After almost 5 years to the day, WSW is back in our home port of Cocoa, FL. Our second night home, Larry and Michelle, our dear friends on Cocoa Beach, invited us over for a dinner party where we got to see so many amazing friends that'd we sorely missed in the last year plus that we'd been gone. We could not have asked for a better homecoming!
We quickly got our land legs back and spent our first days back unloading literally everything from the boat in order to get her cleaned up. On one trip down the dock, I met up with a friend from the marina who said that it's now time for R&R. At the quizened look on my face, he explained that whenever sailors get back from a voyage it's time for R&R - meaning its time to repair and replace everything that broke during the passage. Truer words have never been spoken.
So, you get why we needed to repair and clean up but why remove everything from the boat? Well, about a year ago, our friend Dale, a fellow Cabo Rico owner and boat broker called us up and asked if we wanted to sell our boat as he had someone interested in buying it. Our first reaction was "No way, we don't want to sell our boat!" Our second reaction was "Well, do we want to sell our boat? We love our boat but really could use a little more room." So, we started talking about it and a couple of months ago decided that we'd like a little bigger boat (and maybe a few more bells and whistles while we're at it). So, we detoured back to the US rather than continue our original plan on to the South Pacific (we're still planning on going there but hopefully in a slightly bigger boat)!
But, for now, back to the present. Since we'd been unsuccessful in getting together with Beth and Fred (Gary's aunt and uncle) for a portion of our last passage, we talked them into driving down to meet us in Cocoa making our homecoming even more fun. While we did make them help with some boat work, we also enjoyed just hanging out, taking numerous beach walks and amazing dinners with our mutual friends Roberto and Polya.
After they went home, we decided to take a break from boat work. knowing that we were sorely missing having animals in our life, both Frenchie and our friend Charlie - whom we hadn't seen since he visited us in Greece - offered us house/pet sitting gigs beachside. So, for the next week, we bided our time between Frenchie's house on the Indian River and Charlie's across the street on the beach plus we got to love on both Meeko (Frenchie's grand-dog) and Shukka (Charlie's dog).
Alas, our week in paradise was up. We checked out of our beachside digs just in time for me to head to Louisville to visit with family. The night before I flew out was spent with Polya and Roberto where we enjoyed yet another amazing dinner. If we continue mooching off of them, I'm sure they're going to be ready for us to leave again but I'm loving it while it lasts!
I arrived in Louisville just in time to see the local Easter parade and help my niece Winnie grab as much candy as she could fit into her bag. The next day my family again gathered for a wonderful Easter dinner complete with an Easter egg hunt and bobbing for rubber ducks (we thought the kids were too small for apples). To make the day even better, my cousin Terri whom I hadn't seen in a few years and who's my biggest blog reader fan stopped by for a visit!
For dessert (I'm kidding, I'd already had a piece of pie but it sounded good), I talked Brooke and Bill (my niece and her husband) into taking me on a ride in their "new" boat after the party. Bill's grandparents recently gave him an immaculately maintained 1964 little runabout and we took it for a spin on a nearby lake. The boat ran like a charm and we even got the speed up to about 30 knots! What a perfect way to end a perfect weekend!
The next day, my sister Cathy and her friend Marty, took off for Greece so I was charged with babysitting Oscar and Bella (my other sister Laura also left for the following weekend so I had 3 at one point with Josie too). While I could have used a little more room in the bed, I really enjoyed having them all to myself and they all loved long walks so the exercise was great too!
To top my time off, I caught my nephew Everett's first T-ball game and caught up with most of Pedro's immediate family. I spent a lot of time with my dad, managed to weasel my way into another amazing dinner with Fred and Beth, caught a John Mellencamp concert with my sisters and brother-in-law and even ran into an beautiful friend from high school that I hadn't seen in years. It's so funny how it looks like neither of us have even aged at all - right Donna???!!!
I have to say, it's been an absolutely perfect homecoming so far and we already have several more parties and get-togethers planned. But I'll fill you on that next time.
Hey, Pedro here, while MA has been up in Louisville "dealing" with her family, seeing mine and having fun, I have been left back at the dock cleaning and fixing WSW. She now has new varnish on the cap rails, hand holds, eye brows and dorado boxes. I have also removed the hatch screens and varnished those as well and replaced the screen material. I have cleaned the hull sides and top deck to remove the stains on the boat and have polished all of the stainless steel and aluminum parts. I have painted the inside of the dorados, replaced all of the fire extinguishers, had the battery replaced in the EPRIB and I am having the life raft recertified. I have also replaced the sheets for both the jib and staysail and repaired my "spare" grill. I got one of our two LPG tanks DOT certified and filled and stopped by the household hazard waste facility to drop off old flares and other outdated non-working electronics. I still have one house fan to replace and I need to review all of the spare parts and other tools I have onboard. In addition, I had to replace a GFCI receptacle and light switch at Julie's Rockledge house along with refilling the spare LPG tanks for the grill/smoker and replace a broken tail light on the house car. Once the last guest leaves her house, I have some outside painting to take care of that was a result of the roof being replace. So, busy, busy, busy and no playing for me.....
Really, Pedro??? No playing??? Watch for the lightning strikes!
Pedro here again. Okay, there has been a little playing with friends but no more nor no less than if MaryAnn was here with me. Just saying.....
Anyway, until next post!
