Long Haul

      Monday was a good day as we cruised from Lake Worth to Stuart, FL.  Around 6 pm we dropped anchor at the Sandpiper Marina.  Dropping anchor at a marina is not the norm, but then we do things a little different on Big Run.  We came to this marina because this is where our very good friends Rick, Deb & Izzy are staying.  As we approached the marina, Rick hailed us on the radio to guide us through the skinny water, and Izzy helped as morale officer.  It was a bitter sweet moment.  Sweet because we could see Rick and Izzy.  Bitter in that our reunion would have to wait until the next day when we went into the marina and got a slip.  Deb was flying back from Arizona on Monday, so our reunion on Tuesday morning would be complete.  It had been just over a year since we last saw them down in the Florida Keys.  Before we entered the slip on Tuesday morning we went to the fuel dock for some fuel and were greeted by Rick, Deb & Izzy for an abbreviated reunion.  The official reunion came later after we docked our boat in the slip.

     The last three days have been spent reprovisioning the boat and boat maintenance/repairs.  Our first order of business on Tuesday was a trip to the grocery store.  Rick and Deb lent us their SUV to run errands, so the car was in constant use by everyone.   While in the Bahamas we purchased produce and a few other items but we lived on the stores we had on board.  Our planning last year allowed us to carry enough food for 5 months and, after 17 weeks in the Bahamas, our selections for meals were becoming limited.  For our first trip to the grocery store we filled 2 grocery carts.  After loading those groceries into the car, we returned and filled another cart. We spent over three hours transporting the groceries from the car to the boat and stowing away all the groceries.  Then on Wednesday, we went to a different grocery store and filled another grocery cart. I am proud to say that Big Run is finally reprovisoned to the max and with our additional storage containers we purchased on Tuesday, we're good to go for another long haul.