Track Time

What a treat for Dave to be able to go with our friend and neighbor Bill, to the Palm Beach International Raceway to do hot lap races with Bill's Mini Cooper. 

The course they were on is the smaller squiggly one on the left (photo taken from a Palm Beach Post article).

It was mainly younger people doing the races, and one Mini was even nitrous boosted.

The guys had a blast. Bill did four laps around the course, and he let Dave do one also. Bill was an amazing driver and didn't even hit any of the orange cones.

Motorcycles were racing on the bigger course that day. You could even rent them to ride and race.

This was a free event for Mini Coopers with no entry fee or trophies given. Bill came in 8th out of 13 competitors that were time trialed (each lap he beat his previous time). However, when the people who put this event on, found out that Bill was 89 years old, they found a trophy for him. What a prized possession! The funny thing was that Dave was the second oldest person there.

What a fantastic morning and Bill was thrilled to share this bucket list event with Dave, and vice-versa. It was also a bittersweet moment since this is the last event being held at the track. It has been sold and will be demolished to have huge warehouses built. The sale has been quite controversial since people that want to keep it as is, have tried to buy it, but money talks and even $55 Million couldn't keep it the same. Another end of an era, but Dave and Bill got to experience it!

Nesting Season

This morning we took a kayak trip from Sewell Point Park down to Bird Island to see if any birds were nesting on this protected island. What a difference a month makes! Last time we paddled by, there were very few waterbirds in the trees. This time it was loaded with brown pelicans, wood storks, cormorants, ibis, egrets, and even a few roseate spoonbills. Last year there were more spoonbills than any other nesting bird, but this year the storks have taken precedence. 

It was fun floating just outside the warning signs (no landing allowed so as not to disturb the birds) and watching the many different species flying in with nesting material. We could tell that there aren't any babies hatched yet, because it wasn't as noisy as it was last April when all juveniles were yelling out for their parents to feed them.

As an added bonus, the water was really clear with the incoming tide, so we could see the bottom. What makes this tiny island perfect for the birds is that it is so shallow around it, that it is difficult for boats to get near it without running aground.

If we are lucky with the weather, we will head down again in a few weeks to see how the flocks are doing. It is great to see all this birding activity!

😎🐤

Hot & Windy Update

I apologize that I have not posted anything on the blog lately, but we have just been two old goats doing daily activities. Except for one day, it has been quite hot and windy. Sometimes it is even too windy for Dave to race his RC Sailboat "Flyin' Fish". There have been days we have gone kayaking even when it is blowing up to 20 mph. Yesterday was one of those days and we went down to Jupiter to see the dynamic inlet with the east wind against an outgoing tide. We decided to try and kayak in the ICW in one of the oxbows by Burt Reynolds Park and although challenging, we found some new areas to explore. We also took the kayaks to the Savannas Recreation Area in Fort Pierce and kayaked in fresh water. It was a short paddle because the water is so low, but it reminded us of northern lakes with the blooming lily pads. Up north though, we certainly don't have gators (the photo is of a tiny one) and our favorite sandhill cranes.

One day we 'hopped' across the ICW down in Hobe Sound to paddle in the lee of Jupiter Island. We can never resist a stop at Peck Lake and a walk across to the deserted beach (the path is really getting grown in).

On alternate Saturdays, Dave and I are in charge of our park's cornhole tournaments. Dave and a neighbor set up the games (provided by management) and I help break down everything afterward. We have about 12-16 people show up to play each other. It is a lot of fun and I think we may have to get a set for up north to keep practiced up. I had never played before and the first time I threw the corn bag it went right in the hole...beginner's luck! My neighbor yelled, "that's it, you're done, you can't play." 😉

There are two pieces of news to pass along that few people know about. The first is that "Bitsy" the Mini Cooper has been out of commission due to engine issues. We will tow it back home on a tow dolly, where Dave can work on it at his leisure this summer. Instead, we have been using the Silverwing motorcycle (aka the bad-ass scooter) a lot more to take on local jaunts. We are thinking of possibly bringing my PT Cruiser convertible down here next season and leaving the Mini up north for around the town driving.

