Day 100, Year 11: Across to the Gulf Coast (by car)
Date: Saturday, January 30, 2016
Weather: Partly Sunny and a Little Warmer
Location: Visiting with Mark’s Brother Steve in Alva, FL
This morning Mark’s brother, Steve, drove to West Palm Beach and whisked us away to Florida’s Gulf Coast to visit with family for a few days. Lee and Lynda Kaufman on Sea Turtle arrived just minutes before we left and we didn’t get to talk to them face to face—only on the radio and via cell phone. But they will be in West Palm Beach for at least a couple of days and keep an eye on Windbird while we are visiting with Mark’s family. It is a great relief to not have to worry about the boat while we are gone, so thank you Lynda and Lee.
We drove back to Alva where Steve lives and entered what I call the “enchanted land” where he lives. Although it is no longer marina, Rialto is truly a lovely place. We had lunch aboard Steve’s trawler and then Mark and Steve spent the rest of the afternoon working on one of Steve’s old Johnson outboards. The one they were working on Steve would live to give to us to keep onboard Windbird in case our other dinghy outboard fails again at some point. Unfortunately they were not successful in getting the motor started, but hopefully it is just a clogged carburetor. Steve is going to take the motor to a repair shop on Monday in hopes they can get it started. We are now thinking that we will not return to West Palm Beach until Tuesday, hopefully with the Johnson outboard.
While Mark and Steve worked on the outboard, I sat on the dock and read. And when it got too buggy and chilly, I went into the guest house and read on the leather sofa. It was so comfy that I decided that if I ever live in a house again, I must have an old leather sofa. When Mark and Steve came in from working on the motor, we sat around and talked, had dinner, and then talked some more. Tomorrow we will drive about an hour south to visit with Mark’s sisters who live in Bonita Springs. We will get up early and drive down to have breakfast with Mary Ellen and Lee. In the afternoon we will go to Naples to see Steve’s granddaughter play in a volley ball tournament and while there we will get to see more of the family. We will then stay in Bonita Springs until we return to West Palm on Tuesday.
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| 160130 Day 100 Florida, USA–Visit with Mark's Brother, Steve |
