April 14, 2014 Day 155
South for the Winter
The
Marina at Ortega Landing Jacksonville, FL
We
have less than three weeks remaining here at Ortega Landing and we are staying
busy getting Carried Away ready for
the trip. Bill is chipping away at his project list. He removed all the screens in the salon
windows and washed them. He pulled the anchor chain out of the hold, reversed it,
and painted new stripes to mark the depths.
That took a few days due to multiple coats of paint. He also refinished
some wood trim on the side of the boat – another multiple day project. We also had a diver check the bottom of the
boat, and as expected, since we have been stationary so long, we have
barnacles. The diver will return before we leave and remove the barnacles!
In
the meantime we have enjoyed being with Looper friends, Rick and Margi on Journey and Bob and Janet on Harmony.
We have shared many meals – potlucks, cookouts, restaurants, etc. We went to the beach one afternoon and thoroughly
relaxed under the sun! We have been to
the Riverside Arts Market twice and hope to go back this weekend. It is a
market of arts, music, and food! The St.
Johns River provides a perfect backdrop for it.
We attended the Southeast US Boat Show in Jacksonville this weekend. We have also been on many walks, shopping and
browsing through shops, including an enormous used book store that is
nearby. Another great outing was a trip to Gold Loopers, David and Barbara Doyle's home on the St. John's River just north of Jacksonille.
One tradition here at Ortega landing (as well as other marinas) is the annual “Burn Your Socks” party to officially welcome in spring and warm weather. After enjoying our catered meal of ribs and chicken, we all contributed our socks to the bonfire.
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| Joyce & Margi at the beach |
One tradition here at Ortega landing (as well as other marinas) is the annual “Burn Your Socks” party to officially welcome in spring and warm weather. After enjoying our catered meal of ribs and chicken, we all contributed our socks to the bonfire.
Joyce has one more follow-up with her Doctor and hopes to get the official release on April 24 that will allow us to leave within a few days after that. We still have much to do but we are up to the challenge!
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| Janet, Bill, & Bob at the "Burn Your Socks" party |
Joyce has one more follow-up with her Doctor and hopes to get the official release on April 24 that will allow us to leave within a few days after that. We still have much to do but we are up to the challenge!
