We survived Dennis without damage! Unfortunately, boats in a marina about a mile north of us weren’t so lucky. The Vinoy Marina, which didn’t have a break wall, was destroyed and a 61’ boat sank from the broken-up docks punching holes in it’s hull. Yikes. We took the advice of the locals and tied up our boat very securely and went inland. We stayed at Chris and Susan’s (in Orlando) for a couple of days and Moon was in heaven at what we now refer to as the Conrad Doggie Spa. Park (Chris and Susan’s 9 year old daughter) coaxed Moon into their pool for a swim with her, and it didn’t take any further encouragement for the many subsequent dips. After a tearful goodbye, we put Moon on an airplane Monday morning and she made it safely to Boise by 1pm. Alan reported that she was so happy to see him when he picked her up that she gave him her big Moonie smile. Although we are very sad to send her to foster care, we are relieved to know that she will be much more comfortable at the Nelson’s and will be treated in the royal manner in which she is accustomed.
We are now closely watching Tropical Storm Emily while planning our departure from St. Petersburg. At this point we are thinking that we will leave on Thursday and make some distance south before possibly having to duck into somewhere if Emily picks up steam and heads this way. She is currently on a southerly track so our fingers are crossed for that path to continue. As I write this Rod is sitting at the nav desk studying charts, anchorages, and listening to the weather guy who just provided the update that current offshore wind conditions are light at 2 knots and seas are low at only 2 feet swells. Hopefully those conditions hold for us on the nights that we’ll be on the hook.
We plan to go to the space coast tomorrow to watch the shuttle launch from Chris and Susan’s boat on Merritt Island near Cape Canaveral. Looking forward to being there to experience it in person, if it actually happens as scheduled. We will rent a car, drive it and the Trooper to their house, leave the Trooper there, then bring the rental car back to St. Pete. We will then be car-free, with one less key to manage, and ready to head out.
Stay tuned… Lisa
