Finally, something's moving again...

...meaning, Second Chance 42 is slowly coming closer to George Town. The past two weeks have meant mostly waiting for us. Okay, we spent a few days at Bonita Bay at the West coast of Florida and really enjoyed it there, but still, we have mostly been waiting. Once the boat arrived in the Caribbean, St. Martin to be precise, it stayed there for days. All we got as information was that the antenna had come off and was being fixed. That took days. Since yesterday, she's moving again. Rolf booked his flight to George Town for Sunday, Dec 1. We are hoping that he will be back with her in Ft. Lauderdale on Thu, Dec 5. That would be three weeks later than planned. But hey, we won't complain, just let her get here. If the forecast is correct, the gulf stream should not be an issue.
So, wish us luck.

Nov 13, 2013 261km/8,831km Pelican Key – Key West – Sunshine Key

Off we went to the southernmost point of continental US, Key West. Saw a total of three Wirtgen machines in the Florida Keys! 

Wirtgen in the Florida Keys

I hadn’t thought much about Key West, so it hit me a little bit as a surprise (which it shouldn’t have!), that Key West is a cruise ship destination. With that, you get the masses of people, the cheap T-shirt and souvenir shops, the countless bars and restaurants. Almost too much of everything so that it would have been easy to miss the many sweet little buildings along the roads. 

Just one example of the beautiful
houses in Key West

We had to have some Key Lime Pie, of course, which we got and it was delicious – even though the presentation lacked some sophistication…

Key Lime Pie in Key West...

Chester was a big hit with many people. One guy asked whether he could pet him as he had to leave his Labrador at home (and was obviously suffering from dog-separation-anxiety). He must have been one of those cruise ship people – they were all wearing stickers on their shirts. Knowing what it feels like to leave your dog at home, I was glad Chester could be of service. Afterwards, the guy said, that this was the best part of his trip…(doesn’t speak for the cruise line, does it? ;-)…)

Despite the fact that we didn’t like the place too much, even our great Thai lunch couldn’t change that, we had a blast when we played with Chester on a sandy boat launch. And Chester was in 7^th heaven, of course. Makes me feel good to see him happy, knowing that he won’t live much longer (due to his heart failure, in case you didn’t know yet).

We had a blast, Chester on a sandy boat launch
(he wouldn't be allowed anywhere else...)

The cone in the back marks the southernmost
point of continental U.S.A. - 90 miles to
Cuba from here

On the way back North, we tried to get into Bahia Honda State Park, but the car before us got the last spot. Had to pay about 3 times as much as usual for a place on Sunshine Key and are now sitting behind our computers in a rocking motorhome. It had been very windy during the day and now it is really, really stormy. Temperature has dropped to ‘no-need-for-air conditioning’-levels. The wind is howling right now. It’s all due to a cold front coming through, but we checked, no danger of a hurricane.

Tomorrow, we will try for Bahia Honda State Park again, it looked really promising. Bahia Honda is unique among other islands in the Keys because it has extensive sandy beaches and deep water close enough offshore to provide exceptional swimming and snorkeling. I can only hope it’ll be warmer tomorrow… 

Nov 12, 2013 297km/8,570km Ft. Lauderdale – Miami – Ft. Lauderdale – Pelican Key

 Today, we left for the Florida Keys. After shopping in my favorite ‘Fresh Market’ South of Miami, we found out that the delivery of our solar panels from the UPS distribution center North of Ft. Lauderdale to the friendly water-maker guy J.T., who offered to store them for us until the boat arrives, would cost over $300. So, back we went, 1 ½ hours drive, to pick them up ourselves and store them with J.T. At least Chester got a bag of dog treats from the nice UPS lady.
Lost a lot of time with the solar panels and therefore had to pick what we got with regard to camping on Pelican Key. Again, we were pretty much the oddball out, but where we had been the smallest and (at least initially) dirtiest motorhome in T.Y. Park, we now were among the largest and clearly the cleanest motorhome in this campground. The fun of travelling, you never know what you get.

Early Christmas present: unpacking the solar panels

And that's how you transport solar panels
in a motorhome...

