Since much of project-time is waiting for parts, we were thrilled to have a visitor. Mark’s younger sister Anne had some vacation time to use so she made the trip down to join us in Stuart for the week. At least Florida was easily accessible to see if she even liked staying on a boat. It’s not for everyone… no TV or takeout, hence lots of reading & cooking!
Anne fell right into relaxation mode (boat life can be exhausting!) and daily anticipation of happy hour in the evenings with her refreshing gin & Ting drink. She also picked up ukulele very quickly for the first time as she and Mark re-lived their band days - haha.
There has been a pretty good heat wave lately so sweating is also a pre-requisite onboard.
We did break down and run the generator/air conditioner to cool the boat interior down while making dinner on occasion & were happy when clouds arrived to cool things off and give us more great sunsets.
The three of us always have fun hanging out together and we had a good mix of chilling, swimming, partying and socializing. We even went to the movies to see the latest Pixar film and get an air conditioning fix during an afternoon thunderstorm.
Anne got to experience ocean fishing in the Gulf Stream as we went for another fun day with Connie & Steve (Better Days).
Again, Steve’s secret spot came through as we got hit after hit of fish ~ exciting!
One was a beautiful mahi-mahi and two bonito were caught after a good fight. The other hits were toothy barracuda that were released; ciguatera is still in Florida.
After the heat built up we took a quick dip in the glass calm Gulf Stream before heading into the cove for a lunch and swim.
These siblings are only a year apart ~ can you tell they are used to messing with each other??
A little afternoon rain was welcome as long as it cooled things off. It didn’t stop us from going to an outdoor concert to see a talented young blues player J.L. Fulks at the cool Terra Fermata tiki bar. We started the evening off at the Crafted Keg bar with an inspiring array of beers to choose from… the night only got better from there!
Good timing allowed for two great social calls over lunch in a couple of the many impressive restaurants in Stuart. Mark & Anne’s mom Cathy was traveling through with Chuck on the way home from their Caribbean cruise ~ Happy Anniversary you two!
On Anne’s last day, Tom & Julie (Gris-Gris) were in the area visiting childhood friend Norman & Gail and we were glad they had the time to stop down and join us for lunch at Hog Snappers, true to its name!!