Living the Life

Rainbow over LeReve..Treasure Cay

We have been here almost one month and still are in awe of the beauty of the islands.  In between boat jobs and the usual housekeeping issues....we find time almost every day to go to the beach or pool.  We discovered that the ocean water is far warmer than the pool water!  I overheard a man at the beach say "if this is ONE of 10 of the most beautiful beaches in the world, I can't wait to see the other 9".  We should post a picture of the beach....next time.   Guess we are far too busy when we are there to take pictures.....(ya, sure).

Our day usually goes like this.....a few morning chores, beach time, shower, happy hour and dinner....most of the time out, or if I am really ambitious, I do something in the crock pot or instant pot ahead of time, because if I wait until its time to think about dinner, I am too exhausted to do it!.....HAHA...just a joke to show how laid back we have become!

One of our favorite places to eat is about 3 miles down the road (thank goodness it is not easy to get to, as quite pricey)...We celebrated Carole's(our buddy boat companions) birthday a couple nights ago, with dinner there.....Luckily we had rented a car that day and had transportation to take in this beautiful place. The dinner and atmosphere is wonderful....

pool on one side, ocean on other...alfresco dining.

During the day we had rented the car to go to Marsh Harbour, the BIG city....to get a part for our dinghy motor.  In case I haven't mentioned....Capt Bob HATES this dinghy and calls it "The Nightmare"...T/T (tender to) The Dream (LeReve)!  He much prefers his big, go fast one that is stored in Michigan and we use in the lakes there.    It is too large for on top of LeReve, so he has to put up with  "the Nightmare".....which lately, it has become!!  First it was the davit motor, we overcame that, then once it was down and in the water, it wouldn't start.  We had a guy (on island time) ….which is NO WHERE near fast enough for Capt Bob! come over and give his diagnosis....."new part needed"....have to go to Marsh Harbour for it.....so we rent a car, drive the hour to get there* …….and the guy there doesn't agree with diagnosis.  We NEEDED a 2nd opinion!!….So tomorrow we will take the dinghy, loaded back on top the boat, back to Marsh and "the guy" there will take a look at it.   I have already suggested that we just sink the damn thing, but not too loudly, as I think Bob would take me up on it!  This weekend trip will justify, (as if we need to) a side trip to "world famous" NIPPERS....the wild Sunday Pig Roast Beach Bar a few islands away.  We will attend that, and then drop off the dinghy Monday morning.....it could take a "few weeks" to fix it!  Ah, boat ownership @#% $$$.  We will head back "home" to Treasure Cay, and wait till it is fixed..(Or we will pull the plug on it)


P.S.  I did get in a little "personal" shopping while in Marsh.  Had to make the rental car and the trip worth it!😎

*PS....PS...Whats more hair raising....crossing the gulf with Capt Bob, or driving in a car with him with the steering wheel on the WRONG side, AND driving on the WRONG side of the road!?!..quite the challenge.....everything is backwards!  I sucked a lot of air our of that car!

A Bad Day in the Bahamas....

this means a couple of things...

We HAD to grill our Lobster INDOORS (!) for dinner last night.....bummer, but we made the best of it!  Bought them from "our guy" on the dock.   $10 each, fresh today.   He showed Bob how to "crack" the tail off the body and now we have the bodies stored in the freezer for bait!   So we have "a guy" and "bodies in the freezer".....

Today is also Valentines Day, which means Captain Bob becomes Candy man Bob...…"don't tell me how to melt chocolate"  he says to me trying to advise him!  He will take some to our dinner tonight and hand out to his "other girls"......We have reservations with 2 other couples here to enjoy the "sweetheart dinner"night at the marina.





 We have been here a little over a week and have discovered that there is a theme to every day... Monday is "BINGO for WINE" night!!  Tuesday is beach bonfire, Wednesday is Italian night, Thursday is Pizza Night....which is quite the event as it seems the entire community population comes over to the marina beach bar and stands in line for pizza....you CAN order the pizza any night of the week, but Thursdays seems to be special.....more like a social event.  Friday is steak night....

