More on visiting DC, Cynthia helps with the boat, and off to Tampa

(I wrote this on March 16, but did not get to post it before the computer ran out of power. I left the power cord on the boat in NC....)

DC has a very nice zoo, apparently.... and free, as well! My mom suggested that she take all of those of us with no school or paid work that day to see it. My memories of zoos left me less than excited and the day being wet, gray, and cold reduced that farther, but the weather seemed to have driven away the crowds, the hills made the walking more challenging and pleasant, the river otters played like over-caffeinated children, and the scent of the bison brought back good memories of working with them on a ranch in Wyoming. And, at the end, we entered the Amazonia exhibit....

Warmth and humidity fogged our glasses, long johns and jackets became redundant except to reduce the rate of heat gain, and the riot of greenery and life filled eyes acclimated to the gray of winter. Shallow waters held fresh-water rays and fish and a pair of flamingos explored.

Farther along, we looked into deep aquariums at huge air-breathing fish, probably as long as me, heads armored in modified scales.

Turtles, electric eels, piranhas... and then we climbed above to the jungle itself, looking down into the waters with the fish we had just passed. And the plants.... I felt disappointment to see no sign of coffee growing (turns out it needs a different climate), but was quite excited to see cacao (the source of chocolate) pods on a tree!

Good idea, Mom!


Cynthia visited for about ten days, worked her butt off stripping, sanding, scraping, cleaning, and refinishing.

The mizzen mast looks darned good and so does the bowsprit. We also made great headway on cleaning up some decay on board and drying out the boat so much that wood is beginning to creak when we walk about. Satisfying. Although Cynthia was generally drooping by the end of each day...

I dropped Cynthia at the airport Wednesday afternoon and caught my own flight out the next morning. Now she is back at work in MI and I'm down in FL preparing to sail out today, heading for Key West on Gigi II, Larry's new boat. She is old and has a lot of character... and a lot of cosmetic flaws and little jobs and should serve Larry well. We both like boats that are rough enough that we don't feel too nervous about wearing shoes or scratching the finish and sound enough to take us on the trips we desire. His wife, Lori, joins us for the first leg and then flies home, leaving Larry, his friend Bill, and me to take her the rest of the way.

Wish us luck!