Aboard the Sailing Vessel
SHIBUMI
February 21, 2004

JILL GETS ON THE BUS

FT.Lauderdale, Florida
I noticed that every time I mentioned riding the city bus Jill's eyes would light up and she would get excited, almost like a kid going to see Santa Claus. We could not rent a car, like we did in West Palm Beach, because Spring-Break for many colleges started this week-end and car rental prices were phenomenal. So it was the city bus for us.

Our mission today was to find Sailorman. Sailorman is a unique marine store, in Ft. Lauderdale, that sells new and used boating gear. We needed new boat fenders, some lines (rope), and other odds and ends for Shibumi. Other boaters along the docks told us, "To get to Sailorman you have to tranfer from the Route 11 bus to the Route 1 bus." Jill really seemed to beam at the idea of changing buses to get to a destination. That is about when I realized that Jill had never riden on a city bus before. Today's outing would be a brand new adventure for her.

I grew up on New York City buses and really don't look forward to the bussling crowds and the herky-jerky bus drivers. But I must admit watching Jill enjoy today's journey was fun. She was fascinated by little things... the all day passes we bought for $2.50... the bicycle riders who attached their bikes to the front of the bus and got on for the easy transport across town... and the pull-cord used to signal the driver that you want to get off at the next stop...


I was fascinated by her fascination, and kinda look forward to our next outing via bus. I am sure there will be many more bus outings as we cruise aboard Shibumi. When Jill gets to be a seasoned bus rider we may just buy a couple of bicycles that we can attached to the front of the bus as we ride across town in one of our next ports of call.


EVENING COOKOUT

Isle of Venice, Ft. Lauderdale
Saturday evening Jill and I hired a cab along with Anne from "Sangaela" and John from "SuperStar" to go grocery shopping. We can no longer take automobiles for granted. With no car, crew members on our three boats were in the unaccustomed position of being at the mercy of public transportation. To celebrate our successful forage into the grocery world via taxi we cranked up the BBQ grill back at the dock area and put on a good Saturday night cookout... complete with steak, hamburgers for the kids, hot italian saugage, rice pudding and key lime pie...


Jill from Shibumi and Jan from SuperStar
sample the key lime pie


Sara from Sangaela and Kito from SuperStar
enjoy a nighttime swim

The kids took advantage of the pool while the adults tended to the grill
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