Day 4 - Boca Grande

Thursday night into Friday was no big deal, but in the wee hours of Friday morning the winds had definitely kicked up. We don't think they were 30 mph winds, but quite blustery. Darkening skies gave way to drizzle early in the day. Nope, we ain't going anywhere today.

Thus, chores. I spent the morning and early afternoon doing laundry (which took quite some time since they only had one washer and one dryer, and I had two loads to do). Russ decided to change the engine oil. By two-ish we were ready to enjoy things a bit. We took an Uber into town and had lunch. Walking around I noticed a wonderful looking salon. After we ate I treated myself to a pedicure, and I'm so glad I did -- it was one of the best I'd ever had.

Red sky in the morning

Uber-ing back to the boat the clouds were truly forming. The wind never let up. We were docked on a pier in the inlet, meaning we had only the inlet as shelter from the Gulf. As the Gulf grew turbulent, the inlet surged. We had swells of about a foot, which made for a swaying night. I tried to do some reading, but the movement made me a bit nauseous. Candied ginger helped quite a bit. It was the first time I experienced that since we boarded her back in Palm Beach.

Russ biked to the store for engine oil -- that's what's
dangling from the handle bars

We walked the dogs around 8:30 as the sky lit up from distant lightning. As we headed toward the Gulf we could see the waters crashing into the shore. The spray reached parked cars there for the view. It had a foreboding feel to it.

Hard rain poured down for nearly an hour, about eleven or so. Around one in the morning Russ woke and started getting dressed. He said we thumped and he just wanted to check our lines. He returned in a few minutes saying everything looked fine. About fifteen minutes later he got up again. "Did we unplug the dinghy?" I was confident we did not, which meant that hard rain collected in our little boat in back. Sure enough, it had about three inches of water in it. While Russ unplugged the draining holes, he helped it along with a manual hand-held pump. I didn't assist but I had to watch, certain that if he fell in I wouldn't hear it from the stateroom. Fifteen minutes later, he could re-adjust the dinghy to help it drain in case more rain came.

In a golf cart cruisin' BG!

The swells continued into the morning, but the winds completely vanished. We kept to our schedule and hoisted off by 8:30 am. Once out of the inlet the water calmed completely. It was a wonderful ride all the way to Boca Grande.

We arrived around 1 pm, and rented a golf cart to explore the island. We found the pet-friendly Loose Caboose for lunch, then traveled the length of the island looking at the homes. Russ drove. I had dogs on my lap.

Docking here was, yet again, a stern-in slip. I'm getting pretty good at it.

Dolphins really do love our boat!