...Two Turtle Doves, And A Partrige In A Pear Tree!

SHIP' S LOG:

Well, I hope everyone had a great Christmas and that you got spend it with family and friends. I was far from home but got a surprise gift . . . . a plate of Christmas Cookies baked by the daughters of a Canadian couple on a near by boat. I had never met them before and probably won't meet them again after tomorrow, but I have their email address so we will keep in touch.

I am currently in the Coca Village Marina, the same place I had all the fun with the wind a few days ago. I ducked in here because of the front hat is passing through today. Cold with winds in the 30's and gusts to 40 which is gale force. Granted it is nothing like what the people along the northern part of the Eastern Seaboard are experiencing but it is bad enough. At least I won't have to do any shoveling . . . I hope! It is a real change from the last week when the weather was warmer but with some rather brisk winds. The front will bring cold weather AGAIN with high in but the low 50's and the lows in the low 30's, perhaps even lower. However, from all the weather sources I have consulted, it will warm up seriously by mid week and I hope to be in Fort Pierce by then.

I'll be heading to Melbourne tomorrow and possibly Vero Beach the day after. I might spend the night on Tuesday at an ICW legendary stopover, Jone's Fruit Dock, where you can dock for $10 and they no longer sell fruit. Mr. Jones evidently just likes company stopping by.

I will also be passing by Dragon Point. There used to be a large sculpture on the shoreline, crafted by some local artist from various bits of marine detritus but it collapsed a couple of years ago and no one has gotten around to repairing, rebuilding or replacing it. It is really too bad because it was one of those places I was really looking forward to seeing but now it is gone. Something like the Old Man of the Mountains in New Hampshire. At least with the Dragon, it wouldn't take much to put it back in place, just a little time, a little effort and a little money.

When I get to fort Pierce, I'll probably hang for a bit, especially if the weather warms up. I have been traveling since the 3rd of October, moving almost every day and it is getting a bit tiresome. It can be a bit of a drag to haul up the hook and move every day. It will be good to "put down some roots" even if it is just for a short while. I would really like to get down to the Keys but Key West is still a rather long ways away. If the "Florida Weather" finally shows up though, it will be a more relaxing trip.

I really find it amazing how many people make this trip down the ICW and how many do it year in and year out. I suppose that if you live on your boat full-time, it makes a little more sense to go where the warm weather is but there are also a lot of people like me for whom this is the first time and that is really surprising. In many ways, it is not really much like I thought it was going to be. It is different but still a great journey. I have learned an awful lot and expect to learn even more. Some of the things that I worried about at the beginning really don't bother me that much any more. I have dropped hooks in spots I wouldn't have even ventured into before and gone to sleep trusting that the anchor and chain and the 5/8 inch anchor rode will hold ABISAHG where she is supposed to be. Now I climb into bed and let God watch over things. I'll admit that a couple of times I have stayed up and watched with him, but mostly God is the one who takes care of it all. When things break, they get repaired. When decisions need to be made they are made. On a trip like this, you develop a rather special perspective and outlook. when something needs doing, you just do it. If it works fine. If it doesn't, well you do something else. You learn to just deal with whatever comes along and you don't sweat the small stuff. And after awhile, you learn that all the stuff is small stuff.

Well, enjoy the other 10 days of Christmas and enjoy the snow. I'll bet it is beautiful.