Relaxing in Palm City

Time for a little catch-up

Monday we went to the beach again. It was a pleasant day and we had a relaxing time. Anna and Jean were able to spot a spinner shark and some interesting birds, but Gene missed them all.

Tuesday we went for a sail aboard the scow-schooner Lily. Scow-schooners are a rare bird nowadays (Gene has only seen a total of three in his lifetime). This one was built in the '70s during the oil embargo with thoughts of moving freight under sail. But then fuel got (relatively) cheap again and she was put out to pasture. Now she works day charters out of Stuart.

Scow-schooner Lily

It was a perfect sailing day, sunny with about a 10-knot breeze. Neither of us had ever sailed on a scow before. It moved surprisingly well for what is in effect a barge. Being wide and shallow, it heeled very little --- about the same as a multihull would in the same conditions (though not as fast).

In keeping with Florida tradition, the horn for the boat was a conch shell --- quite effective.

Wednesday Jean's granddaughter, Hannah, sat for her cosmetology certification exam. She had taken it once before and missed a number of questions that had not, in fact, been covered in her classes. This time she studied extra hard. We dropped her off, with the idea that we would spend the time at a local wildlife preserve. But first we had some lunch. After lunch, while we were getting gas, the phone rang and Hannah said she was ready to be picked up. She had blasted through both parts of the test in less time than was allowed for just the first part. She had passed with flying colors, scoring very high on every section, including the one she had missed before. She was issued her certification on the spot.

On the way home we stopped at a farm that Sandy and family patronize for oranges. It is called the Pagoda, and the house and a shed follow that idea.

They also have a large swimming pool in the front yard. Nobody has swum in it for years and it is presently the hangout for a couple of alligators. Ah Florida!

To celebrate we all went out to a small, but very good, seafood restaurant for dinner. Needless to say, a good time was had by all.

Over the last three days, Gene has had a running thing with the local Publix pharmacy.  He just needed to get a prescription refilled and wanted to pick up a tube of ammonium lactate cream. They didn't have the cream in stock, so they had to get it --- pick it up tomorrow. Then they got the wrong stuff and had to get in the right stuff --- pick it up tomorrow. Since the Publix is about a half a mile or so away, Gene got in three days of walking exercise. I guess that's one way to do it.

Today, Jean is out shopping with Anna and Hannah so Gene is dog-sitting YumYum. Maybe he will be able to work on a project putting a nice new grip on his hiking stick. If it gets done in time I will include a picture.

Ah, what other adventures await us?