The blog has been a little neglected lately. Sorry about that. It is not that we have given up on this whole sailing adventure. It is simply the fact we have been busy having some fun as well as finishing up on a long list of projects we had when we arrived in Tampa Bay. I will not bore you with the details of our list but suffice to say, we were a little over zealous with our visions of what we thought we could accomplish. And, as always, every project takes twice as long as we expect. Even if we plan on twice the time, it still takes twice the time.
We are still hanging about Tampa Bay even though hurricane season is officially over. We are both itching to get going. However, there are a couple of fun events that made it worthwhile hanging out for a little longer. This is one of the great things about our lifestyle, no schedule and no worries. Our first fun event: Cindy’s parents came to visit us. It might be quite some time before we are back in the USA so we made sure to spend a week with them “catching up”. They had never seen manatees. So, one day we went in search of manatees. And yes, we found one. Actually we found three: A mom and two calves. This happened on the one day I didn’t grab the camera when getting off the boat. Figures! Right?
Another fun event: In St Petersburg this weekend is the Rib Festival. This three day event is now in its 29th year and raises money for children. The festival runs Friday – Sunday and has pit masters from all over the USA and features award winning BBQ. It also features two music stages. The bands play most of the day and ends in the evening with a headliner. We took a blanket and staked out a spot on the lawn in front of the main stage. We then spent the day drinking beer, listening to music and sampling delicious BBQ ribs. The weather was absolutely perfect. Finally, the summer heat has gone enabling the residents to come outside without the fear of death by heatstroke.
On the way out of the festival, I happened to look down and found a $20 bill on the ground. This was a perfect ending to the day as the $20 almost offset the amount of beer I drank. Delicious food, great music and FREE beer. I’m happy.