Time to go Home

It's been much too hot and rainy in Florida lately- a sure sign of summer. And summer means Mississippi River boating. But I'm getting ahead of myself. 

We and our boating buddies on Short Vacation left Jacksonville two days ago and cruised to Fernandina Beach. 

This ship is hauling boats. 

On the way we were rammed by a maniac in a kayak! We slowed down to idle speed so as not to wake him when he decided to aim for us. Apparently he thought that riding our wake would be like white water kayaking. He actually ran into our swim platform and then yelled "Sorry!" Who does this- challenge a 42'  40,000 pound motor vessel in a kayak??

We arrived in Fernandina Beach without further incident. We have stayed here before- this is a hopping place on the weekend. Huge yachts, lots of tourists, live music nearby, and a historic downtown with trendy shops. 

We washed, put away and packed practically everything on Mara Beel in preparation for leaving her for the summer. Saturday morning Mark and John took MB a few miles north to St. Mary's, GA, where she will spend the next few months. Our sweet boat was immediately pulled out of the water. 

Meanwhile Pam and I drove our rented mini van back to JAX to pick up her mini van. We then drove both vehicles to St. Mary's. We did a lot of work on the boat with plenty of help from John. For example:

Lubricated the through hulls

Flushed the engines with antifreeze

Flushed the gen set

Drained the water heater

Drained the water tanks

Hung shade screen in the bridge

Removed the drinking water filter

Cleaned the bilges

We have been sleeping on Short Vacation while working on our boat, which has been wonderful. Pam and John have made the last few months of cruising delightful- so great to have like-minded cruising buddies!

Heading home is exciting-- can't wait to spend time with our 3 grandkids and to welcome a new grandson in August--even though we will miss Mara Beel and all of our boating friends during the next few months. In fact, we expect several of our friends to visit us on the river while we're home.