Too Much Fun....

Doug and I did indeed walk across the big bridge which spans the St. Lucie River into the little town of Stuart the other day -

Doug Begins the Hike into Stuart

it's a bit of a hike but we had fun talking to the osprey who was perched on the railing and looking down on Gypsies (tucked away between all the big boats)

Osprey on the Bridge Railing

Gypsies Among the Big Boats

and September Song which is on the total opposite dock (literally about as far away from us as you can get - do you think our reputation preceded us??) If only they had room to drop their dink, it would make their trek over to see us or to the health club or to Wahoo's (everything is over by our dock!) much easier!!! Just as we were walking across the bridge, Bob happened to look up and saw us so we tried to have a phone convo with him while the trucks and cars were flying by us on the bridge - not!!

Bob Checks Voice Mail on the Dock Next to September Song

In Stuart we had a great time scoping out the sculptures (Stuart claims to be the sailfish capital of the world - who knows, maybe it's true??),

The Sailfish Statue in Stuart

laughing at the signs (now this one just about says it all - what were they thinking????)
and just meandering up and down streets mostly window shopping until we came to a little spice store called The Spice and Tea Exchange. What a great place - the owner Ana Knapp makes a ton of her own blends of spices so we stocked up on a few along with some great stackable acrylic spice jars which work perfectly for the boat!!! They work so well that the next day we went back to pick up some more with Stephanie and Bob! Thanks Ana - good luck on the cookbook - I'm sure we'll be in touch!

We also ran into some other cruisers Ruth and Larry Smithers, on Back Dock, who plan on being in Marathon all winter although they did get info on the marina we plan to stay at in KW so who knows, we may well see them down there - if not we'll connect in Marathon (in the realm of it's a very small world, Back Dock was September Song's neighbor last winter in Marathon!!!) Parched after spending so much time in the spice store, we sat outside at the tiki bar at the Key Lime Cafe with a bucket of coldies and a great quesadilla - now that's what I call refreshments!!

Key Lime Cafe

It's so fun to be down here in the Florida warmth - even when it's cloudy out or not such a great day, it's warm enough for shorts and to eat al fresco!!! That evening we met Stephanie and Bob for happy hour at Wahoo's which overlooks the marina before heading across the street to the Park Avenue BBQ Grill where we met some other cruising friends (Steve and Di from Aurora who make Stuart their home port) for more ribs!! It was great to see those guys as always and by the time we left, my sides ached from laughing (and maybe stuffing myself silly with ribs!)

The Gang for Ribs at Park Avenue BBQ Grille

We are having way too much fun here in Stuart with the September Song crew! Each morning we take advantage of the fitness center here at the Harborage Yacht Club - at 8:00 am Doug, Bob and I can be found sweating our way through a cardio and weight work-out (each machine tells you how many calories you are burning so we know how many drinks we can consume that day guilt free - life is good!) We are also lucky enough to have the use of some fellow cruisers' car which they keep here in Stuart (thanks much Chuck and Pat!!!) so we have been provisioning fools - or fools at least!! Afternoons are spent leisurely at either the Tiki Bar downtown

Key Lime Cafe Tiki Bar

or at Wahoo's where we contemplate what we want to do for dinner that evening - aren't happy hours great???

Wahoo's

Last night was the long awaited and much discussed sushi pig-out!! The last time Bob and Stephanie were here in Stuart they had some great sushi with Steve and Di so it needed to be re-created with Doug a much willing participant (I am not a sushi fan, in fact I have trouble even contemplating eating it, but....it's not like I'm going to starve!!) Well the restaurant lived up to the memories - as we sat barefoot and cross legged in a cushioned booth, the waiter brought over an enormous boat of sushi and sashimi!
I figured there was no way in heck they could eat it all but oh was I wrong!!! The sushi eaters demolished that boat although by the time the last few pieces of sashimi were inhaled, Stephanie, Bob and Doug were looking a little stuffed to say the least - there wasn't room enough for even a wafer of dessert and in this crowd, that's saying something!!! In fact one of the above who shall remain nameless, needed to do a couple circuits around the parking lot before getting into the car to drive back to the marina - obviously very good fish!!!!!


Today we are off again to do some provisioning - we need some propane and then it's time to hit that great cruising store Walmart (think I've been in Walmart more times since we started this cruise than in my whole life beforehand!!!) After Wahoo's this afternoon we may just hit Frank n' Stein, a very funky looking little beer and hotdog joint that we scoped out - never know what we're going to come up with next do you?? Tomorrow is the nautical flea market and then the Xmas boat parade in the evening and Sunday is Xmas dinner on September Song (they have already decorated but we're a little behind - OK no comments from the peanut gallery). Unfortunately we have to head out on Monday which means we won't see September Song for a while - so we are getting in lots of fun times now while we can (actually the four of us always have too much fun when we are together so this is just par for the course - we love you guys!!!!) We are having the boat pulled in West Palm Beach at a "do it yourself boatyard" so Doug can change the zincs, Steve can change the seals on the stabilizers and someone named James can paint the bottom. Hopefully we won't be out of the water that long (maybe 3 or 4 days) and then we are off for KW!!!! We want to get there by at least Christmas - not sure KW is ready for us!!!

Click here to see our location at the Harborage Yacht Club.