Happy St. Patrick's Day

A bit belated, but seems we Americans have turned it into a weekend.
Yesterday we took the pups over to the Pelican Cafe for a lunch of Corned Beef and Cabbage. Flagler Park was very crowded with vendors selling any and everything green. Green Popcorn? Folks were having fun waiting for the big parade which we didn't stick around for.

Green Champagne?

Speaking of Flagler Park.... a few days ago we were walking the dogs in the park, off the leashes, because it's not ever crowded and such a nice clean park. Muddy was walking next to me and Radar was still within his 100' perimeter of comfort. (Radar never strays far from our side.) All of a sudden I see a little Yorkie running full blast on course for Muddy. Radar also sees this and before the Yorkie gets too close, Radar has intercepted him and letting him know to leave the little one alone. We found it interesting that even though Radar still refuses to allow Muddy to get close to him and he pretends to hate the little guy... He was first to protect him. Reminded me of my big brother... when I was a little kid he would take up for me only to turn around and smack me.
The Yorkie incident turned out to be a non event and all the dogs got along just fine, but out of the side of my eye I see a lady staring at us with a look of outrage. I figure this is just my imagination and we all walk on. Then this lady starts screaming at us to, "put those dogs on the leash." 
I think she's kidding, but now she's really becoming animated and still screaming. Now she's saying, "those dogs are dangerous, it's a state law!"
I look at this lady like she's nuts and tell her, "it's okay there good little dogs, they won't hurt you."
She won't have it and continues to scream. So after an exchange of views, we walk away with the dogs still unleashed.
On the way back through the park, now we have leashed the pups, we pass a couple of young fellows who tell us they confronted the women and told her she was, and I quote,  "A crazy bitch". Then we pass a crew of city workers setting up for St. Paddy's day and they tell us the same thing. They say we can walk our nice little dogs off the leash in their park any time we want. "That batty old woman must have forgotten to take her meds today." is what one fellow said.
This cracked us up. Free the puppies!

 Broulee

It seems a lot of our friends from the West Coast of FL are running across the Lake.
We had dinner with Rick and Dep... Crew Broulee. It was nice catching up with them. Their plans are similar to ours so we will probably see them again along the way.
The next day Donnie and Marilyn with Cloe showed up to meet the new pup. They're heading over to Port Lucaya for a month or so. Also nice to see them again.

Waiting on the new A/C that Cruisair is giving us under-warranty. It's been a bit hot, but not too bad. Still, it'll be nice to have A/C in the salon.

So that's about it for now...

Adios,

Istaboa

Not a good picture

But look at this boat!  Iphone pic so it's not very clear.
It has a wind mill for a drive.
Interesting...

Report from our friends in the Exumas

Our dock buddies, Jeff and Cathy aboard Lyric, made it to the Exumas. Though the weather isn't great they seem to be having a good time.
Nice pics...

 Cathy's dad flew into Nassau and has enjoyed a week of cruising in the Exumas.

Glad they're having fun.
Wish we were there.

Adios,

Istaboa

Muddy Report 3-2-12

Well, it seems like the boy's alright. He's quite the social little creature; loves children, loves other dogs, loves pretty much anybody who'll pay attention to him — and that's about anyone who sees him because he's so cute.

Won't run far from our side as we walk him and Radar in the park, but he doesn't like this bright Florida sunshine. I think it hurts his eyes, he doesn't have a hair visor like Radar's yet.
Like Radar he loves the warm water and doesn't mind a bath too much.





Yes, he's even starting to win Radar over. Radar actually played with him for a few minutes.

I know, we go on and on, but the first few months of a pup's life with his new family is pretty much full time training and it's very important (and time consuming) to do it correctly if you want a happy and well adjusted family member. We've raised a lot of dogs.

So anyway... That's what we've been doing.

Mary and Cleevey, our good friends from Memphis, stopped by a few nights ago and we had a very tasty lobster dinner at Sailor's Return. They're in for my big birthday party in New York City so those plans are starting to firm up.

I've been putting Istaboa in ready to run mode. Not much to fix, just things I want to try on the next trip.

So that's it.... Puppies and chores... and friends.

Life is good!

Adios,

Istaboa

Muddy Report 2-25-12

Man, we forgot what it's like to have a new pup, but he's so damn cute that he makes up for the bits of trouble he gets into.

Radar's finally reached the toleration level. I really think he's teaching Muddy by example, but he refuses to play with him which drives the puppy crazy. We're sure that'll change in time. Maybe it's the teacher never plays with the student kinda thing.

Muddy wants to follow Radar everywhere he goes,

look at what he looks at,

and smell what he smells.

We think the boy's gonna be a good one.
Only three accidents inside the boat so far and those were when he first arrived and he's so small they weren't a problem to clean up.
Now, if we leave the back door open, giving him access to his Little Rascal Turf, (Thanks Kasey's Choice), he'll hop out in the cockpit all on his own and do his business. This will come in handy on those long passages we're planning in the spring.
Yep, he's sleeping in the bed with us.... The whole of Crew Istaboa all wadded up in one bed. In the middle of the night I feel Muddy's little paws walking up my back and then hear a low grumble coming from Radar, who sleeps next to my head, then I feel those little paws going back down my back to the foot of the bed where he's safe. Eventually he will curl up next to Mel to finish the night.

So, Muddy is working out well. We think he's gonna be a good addition.

Speaking of that spring cruise... Our loose plans are to briefly do the Exumas, Eleuthera, and the Abacos then make a long run up to Fernandina Beach, FL to check on our Grandson's progress. After spending some time we'll run the east coast to New York City for my 60th birthday in mid June. We would like to do the Hudson River before heading up to Maine then turning around and heading back south.
We've never done that part of the world and are very much looking forward to it.

