Rather Tired of Learning Lessons.

Yesterday we stayed on a mooring ball outside Sarasota, FL.  It was quite windy.  We had tried anchoring, but we felt as if we were not well protected, so we moved to the nearby mooring field.  Here's the view of Sarasota at night from Aunt Aggie.

This does not do justice to what is a glittering shoreline.  I felt a bit guilty gazing at it and not going into the city.  The truth is we are not on vacation:  This is our life.  We are often tired at night and don't want to go out.  Also we prefer to eat at home even though almost every night there is a good restaurant near us.

Someone asked about how mooring balls work.  They are used often to protect reefs in the islands. In Florida they are used to keep boaters paying for space instead of letting us just drop an anchor for free.   Instead of dropping an anchor, the boater grabs a line from the ball and threads it through a line from the boat.  Here are two photos from this morning that show the connection.  

A funny moment from yesterday:  While Jimmy at Cortez Cove Marina replaced our battery, I went into the restroom and had a shower and washed my hair.  It was such a treat after Sunday, when we tried not to use any electricity. I'm picking up some behaviors I may not be able to use at home.  

We spend a lot of time looking at the world.  We spotted an osprey today and could tell the differences between it and an eagle.  Also we motored by Siesta Key and were quite impressed with the real estate.  There were many fancy houses with private pools.  One modern house was white stucco blocks with purple railings and a 2 foot purple wall surrounding the pool.  Sounds tacky, but it wasn't.  Another house had three stories and the pool screened.  No bugs will bother those folks.  Here is a mansion right on the end of Siesta Key.  

We saw this side first, but it's actually the back of the house.

Then we came around and saw the front.  Wow!

Yesterday's lesson was to check the engine and generator before leaving a marina after a long break.  The lesson for today is don't leave an anchorage or marina in Florida until you have another place lined up.  We knew we wanted to stay in a marina tonight due to high winds coming in.  So George chose two marinas that sounded great.  We took off from Sarasota and had no issues with wind.  It was chilly, so we moved below for most of the trip.  When I called our marinas, neither had space for us.  Oh, no!  So I started looking and calling, and we ended up at Royal Palm.  This is a place with a better past than present.  There are old, abandoned boats docked.  There is no loaner car or laundry.  The bathrooms are inside a restaurant.  But we are off the water, well tied and warm.  The sun is out.  Another lesson learned.