Chester needed some fun

I started to feel bad for Chester, because even though I walked him in T.Y. Park every morning and evening, it didn’t feel like he got his money’s worth of this trip. Nowhere is he allowed to roam off-leash, on most beaches dogs are not allowed, some campgrounds and hotels only allow dogs up to the size of 20lbs if at all (why would you want those around?). When we looked for a dog beach in the area of Ft. Lauderdale, we only found one where dogs are allowed only on some days during certain hours and then still had to be on leash. Plus, you would have to pay $7 for the dog’s visit to the beach. Really?!!! Dog life in Florida is just not fair. Anyway, we ended up doing something illegal: We did find a dog park, and even though we didn’t have a permit, we let Chester run. You can get a monthly permit for $25 per vehicle (?) or $265 per vehicle per year. At home, I pay $20 for Chester’s annual dog tag and I can let him run pretty much anywhere…

Dog park rules, take your time...

Now, visiting that dog park was an interesting experience. Great place, especially as dogs of different sizes are not allowed to mingle… There were four different entrances, one for dogs up to 20lbs, one for dogs between 20and 50lbs, one for dogs over 50lbs, and one area was closed (not off-leash, just off-limits). No kidding! Every section had a shaded sitting area, all we would have needed was a coffee booth on top of that. Chester had a huge area to roam, but he was only interested in the ball he found. At least he was happy. If he had been around 20lbs, we would have had to sit with 20 or so other people among the sound of 20+ yappying handbags, ehm, I mean dogs, of course. (Still can’t understand why camping grounds and hotels would only allow those hand..ehm..dogs and not my well-trained, quiet 85pounder.) Because Chester is so big, we were almost alone in our section – except for two ladies who must have wished their dogs were 50+lbs. I guess they didn’t really know what 50+lbs is…

Chester loved the ball, never mind the park :-)

The Germans and their daily bread

Bread…one of the most important things for a German. Germans start their day with bread, and they end their day with bread. ‘Dinner’ would be ‘Evening Bread’ if you translated it literally. The Germans are known for their huge variety of bread; according to Wikipedia, Germany has about 600 main types of breads and 1,200 different types of pastries and rolls. On the boat, I would usually bake our own bread, it turns out really well in the gas oven, but the motorhome’s oven is way to small. And anyway, it’s way to hot to bake bread myself…

Now, where does one find good bread in Florida? Certainly not in the usual places like Walmart or Publix, so we went looking: We tried a French Bakery first, but only got croissants for $3.50/piece. Yeah, great price, eh?! Next, we tried The Bread Shop, but only got some Cuban Baguette called ‘French Baguette’. We were still not happy, so we tried the chain 'Panera Bread' next, which kinda made us happy, but not really. Lo and behold, in the end, we found the German Bread House, where they offer a good variety of organic bread. We were so desperate, we paid $9 for one loaf… Ah, the Germans are crazy, right?! (That’s why we applied for Canadian citizenship ;-)…) At the same time, I found out that the German Bread House also delivers to my favorite supermarket here in South-East US: The Fresh Market. I love that place, it’s very special. Not for everyday shopping, but if you want something more out of the ordinary, it’s great. Now we know where we can get good bread down here, and our freezer is well stocked.

Lucky us found the German Bread House

Nov 7 until probably Nov 12 Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood FL

We found a (for us unusual but still somehow nice) camping spot at the campground in Topeekeegee Yugnee Park (yep, that's a mouthful or simply try T.Y. Park) in Hollywood FL near Ft. Lauderdale. Check out their web site, it's quite an urban park and it's being used by sooo many people all day long. This weekend, they had the Camelot Days on the park grounds, something I've seen before in Germany with real jousting, medieval dresses, games, food, etc. There's also tons of joggers, dog walkers, and people using the shelters for birthday and other parties. To my big disappointment, the huge pool area is closed - because it's winter, right?! The campground is tugged away in one corner next to the highway and the railway...Did I mention that we are also close to a railroad crossing where the trains always have to whistle...?! I'm glad I have earplugs for the night! 
We are surrounded by those huge RV coaches, there's only a handful of RVs as small as ours. One of those big coaches was pulling a trailer behind it the size of our motorhome, so that means they are travelling with about 3-4 times the size of us. And the stuff they have set up in front of the RVs! Imagine us with the obligatory, campground supplied grill and table/bench combination PLUS our two foldable chairs. Yeah! Well, not them, they have their gas BBQs, charcoal BBQs, outside stove, table and matching set of chairs (with table cloth), loungers, rocking chairs, flowers, trees, solar lights, you name it. AND, some of them even have this compartment that let's you watch TV while sitting outside... AND they have their separate cars and/or motorbikes and/or bicycles. Does that sound like we are the oddballs here? Well, we are! :-)

Beautiful green parrots in TY Park called
Monk Parakeets. These were feeding right next
to our motorhome.

