Play Day

 What a fun day we had today! We got to sleep in until 7 am which is a treat in itself, and my high school friend, Debi, picked Tom and I up and took us to breakfast. She took us on a beautiful drive through the city past parks with huge Banian trees and along strips of shops and restaurants which are among the original buildings in Venice. We ate at a French bakery with baked goods and quiches that melted in your mouth and had such fun chatting about the paths our lives had taken since high school and catching up on the present.  It’s such a strange thing - I don’t feel any older than when Debi and I knew each other all those years ago and I still refer to her as a girl from school.  I suppose one day I will realize I’m older, but time seems to stand still when you re-connect with people from your past. After graciously running us to the grocery for some water she returned us to the marina.  Thank you Debi for making the effort to see me - you are every bit as delightful as you were all those years ago.

We were anxious to get the dinghy down and go to the island and beach, but first we had some work to do.  Dishes were washed, beds were made and two loads of laundry were done. Since we were tied up to the dock on the starboard side where we normally lower the dinghy, it took all four of us working together to be able to do it today.  Tom was on the dock and untied the stern, Julie was on the swim platform to receive and guide the dinghy as it came down and I was in the pilot house working the stern thruster to first thrust us out and make room and then back in again so Tom could re-tie the boat when the dinghy was tied up behind us.

Then the fun part - we put on swimsuits and beach shoes and make the short ride across the inlet to the small beach areas on the island.  The water was shallow and clear and the perfect temperature! We relaxed, took dinghy tours of the surrounding neighborhoods, played in the water and then repeated the process to load the dingy back up on the flying bridge. After clean up we had a chicken dinner on the boat and walked down to the jetty to watch the sunset.  As we were standing there waiting, clouds moved over the sun and we were robbed of the experience tonight.  Bummer…

When we got back to our dock we noticed the couple on the sailboat tied up behind us was sitting outside, so we went over to meet them.  They ended up on our boat where we had wine and talked an hour away before we knew it.  Small world - they live in St. Petersburg and she works on Sundays at the liquor store right by my nephew, James’ house.  She is from France and they carry her family’s line of wine there.  Turns out they are both 82 years old! I want to be that well preserved!!  LOL!

Long travel day with a half dozen bridges to get to Fort Myers’s tomorrow, but we’re rested up now.







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