Spring Break ~ B

Having to spend my week off school on a 41’ yacht, at the beach, jet skiing, parasailing, boating, biking, swimming and fishing was rough, let me tell you. Getting out of Missouri and hanging with my family on No Más was awesome. We crammed in so much in a short time. Mom had to bring Gma’s car back from Arkansas so she flew in to get it and picked me up. We drove all the way from Missouri to Florida. Mom made me listen to her audio books but I’ll admit, one wasn’t bad. It was about an ex-Duke bball player turned detective kinda guy. Lots of sports and fighting….pretty cool. When we finally got to the boat, we left the marina and motored to Captiva. The sails and some of the rigging still need to be fixed so we just motored, which was cool because No Más has a turbo engine and if you get it going fast enough, will actually plane! A 41’ 14 ton boat, with the nose rising out of the water…….sweeeeet!
Captiva is a really cool island. It has the "No shirt, no shoes, no problem" vibe. Everyone is laid back, almost everyone there is on vacation, and there is a lot to do (and a lot of bikinis). Since Dad runs the bikes, I got to bike around a lot. We took a golf cart out one day and went down to see the big marina. There was a 101’ yacht down there that was amazing! It was called To’Kalon and I can’t imagine what it would be like to live on that thing. They had their own crew in matching shirts and their own jet skis. My sister wants to work on super yacht like that when she’s older. Can you imagine Dani captain of a 100’ ship?!?! She’d probably need a stepstool! lol

We went parasailing too. I think that was the most awesome thing I have ever done. It was surprisingly quiet once you got up there. We saw a sea turtle swimming and mom saw a shark. You can see almost the whole island and we even saw our boat. The driver lowered us down twice to dip us in the water only to speed up so we would go up again. It was amazing and not at all scary. If you ever have the chance to go parasailing – I really recommend it!! It didn’t hurt that we had some cute girls along with us taking our pictures for us.

The girls that went with us

I took a bike up to the North end one day and rode jet skis. It is so much fun jumping the big waves from the Gulf and from the big boats. I could have stayed out there all day. I think if I ever live on a boat, I’d have a jet ski as my dinghy. Then I could ride it all day just for fun.


So all in all, my trip was really great. I like No Más much better than The Dreamer. Mainly because it’s huge compared to Dreamer but also because it feels more like home. I really liked getting to spend time with Grandma too. I don’t get to see her much and she’s a lot of fun. I think she might be getting more crazy the older she gets. lol

It was good to see everyone else too. Ralph, Sophie, Mom and Dad - Dani never grows and Jake is still Jake. 






Oh yeah and we had some really pretty sunsets too. Now back to school and basketball – till next time
~B

March Madness ~ The Admiral

We’ve had such a busy month, this is the first time I’ve had to sit down and write. The big news of late is that we have our full crew on board! Welcoming Mate Brandon and Commodore Peggy, who will be staying for a couple months. Brandon was only able to squeeze in his week of spring break from school but any time he can visit is a blessing. So needless to say, we’re pushing the limits on this old 41’ but she’s working just fine with all of us here.

B at the helm

We decided to leave the safety and expense of the marina and anchor off Captain’s resort job for awhile. His commute just went from 90 minutes to a 2 minute dingy ride! Not too shabby. Our trip down river was great, No Más ran beautifully and we didn’t run into any trouble. Mate Brandon was even able to take the helm and Dolphin Dani was able to make full use of the hammock turned swing!

Dolphin Dani in the hammock swing

Once securely anchored off Captiva in Roosevelt Channel, the manatees were quick to welcome us! We had about 6 all swimming around our boat, checking out the new guy. Here's some footage B managed to get of them.

Manatees greeting us at anchor spot

We have been busing playing all week and instead of writing about it, I’ll just post some pictures we took.
Safe seas and God Bless.
~The Admiral



Commodore Gram with the grandkids

March Madness VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

My husband’s job ~The Admiral



Daddy Steve

What does your husband do?



Hero Steve

It's a question I get a lot. I know what he did do….he was a Firefighter/EMT for 15 years, an athlete, a soldier, a hero, a model.

I know what he is….he is a father, a husband, a Christian, a disabled veteran, a provider.

I know what he does for a paycheck….he is the bike supervisor for bike rentals at a resort. But sometimes it's hard to answer that question because there's not much my husband doesn't do.

Bike Supervisor Steve



Captain Steve

• My husband is a Captain. He captains our vessels with the integrity not often seen and especially in the light of the tragic disaster of recent with a cowardly captain, we are lucky to have such a brave one.
• My husband is a plumber. He replaced and repaired the plumbing in our boat. We have running water, new faucets and will soon have 2 heads after he adds a second one.
• My husband is an electrician. He rewired lights, added fans mounted to the walls in two rooms and he has on his list to add a circuit breaker to supply more electricity to our shore power.



Diver Steve

• My husband is a diver. He dives down and scrapes the bottom of the boat, cleans the prop, checks the thru-hulls and the zinc.

• My husband is a teacher. He helps the kids with their History, Math and Science when I've reached my level of expertise.



Carpenter Steve

• My husband is a carpenter. He tore up the old damaged floor; measured, cut and installed a new floor. Cut, measured and laid down new carpet.

• My husband is a veterinarian. When our dog Ralphie ran off and came home with a large, deep gash on his leg, Steve cleaned, medicated, closed and wrapped it. Three weeks later, Ralph is a new man..er dog.
• My husband is a meteorologist. He can predict the weather better than any professional weatherman I've seen.
• My husband is a mechanic. He always repairs our cars, changes the oil, replaces brakes, and whatever else needs to be done to keep them running smoothly. He also fixes the dinghy outboard anytime something is wrong with it too.
• My husband is a diesel mechanic. He completely replaced the diesel engine (Volvo Penta MD6A) in our old boat and keeps our sailboat motors running smoothly.
• My husband is a masseur. He keeps me from having to have back surgery for my degenerating discs by his magic hands alone.

Chef Steve

• My husband is a chef. His ribs are so good; you'll swear he's from Memphis.

So what does my husband do, you ask? What doesn't my husband do, I say!!
~The Admiral

I think he might be Superman!