……….and it’s nice to see them go, except of course when you are the departing guests.
The familiar feelings of sadness at leaving them all weren’t helped by an evening arrival at Orlando, followed by an hour’s hassle over the car hire and a two hour drive to the West Coast, but we did have a reasonable meal in Chili’s and the waitress reminded me of Denise out of Hebburn, the eponymous television programme.
Today we went to Treasure Island to receive instruction in how to avoid disaster afloat, from Tom and Tracy, the vendors. I managed to remember the location of the special implement to open the water and diesel filler caps, and how to use it, but little else.
But Tom and Ian spent some considerable time below deck in the pristine engine room, discussing filters, pumps of various kinds, and frequency of oil changes. I can already see that Ian’s enjoyment of the trip will not be confined to the cruising, visiting places of interest, and carousing with other boat owners, but will include many happy hours fettling the engine and generally Fixing Things.
I still can’t quite believe that the boat is ours, still less that tomorrow, weather permitting, we will be taking it all by ourselves 15 miles across the bay to St Petersburg. We have the use of a mooring there for a few days while we stock up and organise the boat. She is already well equipped, but a priority will be another blanket and a fan heater, since ‘freezing temperatures could be reached’ , according to the weather forecast, on Tuesday night.
talesfromtheamericanwaterways 
We didn’t like seeing you go, for what it’s worth. 😦 Your absence today was noted and not happily. Come back soon. Good luck tomorrow! We’ll be thinking of you.
Give them a big hug and kiss from me! I’ll send some postcards soon xx
Also, I hope that Ian wasn’t trying to haggle with the car rental people. 😉
No, we had half an hour of chat and close questioning about the trip followed by half an hour of, er, negotiation about supplementary insurance 😦
Good luck to both! Everyone from book-group sends their love. Don’t forget the gin!
Yes a trip to the liquor store complete with ID is planned before we set off!
Loving your posts Jane. Great style.
Can’t wait to read about where you visit and who you meet on the way. Happy sailing. Gail
Thank you Gail – hope the builders are making good progress!
Sounds very exciting. Take care and don’t fall overboard! At least you don’t have a swinging boom to worry about. Looking forward to reading the next instalment. 🙂
Yes I know what you mean about swinging booms Pam 😉
That is totally Sophie’s style, Jane. She loves you guys but has difficulty in expressing her emotions on occasion. Her comment truly meant that Ian was in the know regarding the garage door. haha
Just read the blog entries. You guys are obviously having the time of your lives. Happy Boating and Godspeed! Have fun. Joann/Fred Awesome boat. My brother is eating his heart out. That is his future dream.