Another shorts and heavy jacket kind of day in Central Florida

And it appears Florida is not the only place this attire is worn when the weather is chilly.

  

Cool today for Florida standards.  Started out this morning in the 50's - dropping all day into the 40's with possibility of snow northwest of here - it's short lived - back in the 80's for the weekend.  Not complaining, still rather be here than home.  

Good day to make a pot of chili.

This land is made for you and me - RIP Pete Seeger

So when I got up this morning,(a half hour behind Rick and Izzy)  Rick informed me that Bob Seger died.  WHAT?  What happened?  I hadn't even heard he was sick.  After a couple minutes I asked, wait, do you mean Pete Segeer?  Anyway, RIP Pete Segeer - in his later years he became a huge advocate for saving the Hudson River.

News From Home

Our Neighbor posted this video to You Tube.

Really glad to be here!

Back to the drawing board

Just couldn't get an acceptable stain to work on the birch ply, plus we both were not happy with it not being teak. (Really? That fussy? Well, 25 years satisfying customers with design and execution further molded our expectations and acceptance of projects.)  So, we called it a prototype and found a teak supplier, ripped off all the ply and are now installing teak.  Practice makes perfect, right? Ahh, but how will that stain match existing stain? Oh the suspense!

  

We don't get to see beautiful sunsets here, but have been seeing some interesting sunrises.

Our friends, Wayne and Carol (previously of Take Time - Krogen Whaleback) are taking a break from building their new home in New Hampshire and will be in our area for the next month or so.  We took a break from projects and visited them at their condo in Cocoa Beach. We also made plans to meet up with them to tour the Kennedy Space Center.

On Thursday we toured the museum and the space center - we were all impressed.  

They call this the Rocket Garden - not sure what the guy in the lift was doing, maybe waxing?

Rick had some memory moments at this missile - the Titan II, also used for the Gemini projects.  During his Air Force days he spent 5 years with one of the launch keys in his hand (well, in the safe) for this intercontinental ballistic missile and its "warhead", the mega-big "thing" on top where the Gemini capsules sat for the space exploration use. 

The story behind the missile.

More of the Rocket Garden. Hmmm maybe we should get one for our garden  at Bald Eagle Lake?

Atlantis Museum was added in 2013 - those two little people are Rick and Wayne - the actual space shuttle Atlantis is housed in the building behind the shuttles launch fuel tank and solid fuel thruster.  

 Atlantis with its cargo bay open and robotic arms (made in Canada).  After 33 successful missions to space and back the shuttle in now on display at the museum.  This picture does not do it justice - the lighting in this room played havoc with all my pics.  

Atlantis power pack.

and its hidden power.

Model of Atlantis

Rick got to fly the shuttle, dock the shuttle, deploy the robotic arms and land the shuttle.  (In his words: Going to need more practice!) We also got to experience a shuttle launch in the launch simulator - feeling the G's.

Included in your ticket is a bus tour of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) - it is one of the largest buildings in the world by volume, and is the largest single story building in the world.  Also toured the grounds, and the shuttle launch pad.  Your ticket includes a tour of the museum that houses a Saturn V rocket and  also provides entrance to the Astronaut Hall of Fame.  A lot to take in - all in one day.  

We had an opportunity to attend the evenings launch of the Atlas 5 rocket (at an additional $20.00 per person) but they wouldn't let you leave the grounds and come back for the 9:05 launch.  We had a dog that hadn't been off the boat since 8:30 in the morning so we decided to watch the launch from our marina.

Back in the day - so sad it had to end.  Also sad for this town - what we love about the people here is they are just happy to have jobs.  They make us feel welcome.

We found a spot to sit and wait - the window was from 9:05 to 9:45.  We finally got a lift off at 9:34.  This was the best I could do with my little point and shoot..

Wayne, I am guessing this is a picture from the guy with the big ass telephoto lens who was standing next to you.  Doug, in case you are questioning -  this is not my photo.

A sign at the entrance to the Atlantis Museum - I Love It - my new words to live by!!!! 

The entire day was amazing - We would highly recommend the Kennedy Space Center experience.

Rick, Deb - Carol, Wayne

Cellphone "group selfie" 

Priceless (no charge).

All is good here - Wayne & Carol will be in the area for the next three weeks so we have decided to extend our stay in Titusville for a bit.

Stay tuned for:

New teak install, new countertops and new washer/dryer on order.     

The new man in my life.

