Not A Bad Place To Be

Dania Beach   

If we weren't already supposed to be on vacation, this would be a nice get-away. We have a fuel-efficient rental Camry and a great room at the Residence Inn with a full kitchen (including a large freezer) and a wonderful shower with plenty of hot water. We're waking up to blue sky and sunshine with temperatures in the mid-70s, topping out at 80. Truth is, however, we just want to get back on Crossroads and get to The Bahamas. We hit the ground running this morning after enjoying that previously mentioned shower and "free" breakfast at the hotel. Our first stop was the boat yard where Mike and Brian from Hurricane Marine were already busy at work. They updated us on what they discovered yesterday during disassembly. When we recently had scheduled service performed the shaft seals were installed upside down and pretty much rendered them useless. UGGHH. That is why water was leaking into the engine room every time the stabilizer fins rotated. Mike commented that he was surprised we got 200 hours of use out of them. With the salt water intrusion, other issues were created. Today we learned of all the things that are being done to get us back in ship shape. When we departed, the fins were on their side to drain out some water intrusion before re-sealing. Looks like a few more B.O.A.T. Units while we're here in Dania Beach for (we hope only) three more days. Again, it's not a bad place to be stranded. We've actually become a fan of this area as we've criss-crossed through many of the residential streets and explored the retail areas. I even rolled the dice and went in for a haircut at the Hair Cuttery. I had become quite shaggy and thought it would be easier to get a cut here than in The Bahamas. Not as good as home, but a whole lot better. 

After lunch in our room, we did three loads of laundry. Again, it is easier here than in The Bahamas. Every towel, sheet, and comforter are once again clean. Best part was the laundry room was next to the pool so I had the opportunity to read in the sun while waiting for the cycles to finish. We ventured back out later in the afternoon to check a few more things off our list. Interesting sights were everywhere. We saw a truck hit a bicyclist, with the truck actually getting the worst of it. A large U-Haul panel truck cruised past us with a guy sleeping in the back. The winner had to be grandma in her Crocs riding the three-wheeler with her little dog in her lap ... at 55 mph. We made our pilgrimage a few miles north to West Marine. The 50,000 sq. ft. Fort Lauderdale store is the company's largest and had everything we were looking for. We continued up Interstate 95 for a few miles as the sun began to set. The warm glow made for a nice view of downtown Fort Lauderdale as we passed by. We then stopped at Walmart to do what we hope is our last provisioning run before casting off. We fixed dinner in our room and looked at the scene at home on the security cameras. I definitely prefer blue over white. Again, it's not a bad place to be delayed ... at all.