NEWS UPDATE FROM COSMO

Cosmo reports on his “vacation” in West Palm Beach while we were away in Newport. 

“Welcome home, Janice and David! While you were back in Newport enjoying some time with family and friends,  Zin and I were holding down the fort Aboard Obsession in West Palm Beach. I know you were a bit nervous leaving Obsession, but David did an excellent job of securing Obsession to the mooring and making sure all the lines, halyards and sheets were cleated off properly.

He stowed the generator and strapped OCD in the davits, closed all the hatches except the ones under the dodger, and ran the engine one last time before we left. Zin and I managed ok, sometimes it got a bit stuffy down below, and we had one day that the wind blew hard and it also rained. 

Dean and Sarah Marshall stopped by to check on us, and I heard that Ingrid and Fred were watching too. A small boat to the east of us was spotted wandering around the Inlet, but it never came close to Obsession.

 We could hear the cruise ships come and go every morning and night, occasionally some small boats with teenagers raced by, 

There were many different pleasure craft going up and down the ICW, especially after the Boat Show, so we had plenty to keep us entertained.

And, by the way, I only consumed a small amount of rum and I think Zin found a bottle of Obsession wine while you were away. (If you believe that, go check David’s rum stash in the bilge along side Janice’s wine locker.) 

I heard that you had a great time back in Newport, that the harbor was empty, but you enjoyed the view from 41North 

and your favorite timeshare unit at Long Wharf Resort.

I’m disappointed that you didn’t bring us any lobster or chourico though! Guess I’ll have to wait until June for a taste of those favorites. Speaking of favorites, I saw a picture of Janice with Perrin and Bill, our favorite launch drivers, 

and Mariah and Bob, CJ,  and Harvey and Judy. 

And of course, Peggy and Ralph and the rest of the family were all at the Viking (One Bellevue) for a mini family reunion.

I’m looking forward to seeing everyone back home in Newport the end of June. I’ll be sure to find a way to climb into Janice’s laundry bag when they go to their timeshare again on June 24. By then it will be time for my twice yearly bath anyway. That way when she invites friends over for a drink I’ll be somewhat presentable. That’s all my news for now. Thanks for reading.”

Janice’s update. 

We had a great trip from Fort Lauderdale to Lantana, working our way through 20 bridges over the course of 8 hours. And we were happy to drop anchor in Lantana because we wanted to go to The Old Key Lime House for dinner and we also knew that it was going to be windy and rainy for a day or two. So we hunkered down for two nights, made our lists for going home, met up with Mike Mason from BLM who has a condo not far from Lantana, had a delicious lunch and Key Lime Pie at the restaurant, and even performed a rescue operation. 

The short trip to West Palm Beach was uneventful, but we did manage to see a lot of beautiful and interesting boats en route to the Boat Show in West Palm. Luckily we had a private mooring waiting for us, and we were able to spend a few days preparing for our trip to Newport. 

We took an Uber to the train station, rode the Trip-Rail train to the Fort Lauderdale Airport, called the hotel shuttle to pick us up, then took the same shuttle to the airport the next morning. Then in RI we took an Uber to 41North from TF Green Airport, and our Newport vacation was about to begin. Two nights at 41North where we were treated royally by the staff. Then 5 nights in our favorite timeshare unit at The Long Wharf Resort. We had dinners out with my family at Johnny’s and the highlight of the trip for us was dinner at One Bellevue (Viking Hotel) with my parents, my 2 sisters and their husbands and Rosa and Perrin. We met up with some friends who have followed my blog at the timeshare too.  But not every minute of our trip was visiting and eating. I spent a few hours doing taxes and some other errands.  We took one last look and photo of the Cooling Towers across the River from our condo in Somerset. By the time we return they will have been imploded. 

The return trip to West Palm was uneventful and easier knowing how to navigate the train.  

We had only planned to stay in West Palm for a few days, re-provision and then start our trip north on Monday, April 8. We have learned (the hard way) not to travel this part of the ICW on weekends. Too many powerboats and jet skis. Lots of wakes.

But on Sunday we got a call from someone who wants to rent our condo for a few months, so we have to go back to Fall River at the end of April to move furniture out of the storage area and back into the condo. This time we plan to leave Obsession in Vero Beach, and have arranged to rent a van to drive home and use to transport the furniture etc. from the storage area. We will allow 1-2 weeks to get this done. Another adventure, this time by car/van. We hope to leave Vero Beach on April 27 or 28, arrive in Fall River by the 30th, check out the condo and then head back to Vero Veach around the 7th or 8th of May.