Week 47: April 23 – April 29 – Around the Great Loop on the Answer

Week 47: Jacksonville

Photos pending…….

We made a decision to leave Jacksonville on Monday, May 4th. Originally we were going to leave on the 1st of the month since our reservations were monthly. Peter decided that Monday would be better. He does not like traveling on weekends as there are frequently too many boaters.

Next week we’ll be prepping to leave so I started another food list for a Walmart delivery. We were also lucky that one of our propane tanks emptied so we had an opportunity to exchange it. With two full tanks, we will probably have enough to get home. If not, the rest of the cooking can be completed with the electric frying pan or the InstantPot.

Another boat project this week was to have the divers from Blissful Bottoms clean the hull and change the zincs. We had this done in Fort Myers in February before we left to head north but with sitting at Ortega Landing for seven weeks, we were concerned about the growth on the bottom. Turns out that it wasn’t bad but still better to have the work done.

Our weekly take-out dinner was from Simply Sara’s and included free delivery. When the food was delivered, the restaurant owner did the actual delivery and would not take a tip. In addition, he distributed masks for the six of us since a local doctor donated these to the restaurant to distribute to their customers. This was a nice touch and the food was excellent.

Peter and I also purchased subs from Jersey Mike’s over the weekend. They were running a promotion and pledged to donate 20% of all purchases to Feeding America. This is one of the organizations we have been donating to for a few years and felt that this was another way to help.

Kodey and I have been taking longer walks. The building with the restrooms and marina office has a “pet parking zone” so I am able to leave him there when I either need to use the restroom or check the boaters lounge for mail or a package. He is not thrilled but has waited patiently for my return.

Peter continues to use the pool and the hot tub. It has occupied many hours of his time over the past seven weeks. He will miss these activities.

Our weekly dink ride was postponed a few days because of wind and weather but we all agreed that we needed to do one more before we left. Also, Sea C Rider was moving their boat to Lambs for the next few months and returning home. With the unknown situation of lock openings in New York and Canada, they decided to postpone the rest of their loop until next Spring. They will come back to the boat in December and spend the winter in the Keys if things go back to some kind of normalcy. Two other loopers are still undetermined as to what their plans are but for now, they will not be traveling north. They will stay at Ortega Landing and figure things out in the next few months.