Jack and I have been a bit preoccupied with planning our second trip in a week to the Cleveland Clinic in Weston, Florida. We had to rent a car from Enterprise, of course, because they pick you up. Jack needs to be at the hospital at 8 am Thursday so we decided to stay in a hotel tonight. This will be the first night we spend off the boat since we moved aboard last April.
After we booked the hotel and the car we had to figure out how to get to a place where Enterprise could pick us up. We’re anchored in a lake surrounded by private homes with no place to land a dinghy. We called a city marina that’s not too far but they want $20/ day to park the dinghy there, and since it would be there overnight they want $40. What a rip! The only other option was the Raw Bar and we weren’t too comfortable leaving the dinghy at the back of a restaurant on a busy street overnight. True Colors to the rescue! Marty graciously offered to dinghy us ashore to a convenient pickup spot, and with that our plans were in place and we spent the morning straightening up the boat, making water and trying to convince Izzy that we’d be back tomorrow.
About 45 minutes before we were due to leave it started to rain, just a nice gentle rain that makes us happy to have a covered cockpit. But instead of tapering off, the rain came harder and harder, and with five minutes to go I realized we’d have to dig out plastic bags and our foul weather gear.
Marty pulled alongside with Lily the chocolate lab and we piled in for the wet ride down the canal to our drop off point. By the time we walked to the street we were well and truly soaked and bedraggled carrying our overnight belongings in garbage bags. We apologized repeatedly to the Enterprise driver for getting his car wet, and then we got our rental wet, too, on the drive to Weston.
We got checked in a little after three o’clock and Jack reverted to form by claiming the full length of the sofa and the TV remote.
He was in heaven, surfing up and down the channel listings, watching five minutes of this, two minutes of that. Eventually he found his way to Bravo and Top Chef. What’s this? A Top Chef Marathon? Leading up to the finale tonight? Whoopee! You landlubbers can’t imagine how exciting this is for us. We’re in for the duration, except for the 8-9 slot, when we will watch Survivor.
Poor Izzy, holding down the fort while we indulge in pop culture. We told her “No parties!”
Glad to know you two enjoy Survivor. Best show ever! Ordinary people living under extraordinary circumstances. Like you!
Until we moved aboard EV we never missed an episode. Most places we anchor we don’t have a good TV signal. 🙁
I can just hear Izzy playing “Gypsies in the Palace”
That’s exactly what we’re afraid of!