A Gentle
Pace of Work and Fun in St Augustine: March 3 2022
St
Augustine for one month – we love the sound of that! The days are sunnier, we are at a slip at
River’s Edge Marina and we are settling back into this historic town
(2/17). Winn Dixie supermarket is within
walking distance, laundry was a must (my orange fleece positively walked itself
into the washing machine) and BJ’s Seafood, a family owned seafood market, has
us once again experimenting with seafood dishes - this time thanks to the Key West Commercial
Fisherman’s Cookbook. Ah, gooey goodness
of Southwest Crab Queso Dip with bread from the BEST French bakery (Les Petits
Pleasures on A1A). Fabulous dinner (recipe below)!
The
last time we were in St Augustine was April 2020 when uncertainty and fear had
everything locked down due to COVID.
Everyone pivoted and tried to help each other in a completely unfamiliar
world. Our blog from back then said, ”For
dinner we got take-out from the Athena Restaurant on Cathedral Place just steps
from the dinghy dock. The scene was surreal with tables barricaded just a
few feet inside the open door indicating the place for payment and
pick-up. As we thanked the man for being open he said he would likely be
closed tomorrow. Gulp – so sad. What kind of tip do you leave for
that?!” That was then and resilience won
out. We had breakfast at Georgie’s Diner
(sister restaurant of Athena on Cathedral Place). When we asked about Athena the waitress said
that take-out saved them and the boss was great. Both restaurants are still open - awesome. Fueled up with breakfast we biked around
historic neighborhoods, the Fountain of Youth and stunning Magnolia Avenue on a
beautiful 82F day.
River current
and wind speeds were still enough this morning to spin Barefeet around (2/19). She sits better in the slip stern in but
current was too strong when we arrived so we went bow in. Ah, that feels much better. Since we will be here for a month we do not
have to run around like headless chickens to accomplish everything in
48-hrs. So, we settled into the neighborhood
with supplies and diners nearby. Sundowners on the top deck felt like the Saturday that it was; boats
ambling past, meeting dock neighbors, music wafting from Hurricane Patty’s and
birds in the grass lands across the river.
My sister, Lindy’s, Delish Pasta was indeed a delicious mix of roasted cauliflower, capers,
chicken, onion, lemon juice, Parmesan pasta for dinner (recipe below).
Boat
projects intermingle with social fun at a gentle pace.
Some projects are quick but others stretch over days. And some projects insert themselves on the
already written To Do list. Insert the
toilet solenoid. It was disassembled and
cleaned…voila – water once again flows in at the rate it should (2/20). Love the quick successes. And it was a good thing because we had social plans. Off we biked in the afternoon to hang out
with the s/v Blue Moon crew. Their boat
neighbors are also longtime cruisers which was loads of fun and led to take-out
pizza and many tall tales. Great fun then diving into another project - you see the pattern. One
of our longer term projects is the decking below the windlass. Water is seeping in and needs to be
stopped. Chris removed the windlass and
will dry it out over the next several days before sealing and reinstalling the
windlass (2/21). I did a bit of Spring
cleaning wiping walls and floors with a dish soap and water mixture (1 tsp wand
wash dish soap for every 2 cups of water).
It worked like a dream and no rinsing was necessary – yippee! Check, check and check. Another nice combo of work and fun was having
breakfast at the French Bakery followed by bike tail racks and bag/basket attachments
next door at Island Life Bikes.
Installation was a bit tricky in the parking lot but was eventually accomplished (2/22).
We
cruisers are a migratory bunch. As we
read fellow cruiser blogs some boats are starting to head back north from the
Bahamas. That gets us thinking – is it
time for us to move?! Should we be further along?! Relax and no –
Barefeet does NOT need to move yet. It
is still way too cold up north and we have loads of time available at the slip. Back to work and fun. More deck grinding and scraping out wet wood
at the windlass before walking into town.
We explored the Old Town and settled into a martini at the Tini Martini
Bar before having dinner at A1A Ale Works to watch a Duke basketball game. A real bonus were the fun patrons and friendly
staff.
