We arrived back at the Glass Slipper very late Friday night - 1 a.m. actually. Our driver was pretty apprehensive about setting our luggage on the dock and leaving us there but I assured him we'd be fine. Someone had retied our boat and it was so far back in the slip I barely managed to get on. I then had to spend a few minutes rearranging and adding lines so I could pull the boat up to the finger pier to load everything. We had four suitcases and 3 bags. I finally managed to get everything including Coleen on the boat. I then had to add some line to lengthen the aft dock lines and retie us. Of course I managed to drop one in the water and needed to take the dinghy to get it. The dinghy did not fare well in our absence. It was nearly deflated on one side and filled with very stinky water. I had to get the water out before I could take it over to get the line. I was too tired to find the pump to so I floated over on the one good side and snagged the dock line with the boat hook. Now of course I managed to drop it a second time and had to do it all over again before I finally got it right. By then I was a mess - from sweat and the stinky water. I had to fill up the water tank so I could take a shower. All I could find to drink was a bottle of very warm cranberry juice - but it hit the spot anyway. I finally crawled into bed at 3 a.m. right about the time Coleen woke up complaining about an earache (she had an ear infection).
Now you'd think I'd sleep in after all that - but no - I woke up at my usual 6 a.m. exhausted but unable to get back to sleep. I spent some time unpacking, re-inflating the dinghy and washing the boat. Then we headed into town and had breakfast at one of the little greek places. It wasn't actually that good but I noticed a little Greek market across the street. We were able to stock up on fresh fruits and veggies. We wandered around the little greek area of town known as the Sponge docks and found a bakery and fudge shop too. Soon we were back on the boat with our treasures. I managed to get out of the slip without help and we headed back down the Anclote River to join DJ at the little anchorage by the power plant - arriving sometime around 1 p.m.
I was so tired that other than a short dinghy ride to the playground at the park I laid around doing nothing but drinking lots and lots of iced tea and catnapping. We had the spinach/cheese pastries for dinner and then headed over to the Anclote Key anchorage where I collapsed early. It did not turn out to be the fun filled birthday I had planned - but still it was good to be back!
We spent Sunday cleaning the boat, turning everything topsy turvy and going through all of Coleen's stuff - until we got it all clean, unpacked and organized. I also pulled out the Wonder Wash and did a few batches of laundry which was not that fun. I think the only thing I really don't like about living on a boat is the laundry situation. We made some pizza for dinner and watched Pirates of the Carribean - but of course I fell asleep somewhere towards the end :-)
Yesterday we took a very long walk on Anclote Key - riding over in DJ's fast dinghy which he had fixed in my absence (replaced the transom). Coleen thought the ride was very fun and like a roller coaster. I managed to find a sponge on the beach which we brought back to dry out. Right now it's bright orange - not sure how long it takes until it turns brown.
We headed out after our beach walk and traveled to Clearwater Municpal Marina where we filled with water, fuel, ice and emptied trash. The ride over was fairly uneventful except for seeing one tornado over land and a water spout - and resucing DJ who had run aground. Somehow my little boat managed to pull his large, very heavy boat off the shoal after 3 attempts.
We then traveled a few more miles to this anchorge and took the dinghy over to Mickey D's for dinner - which Coleen thought was way cool.