March 28 - Sunset Bay, Stuart, Florida

We enjoyed a leisurely morning, drinking coffee and having breakfast.  We eventually took the dingy to the marina to do laundry.  

After laundry, we went back to the boat.  There were probably ten or so dolphins feasting on fish by the mooring balls.  In this video you can see the dolphin blowing air out of its blowhole.

At the boat Kip emptied his backpack and there was a cupcake (called a "fairy cake") at the bottom completely smashed into a pancake.  Yum.

Kip decided to go to the grocery store and then wash the truck.  I, however, decided to take a nap.  We showered and then met Dan and Tanya (Kip's former co-workers) for dinner.  We ate at the Sailors Return restaurant by the marina.  Then we all piled into the dinghy and took a ride by the boat at the mooring and into the marina to see the bigger boats.  

We got back and walked into town for Kelwin's ice cream.  I asked for a hot fudge sundae with two scoops of ice cream, and this is what I got!  Yikes.  The funny thing is I ate almost all of it.  We had many laughs and told stories with them.  It was very nice that they drove a few hours to see us.

Shelly, Tanya, Dan, and Kip

We said our goodbyes and went back to the boat to settle in for the night.  It is very cloudy tonight, and some say it is going to rain tomorrow, but that's ok if it does.  We always come up with some type of adventure no matter what the weather does.  

March 27 - Sunset Bay, Stuart, Florida

Kip was up early taking pictures and drinking coffee.  It is going to be very warm today - high 80s I believe.

The yellow submarine.

Sunrise pictures.

A duck catching its breakfast.

During our boat ride with Doug and Gwen, we saw some docks that looked really nice. We decided to try fishing again today.  After we bought the live shrimp, I told Kip "Today we are going to catch a fish.  I can feel it."  He just said "I hope so."

There were a few other fishermen on the dock, but everyone left because they weren't catching anything.  Kip and I spread out toward the middle of the dock to try our luck there.  A manatee decided to swim by us, which was really fun.  Can you see it in the picture?

After several lost shrimp, I happened to look over at Kip, and he was reeling in a fish.  

We believe it is a pompano fish.  Sadly, we put the fish back into the water.  We weren't sure what it was, if it was edible or not, and we weren't sure how we would cook it. It was very exciting!

We stopped at Pirate's Cove and walked around and then we drove to Stuart Beach.  Kip took a dip and we sat and read for a while.  As the day progressed it got windier and windier, so we decided to head back to the boat.  

We sat on the back deck for a while, and then Kip took me for a dinghy ride to cool off.  We had pork chops, salad, and green beans for supper.  The temperature was perfect, and it felt good to walk to town and sit outside eating ice cream.

 

March 26 - Sunset Bay, Stuart, Florida

Kip and I were up early and got some nice sunrise pictures.

We untied from the mooring ball around 9:15 a.m. and stopped at the marina to pump out.  We hurried to get through the opened Roosevelt Bridge and railroad bridge and parked at the Stuart Public Dock.  There were only a few boats there at that time.  Gwen and Doug are meeting us at the dock for a boat ride and lunch at 10:30 a.m. so we left early so we could walk through the Farmer's Market before they arrived.  I purchased a beach dress and a cinnamon roll, and we went back to the boat.

Doug was aware of this, but we weren't - Sundays are crazy busy on the water!  Our destination is a bit further out than Manatee Pocket (about 1.5 hours away), and it was a rough ride.  We found a quiet spot, dropped anchor, and had sandwiches, salad, fruit, and pie on the boat.  

We got back to Stuart Public Dock, and there was nowhere to dock - all of the slips were being used.  It seems there is a live band on Sundays and the crowd was huge.  

We had to use Plan B, which was to go back under the bridges to the courtesy dock at Sunset Bay Marina.  It wasn't ideal because they would have to walk a bit further to get to their car, but we didn't have much choice.  We are hoping Gwen is feeling ok after being bounced around for a few hours by the huge wake from the boats.  We are very happy to be able to spend time with them while we are here.

Kip and I then went back to the mooring ball and got reconnected.  I took a nap, and Kip went exploring in town with the dinghy.  We weren't very hungry, so we had sandwiches and chips for supper.  The drumming gang on shore was in full force, so Kip took the dinghy and went to where they were banging...  I mean "playing" the drums.  After the drumming stopped, the bagpipe guy played Amazing Grace".

We were planning on going to the marina for the outside movie night, but it was cancelled for some reason.  That's ok, because we are tired.  It seems we always have things to do here, and we really like having options.  We have been much busier than I thought we would be.

It should be nice for the next few days, so cross your fingers - maybe we can catch a fish!  

March 25 - Sunset Bay, Stuart, Florida

We had a really fun day today in Stuart.

We started the day going to a craft and art fair in town (after coffee, of course).  Then we walked to Memorial Park where there was an animal walk fundraiser and also a Kids Fair.  We were wishing the grandkids could have been with us because there were booths with all different kinds of experiments and crafts, an ice cream truck, a bouncy castle, and much more.  Very impressive!

We go back to the boat around noon.  I took a nap and Kip went on some adventures while I was asleep.  He rode his bike to Publix to get groceries.  Then he went to shore to watch a family launch a yellow submarine boat with glass bottom windows.  The battery was dead so they couldn't run it.  Then they tried to tow it, but it was too windy.  They asked Kip to help tow it, but it ended up in the Mangroves.  I think Kip loved being involved with their launch.  

He was gone for quite a while, so we had to hurry up and take showers so we could eat before going to the Lyric Theater.  On the way to Stuart, a grandpa was holding the hand of his granddaughter who was about 1 year old.  I said hi, and she let go of his hand and walked over to me to pick her up.  Her family laughed and asked her if she "found a new friend".  It was so sweet!

Kip got us tickets to see Completely Unchained a Van Halen Band tribute band.  We are not necessarily big Van Halen fans, but we thought it would be fun.  We stopped for pizza at Luna before the show.

Can you find me?

We had a really fun time.  The crowd was really into it, the drummer was so much fun to watch, and the lead guitarist was excellent.  It was worth the $30 tickets to see it.  

It was a beautiful evening for taking the boardwalk back to the marina.  Even though it is after 9 p.m., we are all wound up and sat up for a while before deciding to go to bed.  

March 24 - Sunset Bay, Stuart, Florida

A day of rest today.  We are going to Jensen Beach.  Kip decided to go swimming, and I stayed on shore to watch.

There was a sailboat regatta today, and the boats looked so pretty gliding across the water.

When we got back to the marina and got to our dinghy, my life vest had popped open.  I guess we didn't realize that if it sat in the 80-degree heat, it would blow up.  Oops.

We relaxed after dinner and were in bed pretty early.  We really are enjoying our mooring spot.  There are so many things going on and so much to do.  We have everything we need here, even Amazon delivery!