Jai-Alai and Squirhamdogs

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  Dania, Florida
Thursday, December 16, 2010

I would try to describe to you all the work that has been accomplished over the past few days, but I am positive I would slaughter the descriptions. What I do know is that we've made some major progress, and we will now all feel much more at ease and fully confident in the boat.  It's a good feeling. Hejira is still hauled out of the water and on stilts at present, but I just heard from Peter that the yard is preparing our bill and, after a few final tasks, they'll come and put Hejira up in the sling to be lowered back into the water.  We've managed to get the most out of our time here and have enjoyed ourselves, but I know we're all ready to be living aboard again and we want to go sailing!

We were really lucky to have some great hospitality while we were here. Keith Chapman's car made our lives unbelievably easier, and it was really awesome that he entrusted that to us.  And, given our lack of living quarters while in yard, Ray and Megan were completely welcoming to us when we told them we needed a place to stay - plus, we got to hang out with them, which was wicked fun!

One of the highlights was definitely going to bet on jai-alai with Ray and his friend Michael who was in town from Atlanta on Tuesday night.  Connor sort of knew about the sport, but the rest of us were totally clueless.  I won't explain all the details of how it works (look it up or go see it played!), but I will say that it is quite entertaining to watch and it's even more entertaining if you bet and heckle. This last bit is key. And Ray and Michael showed us how it was done. Apparently when Ray lived here back in the day, they would go to jai-alai almost every week because it would be packed, and everyone would have a great time hassling the players they needed to lose in order to win their bets. He was pretty shocked by how empty the place was, but he showed us how to make it lively nonetheless. It was a hilariously good time.

And we had a fun time back at Ray and Megan's hanging out, having a few drinks, a ton of laughs, and doing a little mural painting. Ray and Megan just came down from Woods Hole to spend the winter here - seriously, we missed them the first time we were here, but by the time we came back from the Gulf Stream they had arrived.  Therefore, given the new arrival, they didn't have a lot of furniture or much in the way of decor in their new rental - so they have made a mural on one entire wall in the living room and anyone who stops by is meant to contribute. I'm kicking myself now that I didn't take a photo of it as it was pretty sweet, and the Hejira contingent certainly contributed. It was a seriously good time.

But now we are once again getting ready to go. The weather is looking good for the next few days, so hopefully we can take off as soon as the tomorrow morning if we work things right!  My birthday is on Saturday, and I told the boys that all I want iss a trip to the Bahamas - we're working on it.

Before I sign off, I have just a little comment on an addition we have made to the blog.  Early on in the trip, a few people had asked if it was possible to send us a little donation to help us along the way - boating is expensive, after all.  We sort of brushed off the idea as, to be perfectly honest, it felt a bit tacky to be asking for money.  We have saved up, and we're all perfectly capable of getting jobs when needed. Plus, it's not like we're sailing to save the children or the dolphins or to fight poverty or any other cause - we're off on an adventure and looking to have a good time.

But in the last week or so, we have been asked by several more people about being able to help us out. Given the financial blow we've taken here in Fort Lauderdale, we decided it couldn't hurt.  Travelpod offers the option to link the blog to PayPal, so we have added such a link and it can be found on the right side of the screen when you come to our blog. There is zero pressure to contribute, but if you were one of those who was wanting to pitch in, there is now means to do so.

Okay, so for real this time, hopefully next time I write to you it will be from the Bahamas. Knock on wood!

~Ellie

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