Let's get back on the boat!

Me and the dogs heading back to St. Pete. Lizzie is hiding.

We dropped the boat off at Endeavour Marine over a week ago. In that time we accomplished quite a bit (by "we", however, I mean Russ). Russ went back to San Francisco for a couple of days to get the condo ready for renting and get/send items back here we wanted for the loop trip. Items like his kayak and our folding bikes, some coats, a small heater -- things we didn't have because when we left SF last August we didn't plan on us doing this. We like to mix things up.

Currently we're in a La Quinta near downtown St. Petersburg. I got berated by the hotel manager because we didn't disclose that we had dogs. Had he known we would have had a room on the third floor, because that's the dog floor. Firstly, I book my rooms with an app on my phone. Why this information (that I travel with dogs) isn't part of the app or my profile in the La Qunita organization, I don't understand. They know my CC number, but not that, for the last 10 years each and every time I stay with them I've had dogs. Secondly, I've stayed in many a La Quinta and the dog floor is always, always the first floor. That way, it's an easy exit when you need to walk them: no stairs, no elevator. And lastly (this is to my dismay) since the first floor, IMHO, is noisier, I would have loved to have been on the third floor. Turns out he was sold out so I couldn't move. The berating was just to make him feel good.

Still on land, but newly painted.

Russ got a call this morning from the window tinters who showed up today -- in Palmetto. When we told them the situation, they asked if they could do their job while the boat was in dry dock. We called Endeavour who said, "sure," and they came out. A happy coincidence, and one more thing ticked off the "to-do" list.

Meanwhile, we did a bunch of running around; collecting parts for the generator from West Marine in Sarasota, picking up our new bench seating for the prow as well as our window coverings, and stopping by the boat to make sure we were ready to launch tomorrow. Weather is a go, Endeavour is a go. Everything looks good.

Should be a busy morning: we need to do two loads to the boat (not everything will fit into the car -- recall all the stuff Russ brought back from SF?), drop off the rental, organize enough that we can head out. High tide is around 2 pm. We hope to be backing out of the slip by 1 at the latest. Time to hit the water!