It’s a stay aboard, stay warm kind of day here at the Bradenton Beach, FL anchorage. Temperature nearly 20F below yesterday’s high. Heavily overcast and winds gusting up into the mid 20 mph range. Lumpy seas and a 90% chance of rain forecast.
I’ve een over on the mainland a couple of times in the last few days spending some of my Christmas largesse. It’s all stuff I’ve truly needed but haven’t had enough extra cash to follow through on my wants.
One of the most difficult things to do when living on a small boat on the hook is staying clean. It’s easy during the summer. Just hop on the trolley, go down to Coquina Beach where there are a dozen showers for bathers to rinse the salt off after swimming in the Gulf. Naturally you can use it for keeping clean, too. This time of year, though, it’s often too cold to take an outdoor shower PLUS the fact that the water is really cold now as well.
Last year I had a membership to the Y. It’s right on the #6 bus route. The problem I have with it is that if I catch the bus RIGHT ON TIME the trip to the Y, some exercising, and a shower, it was a FOUR HOUR excursion. Miss the bus over at the Y and we’re looking at FIVE HOURS.
A better alternative is one of the several health clubs that dot Manatee Avenue. There’s a bus running along IT every half hour so missing one isn’t as bad. One of the clubs has a $10/month plan so I’m going to sign in on that. But in order to use facilities like this you need sneakers or running shoes. I didn’t have those. All I have is a pair of sandals and they’re held together with cable ties! So I went out Monday and fitted myself out with a rather inexpensive pair of shoes.
I then walked a mile, taking a few of rest stops to catch my breath, damn it, and went to West Marine. I bought a quart of bottom paint for the dinghy and some epoxy to make a repair to the dinghy as well. That blew a chunk of a $76 bill all over the counter. But it was necessary. You wouldn’t believe how fast barnacles and vegetable gunk grows here at the anchorage. I’ve been taking the dinghy in once a month or so and scraping an inch of junk off and I’m tired of it.
Wednesday I went to the mainland and bought three pairs of jeans. I absolutely detest shopping for clothes and was down to a single pair of jeans with huge holes around the knees. Used to be when our pants got to that stage we’d cut them down for shorts and now the rips and tears are effin’ FASHION STATEMENTS!!! So got those and I’m probably good for the rest of my life as far as clothing is concerned.
One More Good Adventure 