Hardware Stores

First of all, we want to explain the significance of hardware stores. This dates back to our very early cruising days on our 25 and 31 foot sailboats. Every town we would cruise into, we would check to see if they had a hardware store. And if they did, well, you know the rest. Yes, we’d wander the aisles, especially Ken. We can’t tell you how many things we picked up this way, but trust us that there were lots! So, our trip to the Ace hardware store for the solution to our bike rack problem is reminiscent of our old cruising days for sure. And this brings up another similar topic.

USCG Captain Experience Helping Us?

Our friend and former employee, Rena, asked us if our many years of being a USCG Captain has prepared us in any special way for this adventure. What a great question. The short answer is yes. The RRRRV is so similar to a large boat: 12 volt and 110 electrical systems, self contained holding tanks, miniaturized plumbing, deep cycle batteries and inverters/charging systems and more. That is in terms of systems. But, where things really count is in the organizational mindset towards safety. That’s where the carryover comes into play. We really think that the learning curve for us was so short because of Ken’s captaining experience plus all of our combined years of cruising our 31′ sailboat and our early years in a pop-up camper. These factors all add in to make us adaptable to this lifestyle.

Night Out In St. Augustine Area

We decided to go for a special night out dinner. This would be our first dinner out since we left Annapolis. I chose Cap’s, which is actually a waterfront open air dining place in the northern end of St. Augustine on the intracoastal waterway. Their boat docks were destroyed by hurricane Matthew. Our dinner was extraordinary. I had pecan encrusted seared diver scallops in a fennel broth over mashed potatoes with breaded leek curls. Ken had the freshly caught trigger fish special encrusted as well. We also splurged on their special dark chocolate spicy flourless dessert treat which was rich with a hint of tabasco!

The outdoor heaters were on to help make us warm during the meal. The entire restaurant is outdoors and although you can’t tell in this photo, there were plenty of folks here, but mostly hanging out in the bar and lounge areas.
Tomorrow, we head out to Titusville and the Great Outdoors RV Resort and Golf.