Packing Up

We are deciding on when to head back north, but are waiting until the weather is consistently better. However, the bedroom is filling up with items to bring back home. We will be as packed as we were when we came down here (we also have a fold up bicycle and outboard motor stand that has to go)! Plus we plan on sleeping in the van, which is another reason why it has to be a little warmer out.

Do you recognize the sign from HT? The tub is filled with items rescued from the Bahamas and all are heading north for safe keeping.

It will be a thunder run with very few stops. We will being our own food and drinks, and water to wash with. Thanks to Terri and Ken at Schenectady Distilling Company, we are stocked with their hand sanitizer that they have been making instead of liquor. Thanks to Beach Cruiser Barb and Terri's mom Liz, we each have two kewl masks for wherever we do need to stop (Dave is out and about and always has his with him).

Meanwhile our weather is gorgeous down here and Dave is still going sailing once a week. We have both been kayaking several times, looking at lots of nature, boats and exquisite houses. We will try to get out at least once more in the power boat too. The yard is trimmed way back and we are prepared for departure, whenever that will be. Stay tuned!

The Hunt For Gators

Yesterday we took a backwaters kayak trip on the north fork of the St. Lucie River. We found a little creek that meandered through the mangroves filled with birdlife, mullets jumping (one fish flew out of the water and right across the bow of my kayak!), and several alligators. We actually didn't expect to find any, although the sign at the Port St. Lucie launch ramp said "Beware of Alligator"...did that mean there was only one? I must have startled that one when there was a huge swoosh right next to me and I just about fell out of my boat...so I told Dave to go first. 😉

Right after that, I saw this baby gator sunning itself on the muddy shore, so maybe it was the mother that surfaced next to me.

The further we went, the narrower the channel became. Then it was Dave's turn to startle a big gator, and it was so fast that unfortunately I couldn't get any photos. Finally we were so closed in, we had to turn around.

What a fun little adventure on a gorgeous cold front day though, and we were definitely isolated but exercising!

Seek Safe Shelter NOW!

Yesterday afternoon was interesting when our phones sounded the alarm for a tornado warning in Martin County! I immediately turned the tv on and the weatherman was saying they hadn't seen a radar and rotation like this in years, so take cover now.

So what do you do when you have 10 minutes to find a safe place in a single wide trailer? We grabbed our motorcycle helmets, important papers, phones, and headed to the bathroom which only has a tiny little venting window.

We staged that funny photo above, but luckily the storm moved just a little to our south and we still haven't heard if a tornado even touched down anywhere. We had some wind and rain but nothing like the previous night's surprise storm that blew the screens off our carport. Spring weather is here!

Otters!

Last evening one of our residents posted on Facebook that there were two otters in one of our ponds. I think I may have seen one swimming this morning, but then again it could be my imagination wanting it to be one (probably was a turtle). The two photos below were taken by another resident and I hope she doesn't mind that I 'borrowed' them.

High and Low

Yesterday's high temperature in Jensen Beach:

The lowest we have seen gas prices in the area:

Now let's hope the number of new Coronavirus cases start falling along with the gas prices!

Easter Greetings!

There still isn't much exciting to report from down south. It has been fairly hot and windy so we haven't done much boating or kayaking. However, we have put almost 1500 miles on our Silverwing motorcycle this winter. Dave continues to bicycle ride quite a distance while I power walk and at times, ride the fold up bike around our park. Nightly walks together are fantastic, although with the sunset later, sometimes we end up walking at dusk. That is the time that all the rabbits come out, and a couple of evenings ago we counted 12 of them. That's a lot of Easter bunnies! Our resident peacocks have been traveling around the streets too. I think we saw dozen of them parading yesterday.

We have also started occasionally feeding the fish in one of the retention ponds. We happened to walk by and looked down to see them following us as we walked along the clubhouse porch area that backs up to the pond. Obviously they had been fed before, but now that we have no activities or events scheduled, I think they feel left out. We threw a bit of bread in and the sunfish went crazy, jumping out of the water and attracting catfish and even a small bass. This also got the attention of a few box turtles and several soft shell turtles with their long necks extended, trying to get the bread before the fish. Photos are hard to take at dusk, but I will try next time. For now though, here is a picture of the tortoise that lives in the storage yard...

I guess I should have named this post, the tortoise and the hare, etc. 😉

Safer At Home

Florida will become a "Safer At Home" state as of Friday. Since it is supposed to be okay to go out and exercise, we were hoping that boating would be included, but that will be out of the question for us as Martin County is closing all the launch ramps except for commercial fishermen. Plus they are closing the sandbar access where we liked swimming during the quieter weekdays. Too bad there were so many boaters that ruined it for those who just want to get out and isolate themselves but enjoy the weather. We are hoping we will still be able to find some places to launch the kayaks, since this a sport which normally keeps people more than 6 feet away from each other. Plus we are hoping to get some fresh air on our bicycles and the Honda Silverwing (we promise not to stop anywhere). If this is not possible then we will definitely end up sitting under a sprinkler at home, since next week is supposed to be back to 80-90 degrees. Then again, that's what safer at home means! I will post anything we do that is exciting, but until then, stay safe and stay well.