The Boat Bum Socialites We Have Become

The month of July was a fun sequence of social events intermingled with homeschooling and boat projects. We spent it at Ortega Landing Marina, where we were able to meet with old friends (people whom we met in December/2013, and who have made us feel right at home since the first time we met them) and new friends. There were plenty of activities for kids and grownups, all of them fun and picture worthy.

Jacksonville has a great zoo that is accessible from the water. Now that we have a decent outboard, we were able to take our dinghy for a morning stroll among the zoo's denizens. Paul, Shari, and Camila rode on Gretel (Paul's power boat); Natalia, Matias, and me rode on our nameless dinghy; and Fred drove. Fred's driving turned out to be quite popular for the group, since Paul and I were left alone to take both boats back to the Ortega river while everyone else rode back with Fred.

Jacksonville Zoo

Mrs. Beautiful (Natalia's homeschool teacher alter ego) orchestrated a graduation event for the little people aboard Taia. Camila successfully finished grade 2 while Matias is a proud Senior Kindergarten graduate. We're expecting them to get jobs and make money using the skills they acquired during the school year. Maybe we'll have to wait a few more years for that...

The two graduates with Mrs. Beautiful and Mr. Muscleman

Within hours of docking in Ortega Landing Marina, we started making friends. In our previous life, we weren't the most outgoing people, but after a year of cruising all 4 of us have become much more sociable. Also, the boating community in every place we've visited is always welcoming and open to meeting new members. We have made some great friendships along the way.

It was an honor for us to host 2 birthday parties: Fred's and Shari's. Both events were chock full of laughing and fun. The main theme of both parties: boats, of course! (Sorry Shari!).

Camila and Matias had a true summer vacation experience. They spent hours at the pool playing with their new friends. But it wasn't all fun and games, there was also some schoolwork, and some of that was done aboard Lapis Lazuli with some of the other homeschooled kids.

Arts and crafts morning aboard Lapis Lazuli for the marina's boatkids

Instant BFF's

Time, that despicable tyrant, doesn't stand still. Our time in Jacksonville has yet again come to an end. Two days ago we motored to Green Cove Springs, where Taia is currently sitting pretty on the hard. Paul and Fred came with us on the 20-mile trip, which made it super enjoyable. The wind was fickle or right on the nose, so we had to motor all the way.

Paul (left) and Fred (centre) steered all the way to Green Cove Springs

Now we're in Weston, north west of Miami, visiting friends for a couple of days. Not being aboard, not seeing all the projects that require attention, makes us feel like we're on vacation. Next week we'll continue to enjoy our vacation away from Taia while we visit friends and family in Argentina. We'll miss Taia, but will come back soon enough to get on the water again and continue cruising south to the Caribbean.

Hasta la vista, baby!