Saturday, December 31, 2016

Bye, Bye 2016

Sunset 12/30/2016 Ft. Myers FL

What a year it has been…full of changes (mostly good) and anticipation!  We have been so blessed with good health, great family & friends and the adventure of a lifetime! WaHoo!

On Friday we stayed pretty close to the boat; checking systems, taking inventory of provisions, cleaning, washing, making minor repairs…the life of boat people! We knew there was a small freshwater leak in the master bath, so Charlie worked on it only to discover we needed a replacement part.  A quick call to the local West Marine store confirmed they had the part…only one in stock!!!  The sales associate pulled it for us & so began the search for transportation.  The store was 6 miles away, along a B U S Y highway and the sun was dropping.

Fort Myers has a public bus system…a quick call to the “hotline” & asking another couple (Ric and Prudi) to go with us and we were off.  We walked to the closest stop, boarded the bus and held on!  Charlie had his map app active just in case things went “off route” and it helped us to know when it was time to signal for off boarding!  We were certainly ROOKIES and it showed! LOL!! But on each trip there was someone on the bus (recognizing our lack of experience) and offered assistance – people really are kind!

It was a FRIGID 66 & sunny...look at the coats & hats!!
The parts store was in a great shopping center so Ric and Prudi were able to make a grocery store visit as well as a quick stop in the pet store (they have 2 dogs and 1 cat onboard). We grabbed an early dinner & walked back to the bus stop for our return trip!  We all survived and learned that we really aren’t very street smart; we are all very thankful for the kindness of strangers!!

Public transit rookies!! Prudi & Ric behind us
I'm still here too - I just couldn't get all 4 of us in 1 shot!!
 By the way, the part we purchased fixed the leak. Charlie had the toilet repaired and reinstalled within an hour after we returned – he’s the BEST!!

New Year’s Eve has been busy with prepping the boat for our departure on Jan 2 but we are making plans to visit with other boaters in the marina this evening.  There will be fireworks and activities downtown…we will walk through and take a few pics but I’m sure the fireworks will wake us from our slumber.  It’s our tradition!!

New Year’s Day will bring another pot luck lunch and we are looking forward to it…the peas are already soaking!!

May you have a happy, safe & reflective night - don’t dwell on the negative of 2016.  2017 is a clean canvass…how will you paint it?

God Bless…
Blank Slate...how will you personalize it?

No comments:

Post a Comment