Gotta Smile!: Feels Like Home

January 13 - 20, 2013

Do you see the last white dot in the line of boats?
That is Gotta Smile. To make it worse -- the docks
curve to get there. I need the exercise, but this is
crazy!!!!

We arrived in Stuart on Sunday the 13^th and it felt like we were home. We had spent about 2½ months here last year and made some really good friends. Plus, many Krogen owners were already here that we had met at the rendezvous last October in the Solomons. We didn’t realize what a popular marina Sunset Bay is – so, we didn’t make a reservation. After a little begging and friends campaigning for us at the office, we were assigned a slip even though there was a long waiting list. Our location was as far away from the parking lot and office as anything can be (¼ mile each way!). Still, we were glad to have a slip. Next problem – we were on a fixed dock. When the tide goes down, which it does a couple of times every day, one must be quite nimble to get from the boat to the dock and vise versa. Nimble is not a word that describes me! With double knee replacement on my horizon and an ankle that needs to be fused, I am anything but nimble. Consequently, the next campaign began. Sam, the marina manager, took me on as his personal 'hardship case' and set out to find a floating dock for us. This is no easy task, but after a week of near death experiences, we were assigned a new location on a floating dock. Yea, we are so happy. Now I can get off the boat by myself. One less thing for Brian to worry about.

The guys that are reupholstering our boat offered to store the Boxster for us at their shop while we went north. We thought that we would be back in November -- not January. We are grateful. It was fun to get it back and the weather is perfect for convertibles. On Saturday we needed a couple parts from the Porsche dealer and supplies from Costco. Both could be accomplished by driving to Palm Beach. It is only 40 miles from Stuart, but like entering another stratosphere: exotic cars, pricey shops, huge mansions, mega yachts. It just oozes old money. A great place to drive through neighborhoods and ogle at how the other half live!