view of one of many parks in Sarasota  from the bow of Mary Elizabeth

Well, it has been an exciting and busy week since we got struck by lightning. They have started work on the boat and so far have replaced a few batteries and fixed the generator. Ken, the guy who is coordinating all of the work said it will take a few months for everything to be back to normal. We are thankful that we are here in one place for the summer. Now we just have to decide whether to stay in Sarasota or to move to Bradenton where the mechanics are to cut down on labor costs (they are on the clock when they get to the shop so driving time will be billed to us). Since we have already paid for our slip here in Sarasota, it might be less expensive to stay where we are instead of paying for two slips. Either way, we know we'll go to Snead Island next week to have the boat hauled and inspected. 

So besides boat maintenance and coordination of mechanics etc. we have been busy. On Wednesday we went to St. Petersburg for a few days. I volunteered at the library and then Bill, Mary Alice, and I went to dinner with Mary Alice's friends on Wednesday night. We had a really nice dinner and enjoyed meeting great people. We stayed in St. Pete until Thursday afternoon. 

We have a marina friend -- a single dolphin who comes by every morning and afternoon. The dolphin has a mangled dorsal fin and surfaces every 45 seconds or so. He must have been hit by a boat. He is quite cute and friendly though and has come right up to the boat to check us out. 

We are on the transient dock of the marina, which is nice because most of the time it is very quiet. We are the only liveaboards so have the place to ourselves. 

It has been very, very hot (which we are still getting used to) and very, very muggy. I guess that is to be expected in Florida in June. Not looking forward to August..... 

We are looking forward to our trip to DC that is coming up. Sara and Mark scored Red Sox vs. Nationals tickets, which we are excited for. And we'll finally get to meet baby Jack. 

That's really about it. We have been keeping busy exploring Sarasota (including St. Armand's Circle, which is really neat). There is a farmers market and a crafts fair this weekend that I am looking forward to. Hope everyone has a great weekend. 

 

the boat will continue to be torn up while they do the repairs

 

our slip at Marina Jack