Yup, it's the Pumpout Guy.  In all our years of boating we have never had this experience.  No moving your boat to the fuel dock for a pumpout, no dragging long hoses to your boat and pumping out at the speed of sludge moving thru a drinking straw.  Pumpouts are on Wednesday and Saturdays. You arrange it with the office and they showup , hookup, pump on and the job is done in less than five minutes. That pump really sucks. Slick.  

In project news - the Captain came up with a solution to support the post that is directly under our mast up top. As commented in the previous blog, the yard had placed the support post over the opening causing it to deflect down and necessitating an additional post, added by the previous owner. To correct that, the  Captain placed the new cabinet back directly under the back edge (or forward in boat direction) of the support post or mast load point. An angle iron directly under the post and attached to that back cabinet wall (doubled in that area) will transfer the load to the wall. Well there's some physics and engineering involved and that's getting boring. But, bottom line, now things are as they should be; one post supporting the mast load. And, the Admiral is commenting on how open it looks now without the ugly 
stained 2 x 4.

\

The new cabinet for the TV.  Angle iron concealed and now to the rest of the wall.

The new veneer replacing the de-laminated teak veneer.  Decided to cover the existing veneer with a birch ply which was thin enough to simply apply over the old and still sit within the existing trim - so now the fun begins........

Coming up with a stain so the birch ply will match the 20 year old teak vaneer ply. Can it be done? - the workshop has now become the stain testing center.

How many sample does it take to find the correct stain? And then what will the varnish do to the stain color? And will the full panels take the stain the same as the test samples? And should we use a pre-stain over the plywood?

Another fun part and more tight spaces- running the new electrical, antenna cabling and speaker system wires required a venture into the cabinet under the kitchen sink.  The duct tape on the kitchen sink drain pipe is not for leaks, but to keep the Captain from gouging his body parts on sharp fittings (especially his head) as he was coming in and out of the cabinet.  Posing the question - why does your drill battery die at the most inopportune times. 

While the sealing varnish was drying - we took a break to visit Cape Canaveral National Seashore.  The park covers 57,000 acres and is the longest stretch (24 miles) of undeveloped beach on Florida's east coast.

It's a National Park so they do charge an entry fee of $5.00 per person, but if you are 62 and over and you don't already have a Golden Age Pass - get one! The cost is $10.00 a onetime lifetime fee allowing you and everyone in the car to get in free at most National Parks.  We also used it in St. John's USVI - mooring balls for 1/2 price and the Franklin Lock Campground/Marina on the Okeechobee Waterway - dockage for 1/2 price. 

Oh, why not add another item to the endless boat list. A Supra washer/dryer combo unit. Now the back cockpit has become an appliance repair shop (in between staining and varnishing).   Our 11 year old Washer/Dryer combo has developed a wobble in the drum - the Captain thinks it's worth a look see. The Italian company has since gone out of business and parts which came from a company in Spain is also out of business, makes parts scarce. Plus none of the repair guys are familiar with the brand. Maybe it's something like a bearing so before we throw it overboard and get a replacement - a tear it down and look see is in order.   These items that pop up keep life interesting and challenging. Right?

On a brighter note - we are enjoying our time here.  Izzy loves her walks in the park and her friends at the dog park - she mostly enjoys stealing tennis balls that have been left behind, but hey if they are left there, it's not really stealing. And of course she brings them back the next day for another exchange. The temps are a mixed bag - several days of warm temps then another front blows thru dropping evening temps into the 30's with daytime highs in the 50-60 degree range.  We are not complaining - no snow and not below zero (sorry Minnesota).  

  

Stay tuned for our next adventure, and updates on the TV cabinet and washer/dryer "inspection". 

Why Do Dogs Roll in Dead Things That Smell Bad? & Why Do Men Wear Shorts in Winter?

Turns out both are normal.  

Yesterday while walking Izzy in the park on a cold blustery morning, she was sniffing around as she usually does and then I seen it happen.  The familiar head tucking under for the rollover onto something smelly in the grass.  I caught her quick enough so that she only got a tiny bit of smelly stuff on her back.  Perhaps this behavior may relate to her wolf relatives in trying to obscure their own individual odors or perhaps she is getting ready for her encounter later in the day at the dog park.  "Hey check out what I happened to come across today - you're all going to be pretty impressed!"  

