Super Sunday

Day 259  |  Punta Gorda    

What the heck ... fog? It was thick and rolling in off of Charlotte Harbor, but did not stop us from heading out for our morning walk. The muted sunlight allowed the landscape's colors to pop brightly. This red hibiscus was part of a flowering hedge which stretched along the parking lot. The Burnt Store Marina community is huge with condos, duplexes, and single-family homes surrounding a 500-slip marina. Our goal this morning was to walk the entirety of the marina basin. We found several areas that are still being rebuilt from the damage caused by Hurricane Irma two years ago and had to detour around the construction. We also spotted areas where Mother Nature was also rebuilding, like this palm tree sprouting from a stump. Turtles fared well by sunning on logs. One squirrel was not so lucky. I saw a little guy get run over on the sidewalk by a speeding golf cart this morning. His demise was instantaneous and sad. The driver did stop and come back to clear the path, saying, "I didn't see him."

Along our travels we spotted Bella, a former neighbor boat back in Deltaville. Our friends Jim and Linda lived aboard in this marina for a year before selling her. She has a new hailing port and new tan canvas, and appears to be well taken care of. Walking in fog equates to walking on a summer day with 100% humidity. By the time we finished our six miles we had definitely worked up a sweat, but it felt good. The fog had burned off and we jumped right in on some boat projects. I removed our enclosure from the flybridge and cleaned all the Eisenglass before stowing the panels. With warm temperatures and no rain called for in the next week, we're looking forward to spending some time up top. Barry attached new (and longer) rode to our dinghy anchor by crafting a fine eye splice. He finished off that project by melting the raw bitter end of the rode to minimize fraying. I cleaned the dinghy to remove layers of both chalkiness and accumulated dirt. It looks so much better,

Barry mixed up a little Marine-Tex and filled a few small dings that have occurred over our 259 days. We had a nice, productive day ... along with a little fun. Crossroads is now topless and looks good. We walked up to the marina restaurant where there was live music playing throughout the afternoon and had a bite to eat and some beverages before returning onboard in time for kickoff of the Super Bowl. We walked through the palm-lined boardwalk one last time. We need to get moving again so we don't grow barnacles. Tomorrow morning we will leave here for a few days in nearby anchorages. We will drop the dinghy and do some exploring.