Who would have predicted that the coldest morning in eight months on the water would occur in southern Florida? It was 34°F when we got up! We were nice and warm under the down comforter, but stepping out onto the cold floor was something we put off as long as we could!
Once again, Maureen and Lucy stayed on the boat while Gale ventured out and made the trip to West Marine – the trip he started out to do yesterday but ended up traveling to the Mermaid factory. He walked up to the Island Trollee stop and waited there for some time before he gave up and started walking. The traffic was so congested that the Trollees were backed up and running on more of a two-hour schedule instead of their normal one-hour route. At West Marine, he picked up oil for the generator, a strong adhesive to make the dink repair and looked at the ceramic space heater they had on the shelf for $79. He decided he didn’t really want to pay that much for a little heater, so he continued walking until he came to the Target store where he inquired about heaters and fans. The clerk at Target checked in the back warehouse for heaters, but discovered all 15 or 20 of them that they’d had in stock at a price of $15 had been sold out. They didn’t have any fans either. Gale found a similar story at the Ace Hardware store – all 30 of the heaters that had been on the shelf for $25 were gone and he couldn’t find a suitable fan. So, it was back to West Marine where he snatched up the one remaining ceramic heater at a cool $79 (at least it came with a 3-year warranty), and a fan that would operate on AC, DC, two D batteries, or a rechargeable battery. Nicer than what we were looking for, but the alternative power sources may prove useful. After making his purchases, he walked across the street to the Trollee stop. While he was waiting there, a taxi came by to pick up a guy that had been drinking. It turned out that the drunk was a friend of the cab driver’s. Gale asked how much it would cost to get a ride back to the island and when the cabbie told him $5, he didn’t hesitate to share the ride home since he had already walked more than five miles and it was getting late.
While Gale was out on his travels, Nick and Jane Ong called. They were back at their condo in Sanibel and eager to get together. They offered to pick us up and take us back to their place where we would have our own bedroom and bathroom for as long as we cared to stay. Maureen told them we would call later tonight or sometime tomorrow and make a plan to meet up.
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