Yet More Time on Land - Too Much?? Maybe...

Most of our friends and family know why we haven't crafted a blog entry since October 2018. We kept meaning to do it, but haven't gotten around to it with all our other projects. And - since we weren't sailing, we figured no one really wanted to hear what we were up to!

We've been up to our eyes in house renovation, redecoration, maintenance, landscaping and all the other stuff that goes with land dwelling. By the beginning of 2019, we started to get a handle on things and began enjoying the arriving friends and family who visited us during the winter. Visitors included our good friends Pat G, Rick and Kay, Peg and Pam, Lori and Tom, Kevin and Debbie, Shirley and Tim, Pat F, and Greg's Mom and Sister. Plus, we found time to hang out with local friends Mike and Vicki, Bob and Marilyn, Beth and Ronnie, Grace and John and of course our daughter Courtney and son-in-law Paolo. We also got to share time with many of our sailing friends that passed through the area on their way to somewhere.

Bob, Marilyn and Sharon

Sharon, Peg and Pam on the Vero shore

Greg, Pat F and Sharon, an unexpected and most pleasant visit

We fell in love with Vero Beach over the last five years as we made it a must stay on our annual jaunts down the Intracoastal Waterway. We particularly loved hanging out at Vero Beach Marina.  It is truly a gem; one of the best places on the entire east coast to winter on a boat for a few weeks or a few months.

However, we have been disappointed that the marina's docks, structures and management have been neglected. It seems every year they are in worse condition. So, when we became town residents, rather than outside paying marina consumers, we decided to get involved and do something constructive. We met with the City Manager, who acknowledged the poor management of the marina (even though he's responsible - go figure). We pushed back until we learned that the city council was firing the marina manager, who we knew to be a "nice guy", but a very poor manager. This gave us the opportunity to be part of a solution to these long term problems.

When we stayed at the Naples Florida City Docks last year we met Sean Collins, the Assistant Dockmaster. He impressed us so much that we made a mental note that he'd be a perfect manager in Vero Beach if an opportunity was ever available. Long story short, Greg made the connections and Sean is now managing our marina.  Naples went through a total reconstruction last year. Sean was part of that process. We're hopeful he can guide our own reconstruction.

With a little more effort, a small group of concerned residents, with Greg's influence, persuaded the city council to fund a $100,000 study to assess the current marina, then propose three comprehensive solutions for upgrades. The engineering process will take months. When we return this Fall, much of it will be complete and ready for city council evaluation. We'll be there to support what we hope will be a total renovation. We'll keep you posted!

Greg, Sharon, Lori and Tom at Citron Bistro

John and Grace checking out the outdoor shower! 

Courtney, Sharon and friend Pat in a favorite Boca restaurant

Shirley and Tim at the beach

Greg's mom Shirley having breakfast at the Page Vero Beach "Mansion"

Greg's Mom and sister Pam at the Farmer's Market in Vero

During the winter, we saw three shows at the local professional theater in Vero Beach - Evita, My Fair Lady and Legally Blonde - all were excellent!  We enjoyed a concert by Karla Bonoff and Jonathan Edwards.  We took advantage of all that McKee Botanical Gardens has to offer its members.  We scoured the annual Garden Fest for plants, the Fine Art Fair for special pieces, the Orchid Festival for new flowers, the local shops for clothing and jewelry finds.  Sharon met her niece and family at Epcot for a day and had a blast.  Greg rode his bicycle almost every day, enjoying the flat terrain for several miles and a great workout.  In addition to weekend cycling, Sharon put an average of 15 miles on her feet each week.  While that might seem like a good amount, her good friend Beth puts at least 28 miles on hers each week, so Sharon feels like a slacker!

Sharon's sister, niece and families at Epcot

View out our kitchen window of a full hand
of ripening bananas from our tree

At the Orchid Show

We threw a 90th Birthday Party for Sharon's Dad in February in Allentown, PA.  It was great to share time with family members we rarely get to see!

Sharon's extended family (missing a few)

The plan was to return to the mid-Atlantic in May.  Sharon always shares time with her sisters in Fenwick Island, DE, which was delightful (more house projects notwithstanding).  Greg stuck around Vero to get the house closed up for summer, while also adding a few last minute house projects.  Then we were going to launch Dream Catcher (which has been wrapped up on the hard in Annapolis since October), and head north to New England.  But when we got here to Delaware we decided we needed a rest and maybe just leave the boat where it is for awhile.  Additionally, we have a really cool trip planned in September.  We are flying to Rome, spending three days there, then flying to Croatia where we meet up with several sailing friends and hop on a catamaran for a week, sailing the Adriatic Sea.  After that, we return to Italy and spend three days in Tuscany before returning home to the USA.  How cool will that be!  So - it seemed that by the time we floated the boat, it would be time to pull it out again.

While we were still planning a launch this season, Sharon's Mother passed away.  She has been suffering from Alzheimer's disease for many years, the last five in a nursing home.  While we have been saying Goodbye for awhile, it is still hard to acknowledge she is now gone.  Sharon's Dad misses his twice daily visits, feeding her and holding her hand.  Though we are all grateful that she is no longer in a situation she would have found awful had she any idea, we continue to miss her and will always remember the good times.  Sharon was very happy she was close at hand to be supportive to her Dad, sisters and other family members and assist with the planning of services.

Sharon's Mom in better days and in her favorite place 

Sharon's favorite beach - Fenwick Island, Delaware

As we write this, sadly, Greg's older brother Steve also passed away, succumbing to a serious case of COPD and cardiovascular disease.  Greg flew to New England to see him for the last time two weeks ago, then again on Saturday July 13th once he heard Steve was back in the hospital. He passed away on Sunday with family and friends at his bedside.

Life is, indeed, short. We are reminded often that sharing time and helping others is far more important than focussing on our own problems and the little discomforts we all have on a daily basis. Family, friends, and others we know from day-to-day activities are precious and need our love and support. Our benefit is always more than what we give. We need to try to give more and eliminate barriers to friendship. Steve was an excellent example of this....a shirt off his back kind of guy.

Steve had become well-known among his local community in Plymouth/Campton, NH as the guy who always had a quick, quiet smile and was always willing to help others. As one friend explained, "Most people in town will know every third or fourth person they pass along the main street here. Steve will know every one. And at one time or another he's done favors for most of them."  

Greg's brother, Steve - he will be missed

This is the longest we have ever not been on board since we bought the boat in 2005.  While we have enjoyed land living, we do miss floating, being at sea, quiet anchorages, beautiful sunsets and the friends we meet along the way.

Good sailing friends of ours who have had some reasonably trying times with their boat these last couple years were trying to decide whether to ship or sail their boat to the Caribbean from Florida.  They had been through so much over the past year and I asked why they wouldn't just take a break and go next year. The answer was that they were worried they wouldn't go at all if they didn't get to it now. We understand how easily that can happen.

Taking this past winter off has made us appreciate all that land living offers, though we do miss the simplicity of living on a boat. Greg often remarks that it is a lot more work to keep a house up than it is a boat. And we don't have the luxury of taking our home with us wherever we want to roam.

Beyond our trip to Croatia, we will do a road trip to New England to visit friends and may add a couple domestic trips through the winter. We are planning to head back to Vero Beach for the winter sometime late October and expect to stay through May again.  We plan to get Dream Catcher back in the water next Spring and head north to some of our favorite sailing waters.  We hope you will continue to sail along.

'Til next time -