Dania Beach, FL - 4/10/11 & 4/11/11

I am combining today and tomorrow in this blog since we will be leaving before I get a chance to submit one for tomorrow. I went to Harbour Towne Marina this morning with Skip, Barb and Huen to get a final pump out before they go home. Skip & Barb are flying back to Chicago this week and will also be staying until month end before retuning to Florida. We are leaving Tuesday morning and driving back to West Virginia, a trip of about 1,000 miles. After the pump out and hot dog at the BBQ at Harbour Towne, Skip helped me diagnose the problem of my genset not starting. We found a heat sensor that is attached to the exhaust elbow had failed so I will try to find one tomorrow morning to get it fixed before coming home. I took a neat picture of a chocolate lab on a fishing boat at Harbour Towne but the first mate objected to the scantily clad female that happened to be in the picture so guess it won't get posted. Sure was a pretty dog! Tonight John and Sandra, local boaters, fixed a chili dinner which was very good. John grew up in the south and is a great Cajun cook. Tomorrow I will take Skip to the dry cleaners where they are having their drapes cleaned and then look for the Westerbeke dealer in Ft. Lauderdale for my repair part. We will probably spend the rest of the day getting our stuff together to travel Tuesday. This will be the last post to the blog until we return on 5/1/11.

Dania Beach, FL - 4/8/11 & 4/9/11

Friday - 4/8/11 Pump out day for Skip so we took their boat over to Harbour Towne Marina for the chore. When we returned skip & I decided that we needed another run to the West Marine. He has changed his mind about installing an over board pump out system since it is not applicable along the east coast or in the great lakes and will return all the items purchased earlier for the project. I needed a clamp that got stubborn while the mechanic was putting my injector pump back in for the turbo tube plus filter elements for the generator filter housing I have repaired. All needed stuff! Our friend Huen has taken a nasty fall getting off his old boat and is slow getting around. It will take a few days before he gets back to normal. His new boat is really looking good with all the goodies that his first mate has put on it. He still plans to chuck all the present electronics for all new stuff next week. The evening meal was kielbasa on Quest prepared by chef Ricki. We have been entertained by raccoons on the dock each night but they are starting to create a problem getting into stuff so tonight we watched one investigate a trap before getting caught. Saturday - 4/9/11 Finished up the installation of the fuel filter system on the genset and put the new clamp on the turbo tube before lunch. After changing the oil in the genset it didn't seem to want to run and after a phone call to the Westerbeke dealer in Miami, I am searching to find out which of about 5 safety shutoffs is the culprit. This thing only has 714 hours on it so it can't be serious, I hope! Later we took Quest to Harbour Towne for the weekly pump out. Harbout Towne has a BBQ each weekend to promote winter storage so we just had to have a hot dog while there. Dinner this evening was lamb & beef prepared by Roy & Bev (Splendido) which was out of this world. 10 boaters enjoyed the feast. The ladies spotted a manta ray hanging around and tried to get a picture. After dinner we all retired to our boats about dark and while Ricki worked on the computer I watched the NASCAR race, well most of it before falling asleep.

Tomorrow we will start getting our act together in preparation of coming back to West Virginia next week. We have a list of things to take with us plus a list of things to bring back. Seems we have to write everything down anymore or it doesn't happen.

Dania Beach, FL - 4/6/11 & 4/7/11

Wednesday - 4/6/11

Today was "boys day out". Skip & I took off around noon and went to the candy store (West Marine).

While he purchased parts to install an overboard discharge system in preparation for our trip to the Bahamas, I sought parts for my dinghy and a new fuel filter for the generator. A replacement filter would have cost $199 but a well informed lady in the parts department remembered that they did have ONE replacement bowl in stock for my 20 year old filter for only $7. Big difference! While we were on this mission, Ricki spent the day sewing.

Tonight was appetizers on Quest for 7 of us loopers.

Thursday - 4/7/11

Skip got his new graphics installed this morning on each side of the boat and they look good. While Ricki cleaned up all her sewing mess in the salon, I gave the sundeck a good cleaning and bath. In mid afternoon we decided to go into Ft. Lauderdale for dinner and exploring.

Most of the parking lots in this part of the country require you to go to a machine and purchase time which is displayed on your dash. It takes several loopers to accomplish this task!

Ft. Lauderdale beach is really pretty .....

Dinner was at Bubba Gumps ....

Complete with birds walking around under the tables ...

These are street lights that have hoods on them so the light will shine toward the street and not back at the beach. Apparently this is mating season for sea turtles and they don't want to "disturb" them ....

Para sailing couple ...

Another shot of the pretty beach ....

Ricki insisted on equal time so here is a hunky guy ....

Cruise ship leaving Port Everglades ....

More female eye candy ....

We returned to the boats around 7 p.m. and got a call that #9 grandson had arrived! Now we really need a "kid fix" and will be leaving this paradise early next week for West Virginia and plan to return at the end of the month. Tomorrow Ricki & Barb are planning a shopping spree while the mechanic will be here to install my repaired injector pump. Maybe this will fix the tach / engine synchronize issues I have been having.

Dania Beach, FL - 4/4/11 & 4/5/11

Monday 4/4/11 Huen took me into Ft. Lauderdale early to pick up our car we have rented for the month. After I returned, Ricki & Barb took it to the laundromat. Since I was feeling a little down in the dumps and lacked inclination to do anything, I didn't leave the boat most of the day. The guy that was cutting new letters for the boat name was supposed to come today and after I called him, claimed he had lost the dimensions so I had to measure again for him so he could come tomorrow. Tuesday - 4/5/11 Paul did show up at 11 a.m. this morning with the new graphics and put them on.

They definitely look better than the old worn ones .....

Since we now have a car, Skip & Barb joined us for a shopping / dinner trip. We drove south to Hollywood to a Walmart that the GPS insisted was on another side of the road. Traffic here is really heavy and normally the GPS gives you a heads up when to turn. After spending a small fortune we went on to find a Best Buy so the Johnson's could look for a new TV.

Dinner was at Flanigan's .... a place that is well know for ribs which we had had earlier last week. This time Ricki & I opted for burgers which were also fantastic.

When we got back to the boat, this guy was all decked out to go to the beach but the weather wasn't cooperating. Maybe tomorrow.

Dania, FL - 4/3/11

Harbour Town Marina was having a BBQ today and Huen needed to take his "old" boat over for a pump out in preparation of listing it with his broker so Skip & Barb and Ricki & I joined him on the voyage over there. Hardly a trip into the AICW is without seeing someone getting towed by either SeaTow or BoatUS. Must be something other than lack of fuel or they wouldn't be towed. While I watched the NASCAR race, Ricki worked on sewing projects. Since we had the BBQ for lunch, Huen offered to fix appetizers for dinner and we all pitched in with other side items. Skip & Barb stopped by to coordinate some plans for the evening.

Ricki fixed potato skins and chicken cordon blu strips to go with Huen's snow crab claws. Another great evening and food. We all retired to Quest for after dinner drinks. Tomorrow Huen is going to take me into Ft Lauderdale to pick up our rental car which we plan to keep for a month so we can get home later.

Dania Beach, FL - 4/1 11 & 4/2/11

Friday - 4/1/11 Another hot day so we stayed close to the boat today. Huen is still moving his stuff from his old boat to the new boat and Skip & I helped for awhile. It is had to believe that he accumulated all that stuff in just 2 years. He is having a diesel mechanic (female) to correct all the things the surveyor pointed out at purchase so he will be ready to move with us next month. In the afternoon Huen and Ken gave Ricki a new chicken dish tutorial for dinner in the evening and it was fantastic. We all gathered on Quest for dinner and after dinner cordials until after 11 p.m. Saturday - 4/2/11 After a late night we slept in quite late. Actually Skip knocked on the boat about 10 to see if I could go with him for a pump out just as I was getting awake. Upon return we helped Huen with figuring out where all the canvas pieces went. He has window covers, port hole covers, winter covers and even floor runners for everything. Quite a puzzle. Ricki made birthday calls to son Brian and mom Carole since they both share the same day .... just 50 years apart. Huen had the name changed on his new boat and we asked the guy to make us some new side name plate decals. He gave us a mystery potion to remove the old ones which worked like a charm for Ricki and the new ones will be on by Monday. Dinner tonight was at Poncho's Back Porch, a great Mexican restaurant, for the six of us. Ken and Bob are leaving tomorrow and driving back to Atlanta to help Dianne move the furniture out of their house since they have leased / sold it. Dianne is retiring on 4/29 to cruise full time with us. Ken will drive back here before Skip & Barb and Ricki & I all leave for home on 4/13 & 4/14. We will be back in WV from 4/15 thru 4/28. We are expecting a couple more loopers in the marina that we have traveled with before within the next day or so. That could make 7 of us leaving the first part of May and the marina will look deserted. The permanent boats here have already said they are going to miss the food and fun we have had.

Dania Beach, FL - 3/31/11

Today the Cummins mechanic is coming so Barb & Ricki decided that they should go shopping in order to stay out of the way. They borrowed Huen's truck and took off for the mall at 10 a.m. and the mechanic showed up about 5 minutes later. Apparently the worm gear inside the injector pump has decided to crash so the pump had to be removed and sent to a shop that specializes in tearing them down. It will be about a week before it comes back which creates a problem .... we can't move the boat for pump outs! We will need a new plan!

Huen has purchased a 47 foot Maxum cruiser which is across the walkway from his old boat which makes transferring his stuff pretty easy. The new boat has lots of canvas and windows to find out where they all go so Skip is shown helping him install them. Since the girls have gone shopping, the 4 guys (Skip, Ken, Huen & me) decided to go to the Tikki Bar for lunch. Of course the short walk back had to be on the beach to check the tide. Now that spring break is over there is very little there to waste pictures on so there aren't any. When the ladies go back from shopping, Jessica (Huen's hired first mate) was coming in with 2 dock carts of stuff she had bought for his new boat. Jessica has served as a steward on many private yachts and will be a big help for Huen when he leaves with us in May. Docktails was on Ken's boat.

Here is Ricki and Linda ...

Ken, Bob and me ....

Linda and Huen ....

Randy and his first mate, Linda ....

We ordered pizza for all 8 of us and Ken left to pick it up ... without any money in his pocket! A phone call back to the boat produced Skip's credit card to cover his absent cash.

Don't have any idea what tomorrow will offer since the weather here has been a little unpredictable. It was a little over 90 degrees today and we did miss all the storms that hit just a few miles north and I think the same is predicted for tomorrow with a beautiful weekend coming.