Another couple of firsts and little adventures

One of the wonderful things about being (semi)retired, living on a boat and not traveling every day is that you have time to do other things. Today that meant attending an art class that is held every Monday at the Marathon Library – a three hour class which is totally free. Where else could I do that? The assignment was to use both acrylic and egg tempura paints in the same picture and see the difference in the results. We started with a square piece of wood painted white. The teacher is Cuban and has a VERY heavy accent which is quite endearing. I was thrilled with the results of my first attempt at painting. Thank you goes to Patty for encouraging me to go.

I am also volunteering in a third grade class at the Stanley Switlik elementary school twice a week. The school is right across highway 1 and a short bike ride from the marina. Unfortunately, it took a while for me to get a background clearance (nothing goes quickly) so I won’t be able to do it for very long, but I am enjoying it. I am helping with math and reading. The students are very diverse in their backgrounds and in their abilities. I loved working with them on their multiplication and seeing a light go off when the reasoning behind multiplying by nine became clear. I always wanted to be a math teacher – perhaps it is not too late to do something in this area. This past weekend I saw three of the boys from the class messing around in a canoe at the beach. Since we were standing in the water drinking beer and talking with a group of about eight cruising couples who had dinghyed over from the harbor, I decided not to say hello.

We continue to do our three mile walking group in the am. Recently the group has expanded to include some new comers, which adds to the fun. We also all went out for sundowners last week at Hurricanes and had a great time getting to know some of the significant others who don’t come to walk. Bob is one of the few husbands that regularly attend. He tried yoga last week – but I think the stretching was a bit much for him and I don’t envision needing to buy another yoga mat any time soon.

Even going to Publix for groceries can be an adventure. This is me and Tico.

This is how we travel - Bob rigged the wagon to the bike. That guy is so handy!!

We also learned how to play boccie ball. There are boccie courts at the community park and although they have not been resurfaced since Irma, they provide a good challenge. Not only to you have to learn how hard to throw the balls, you have to learn where the divots and mounds are and compensate for them. Thanks to Theresa and Brett for teaching us the game. We hope to play with Brian and Karen when they get here.

Of course we continue to make periodic trips to West Marine - Bob's happy place.

As the weather starts to improve for Bahamas crossings we are saying goodbye to nice people that we have met. At first it was difficult, since we are not going to make the crossing this year. But it is much easier now as new people come into the harbor and new friends are made. We are also excited about updated plans.

My plant that I brought from Cleveland to the Bahamas to Cleveland to Florida in full bloom.

Last night we joined the fifty or so people watching the movie ET under the stars. The community park showed the movie at 6:30 pm right after a beautiful sunset. We enjoyed a picnic dinner of sesame noodles with tuna and a very large bowl of popcorn. I hadn’t seen the movie in many years and still enjoyed the closet scene with ET peeking out from behind the many stuffed animals. Some of the kids running around and playing was a bit of a distraction. But all in all, I loved it.

This morning as Bob worked on the dinghy motor and I updated the library section of the blog, a pod of dolphins swam by the boat. There were about six of them and they were jumping out of the water and giving me a real show. I so look forward to sharing this with Karen and Brian next week.

More to come……..