Alexis and I drove to Sarasota after Christmas and plan to stay about 10 days on the boat. Stanwood and Janet will join us for part of the time. It is a good thing we arrived early. The boat had not be cleaned, inside or out, and was rank. Sam, the marina manager, was very upset, and had it washed the next morning. To say we were covered in bird poop, would be an understatement. We detailed the interior. One of the nice things about Marina Jack, is that they arrange for all services, but there was a communication error and this ball was dropped. Also, my battery charger was faulted, and the port battery was dead. BOAT (bust out another thousand) time or so I thought. Sam (wanting to make up for the cleaning debacle) had a mechanic out immediately. Turns out it was just a bad heat sensor and we are back up and running. This blew yesterday, so we treated ourselves to a night out and dined at Caragiulos, an Italian restaurant a short walk from the marina. The fare was wonderful and moderately priced. Add it to the list of about 100 restaurants within walking distance. So much for the diet! Stanwood and Janet will join us for New Years eve, which we will spend at Marina Jack. Downtown is blocked off, and there is a big street party with bands, and food and a fireworks show at midnight. Hope we can stay awake till then. Merry Christmas to all.