Lots of chores to do before the spring run. One being moving out of our land dwelling and figuring out what to do with all that furniture and stuff.
Boat chores are never ending as usual, so we're staying busy.

Adios,

Istaboa

Ran across this video and found it interesting. An interesting point of view. Hope you enjoy.

Back aboard

Nothing blog for a few days, I haven't been feeling well, so we'll catch up now.

It was a really quick and worthwhile trip back to Memphis. Mel got to check on her Mom, I had a heart scan with a good outcome, and we received a very strong offer on Rocky Point. All of that in about 6 days.

The Rocky Point thing has bitter sweet connotations... It's such a beautiful place and we hate to leave it, but it does need someone else that will love the place and take care of it. We think the prospective buyers will do just that.

The place explodes with color in the spring.

And the memories we have will last forever... Imagine sitting in the green room, having morning coffee and watching such touching scenes as this... on a regular basis. We watched this doe raise her fawn all summer. She was almost a pet, we would put corn and water out for her while she was nursing her fawn.

But it's time for a change and a change is coming... A very little change arrived on the 16th.
Introducing our new little mate... Muddy.




Had his first night sleeping in the bed with the rest of us last night  and did well... No crying, no accidents, and Radar didn't protest to much.
Radar still hasn't embraced the little dude yet. Kinda grumbles when Muddy comes too close and even nipped him a couple of times, but he'll come around. This pup is just too damn cute to resist.

Seems while in Memphis I contracted what we Memphians call the "Memphis Mung". Which is a bad cold that tends to linger. Luckily I caught it on the way out of town and antibiotics along with the warm Florida sunshine cured me relatively quickly. Much better now.

Finally got our plumbing problem fixed. What should have been a 2 hour/200.00 problem took almost 2 months and $2000.00. I will have more to say about Randy Brenner and Sealand in the review section. This won't be a good review for Classic Marine and Mr. Brenner.

This is a long post, but ending on a more positive note, (no pun intended) I want to post a video of an acquaintance of ours and a good friend of my brother.  Wayne Jackson grew up just down the street in my home town of West Memphis, Arkansas  and went on to travel the world playing trumpet on 83 Gold and Platinum albums. He is half of the Memphis Horns. He created that special signature Memphis horn sound that many have imitated for years. He and Andrew Love are the Memphis Horns and this is Wayne accepting the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award last week.

Adios,

Istaboa

Underwater photos of dogs

We love dogs and we love love water so this is right up our alley.

If you haven't seen it, the whole collection is here... Seth Casteel's Underwater photos of dogs.
So tonight we are in Albany, GA. More than halfway home and looking forward to being back aboard Istaboa and see all our dock friends.
Got to stop at Carroll Sausage Company and pick up a few pounds of their fine fare.

Adios,

Istaboa

Muddy Waters of Istaboa

aka... Muddy.
Mel is flying up to Winston-Salem on Thursday to pick him up and fly him home.
Gonna be interesting.

Seems we're about to enter a whole new chapter of our lives. In so many ways. We'll fill you in on the rest in a few days. 

Heading back to Stuart in the morning... will take a couple of days. 

Adios,

Istaboa

Happy Birthday, Mark Philips

Last night we surprised our old friend Mark with a party in Memphis. It was fun.

The Big Five O doesn't seem so large when it finally arrives. I have the big Six O coming up which seems completely wrong. I keep counting the years to be sure I've done the math correctly... always adds up the same. Damn!
Poking around the net and came across this video... Peter Yarrow and Richie Havens... Great tune.Enjoy.

Adios,

Istaboa

Cloud Tsunami rolls over Panama City Beach

 Saw this on the net and thought to pass it along. Pretty amazing photos. 

We were just in PCB, wish we would have experienced that. Wonder what it was like looking up from the beach?

 

By Natalia Jimenez, msnbc.com

Helicopter pilot Mike Schaeffer was wrapping up a tour when he spotted this incredible weather phenomenon along the coast of Panama City Beach, Fl. on Sunday. As soon as he landed, he alerted Panhandle Helicopter owner JR Hott of the "cloud form waves," and together they went up for a better view. They moved quickly knowing that it is only in very specific weather conditions that this beautiful effect occurs. While the online community has dubbed this a "cloud tsunami," Hott disagrees with the popular moniker:

I wouldn't call it a "cloud tsunami." The term tsunami implies a natural disaster. The event, while it can form quickly, moves gently and slowly. It isn't something that happens with more than a gentle breeze.

While the images appear non-threatening and peaceful, as an experienced pilot, Hott has been trained to treat all fog and clouds as if they are solid objects. He and Schaeffer were very careful approaching in the air to get a better view. Fortunately, because of the location of the condos, they were able to approach the cloud waves from the side and did not place themselves in the direct path of the fog.

Meteorologist Dan Satterfield explains this occurrence on his blog:

Cool air offshore was very nearly at the saturation point, with a temperature near 20ºC and a dew point of about 19.5ºC. The air at this temperature can only hold a certain amount of water vapor, and how much it can hold depends heavily on the temperature. If you add more water into the air, a cloud will form, but you can also get a cloud to form by cooling the air. Drop the temperature, and it can no long hold as much water vapor, so some of it will condense out and a cloud will form.

Hott will see this happen a couple times a year, but Sunday's visibility was especially clear and he was able to make all these pictures in only five minutes! He is more amazed at the attention his pictures are getting, rather than with the event itself. "This is not so much a study in photography, but a study in how something can go viral," he said. Hott posted the photos to his company's Facebook page and suddenly he was getting requests for the pictures from all over the world. He is happy with the attention, hoping it inspires some to take a tour with him along the coastline.