This was both a working and play day. Awoke this morning to a gusty but pleasant day. It was a perfect Kool-Aid day so we broke out the bucket and brush and began to wash the salt and sugar cane ash from the boat. You know all about salt and Kool-Aid by now but what do you know about sugar cane ash? Let me educate you. Cane fields dot the landscape to the west of here toward the Everglades. When the cane is harvested to make sugar, syrup and alcoholic beverage(rum) the fields are then set fire to burn off the folliage and then the nitrogen rich ash is plowed back under to fertilize next years crop. Of course when they are ablaze a great deal of black ash rises into the air and is blown with the prevailing wind, in this case directly over to Stuart and our Cbay. It is a stringy black ash that sticks to everything. We washed it off this morning and tonight it is back on the boat.
After cleaning, up we mounted up and headed to town where we had a nice lunch at Duffy’s. There were 67 big screen TV’s inside this sports bar. Then on to Publix to provision. We sure go through a lot of provisions. Her is what we look like when we are loaded for the return trip.
Stuart is a wonderful town that many Loopers miss altogether. This is because only the Loopers who cross the Okeechobee Canal stop in Stuart. People like us, who are the majority, go up the east coast and never turn in at Stuart because it is 6 miles off course but well worth the time.
Stuart is now called the Sailfish Capital because so many of these magnificent creatures are in these waters. They honor the sailfish everywhere.
The name of this statue is Abundance. They are referring to the grapes she has draped over her shouders. I guess at one time someone thought they could grow grapes here and make wine. Anyway she was truly abundant.
Back on the dock we did some planning for our coming travels up the east coast. Also I took the gas tank off the dinghy engine and emptied the ethanol gas into a container for eventual disposal. We attracted quite an audience during this process and met some new friends. People seem fascinated if you know how to do anything mechanical. I thank God every day for my Daddy and all I learned just by watching him and my Uncle Z.A.. I wonder if they ever really knew how much I was soaking up or if they thought I was another hopeless case. Those lessons have saved me a fortune over my lifetime as I watched friends pay someone to fix an appliance or put brakes on their car. I raised two girls and all I taught them was to change a flat tire and the oil in a car though I doubt either has ever been called upon to do these things but I just wanted them to be prepared. We have two grandsons but I am not sure either would want to have any of this knowledge so I guess I will use it until the planting and then take it with me.
There was an interesting Jack Russell Terrier on the dock. His name is Skipper and he is 14, blind and they said deaf. I disproved the deaf theory with my whistle that I wear when riding bikes. He could hear that whistle. They roll him in a piece of luggage to the shore to use the grass. He seems totally satisfied with it.
Tomorrow is a travel day and we will see what the open water holds for us.
