Wrapping Up Lose Ends

Day 236  |  Palmetto   

A heavy cloud cover filtered the early sunlight to a warm yellow glow on the condos. This morning's temperature was a bit warmer as well. I had brought a layer of Cold Gear out of storage and, when paired with sweats and a long sleeve T-shirt, maintained a perfect body temperature during my morning walk.

The bird I've seen on several mornings was at its post. The anhinga is a cousin to the cormorant, which is common on the Chesapeake Bay. The interesting thing about these birds is they have no oil glands so their feathers are not waterproof. He sits on the fence, with his wings spread, to dry himself in the sun.

Yesterday was frustrating as we could not get the new emergency shut off switch to operate properly. After tech support calls to two companies, Barry made contact with a local electrician who agreed to come over this morning. By the time I finished my three miles, Scott was onboard and busy re-checking the set-up and many pages of wiring schematics. Within an hour he and Barry had come up with a solution to get us back up and running. Scott left and Barry reconnected the wiring in a slightly different manner, closed up the pilothouse ceiling, and began stowing all the tool bags that had come out of hiding. The sun was shining brightly and the day was warming up nicely so the Cold Gear was swapped for work clothes. I waxed the transom and 3/4 of the starboard side -- going as far as the finger pier would let me. The afternoon clouded up and I came inside to prepare the recently purchased chicken for freezing in individual servings. With eight bags of shredded rotisserie chicken and four packs of chicken breasts, we will be set for a while.

We then cleaned up -- first by vacuuming the salon and pilothouse, then by changing to heavier clothes for dinner. In three days, the restaurant here at Riviera Dunes rebranded itself from The Blu Mangrove to Dockside. We didn't notice much difference and enjoyed our meal on the patio (I was sitting close to one of the many propane space heaters) while listening to the band du jour. They covered a wide-range of music, from 60s to current Top 40, rock and country.

Crossroads is now clean. All lose ends are accounted for; pieces and parts put back together. Many projects have been completed since we returned here on New Year's Eve. We are now ready to bring the dock lines onboard and start moving again. That will happen mid-morning tomorrow when we leave for St. Petersburg.