Life On Orion

 We turned the clocks ahead last night, so I have felt “off” all day in regards to time. Sure is nice having it stay light longer in the evening though. Our heat ran off and on all night and Dewey climbed into bed to snuggle, so you know it was cold…. Still a tad windy, but no rain today, so that was nice. We lazed around most of the morning and then Tom helped me haul laundry up to the office and I did 3 loads.It always feels so good to get that done and start with an empty laundry basket! Diane called and offered to take me to the Dali Museum since she has a membership, so we did that while Tom and Jim went to a sports bar to watch college basketball. The museum was actually really nice and also had a wing of Van Gogh works. Our sailboat friends are leaving at 4 am for a 36 hour trip down to the Keys - 60 miles of shore! Big nope to that for me! Spaghetti for dinner and some Netflix, then it’s time to call it a day.

 The wind gusts were up to 50 mph and started just before bedtime. We added another stern line and hunkered down for a night of rockin and rollin. Th heavy rain started just after sunrise and lasted till mid-afternoon, and the temps dropped like a rock. Before the day was done we had bundled up in sweats and turned the heat on.Low of 34 tonight!  We did brave the elements to make a small shop at Publix and then drove our sailboat friends to West Marine to pick up some boat stuff they needed before their departure. Not fun being out in this weather… We had dinner plans with Jim and Diane and Romel and Amy who we had met on the loop. Romel and Amy have finished their loop, sold their boat and settled in St Pete for now. Diane was a friend of theirs and they introduced she and Jim. We ate at a place called The Hanger at the small private airport here and it was fun catching up on looper stories and re-connecting. I was sure glad to be back snug on the boat with the heat running though.  I

 We did drive the hour north to Tarpon Springs today and it did not disappoint. We ate a wonderful lunch at a Greek restaurant, browsed the cute shops, walked along the sponge docks to watch them haul in and wash sponges and stopped for an afternoon cocktail at a sidewalk cafe. Weather was perfect and the town was everything I thought it would be. After looking at the city docks, also am glad we didn’t try to get our boat in there - pretty tight and not much water. We actually know people who ran aground getting in there and had to replace props.  Yikes! When we got back to the boat, we had the couple parked in front of us over for docktails. They are from Michigan and are headed south until its time to go back to Michigan for the summer. After we ate dinner we walked out on the dock and the folks on the sailboat next to us invited us onto their boat so we climbed aboard and sat outside on the back of their boat chatting till bedtime. People all have such fascinating stories and to a p

 Slept in this morning after a good nights sleep and it felt wonderful. Tom washed a portion of the boat while I worked inside and just before noon we got a ride to Tampa to pick up a rental car. On the way back to the boat we stopped at Costco for a cheap lunch and a small shop. We had just loaded our things onto the boat when the skies opened up and we had an afternoon thunderstorm - nothing like being cozy on a boat while it rains… We plan to drive the hour to Tarpon Springs tomorrow since we missed it by boat. It is known for the Greek restaurants and cute shops, so we will eat lunch there and wander around before driving back. Looking forward to some good Greek food!

 We had a shorter day today and our trip was inside on the ICW, so much calmer and more relaxing. Getting out of our slip was much easier than getting in and the winds were almost nonexistent. Whew! It was only a five hour trip today and there was so much to look at on our way. The big beautiful homes were lining the ICW the entire trip and boy, were they gorgeous! We came through Tampa Bay and that was pretty rough with lots of wind and rolling the boat, but thankfully short lived. We are in a huge slip here meant for mega yachts for the first week, and then will move over a row where our people are. LOL! The staff here could not be nicer or more accommodating and they have gone out of their way to make us feel welcome.  This will be home base for the next month so I’m glad it feels good. Jim and Diane took us for ice cream after dinner and then Diane drove us all over town for a tour.  I love this place already! Harbor Blvd was lined with huge fancy homes on the water, downtown was f

