47 - Mooching for Dummies Gone Wrong

So, for several years now I've bragged about our (well my) ability to mooch as we've (well, me) have been able to invite ourselves everywhere from amazing places to stay, fabulous boat rides or just delicious meals.  I keep saying I could make a fortune teaching others my secret by writing a book entitled "Mooching for Dummies."  Two things have kept me from doing this.  The first being that I'm worried everyone will catch on and there won't be enough Mooching to go around.  The second is that I really don't know how I get away with most of it.  The only thing I can credit myself with is an amazing taste in friends and family.   That said, my years of mooching have finally caught up me  - actually it was really just a sense of guilt as we've used Julie and Dude's/ Mom and Dad's house in Rockledge, FL as our own since they day they bought it.  A couple of years ago, while no one was home, they had a roof leak which basically ruined the parquet floor to warp.  The only repair was to replace the floor but since an area rug covered up the worst of it,  no one ever seemed to find the time to deal with it.  Since, Sam - our dear friend and contractor - was available, we decided that we would finally replace the floor as a thank you for our many years of mooching.  Since that took less time that we'd anticipated and we still had Sam, we decided to widen a couple of the openings for the kitchen area too.  

Well,  the house was looking pretty good.  Julie and Dude couldn't get away yet, but I talked Dad into coming to Florida for a few days to get away from the winter weather and come examine the work we done on their house.  I flew up to Louisville to drive him to Florida.  After a few days  of visiting with family and "enjoying" the winter weather, I was ready to get back to Florida.  We had a great trip with an easy ride and Pedro had wine and cheese diner ready for us when we arrived.  

Now, so as not to completely ruin my reputation as a master moocher, I "borrowed" Bentley from Janice for a few days while dad was in town. I'm not sure which one of us was was most happy. We walked everywhere, had several visitors and even caught a rocket launch.  And, what started out as a few days for both of their visits turned into a month.  I couldn't have been happier!!

Dad had been with us in Florida about a week when Cathy and Oscar came for a visit.  Bentley wasn't as excited about sharing the attention at first but Oscar is so sweet that he quickly won him over.  We managed to explore some local areas and Dad even babysat so the adults could all go kayaking one day. 

Julie and Dude came to visit next.  We decided to try a YouTube procedure we found to cover up the tile kitchen countertops that came with the house.  We decided it couldn't be much worse and anyway a complete kitchen remodel wasn't in the immediate budget.  It took several steps but we're all pleased with results.  

Our sailing buddies Dan and Alison from Equus who were also back in the US visiting family, came down for a few days of sunshine on their way from Pennsylvania to California.  I got to enjoy them for a couple of days but too soon the party was over.  Julie and Dude's time was up,  Dad was ready to get back to Kentucky and Bentley was getting a little homesick!!!  Julie and Dude flew back, Janice came to get my baby boy and Dad and I drove back to Louisville.

Once back in Louisville, Dad and I decided that we'd tap the maple trees to see if we could still catch some sap to make maple syrup.  The ideal time of year is when it freezes overnight but warms up during the day.  We had a freeze overnight so we decided to try.  Success!!  We didn't get much but Dad and my sister Cathy continued collecting and were able to boil it down to make about 2 pints of delicious maple syrup - yes, they even shipped me jar to Florida.  As Pedro and I still had a few Florida trips planned, I flew back.  We'll fill you in on that next time.  

Until Next Post! 

46 - We're on a boat!!!!

So, as one could imagine, it takes a lot of  nerve to invite homeless sailors on a luxury yacht trip knowing you might never get rid of them.  Luckily, our dear friends Sandy and Dale are some pretty amazing people.  They are the owners of Sandy Island a stunning 72-foot Ocean Alexander motor yacht!  We, along with about 10 other boating friends, partook in the 3-hour ride from Palm Coast, FL up to St, Augustine for an amazing weekend.  What an amazing boat and completely appropriate for amzing owners. The town was also so cute as it was lit up for the upcoming Christmas season. Our friends kept us laughing and dancing all weekend long.  Even the weather was mostly perfect (easy to say for someone who didn't have to drive a huge yacht in extremely low visibility fog - but it wore off about half way home).  We had such a great time and were so grateful to be on a boat and with wonderful friends that we don't get to see often enough! 

Way too soon, the weekend was over and we were back on shore.  We'd already scheduled our next pet sit with 2 adorable cats over Christmas in St. Pete.  However, since it wasn't for a couple of weeks, we decided to explore a little more.  First up, we were able to again invite ourselves over to stay with Polya and Roberto for a couple of days.  As always,  these two wined and dined and entertained us as we walked around enjoying the Christmas decorations in town and at downtown Disney.

We left Polya and Roberto and - after picking up some local beer - continued onto westward.  Pedro's birthday was coming up so we decided to celebrate by visiting the town of Cedar Key for a couple of days.  What an adorable and friendly old Florida town.  We found a great condo right on the water with amazing views.   We walked and rode our bikes all around town.  We also found some town cats to love on and loved kayaking in the gulf.  We were so excited to find out that we were in time for the annual golf cart Christmas parade - it was way cuter than my pictures turned out so if anyone gets a chance to go there at Christmas time, I highly recommend it.  Pedro even hired a fishing charter on day and came back with enough fish to feed us for a couple of days.  We loved this little town and agree with people who told us that it reminds them of what Key West must have been like many many years ago.

Finally, it was time to head down to St. Pete to meet our kitties!   Layla and Akira were a little leery of us at first but all quickly got into a routine and enjoyed each other's company. Their house was near downtown St. Pete so we rode our bikes to the pier to catch the sunrise.  We also took the bikes and explored nearby Ft. Desoto park.  

Next, we decided to find some kayaking spots.  Pedro discovered Weedon Island Preserve which happened to be less than 15 minutes from our house.  This might have been one of our absolute favorite kayak trips.  We paddled a marked trail - a local outfitter thankfully marked it extremely well-  about 8 miles through various mangrove tunnels.  These tunnels were amazingly beautiful.  Just a couple of miles from the big city and we were in complete wilderness.   

The next day, we kayaked the Little Manatee River. This too was beautiful with crystal clear water and neighbors with a great sense of humor. 

Our time in St. Pete came to an end so we headed back to Julie and Dude's house in Rockledge where we'd promised to do a few repair jobs as thank you for letting us use their house whenever we want.  But, we'll fill you in on that next time.  Until next post!