Day: April 19, 2020

We are in Jacksonville at the Marina at Ortega Landing for the foreseeable future.  With the COVID-19 situation in New York, we are not exactly rushing to get back.  Actually, it would be difficult even if we tried.  Status of marina openings on the east coast change daily and most of those further north are not even open as it is not yet their season.  For now, we will sit tight where we are and our children are happy that we are not in NY.

There is little to do but we have completed a few small projects and tasks. With another looper, we took our dinghys for a quick ride but also brought our own docktails on the boat while we drifted and talked.  We decided that this would need to become a regular activity as it provides an opportunity to explore the immediate area – Cedar Creek and Ortega River – by dinghy and socialize with others safely.

We found a Dollar Tree that is within walking/biking distance. This adds to our resources for miscellaneous items. Peter has used the courtesy bikes available at the marina. The bikes have rear saddle baskets so this has proven useful for shopping. He used the bike this week to go to Dollar Tree, Publix and the UPS Store to ship out the binoculars that require a lens adjustment.

While Florida still does not a have stay-at-home mandate as many other states do, Publix has begun a senior (65+) shopping hour from 7-8am on Tuesday and Wednesday. We walked up to Publix early so that we could pick up things on our list. The line to enter the store was very long and there were so many people waiting for the store to open. When it did, people were courteous on line and walked orderly into the store but people were still too close. There were no social distance guidelines at that point. Although we picked up a number of things, some items were not in stock. On the walk back to the boat we decided that while the stores are trying to accommodate seniors with a special time slot, one hour twice a week is not enough for the population here in Florida where there are many retirees. We actually found the store to be much less crowded any other time we went. The next step is to start a list and either have Publix or the grocery at Walmart deliver directly to the marina. We might fare better that way.

Good news! The mechanic is coming on March 26 to install the new transmission. More details, next week. In addition, two loopers who we have traveled with before, Sea C Rider and Maggie Jo will be joining us at Ortega Landing.

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