October and November were busy months. We had a lot to do once we got back home from our summer adventures. Just cleaning out the Dirt Yacht took quite some time. From storing our cold weather clothes to getting rid of all of the dust in the motorhome and outside storage compartments, Randy and I spent quite a bit of time organizing and cleaning. And that is never my favorite thing to do! While we were home we also caught up on some of our doctor’s appointments. I had a few extra tests to check on my kidney stones, but for now at least the doctor just wants to keep watching them to make sure they are not continuing to grow.
We did get to have some fun while we were back on the East Coast. We were able to visit family and friends while we were home, including visiting with friends from the marina and even getting to a Delaware football game. We also spent several days in Virginia Beach. We were only able to get out fishing for one day, but it was great getting out on the water. Unfortunately, we did not catch any “keeper” flounder, but it was still fun when I caught one small flounder. Ryan was able to join us for dinner several times while we were in Virginia Beach, which was a lot of fun. We had dinner at some of our favorities, including Rockafeller’s, Rudee’s and Big Sam’s. When we left Virginia Beach, we went to Ryan’s house to stay for a few days. Randy worked getting the golf cart and everything in the trailer ready to go to Florida but we still had time to continue comparing the oyster’s rockefeller from the restaurants in Virginia Beach to the restaurants near Ryan’s house including Smithfield Station, Harpoon Larry’s and The Butcher’s Son. The oyster’s rockefeller at Rudee’s Restaurant were our favorite, but we absolutely loved the food and atmosphere at the Smithfield Station.
We did not know we would get back to Smithfield Station several more times before we left for the Florida Keys. Randy was very frustrated that Liberty had not sold. The boat brokerr kept telling us he was moving the boat for greater exposure, but we found out when we got home nothing much had been done to try to sell the boat. Even thought it would mean delaying our start to Florida, Randy decided to move the boat to Smithfield Station so Ryan could keep an eye on it for the winter.
By the time we finished our doctor appointments and moved the boat we were a few days later than anticipated before we arrived in the Keys. We made our normal stops on the way down, except we took the time to stop and look at a 2012 Boston Whaler that was for sale in West Palm Beach Florida. Randy had looked at a 2013 Boston Whaler 230 Dauntless on Kent Island one weekend when he was down working on LIberty, but the owner would not budge on the price. However, this 2013 boat was much nicer than the boat in Florida. We assumed we would just keep the Mako for the winter and look again next spring. Boy were we wrong! A few days after arriving in Key West, Randy noticed the ad for the boat in Kent Island had been updated with a reduced price. After negotiating the price, the owner decided to take our offer. Of course, this meant that Randy had to drive back to Maryland to pick up the new boat, We quickly sold the Mako so he could take that back to Maryland at the same time. Fortunately, Randy made it back to the Keys before Thanksgiving so we could enjoy the holiday dinner with Peter and Paulla our friends from home, Keven and Katie and their 4 month-old son, Connor, our neighbors in Venture Out and Katies parents visiting from Ohio.
Unfortunately, we could not use the boat right away. Instead Randy needed several days to get the keel guard installed. He had to sand off some of the bottom paint, install the keel guard on the sanded area, repair the bottom paint up to the keel guard, and wait a day between each step to allow the glue or paint to dry. It was torture waiting to get a ride on the new boat. Randy got all of the work done just in time for one quick test drive, before our friends Bill and Gail arrived from New York. They got to help us try out the new boat! The weather cooperated a couple of days so we got out to Tarpon Belly, Little Palm and Picnic Island. We wanted to get out to the reef but the wind blew up on Sunday so we did not get a chance to use it again while Bill and Gail were visiting We did get a chance to let Peter and Paulla check out our new boat a few days later. Randy and I both absolutely love this new boat. He says it is the nicest boat we have ever owned. Some of that may be because it is the newest boat we have ever owned, but the boat itself is worth the money spent. I love how stable it is when you walk around and the ride is outstanding. We really love our “Sweet Thing.”
