Settling in

 

Well, in the few short days that we have been here, Bill and I have managed to do a lot! Cindy, Boyd, Bill and I explored a little of Sarasota on foot on Sunday and Monday. We ate at three really great restaurants.... There are literally more than a dozen restaurants within walking distance -- which is really nice. The Selby Library is also within walking distance. My grandmother volunteered at the Selby Library every winter when she and my grandfather were 'snowbirds' and lived in Sarasota. It is a fabulous library. Very crowded and fully staffed. The only downer was that I had to pay ($40!!!) for a library card since we aren't official residents of Florida. I think it will be worth it though. I checked out a bunch of cookbooks (since we are both want to eat at home more to be healthier and to save money [ironic since there are all these great restaurants around]). I also got a book on knitting since I am planning on joining a knitting circle that meets on Monday nights. 

Cindy and Boyd took off on Tuesday and Bill and I did boat chores. On Tuesday Mary Alice came for a visit. The three of us went out for a fabulous birthday lunch and then drove back to St. Pete. We picked up the car and I also met with the Librarian at the Museum of Fine Arts in St. Pete (which has a great Warhol exhibit right now that I am excited to see!) I will be volunteering there once a week while we are in Sarasota. It is a great library; bigger than I would have thought (20,000 holdings), and open to the public. One of the coolest things is that there are four women who come in every Tuesday and do book binding. What an amazing craft. I hope that I am able to meet them and get a lesson (or at least observe). 

So now that we have a car, we have been exploring a little farther than the marina. I joined a gym that is about 15 minutes away. And I found the supermarket, Blockbuster, CVS, etc. -- all places we will use regularly while we are here for three months. Today we had a mechanic on board to flush the AC units. We had a mail shipment so we now have the replacement faucet for the galley (yeah!)

So these pictures are the views from Mary Elizabeth in her new home. We really are in a great spot. There are parks all around us and the marina is great. They even recycle. 

On another note, we received this email (to our gmail account) and thought I would share. We don't know the sender, but she somehow found the blog and enjoyed the pictures. It's funny (and amazingly cool) how the blog has reached many people. Another example -- Bill recently received an email from a friend of his sisters who somehow found our site. Awesome! 

Thanks so much for posting the pictures of the regatta.  We live in Tennessee and could not get to Key West for the big event, so we appreciate the pictures and info that have been posted on the web.  The 10-yr old Batman is our grandson and The Joker is our son-in-law.  It was a fun experience for them and a treat for us to see the pictures and info. Thanks!  Grammy and Grampa in Knoxville

Lastly, since we are going to be in Sarasota for the next three months (and not necessarily cruising, which is what this blog was originally supposed to be about) I think that will do just one big blog entry once a week.