Always when we get back to The Marina @ Ortega Landing, in Jacksonville, it feels like coming home. This visit, we had requested A-dock which is close to the pool, laundry, showers & clubhouse. Our wonderful Dockmaster Bruce was able to fulfill our request & we sterned into Slip A-17. It was a tight squeeze but we do have a great view towards the lift bridge without a boat blocking that view. Our Krogen friends Don & Sue on Invictus greeted us & eventually joined us on A Dock. KKHobo is here at the Marina but Larry & Lena are still in Vermont. While gone, they let us use their car when necessary.
Our first month, we cleaned & fixed things: new bilge pump in the mid ship lazerette, freezer repair of a new fan, a new filter in the couch freezer, a new fan behind the refrigerator, new hoses under the bed & stabilizer maintenance. We installed a new router & wifi booster. Our screen door from the salon to the the back deck was corroding & peeling so we had a new screen door installed. We bought new rug runners for the salon & pilot house & they look fabulous! The pandemic continues, so mask wearing, social distancing & no inside dining continues. Our infamous President of USA contracted the COVID virus (no surprise there, he refused to listen to the scientists & health experts). He was hospitalized & given all known treatments currently available & he did well. There were many rainy days in October. We also established more practitioners in JAX: dentist, optometrist & Primary Care Physician. Our new PCP ordered a slew of tests on both of us and all came out satisfactory. We both can work on a few things through better nutrition: lower sugar, lower carbs & higher calcium. Vaccinations were received: Pneumonia & our first Shingles injection. Doug finally received Physical Therapy for his right A-C separation which really helped his pain & ROM. When the weather was conducive, outdoor Cocktail parties commenced with Marina friends: John on SoJourn, Karen & David on Centhye and Cathy & Scott on Andante. I even made it to a few Friday night fire pit music nights. The Kadey Krogen Rendezvous had to be virtual this year & the committee did an excellent job with it. One of the necessary times to borrow Larry's car was when we drove our Presidential mail-in ballots to Green Cove Springs & personally put them in the ballot box outside of the Board of Elections. T**** 's appointee in charge of the U.S. Postal Service screwed up the mail so ballots would be delayed to help him win. We have been doing take out & using food delivery services: even Total Wines now delivers to the Marina. Sadly, Doug had to endure another Ant attack. This time on his thigh and the bite really got nasty. He made 3 visits to the dermatologist, two of those involved lancing, draining & packing of the wound. The diamond on my 44 year old engagement ring fell out but Doug always has great luck with finding lost things & he found it hiding in our salon rug.
October was rainy, beginning of November stormy, then it started cooling down. During November & December, more of our Krogen family joined us at the Marina: Larry & Lena returned from Maine, Way To Go, Lauryl Anne, Red Tail, Privateer & Magnolia arrived. It's fun having so many of our friends here. We still social distance but with the Pool area, it's easy to enjoy safe cocktail hours. I also enjoy the many morning walks with the ladies. The Presidential elections were very stressful: Joe Biden has won, thank goodness! It took many days for the official outcome due to the large volumes of early voting & mail in ballots. Biden won the popular vote & the Electoral College yet T**** is embarrassing our country by refusing to concede.
We hauled Day Dreams out at Lamb's Yacht Center to have the bottom painted & new seals put on the stabilizers. While the boat was on the hard, we stayed 3 nights in one of their nice, 1 bedroom apartments, where we stayed 2 years before.
On one of my bike rides, while I was attempting to find a Hair Salon that was following COVID safety measures, I decided to stop into an estate jewelry store we pass all the time: Nicholaas Alexander's. They have a small display room but it has many beautiful pieces, some new & some from estate sales. I fell in love with a diamond ring in that small room. The ring is from an estate sale but they didn't have any historical information on it. I also found a beautiful Cameo pin. I brought Doug back that afternoon & after a bit of negotiating & bartering with my engagement ring, we walked out with both pieces, saving a total of $1600 off their price tags.
