Betsy speaks: We did go and take another look at the Chris Craft today. This time they had it out of the water so we could see the bottom. We also talked at length with the person that had done most of the restoration on the boat. However, we are not quite convinced that it is the right boat for us, so will probably not pursue it further right now. It does not have several things that we consider important, like radar, an inverter, and an enclosed back deck. There is a lot we like about the boat, but we aren't able to overcome some of our concerns.
This afternoon I took a bike ride into town just to look around. I agree with the boat broker's description of Gulfport as "eclectic." There are lots of artsy shops and interesting people. Tonight we ate at a pub that at first glance Rick thought might be a gay bar!
We cannot stress enough how awful the weather has been for loopers this year! We left our home in coastal North Carolina in mid-May when the weather should be almost balmy, yet it was a freezing cold, rainy day. We endured drenching rain in New York. We suffered through the coldest July on record in Canada. We had day after day of wind on Lake Michigan. And now we are in a deep freeze here in Florida. The weatherman on the local station tonight said this is the longest period of frigid cold weather they've had in 30 years! Daytime highs are in the low 50s, nights are low 30s, and the wind off the water makes it feel much colder. From what we hear, normal temps this time of year should be in the 70s!
And the long term forecast is not promising. They say it will be even colder this weekend, and there appears to be no end in sight! Boy am I glad I threw a couple of pairs of cuddle dud long johns into my bag when we were home in November! They sure feel good! And Rick swears by his "hot socks" that he sleeps in every night! They were a gift from his grandmother who died last year at age 102...she had extras that friends had given her. And it was Rick’s idea to bring along the flannel sheets…sometimes I’m glad to have him around!
This marina does not offer cable TV, so we hooked up the digital antenna and are able to get more channels here than we've ever gotten with it before. We get all four major networks, as well as a lot of other miscellaneous channels, I guess thanks to the digital conversion. One is a channel that carries lots of oldies, and the past two nights we've watched "I Spy," one of my favorite shows from 1965 with Robert Culp and Bill Cosby. Tonight we also suffered through an episode of "Emergency" with Randolph Mantooth. Oh, how corny!
We may look at another boat tomorrow. Then we may or may not head on south to Sarasota. Our next outing will take us across the mouth of Tampa Bay, and we'd like a nice day to do that, so will stay here until the weather is right for that crossing.
Where is Al Gore when you need him? TLL and BTB
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