I FINALLY realized my "life long dream" (inside family joke) and swam with the pigs.....actually there is not much swimming and they are  "real pigs".....and grabbed the food I had in a plastic bag to feed them, right out of my hand and gulped it down, plastic and all!  The signs posted claim they are "protected" on the small island where they live with just other pigs and chickens.....BUT.....I suspect there is some kind of population control...  ie:  every SUNDAY is Pig Roast day!  My sister suggested I should start a Plaths Meat Market franchise (the WORLD FAMOUS meat market in Rogers City) ...as I was gathering food I had on the boat for them, Capt Bob says "don't take any bacon!!"  haha

We also took the dinghy over to another small island.....and found several "sea bisquits", shells and Captain Bob even found a " CHIA CONCH"

So, even though today is overcast and rainy, you know what they say......a bad day in the Bahamas is better than a good day.....you fill in the blanks.

  

The WAIT could be over!

We Left Fort Pierce on Tuesday, Jan 29 and headed south.  Arrived at Pirates Cove in Stuart.  The captain ONCE AGAIN did a superb job of maneuvering LeReve into a very tight slip.....in a very tight marina.....very large boats took up much of the entrance by sticking way out of their slips.  But with the great help of a great first mate (HA) he slid the stern in ….even though the harbor "helper"? told me "front end" in, when I asked if we should bow or stern in.....Someone said the next time ask him if he means the "pointy end" or the "flat end".   We learned later that it was his first few days as a dock hand ....Anyway, we had to STERN in, in order to be able to get off the boat.  Just like all the other boats were doing.  This was a nice marina, with a TIKI bar and a  pool.....the weather did not cooperate for pool time, but much time was spent hanging out in Tiki Bar.

so a dog walks into a bar.....

Sat AM......1st sun in days!!

The location wasn't ideal as far as facilities were concerned so we had to take a cab to Publix for just a few more things we "need" for our Bahamas stay.  Capt Bob has purchased fins....to go with the Lobster spear he has made, we have a snorkel and mask already on board.....he has visions of putting his body in the water and spearing a lobster.....Yes, those who know Bob know how funny that is, but it is HIS vision and I will go along with it!  (My mom suggested we just buy Lobster, good idea)  We made a day of that trip and had lunch at a great seafood dive in Stuart.  It rained and was cold (by Florida standards) the entire 4 days we were there. Saturday morning...finally bright and sunny.....time to get this show on the road.  We left,  heading south using the inland waterway route.  This took us down thru Jupiter, North Palm Beach, West Palm Beach and across Lake Worth.

In our tenure as "executive and wife" during the corporate years, we have had the opportunity to meet and greet a lot of people who owned large, grand homes.....but we have never seen anything like we saw on  Jupiter Island....and while I was ogling the Island Side, I was missing the "inland side" where the "normal rich people" have huge homes, but nothing like the estate mansions on the Island side...(think Tiger Woods, and wife...who beat him with a golf club...not that he didn't deserve it!)  anyway, most have boats that looked like mini cruise ships tied to their docks...and some on are on docks by large boat houses.....you couldn't bearly see the MAIN house thru the manicured hedges.  It was quite a trip.

The "small" Viking on the side is probably a 70 footer!

This one sat in front of the boat/guest house.....I want to be a guest!

We arrived, after crossing Lake Worth, at Rivera Beach City Marina.   And the prices reflect that fact that we are getting farther south.....and it is getting warmer.....(that's a good thing!---the weather).

By the scuttle on the VHS is sounds like we will have quite a caravan crossing tomorrow.   I just met a fellow looper at the gas dock.....same size we are, leaving tomorrow bright and early.  We are both glad to have a buddy boat to cross with.  Hopefully the next post will be from the Bahamas!!