3/11/2012 - 3/25/2012

Instead of dodging coral heads it was cow dung on the way into the pasture to work on a diesel engine fuel problem -- the tractor quit while raking leaves.  Home now and one of the things we do is visit our property about 50 miles north.  It is next to my brother's farm and he has his cows on it.  We have a trailer on our land so sometimes we stay for a night or 2.  A big change from our spot at Hog Cay.  Now when we hear the word hog it will probably refer to how many my brother and friends killed at the hunting camp and the answer to what's in the hamburgers.

Susan and MissKitty are pleased to be home.  We found it in good shape.  One of my kids was looking after it and I am happy with the result, apparently there were no fires, floods or visits from the sheriff and the pool looks great.

Susan has been busy unloading the boat while I play with toys I have been separated from for a while (her perspective).  Many carts of stuff rolling off the dock and into the house -- even she agrees we took too much.  Both of us will be starting work tomorrow.  I agreed to start at 1/2 time for a few weeks. Susan, I think will be 1/2 time forever -- she is on the other side of the house catching up on TV and email and I don't want to disturb her with trivial questions.

Wednesday 12/28/11 – Friday 3/10/2012!

I've had a chance to look over the calendar and pictures to remind me of all the things that have happened over the last two and a half months. I remember Rick posting a snarky comment about me being too lazy to update the blog the last (and only time) we were in town. Please note, he played around for 45 minutes on the computer before he let me touch it then I had to “hurry up, hurry up” when it was my turn......

I see we left Goodland on 12/28 with no less than 10+ lbs of Jambalaya in the fridge. GREAT crossing food :) We left Little Shark River on 12/29 at 7:15 am and motored all the way to Frazier Hog Cay in the Bahamas Berry Islands to arrive on 12/31 about 10:30 pm New Years Eve! Rick caught his first Mahi – Yeah. Had a great time catching up with our friends who live there, Don & Estelle. Bags of sour oranges and fresh tomatoes later, we set sail for Nassau. In Nassau, if you buy a case of liquor you get 10% off. 12 Bottles of liquor and some last minute provisions made us ready to move on.

We made our usual stops in Big Majors and Black Point. The school at Black Point was really appreciative of the school supplies donated by our friends back home. Of course we couldn't leave without a visit to our favorite eating establishment, Lorraine's Cafe. Also, Rick is gaga over Lorraine's mother's bread – a must have before moving on. 1/9/12 - Rick caught his second Mahi.

Finally we're on our way to the Jumentos. On 1/13/12 we anchored at Buena Vista and met up with Dyad. On our first beach walk, I found a Mary's Bean. Just so you know, in the Bahamas, all Rick cares about is fishing and all I care about is going for my treasure hunts. I feel like every day is Easter and every treasure is an Easter Egg, Mary's are the most coveted of all the beans. Not a bad life, eh?

Since then, we've been spending most of our time in Hog Cay. It's the most comfortable of all the anchorages with protection from most winds. We did make it to Double Breasted twice and I hunted like a fiend (so did Rick). He got lots and lots and lots of fish and lobster. I scored 5 more Mary's. I'm so tired of Lobster! Thank goodness dear sweet Michael on Valkyrie brought me 6 cheeseburgers from Burger King that I froze and break out every now and then on an AS NEEDED basis. I only have one left and am getting kind of worried :(

On Valentine's Day, the locals, lead by Miss Maxine, treat us cruisers to a fabulous lunch. They bring all the food, tables, chairs, beverages, etc. to Hog Cay and we all have a great day. This year, the cruiser's auction raised over $1,000 for the school. The goal is a trip to Cuba for the children. They also appreciated the school supplies donated to them.

Tuesday - 2/21/2012

We REALLY miss our Tuesday night Alpha Pizza House adventures in Apollo Beach, FL featuring Cyndi Burger, so we joined Cat Tales in our best effort to recreate the fun.  We had delicious pizza, but the singing left something to be desired!

We were unable to hold the annual Beach Junk Wars so next year we should have some good entries because everyone has had 2 years to think of something. We had a blast at Dyad Dave's Birthday Party but since we were running late, Rick forgot to take a picture of this year's present. Maybe we can get them to send us one to post.

I'd really like to thank Dyad and Salty Paws for getting the tune “I'll fly away” stuck in my head. I sing it to myself on all my beach walks – oh yeah, one more Mary's makes 7 this year – my personal best :). Guess that brings us current. Here we still sit at Hog Cay waiting for good weather to take us homeward. We've heard it may happen in about a week....

Thursday 12/22/11 – Tuesday 12/27/11

Well, we busted our humps trying to leave the dock during daylight, but when it became apparent we wouldn't be ready, we slowed down and (Susan) accepted that it would be a night time departure. At least she was very happy that Rick agreed to drop the anchor just a few miles from home after we reached the deeper water. The trip from Tampa Bay to Goodland, FL was filled with surprises. I have to let my sister, Jan, know that there was one huge kitty puke the first day out – gag! At least everything else was pleasant. In Ft Myers, while waiting for the Cruiseheimer's net to begin, we heard a call on the radio from long time cruising friends Bob & Diane on Tortuga. It had been years since they used their SSB radio and were wondering if it still worked. Turned out that they were staying in a marina just a couple of blocks away from us so we just had to go for a visit. It's always fun reminiscing about the good ole days. We also got to hang out with Michael on Valkrie at the Beached Whale while consuming copious amounts of Mussels & Bread - even though we had to pay full price. In the mooring field, we finally got to meet Cambia and Endeavour, RI. It's nice to put faces to the voices you've been talking to for years.

Currently, we're hanging out with our friends on Goal Rush, former owners of the Berry Islands Club. We were treated to some authentic Cajun Gumbo last night and tonight I hear we get Jambalaya my personal favorite. Perhaps by now you may have figured out Susan is writing this passage. Rick just told me that the weather doesn't look good for crossing the stream in the near future so I guess we get to hang around here for a little while before making our way slowly to Marathon.

Hope everyone had a great Christmas and hope you have a Happy New Year.