Florida and the ICW
Arion's West Indian Adventure
Hermione & Douglas Pattison
Mon 13 Jun 2016 14:24
As we entered through the cut into the Inter Coastal Waterway (ICW) we were greeted by Hamish on his boat, plus Al and Irene from Darwin Sound in their tender. What a welcome!!!
Hamish and Kaja very kindly had us all to stay for nearly a week which was a welcome break from the boat. We were able to do washing and I really enjoyed cooking in a real kitchen which did not rock and roll!! Kaja drove us to the shops and we managed to but Arthur a new pair of Crocs (his original pair had 2 enormous holes where his big toes had worn through with all the racing around!!). Unfortunately he insisted on a pair which flash…… As you can imagine I loved that!!!
Because we brought so few clothes with us on this trip, Arthur and Alice’s remaining specimens are now absolutely disgusting!! So many holes, rips and stains!! Of course this does not matter in the Tropical Islands, but suddenly on ‘mainland’ we looked like the homeless, so off Kaja took us to the outlet ‘mall' where we kitted both out with new smart outfits. I hardly recognise them now and Alice looks so grown up in proper smart shorts!! At least when we were invited to some friends of Hamish & Kaja’s for supper we looked vaguely acceptable (and Kaja kindly kitted me out!!)
The next mission for us was to invent a chemical porta-loo! Because we do not have holding tanks, if we get stopped by the USCG in the waterway without one, we will get a huge fine and lots of trouble. Of course, Doogie came up with a quick, cheap and good solution!! We now have a very smart bucket, with a double lid, a jar of chemical loo stuff and away we go!! The bucket happens to have the American Flag on it, so hopefully the Coast Guard will not take offence to this, but I am disappointed as I thought my childhood days of bucket loo’s were over- but clearly not! (My father used to sometimes let us choose a nice bucket with rounded tops for extra comfort- this is what I grew up thinking cruising was like)
Away from the loo, and to talk about bottoms- Arion’s bottom has got so dirty, so quickly!! Just a few days in the ICW and she already has a beard! Douglas bravely went diving yesterday. This is now definitely a job which is a chore, not a pleasure now the water is brown and murky…………
Finally, we have booked our tickets for our return to the UK! We will arrive in Southampton Docks on the 16th August………. We are not flying, but retuning on the Queen Mary 2!! It is not only cheaper than flying, but we thought it would be a fun way to end the trip- and at least I will be able to say that I have ‘done’ the Atlantic too!! We have unlimited luggage, and I am sure we will bring the average age of the passengers down. Arthur cannot WAIT to go on the ship- he is excited about all of the swimming they will be able to do ( A and A really missing the swimming in the sea now that water here is murky!!)