The other news is that we sold our power boat. We have been kayaking so much and can paddle to almost all the places that we were powerboating to. We also have access to a Boston Whaler that Dave did quite a bit of work on for one of the residents in our park. Plus, we have found that it is more enjoyable down here when boating with friends. Hopefully Barb and Barry will still have us onboard as 'boat boys' once in a while! 💑 Having that extra set of hands to help launch, haul out, and anchor, really helps, not to mention having conversations with other people than our spouses that we are with almost 24 hours a day 😉. Farewell "Coqui" and we hope you and your new owner enjoy time on the water (it is his first boat ever and Dave gladly spent time with him to get used to it).

So that is my update for the moment. We will hopefully have more adventures to post about soon. Now though, it is time to beat the heat (and crowds) and hit the pool!

😎

Flywheelin' Part 2

Dave went to the latest Flywheelers Show and swap meet in Fort Meade yesterday, but the weather was predicted to be in the mid to upper 80's, so I passed on the trip this time. Dave said it was good that I did, because it was also very dry with dirt and dust blowing everywhere. My asthma would not have been too happy with that. The show itself was phenomenal, and with less walking since Jim, Sharon, and Dave had rented one of the available 2000 golf carts! Anything goes for vehicles at these shows as you will see in the photos below.

There was a barn filled with all sorts of Cushmans!

Have you ever seen a Porsche tractor? This was a 1961 model.

This Minneapolis-Moline 445 had a Chrysler 426 Hemi under the hood. 

John Deere was the featured tractors for this event. Some were quite extreme, like this one that was big block Chevy powered.

Every day there is a parade...

Here is a John Deere puller tractor powered by a Honda CB 550, 4-cylinder motorcycle engine.

No description needed. 😉

The kids even had their own little sand pit to play in. The adults had a much bigger 'sand box' to use their equipment in.

This is just the tip of the iceberg of photos for this event. Next season we will hopefully do it all over again with me joining in the fun.

😎

Heavy Weather Sailing

Yesterday the winds on the RC sailboat course were windier than expected. Many of the boats laid right over, but the Dragon 95s have heavy bulb keels to keep them from flipping over and capsizing, although some do take on water. They ran about a dozen races and they sure were fast!

The guys definitely had to concentrate though. The little tugboat is radio controlled and is used to retrieve boats that can't make it back to the dock. It didn't happen this time, but some boats did get tangled up in each other and blew back to shore (including Dave's and two others whose keels somehow got tangled together). 

 There were 10 boats competing, which is the most I have seen in the local races. What a fun but challenging day!

😎

Little Red Wagon

Dave bought a little red wagon to transport his RC sailboat to our local ponds here in the park. However, it has been quite useful for other things, especially since the sides come off. Take for example yesterday when Dave's new reclining chair arrived, we gave our old one to Jim, and the guys transported it by bicycle around the corner to Jim and Sharon's house. 

They sure got a lot of funny looks from passing motorists, but it certainly got the job done.

😎

Tortoise Count

We have been back to finding land bound activities due to high winds, but at least it is nice and warm out again. Yesterday we headed to Fort Pierce Inlet to watch the kiteboard sailors and windsurfers, but it was so windy that there weren't many out on the water (we had never seen the inlet with a 'rage' on like that and huge rollers coming in against the outgoing tide made it pretty much impassable). One kiteboarder ended being dragged out of the water on his belly by his 'sail', up across the beach and into the dunes, until he could release his safety line. We couldn't believe it when he straightened everything out and went back in the water! Sorry, I have no photos to share.

Today we went to Twin Rivers Park in Port Salerno to see if any of the tortoises were out roaming around. Boy, were they ever! I counted at least a dozen of them in all sorts of sizes. They certainly have a perfect place to make their nests overlooking the convergence of the Indian and St. Lucie Rivers, along with the inlet and ICW. 

I caught a photo of this one fast asleep in the sun at the opening of its burrow, which is called the apron.

This little guy was adorable grabbing grass and weeds to munch on. There is another tortoise in the background.

With so little rain lately, I am surprised they can find enough to eat, but they appear to be flourishing. In fact, after watching a courting dance and 'conversation' of shaking their necks and heads back and forth, it looks like we will soon have more little tortoises to observe!

😎