 We left Crystal River around 7 am and since it was a good weather day we went all the way to Clearwater. These 10 hour days on the water are draining, but again, so thankful to have Jim with us to take the pressure off of me. As we came further south the color of the water started to change and it became a tropical blue green - so pretty… The Clearwater Harbor Marina was convenient but the winds were very strong which made getting into our slip challenging and very nerve wracking. Fortunately the guy on the boat next to us came over to help and it turns out he is a retired doctor who lives in Flagstaff Arizona during the winter.  Small world… Jim’s friend, Diane, drove up from St Petersburg and the 4 of us went to dinner downtown. What a cute town this is - wish I could spend more time exploring, but move on we must.

 We left the dock in Steinhatchee for the 2nd time this morning and it definitely went better than the first time!! I stayed safely inside the salon while Jim took care of lines and fenders and even then it was a tiny bit emotionally traumatic… Once we were out in the river without incident I could relax and it was actually a wonderful day to be out in the Gulf. Waves were a little larger this morning, but it was just enough to let you know you were on a boat. The weather and water improved as the day went on and although it was a long 10 hour day - it was a good one. We saw several dolphins and a sea turtle which just adds to the experience. We pulled into Pete’s Pier Marina at 5:00 and tied off at the long dock in front of their storage building. Once we were settled in, we used the free golf cart that we were given the key to and drove into town in search of dinner. As always, Mondays are a challenge, but we eventually found a BBQ/Steakhouse that was packed with locals (always a goo

 Our friend Jim arrived this morning to help us move the boat south and he was a welcome sight. We went to lunch and then spent some time on the patio area of the marina with people we met here at Sea Hag Marina and feel like old friends we have always known. Derek, the Dockmaster, has been wonderful to us since the accident and has gone out of his way to check on us and Orion during theses last few weeks. We certainly felt blessed to be able to leave our boat in such wonderful hands. Les is a fishing charter captain and we met him the first day we arrived because I don’t think Les ever meets a stranger, and he turned out to be a blessing also! He always checked on us and inquired as to how I was doing. Today we had some beers with he and his girlfriend and his parents and the whole family is awesome! I believe God always puts you right where you are supposed to be, and although I wish I never got injured, Steinhatchee and Sea Hag Marina were the best! We will certainly miss these folk

 Mark and Kerry drove us to the boat in Steinhatchee today in preparation for Jim’s arrival tomorrow. I was nervous about getting back on board, but it feels good and no PTSD… We brought Dewey with us, but left Madison in Orlando for a few weeks while we acclimate to the boat and possibly have to anchor out. She will miss us a bit, but she is having the time of her doggie life hanging with Mark’s dogs! We unloaded the car and lugged all of our clothes and food onto the boat, and then went out for a nice seafood lunch up the road before Mark and Kerry had to head home.  We have so enjoyed our month with them and will be a little lonesome without them! Weather window looks good for travel Monday and Tuesday, so our plan is to get down to Crystal River Monday and St. Petersburg on Tuesday.  I’m so grateful Jim will be helping Tom move the boat - I’m slow and working with one hand, so it feels clumsy…. Finally have warm shorts weather, so am also happy about that!

Tuesday was a big day. Tom and I loaded up the car with things we had here at Mark’s house and drove the 3 hours to the boat - arriving there at 10 am. We got our things onto the boat and spent about an hour there before heading to Gainesville for my doctor appointment. While in Steinhatchee we met the couple on the boat parked behind us at the marina. They had sent us a message after hearing what happened from the Dockmaster and offered their help in any way we needed and also their prayers of support.  Still meeting great loopers - unbelievable… It was a long 2 hours at the clinic and I’ll give you the highlights. After an exam and x-rays I was told I need to have the pins in my ring finger joint for an additional 4 weeks, but that I could move to a small splint that could be removed for short times. Small victory! And I can shower as long as I don’t get soap on that hand! I had an evaluation visit with physical and occupational therapy and she is the one who made my splint. It was a