Today while walking Izzy in the park my mind started to wander back to yesterday and how bundled up I was in my sweatpants, jacket, stocking cap and mittens running errands and walking Izzy in the park.  The temp was a blustery 40 degrees with a northerly breeze in the 40 MPH range.  At least 80% of the men out and about yesterday were wearing shorts (not my manly man) - they had big jackets on, but wearing shorts - this also turns out (I googled it) to be normal - must be a throw back to those caveman days.  While my mind was wandering however, turns out Izzy's mind was on only one thing - finding that sweet spot again.  I didn't see it coming, and before I knew it she had wiggled on her backside all over that dead smelly thing.  She should be a big hit at the dog park today.

They had a rocket launch here on Monday.  The SpaceX Falcon 9 carrying the THAICOM satellite to orbit.

The entertainment center remodel project continues - updates to follow.

Warmer than you!! Well most of you anyway.

Now that the Holidays are behind us - it's

Catch-up time.

The sun is setting,the anchor is down and now we are ready to celebrate the Captain's birthday.

December 21, 2013 - 50 miles north of St. Augustine, FL.

Happy Birthday Baby!
Love, Deb & Izzy

Izzy is in total party mode.

We decided St. Augustine would be a good place to stop and shuttle our car down from Beaufort, SC.  Pretty town and even prettier at Christmas time.  

Our welcoming committee.

Then it was a hop, skip and jump down to Daytona Beach to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at Halifax Harbour Marina with this puffed up Southern Santa.

Christmas Day was beautiful, so we decided to hike over to the ocean.  

Joni, this one is for you - The Pier at Daytona Beach - we have lots of fond memories here.  The surf and tide were both high so didn't see too many cars driving on the beach.

Izzy loved it - "let me loose".

She settled for a walk on the beach, however, we didn't make it very far.  Right after I took this picture we were stopped by the beach patrol and very kindly told - "No dogs on the beach" - I guess there was a sign, we didn't see it.  Wouldn't you know, just as he's telling us we need to get off the beach, Izzy decides to do her business.  Thankfully we had a poop bag. 

We are currently on the T dock at The City of Titusville Municipal Marina - this is our beautiful view of the Indian River.  Decided to spend a month here touring the Space Coast and getting a couple of projects done.  Of course we have retrieved our car from St. Augustine and have acquainted ourselves with Home Depot, Lowes, Publix and Anytime Fitness.  We have not toured this area before and looking forward to seeing the Kennedy Space Center and the Canaveral Seashore.

The hole on the left of the cabinet was where our TV was previously.  We had some de-lamination occurring on the rest of the cabinet so decided to expand the entertainment center and replace the teak veneer. The support pole on the counter was also a problem.  Asia Boat Builders, Krogen's yard builder in Taiwan in the 90's, for some reason had placed the post, which is directly under our mast up top, over the TV cabinet which had no support causing the countertop to sag in this area.  The previous owner had placed an additional wood 2 x 4 (right of the wine bottle in the picture) to support the mast.  We have talked about having another spindle post made to replace the 2x4, but it seems other projects got in the way.  The captain is pondering a possible solution to eliminating the second post (2x4) completely.  He put his builder's engineering thinking-cap on.

More on this project to follow. And, hey, how big is that TV and how many calculations will it take to make the load point work?How many drawings to determine where the support should be? 

Here's a kicker - we knew a front was coming along with a couple of days of rain which would delay the project.  Rick remembered that 13 years ago when we got Broulee the previous owner "claimed" he had another set of custom cockpit curtains stored under the queen island berth.  We've moved them around alot, but never actually unwrapped them to look at them.  The previous owner had a second set of screened curtains made for the cockpit and for many years (when traveling in buggy areas) we used them.  We decided to dig the second set out from under the bed and see if they fit the toggles from the other set.  A perfect match - brand new, complete with Isinglass and screens.  Because we bought the boat in the Philippines we are guessing the previous owner did not want Isinglass to trap heat in an already warm location.  Project can now continue in Broulee's workshop.

Izzy and Deb are enjoying walks in Sand Point Park south of the marina and all three of us enjoy the off leash dog park just north of the marina.  We celebrated New Year's eve with our friends Ron & Paula, KK Dovekie, and Janet & David, KK Sofkin at the home of Ron & Paula.  Good to see our  travel buddies again, it was great to talk about our travels in the Caribbean.  

Happy to be here - not looking good for Minnesota.  The Govenor has closed schools on Monday and temps are dropping Sunday night to, -50-65 degrees below zero windchill.

Weather map for tomorrow in Minnesota:

On a warmer note - received this pic from Deb's beautiful nieces.  All of them together (with their dogs and Loren) for Christmas 2013. Izzy was sorry to miss this party, as was I.