Back in the saddle Again!!

After spending 5 months in Austin, with Rock Chalk sitting in a yard in Stuart Florida, we drove back to see what shape she was in.  Yikes, she was dirty.   Really dirty.  We had a leak in the port side window in the main salon which made the inside smell a bit moldy, but the rest of the inside was fine.   But outside was dirty, and there were no water faucets nearby.   So we had to bring buckets of water 300 yrds, to the boat to do a bit of cleaning until they could splash her the next day.

We had a chance to go to dinner with friends from Colorado who were at a nearby marina on their sailboat for the season in Stuart.   John and Pat spend 9 months a year on their boat, so it was great to catch up with them again.

The next day we headed west up the St. Lucie River/Canal which leads through two locks into Lake Okeechobee.   We had a good weather window to cross the lake, which is known to be very choppy.  All else went well as we entered the Caloosahatchee River which flows down to Ft. Myers on the west coast of Florida.  We spent the night anchored at Pine Island, Shelley's folks old homestead, then on to Caya Costa State Park.
We will have Rock Chalk back at the Endeavour yard in Clearwater on Friday.  She needs a new bottom paint, a good wax job, and those nasty leaks in the windows fixed.  We will drive back to Austin this weekend, but plan to be back on Rock Chalk after Christmas.

So this post is a start to next years adventure.   Not sure where we will go, but isn't that why you buy a boat?   Just look out the harbor and say......"Let's go that way"

Hello to all who might be reading our blog to see what is happening.  It is December 21, and we have Rock Chalk back in the water.   Shelley and I took it from the yard in Stuart, FL across the Okeechobee to the west coast of Florida and up to Tampa Bay.  The boat needed some cleaning up but to my amazement, all systems are working.

After a brief trip back to Austin for Christmas, we will be back on the boat on Dec. 27th.  Our daughter Shana, her husband and three kids will join us for New Years as we stay out on Clearwater Beach.  Then our son Bryan and his daughter Stella will join us in Ft. Myers for a couple of days.   All that should be fun.   Hope the weather cooperates.

I will resume my regular posts with photos as we get back full time into our cruising lifestyle.  Big yawn....I know.    Marc