On the Move Again- Finally

We are now back in Fort Pierce, Florida. We last arrived here on April 2, last year, after returning from the Bahamas. We never dreamed it would be so long before we passed this way again. We are traveling temporarily without Wingsong. Their boat is repaired now and they should be just a day or two behind us. We just needed a change of scenery so we started without them but are holding to a very slow pace. Last spring we heard that the Farmers Market here in Fort Pierce is really worth visiting so we timed our visit to be here for the Saturday morning event. The advise was sound and we returned with two large shopping bags filled with fruits, vegetables and breads. It is noticeably warmer now that we moved just a little farther south. The water is also warm and much clearer with the gulf stream having it's effects. Once Windsong arrives we expect quickly move on and will probably be in Miami for Superbowl weekend.

Feels Like Winter Here In Florida

Ted and Alice on Windsong take about a month off from cruising to be home with their family for Christmas. For them Christmas is the time the whole family gets together. They left Windsong at a boatyard in Cape Canaveral to be repaired while they are away. We are at Cocoa Village Marina in Cocoa. While not as far south as we would like to be, we do like Cocoa and had jointly agreed on this area for the interruption to our travels southward. Almost since arriving here in mid-December it has been unseasonably cold, with temperatures at or below freezing at night and daytime highs averaging in the 50's. A benefit of the marina is being plugged in so that we have heat. Everything we need is readily available here in Cocoa. The bus stop is close by the marina and the fare is only 60 cents. The bus has stops at the mall entrance and at the Walmart entrance so shopping is very convenient.

Almost as soon as we arrived in Cocoa, Linda's sister Darlene and her husband John were here to pick us us for a visit with them in their recently acquired second home in Sebring. We enjoyed spending a few days with them. Their neighborhood goes all out with outdoor Christmas decorations and at night the line of cars is non stop as people from all over come to see the displays. This was a good way to get into the spirit of Christmas.

Having spent so much time this past summer getting Ariel in tip top shape, there is little needed now so Linda is busy with cross stitch and I am keeping myself occupied with reading. There is a movie theater at the mall so we treat ourselves occasionally. We did take on one major boat project. We decided to replace the vinyl windows in the dodger. The old vinyl had become scratched and we concluded it had become a hazard. Again the Sailrite sewing machine has proven to be a great investment. We replaced it with Stratoglas, a better material than what we removed, which should hold up very well.

Ted and Alice will return on January 18 and with the boat repaired we hope we can get going again very soon thereafter. We had originally plan to be in the Keys before Christmas, but that idea went out before we ever got started with delays for repairs. We expect to move very quickly in that direction.