An Artsy Time

Following our arrival in Stuart, we have been busy pups. There was the maintenance which needed completing on Sea Island Girl and Carolyn's recovery from her ankle injury,h but once that was all done we settled in for some fun and relaxation.

The Martin County area is an artsy kind of place, with exhibits and art festivals most every weekend. We were already in the mood but used our time here to become immersed in all there was to offer.

Robert continued with his watercolors, and visited with some of the premier watercolorists in the area to get some expert advice. Thanks should be given to Kim Rody, Robin Makowski and a few others we met at the Stuart Art Festival. It is refreshing to have the positive critiques, encouragement and suggestions from the more advanced artists,  rather than everyone being so competitive and hush hush about what they are doing. Everyone seems to be on the road to achieving perfection, and are willing to drag everyone that is interested along with them.

Carolyn completed her first pine-straw basket with the help of our long-time cruising friends, Peggy O'Neil and Judy Law. Those two are experts in a lot of art endeavors, and Carolyn appreciated the encouragement and has already started her second basket.

The cruisers held an art show at Loggerhead Marina where we have been staying, which gave everyone a chance to show off their art. It was a fun afternoon, and the marina staff went overboard presenting wines, cheese and fruit for those attending. What a nice surprise that was!

Coming as a big surprise we have bumped into some of our former Lakeside friends from Lake Lanier who are now living in this area. It was especially nice to see and visit with Jean Bayman, Bill and Ugne Wennerstein, and Lynn and Lois Peck. We share wonderful memories with each of them, and getting back together after so many years seems to make the heart grown fonder.

But all good things must end. We have cleaned up, packed up and will be leaving Stuart Mar. 7th, heading onto other stops along the way. Included in that will be a quick visit to Vero Beach, and  a months stay at Cocoa Village Marina in Cocoa where more good friends await our arrival.

We will update you from there.

Resting Up In Stuart

We knew this would be a different cruising season for us, afterall we have spent winters in the islands the past eleven years.

Things started out well when we visited our friends John and Dixie Reese in Cocoa and they helped us move our car to Stuart. Their daughter Katie was visiting from Los Angeles over the holidays which was an unexpected opportunity for Carolyn to spend time with her. Katie was one of the first students at Dunwoody Prep, over twenty five years ago. Just look at her now.

Carolyn and a mature Katie



She has done very well for herself and is working with ABC coordinating programming between the Network and its affiliate stations. She enjoys being involved with ABC and has met lots of "stars", but has yet to find Mr. Right.

After visiting with the Reese family our time has been spent getting familiar with the Treasure Coast.

We have the two dogs aboard - Coco(4) and Robert (1) which has changed our daily routine. There is a nice dog park in Stuart, and we have visited several times. In fact, one time too many.

Mid-December we took the dogs to the park and shortly after arriving, a pack of large and overly energetic dogs slammed into Carolyn from behind knocking her completely off her feet. We knew immediately that she would need to go to a hospital ER to be examined.

After going to four hospitals and three Urgent Care centers we were able to see a doctor. As it turned out it was a severe sprain - nothing was broken - but on a boat things were more difficult to manage. It has taken a month of therapy for her to get back on her feet and for her it seemed like considerably longer. As you can see, she was a good sport about it.

Now that she has recuperated we hope to get her back to the beach for some serious shelling and relaxation.

Keep in touch and if you are in the area be sure and look us up.