"Quick" Trip To The Grocery Store

So today on the packed agenda (/sarcasm) was a trip to the grocery store and a trip to the community theatre so Colby could talk to them about tryouts. We walked by the other night and found out they were holding tryouts for a new play and they needed people with a British accent, which Colby does eerily well. 

Earlier in the morning while listening to the daily cruisers net on channel 68 we heard them mention there was a public dinghy dock near Publix we could tie off to for a trip to the store. Well the store is 1.3 miles away from the marina but about 1/4 mile from this dock. Walking the 1.3 miles would be fine and we went down there the other night, however walking home with several bags for 1.3 miles would result in a whole lot of cussing and a whole lot of melted and or soggy food. Our cars are still in Indiantown and we need to find a way to pick them up so life gets a little easier. 

We hopped in the dinghy and motored across Boot Key Harbor following my GPS map to where we thought it might be. We managed to locate the dock, tie up and stroll on over to the community theatre. There we found out the play they are doing currently doesn't really have a role for a teenager in it, but they were excited to see Colby and we were allowed to sit in for the auditions. Colby thought it was neat, but you could tell he was a little intimidated. 

After that we walked to Publix and did our limited funds shopping trip which consisted of just about anything on the buy 1 get 1 free list, keeping in mind we had to carry everything we purchased back to the dinghy. We lugged our bounty back to the waiting dinghy, only to find it had slipped under the dock during low tide and was now wedged underneath and was stuck there since the tide came up. We must have been a sight, trying to stand on the back by the motor and put enough weight on it to get it back under. We would jump up and down, cuss a few times, then jump some more. Finally we managed with a coordinated effort to get it low enough to slip from under it's captor, lesson learned!

From there we loaded our groceries in the dinghy and headed back to the boat for lunch. We had left the boat around 10:30am and now it was 2pm. It's amazing how time consuming things can be, but hey we had plenty of it. Back at the boat we tossed a pizza in the oven and enjoyed it hot out of the oven, a luxury we have grown to love on this boat. 

Tonight there is a music jam under the Tikki hut here at the marina and it should be a great time. I've seen several guitars, keyboards and mic stands so I'm thinking there are quite a few people playing. Colby brought his Ukelele and Peyton and I brought both our guitars to play tonight. 

I still can't get over how much of a community feel there is here in Boot Key Harbor. We don't feel like a visitor, it already feels like a home. 

However there are a few things we are needing and are on the must have list asap for living here. 

1. Our Car/cars

2. Bikes- Bikes are an absolute must here. Many things are too close to really need a car and just a little too far to walk, plus it would save a ton of $$. 

3. Solar Panels- Our boat is equip with a wind generator however it's not enough to keep us topped off and we are having to run the engine for 30 minutes a day to stay full. The main use of energy is our refrigerator and it is a constant pull of 5 to 6 amps, which tends to drop the level quick. A couple 135 watt panels will be more than enough, but they come at a cost. 

4. Jobs- Self explanatory lol

We have only been here a couple days but we have some leads on the job front and Jessica was told to drop off a resume by the Drs office about 1/4 mile from the marina which would make for a quick trip to work. My main concern right now is jobs and getting our car/cars. Worst case scenario I'll be packing a bag, taking a bus to Miami and then hitch hiking it to Indiantown to get our car, driving all the way back to get Jessica and then driving back to pick up our other car. Efficient,,, no, but it will get the job done. 

Gotta tune the guitar and pour some rum, it's music time!