we'd rather avoid that one).

Then it will be back to Gran Vida and another winter adventure.  We're not sure where we'll end up yet,...   so stay tuned.

Home Sweet Home....Brrrrr

The Heron Clan

Driving home we actually drove through two small snow flurries.  Yikes!  This was ALL WRONG! What about all the rumours we had heard about the early spring??  We've been duped!

We arrived back in Canada on Jeff's birthday.  To complete our family fix we headed straight to Jeff's sister Dale's house and then out for wings and beer with his brother, Scott and partner Sheila.  It's great to reconnect with family.  Happy birthday to Jeffy!

Home to Our Northern Boat

Whaaaat??  Home sweet home??  We didn't expect to have to crawl over snow

to get to the boat or below freezing temperatures. It was a little tricky in my flip flops.

 No running water until it warms up a bit at night.  All good though, once we got inside and

turned the heat on we were as snug as two bugs in a rug.

Then the big moment....  Meeting first one grandaughter off the school bus...  Then the other.

We were delighted with the wonderful welcome banner they made us.

What About the Great Loop??

That pretty much concludes this chapter of our Great Loop Adventure.  We're distractible, we know. We're still hoping to finish our loop someday, somehow.  Until then, we're loving our cruising lifestyle.  We know dividing the year between living on two old boats is not for everyone, but it works for us. Rarely a day goes by that we don't comment on how lucky we are.  We're very blessed. The plan is to spend the summer working to build up our cruising kitty and carry on next winter, God willing.

Happy summer and thanks for following along on our adventures. Until next winter..... wishing you your own version of a Gran Vida (Great Life).

Road Trip Home: Big Apple - Day 3

With not much time and lots to see in the city we considered taking the Big Red Bus, one of those hop on hop off tourist buses.  After enjoying a leisurely brunch at yet another really cool Brooklyn restaurant with Rachel, Mary and Justine, Bartek's sister, we got an offer we just couldn't refuse. The "Little Blue Bus" was in business and offering a tour.

The little blue bus is Rachel's Toyota Matrix.  Off we went!  Headed for Manhattan. We drove over the Queensboro Bridge (of Spider Man fame and also called the 59th Street Bridge, of Simon and Garfunkel fame) and into the heart of the big city, feeling groovy indeed.

For a woman raised in a medium sized city in central Ontario, man, Rachel sure has become a New Yorker!  That Manhattan traffic is NO match for her.  She left those intrepid NY cabbies shaking in their boots and us in awe as she zoomed and wove her way through the highlights of the city, not even batting an eye at the honking, aggressive masses. "Outta the way Piglets!"  Sooooo much fun and lots of laughs as we hung half out the windows with our camera snapping.

Here are a few highlights, taken from the car:

Waiting for a light beside central park I was startled
to look out the window and see this guy RIGHT beside me.
I actually reached out and stroked his nose....  until the
carriage driver shouted at us to "GET GOING".
Gotta love New Yorkers!

Waiting for a light beside Central Park I was startled to look out the window and see this guy RIGHT beside me.  I actually reached out and stroked his nose...  until the carriage driver shouted at us to "GET GOING".  Gotta love New Yorkers!!  

After our tour of the city, we parked the car and headed to the MET (Metropolitan Museum of Art), one of my FAVOURITE places to visit.  We had about two hours to spend there, which isn't nearly enough time, but we took in what we could: