Fall in Fort Pierce

 

Time sure flies by quickly in our world and we've been here at Harbortown Marina for over three months.  One of the first celebrations we had was for Steve's 60th Birthday.  Out at a local fancy restaurant, the Quilted Giraffe, with Hobart and Linda. 

We were grateful to be in air conditioning that night and throughout the first six weeks.  We hope to never be in Florida in September again.  It was sooo hot, we ran our AC 24/7 and even a walk from the parking lot to the boat made one break out in a sweat.  No work outside was possible for us, I dunno how folks live here in the summer, so we worked in our forward guest cabin.  Most of the teak was refinished and Steve painted the walls and ceiling for a new fresh look.  He also did some other minor work like replacing our old aft toilet and both bathroom faucets.  It was during this time frame that it really hit us hard that we are basically restoring a 30 year old boat, one system at a time ....  almost a "project boat" .... but thankfully we get to cruise and enjoy the boat and the lifestyle while we constantly make improvements. 

 

In mid October the heat started to moderate, so Steve went to work on replacing two of our most damaged salon windows.  As you can see in the picture, the plastic layer in the safety

glass has melted in the corner.  Removing the old windows was brutal, pulling all the glued and screwed trim and eventually cracking the window up pretty good.  Thanks to the lamination, the glass doesn't shatter. 





 We brought our patterns in to a local glass company and had new windows made.  Steve was unable to find trim to match exactly so he had to spend hours perched on the gunnel (no finger dock here), fiberglassing, attaching trim, sanding and painting.  Looks great ... pilot house windows are next on the list, maybe in the spring. 

Susan and Brent, aboard Once Upon a Time, arrived in early November.  Here is their beautiful 42' Jefferson backing into their slip.  We are thrilled that they are on our dock (F dock, the best dock) this year. 

We have really grown to enjoy our time in Fort Pierce.  They have one of the best Farmers Markets we have ever been to.  Susan and Brent are selling her paintings, prints and greeting cards in the art section of the market.  We think she is the best artist ever.
























 

Susan and I love to plan a party, so we had an "organized Pot Luck" for Thanksgiving.  Jeff and Kathy came over from Pensacola Beach and stayed with us.  Of course, we had to show them our favorite Atlantic beach.  Kathy gathered up some sea grass and other pretty finds and she and Susan had a great time decorating the tables. 

 

 

Steve cooked a 19 pound turkey in our little propane boat oven, one of three that we needed to for the 35 people that attended and brought traditional Thanksgiving dishes. 

Everything was delicious and as you can see in this picture of Susan, Kathy and me, the weather cooperated for our outdoor meal.  yes, i got a very short hair cut, love it.

 

 

We've made some interior improvments in our salon, new upolstery for our dining settee and a great new teak folding chair for Steve's TV time in the evenings.  His current project, almost done, is installing a 500 watt of solar sytem with the panels on our pilot house roof.  It's been incredibly complicated, tying in all the electrical and battery components.  Here's the panel he made with the regulator, battery charger and other switches that is now installed out of view under the aft cockpit.  There's a remote display in the pilot house that shows how much electricity the panels are making.  They are cranking it out and enough is stored in the new batteries to run the frig, our biggest power hog, through the night.  We will still have to run the generator for hot water and AC if we need it, but this will be quite wonderful for anchoring and mooring ball living.  It will take many years to get our money back compared to buying power or even making it with the generator, but there is a large "nifty factor" to it all. 

 

Downtown Fort Pierce has a wonderful light display, the colors dance up and down the palm trees in time with the music.

 

 

Last Saturday night was the lighted boat parade, every waterfront community in Florida has one.  This one comes right into and past the outside pier of Harbortown Marina, so we get a great view. 

 

This big cruiser had a "Frozen" theme, great music and dancing lights. 

And here's a great shot of the tug boat that always participates along with a very nicely done smaller boat. 

 Our plans are to leave here shortly after Christmas with Susan and Brent (Once Upon a Time) and Bev and Em (Quimby).  We will cruise across the Okechobee Waterway to the Fort Myers area, then south to the Keys for a month or two.  Have a very Merry Christmas and a great 2015.  We are grateful, blessed and enjoying it all.