During the Pandemic, socialization is difficult for most, so Zoom was born. Zoom is an internet way of communicating with others visually & audibly. We experienced our first Zoom call with Sea Dweller hosting, Waterford, Lauryl Anne, Lima Bravo (aka: Changing Course) & Acadia attending. It was fun, everyone shows up in a square on the screen (think Hollywood Squares TV show). Only 1 square can talk at a time but it is live & interactive. A very nice substitute for not actually being together. Our second Zoom call was with our gang in Ohio: Paul, Jess, Jeri, Jerry, Craig & Cheryl. It really helps with staying close to your loved ones.
The COVID 19 Pandemic has come close to home: Cheryl & her Mom Ginny both contracted the virus. Both became ill but Ginny needed a trip to the ER for fluids & Oxygen. Luckily they both survived and have no apparent lingering effects other than spending about 2 weeks not feeling well. We are thankful for their recovery. A former coworker of Doug's, Jim Parrish became critically ill due to COVID & spent weeks in ICU with time on a ventilator. He is slowly rehabbing: learning how to walk & talk again, very sad.
The Pandemic continues to rage on and some people continue to ignore the seriousness of the situation. Health experts have recommended not traveling for the Holidays. We have decided to obey those guidelines so we have stayed put here in JAX. Al & Bette, our friends on Plane to Sea have purchased a house in Queens Harbor, Jacksonville and invited us to their new place for Thanksgiving. We hesitated at first due to the pandemic but in discussing further, we found out that they too have been very careful and it would be just the 4 of us and we planned on spending the majority of time socially distant. We accepted their kind & generous offer. They picked us up at the Marina & we spent a lovely visit with them in their beautiful home enjoying delicious meals & delightful conversation. The few times, we ride in a car with others, we open the windows & all wear masks. We do not eat inside at restaurants, knowing that is a very risky activity.
December brings frost on the cap-rail and Christmas trees, wreaths & lights abound. Political flags came down-thank goodness! A few winter clothes are necessary, especially in the morning & evening. We had reserved a 10 day Caribbean Celebrity Cruise a year ago scheduled for December 4th. All cruises have been canceled due to the pandemic since April so of course, ours included. Celebrity Cruise Line has given us a 125% credit to use on a future cruise. Doug has ordered a brand new Ford Cargo Van to be delivered to JAX in the spring. We plan on using it for summer travels. Another of our boating friends, Larry & Lena have settled in JAX. We helped them move in to their really nice house in a great established neighborhood near the Marina.
Speaking of new houses, Jeri & Jerry have moved into their brand newly built house in Elmore which is very exciting. We can't wait to see "our bedroom & bathroom"! We are feeling sad that we won't be returning to Ohio for Christmas like we've done every year since we moved aboard in 2014. Zoom helped with that: Paul & Jess hosted the call with J&J, C&C on Christmas Eve & Christmas Day at Jeri's new home-we watched them open all their presents. Next best thing to being there! Another fun Christmas Zoom call was shared with my maternal cousins & brother Tom & Rita, hosted by Tim Parsons out of Buffalo. I haven't seen some of them in many years-it was great to see everyone's smiling faces.
Our Christmas was not spent alone. Our KK family saw to that. We thoroughly enjoyed a Christmas dinner & all the trimmings with Lisa, Greg, Annette & Anthony. Privateer hosted the potluck; we kept our 6 feet social distance because Privateer's back deck is big enough to fit all 6 of us safely. Food was yummy & the company was lovely.
We left the Marina on Day Dreams 3 months after arriving. This visit is the longest we have stayed in one place since moving aboard May 2014. We enjoyed our stay and feel extremely lucky during this unusual time of a worldwide Pandemic that we were able to fill our days safely with many fun activities: cocktail parties, dinners, walks, biking, Yoga & zoom calls. Without friends, it would have been tough. We are very, very thankful that we have been able to share our time with dear friends.
First time Day Dreams has worn Christmas Lights
