Nice to be back to Day Dreams, our home. We enjoyed the summer and the places we visited but it's great to be back to the boat & The Marina @ Ortega Landing in Jacksonville, FL. We unloaded the van of the summer stuff and re-loaded it with items we won't need for awhile. The boat faired very well while we were gone, Eric checked it weekly and we had no issues. We were lucky that Hurricane season was kind to JAX this year.
Hudson James Wendt, a perfectly beautiful baby boy was born October 7th to our Godson, Paul Douglas and Jess. We weren't there but we were able to FaceTime with them. We are so happy for them! Hudson's parents are very good to us by sending us snapchats of pics & videos almost every day so we can watch this precious baby boy flourish and grow. He is so loved!
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Meeting Hudson via
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Doug worked on projects: stripped & refinished half of the teak cap rail -it looks beautiful! I received my COVID booster shot. We walked & biked. One of our best rides was to Amelia Island. We drove to Huguenot Memorial Park on the north side of the St Johns River and biked from there. There are bike trails most of the way and we rode by pretty sand beaches on the ocean in Talbot State Park. We rode a total of 28 miles-it was a pretty day & a great ride. We also rode our bikes to the Timaquan Country Club 4 miles away where the Golf Tournament of Champions was being played. We watched Phil Michelson & Miquel Jiminez come in 1st & 2nd on a beautiful warm sunny day.
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| John Dailey-colorful |
The Pandemic is still ongoing but cases are down and more people are vaccinated but not enough are vaccinated due to politics and misinformation. We did take a few risks by eating inside a restaurant two times because we are fully vaccinated, boosted and the case numbers are low. We also splurged and rode our bikes to the retro Sun Ray Theater in 5 Points to watch the new James Bond Movie. It was a Matinee where there were 6 other people spread out in the theater. It still makes me nervous.
We had many Krogens docked with us @ Ortega Landing this fall. So of course that means, social events: docktails, Happy Hours @ Blue Fish, pool time and fire pit with music get togethers. Its wonderful to be part of this Krogen family.
While @ Ortega Landing, Doug & I enjoyed running into a charming couple we had met back in 2003 when Day Dreams was new and we were helping Kadey Krogen Yachts by putting Day Dreams in the Cedar Pointe Boat Show. Don & Lois Babson had been the Great Lakes Dealers for Krogens in the 1980-90's. They had owned a few Krogen sailboats and sold many KK Manatees and KK42's. so back in 2003, the night before the Boat Show, Don & Lois arranged for Day Dreams to stay at Sandusky Yacht Club where they were members. They then helped us get docked and signed in to the Boat Show the next day. Now, they are visiting their son here @ Ortega who happens to own a Krogen. While getting reacquainted,
we heard more of their interesting life story. So interesting and inspiring that I decided to interview them for the Krogen Cruisers Newsletter. I took on the volunteer position of editor last spring and am always looking for interesting articles. This was my first attempt at being a reporter in addition to editor/publisher.
We love the restaurants nearby, so we dined out at least once or twice a week. Larry & Lena, former owners of KK Hobo are happy owners of a dirt house close to the Marina. It became a Wednesday tradition to go to dinner with them, someplace different each week. Always a fun evening!
We have picked a Real Estate Agent in St Petersburg and set up our loan pre-approval letter so we can begin to house hunt in St Petersburg historic downtown or Crescent Lake neighborhoods. The Real Estate agent is Tyler Jones with Sotheby's. He has an office downtown St Pete. We met him last winter when we visited the area for a day. We talked to him on the phone about what we are looking for and our budget. We will see-not much available and the prices are very high but interest rate is low @ 2-3%.
Doug bought new prescription sunglasses from Lens Crafters & a new phone. We both had physicals & bloodwork with Dr Z, skin checks @ the Dermatologist, teeth cleaned and I got a new crown on my molar-getting important things done! I also spoiled myself and bought a pretty bracelet which is an estate piece that was on display @ Nicholas Alexander's when I took my ring in to be checked. I need to stay away from that place. I love, love both of my pieces from them.
Some of our closest Krogen buddies showed up in October: Invictus and Sea Dweller. Sue & I walked in the mornings frequently and Ellen & I met Gina through Leslie on Now & Zen. Gina is a talented pianist and very artistic. Ellen took her Native American flutes to Gina's house and the 2 of them made beautiful music together and Leslie and I were able to sit back and enjoy the relaxing music.
One of the reasons we use JAX as our base is because our niece Wendi, Tadd & Samantha live in town. Samantha is living on campus in Gainesville @ UF so we don't see too much of her but we went out to dinner with Wendi & Tadd. For Thanksgiving, Brother Bob & Karen were @ Wendi's so we all enjoyed dinner there and Samantha was home too.
Another dear couple that used to dock @ Ortega and went over to the dirt side in JAX are Bette & Al. They invited us over to their home for brunch and a planning session. The four of us will be taking a cruise May 2023 to Monaco for the Formula Grand Prix. Can't wait!
It is with a bittersweet heart that I write about so many of our boating friends who we have met along our way since 2014 that have transitioned out of boating and into dirt houses. Jill & Glen who we originally met @ Staples in Palm Coast but spent time together in Maine have now built a beautiful new house outside of DeLand, FL. They invited us to come and stay with them for a visit and to see their new home. We drove our van and stayed the night. They did an excellent job designing their house, it is fabulous and so is Glen's MG collection. Downtown DeLand was hosting an Art Festival and it was really nice. We love spending time together with Jill and Glen.