We have been and will continue to be busy getting things organized for when Second Chance 42 arrives. Looking for Marinas we can work in, chandleries, tool shops, where to buy an ice maker, ordered the water maker, ordered a washing machine, need to know what to do with the solar panels etc. At this point, Rolf thinks that the boat could arrive in the Bahamas around Dec 1-5, it's making good way now. That will leave us another 2 weeks to explore the Florida Keys once we leave Ft. Lauderdale the day after tomorrow.

Nov 5&6 668km/7,968km Ocala - Tampa - Venice // Port Charlotte - Cape Coral - Belle Glade - Ft. Lauderale

Nov 5: Ah well, not much to say really. More driving. Visited a fruit farm, but it's not the season. Still, got some pretty good oranges, just no pretty pictures. One big thing happened on Nov 5, though: First time EVER that we switched on the Air Conditioning in the motorhome. Not the front one for driving, but the one on the roof. We've never used it before, never ever since we bought the motorhome some ten or so years ago, and, guess what, it actually works!!! Lucky us!! Because it's quite hot and humid here now.
One other highlight especially for me in Tampa: We had lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. That usually means my favourite Luau Salad for me. Gosh, had I been looking forward to it, I just love that salad!

Cheesecake Factory Luau Salad, my favourite!

More driving on Nov 6 along orange orchards and miles and miles of sugar cane. Saw all of two Wirtgen machines in one work zone! Other than that, it's obvious that we are in Mosquito-country. You should see the huge mosquito-net covered areas some houses have! Where our sunroom has glass, those have netting. Actually, up to 3-4 times the size of our sunroom!

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Nov 1-4, 2013 749km/7,300km Mobile AL - Pensacola FL - Marianna - Live Oak - Gainesville

Stayed in Mobile another day before leaving for Florida on Nov 2. Since then it's been mostly driving, not so much sightseeing. Did visit the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, though, home of the Blue Angels. Wow, quite a museum, perfect for Rolf, so many planes in there!!!

Blue Angels Jet (F-A18 Hornet),
Naval Aviation Museum, Pensacola FL

It's surprisingly cool in Florida, maybe except for today. We are staying at the Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park South of Gainesville and it's quite humid. Mosquito-country! Can't take Chester on some of the walks here due to alligators, snakes and bisons. Different kind of problem from the black bears back home :-)

Not much else to say other than that we find Florida very clean and well maintained - well, I guess at least where we are going. Same with Alabama, actually! Can't believe all the huge areas of lawn that need to be cut all the time. Guess grass grows much slower here than in our yard... ;-) At least I hope so  for the guys that do the cutting...

Chester is so easy to travel with,
always sleeping when we are driving!

Hey, Second Chance 42 has finally left the Gran Canary Islands!!!

Where's Second Chance 42?

We are following Second Chance 42 on
WhatUSea.com

By the way, Second Chance 42 is still on the other side of the Atlantic. They got held up by a storm over Europe for quite some time. Now they are behind schedule, which is bad with regard to the timing of the additional outfitting we are going to do in Ft. Lauderdale. It will cut off some time of the time we are going to spend in the Bahamas. Ah well, can't help it, that's what it's like when you sail, it all depends on the weather. It'll give us more time in Florida instead, I guess...

Oct 31, 2013 Baton Rouge – New Orleans – Gulfport – Mobile AL

Sorry, not much to show with regard to New Orleans. As we had been there numerous times on business, we didn’t really plan to sightsee. Had been to the French Quarters etc. before. Just wanted to stop to meet a business friend from the very early ShipConstructor days for lunch. Then headed out to Mobile where we spent a great evening with Pat R. and his wonderful family.

Happy Halloween!