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!