Thursday, 22 October 2015 - Most of the day was spent putting away things on the boat from the last project and cleaning up, then Marcus Libkind and I went to a hardware store, then out to dinner at the local Olive Garden Restaurant. Great meal, lousy Margarita. My close friends in SLC will be pleased to hear that I had the Fettuccini Alfredo, as always.

Friday, 23 October - Today, I spent most of the morning getting ready for the nautical flea market tomorrow at the Florida Maritime Museum. I moved a few things off the boat and into the trailer, then went to the bank to get bills to use as change at the sale tomorrow, then headed over to the event site. The people there had made arrangements for me to pull my motorhome and trailer into a special space right beside their building and stay there overnight. That part worked out well. I would have the first space on the left as people walked in. After I parked, I got out my bicycle to fix a flat on the rear tire. I'm getting better at this. I looked for punctures, but found none, then aired it up to 20 psi, but could hear no leaks, so I decided to put 50 psi in it. It wouldn't go past 37.5 psi. It was leaking around the stem, so I tied a string around the stem, aired it up and went for a ride. I was only about 2 blocks from a draw bridge out to Anna Maria Island at Cortez, FL, so I went over and explored. It's a fun place with lots of open-air restaurants, bars, and beautiful sunsets. Very touristy, but festive and fun. The "snowbirds" are already starting to arrive. It also looked like a good place to visit via sailboat. I may go back. As usual, I forgot to take pictures. Boy! Some photographer I am!

Saturday, 24 October - Up at 6:00 am to have breakfast and get the trailer opened up and things set out for the sale which started at 8 am. I did okay monetarily, but didn't move any of the big items that I need to get rid of like anchors (no one even asked about them) and sailboard equipment. I had not expected much interest in my boards because the new boards are so wide, but I had thought I'd get some interest in the sails, masts, booms, and fins. I got almost no questions at all. In fact, my most common question was, "What are those?" I also discovered that most people don't know the difference between a sailboard and a kite board. I did have one girl say that she was interested in one of the boards, but was in a small convertible, so she couldn't take it with her, but would call me Sunday to get it. I sold some gas cans, antique ship's lanterns, a vise, and a few other small items.
                  After standing around in the sun for 7 hours, it was time to pack up and go. I still wanted to see the museum, so I went in to see the displays. Small, but nice.

Sunday, 25 October - As I expected, it's past noon and the lady interested in the sailboard hasn't called. I should have gone sailing. It's another beautiful day in the low 80s.

Monday, 26 October - I spent all day studying how to use some of the electronics onboard, including the chart plotter, auto pilot and compasses. The compasses are electronic, so they need to be "swung". "Swinging the compass" is a procedure that merely means sailing or motoring the boat in two complete circles in order for the electronics to compensate for deviation, caused by local magnetic influences on the boat itself, and variation, caused by the differing magnetic pull of the earth in various points around the world.

Tuesday, 267 October - A nice cool, but rainy day here in Palmetto. A chance to clean up the boat a bit. I needed to put both anchor lines, the rope and the chain, back into the anchor locker; especially the chain, before it puts rust spots on the deck, where I had it stretched out. I should have done that yesterday, but the weathermen were promising that it wouldn't rain last night.

Wednesday, 28 October - Today, a little encouragement about my sailboard gear. I had stopped in at one of the sail repair lofts recently and the guy had said he used to windsurf quite a bit and that he might be interested, so today, I stopped by his shop again. He wasn't busy, so I got him to take a look. No commitment, but at least he asked me to come up with a price for some of the gear. I may have to trade gear for his services, but that's okay.
                On another subject, more encouragement. I had contacted the manufacturer of my WiFi booster about two months ago because I couldn't access the control panel on my Mac computer. I got a response from them this morning. A little slow, but, hey! Everything's copacetic. Finally!

                Gotta get this out! See ya later!

            Until next time,
                        Dream BIG, or Live Bored.

                                          Rick