We
are really lovin’ this mixture of a bit-of-work and a bit-of-fun in a single
day rather than a pedal to the medal race through the To Do list until we toss
the lines from the slip. Remember that
engine coolant leak? Well, the tiniest
drip still remains. Literally not more
than a teaspoon but it is happening so Chris will replace the gasket on the
turbo. Gggrrr…feels a bit like Groundhog
Day from the engine gasket replacement project as the sea cock is closed, salt
water is drained from the engine and coolant is drained from the engine (stored
in buckets in the guest shower – you know you’re a red neck if…yep, that is
us). Drat – no 6-point wrench
aboard. Rather than risk stripping the
bolt an $8 wrench was ordered and will arrive tomorrow. Ah, gentle pace. Margarita sundowners with neighbors Nancy and
Randy involved tall tales and laughs which kept going...so...we asked if they
wanted to stay for a fish taco dinner. They said sure, why not. I
was a bit nervous because I had never made this recipe before but phew - it was
delicious and easy to pull together at the end.
It was a nice night. Thanks for
the red snapper, BJ’s. Link to the recipe here: https://www.recipetineats.com/marinated-fish-tacos/.
Boat
projects clipped along with the arrival of the 6-point wrench which made quick
work of the bolt removals (2/25). Did we
mention how much we love the plastic cafeteria trays to corral the project mess?! While on the dock cleaning the turbo a couple
of yard mechanics passed by and gave Chris “the look”…yes, it should be
repainted…you’re right, ugh…and paint was ordered. While Chris worked on the turbo Erin worked
on the stainless portholes. I went with
a new method this time because I hate the chemical dripping down across the hull
paint…even with loads of rinsing. This
time I used a 400 grit dremmel “wheel” (looks like a blob of cotton candy) then
polished the stainless. Wow - it positively
sparkles…fingers crossed it lasts for awhile.
The photos above are a before and an after stainless polish job. Marine Oil is still our boat repair
paradise. This was our first visit of
which we are sure there will be many.
Another sunny morning had us biking to an Old Spanish Coquina Quarry
(2/26). Coquina was quarried and used
for the nearby Fort (Castillo de San Marcos) as well as other structures
(unlike wood – fire and termites would not be a problem). Think of it as the concrete of the mid-1500s but
to extract the seashell based stone was truly back-breaking work. Today, the quarry is gentle trails beneath
squiggly oak trees mixed with green palms with splashes of color from azelia
blooms…that opened into the weekly Amphitheater Farmer’s Market. That’s a fun surprise! There were garden plants for sale, farm fresh
fruits and veggies, handmade crafts, breads, knife sharpening and on and
on. Back to the docks in time for dinner
we headed next door to Randy and Nancy’s boat for lasagne. Another fun night with laughs and good
food. Thanks guys!
Having
the luxury of time and a mailing address means that jobs don’t need to be
rushed…especially when heavy, morning dew takes hours to burn off every day. A final paint patch was needed in the bow after
the removal of the door to the Portuguese bridge last summer (2/27). It is literally three small, pencil tip sized
holes that were filled with epoxy…but who wants a polka dotted boat, right?! Chris prepped and rigged up a clever paint
booth for the job. The paint patch looks
awesome! Re-ordering the custom created paint
from FinishMasters in Worcester, MA, was a breeze thanks to Joel…the rest of the
FinishMaster location crews…not so much.
Thanks Joel! Tracking down a
replacement EPIRB battery took a few unexpected twists and turns (and half a
day) since our model has been discontinued.
However, perseverance paid off and its on the way, too. That’s it for today – it’s time for dinner. Taking advantage of the lovely evening we
walked to the historic district for dinner at Scarlett O’Hara’s. The wooden back porch bar was casual and fun.
Good
thing we wandered out yesterday because the cold front arrived as expected with
plenty of rain that kept us inside for the day (2/28). The rain passed by the next morning and
boaters came out to continue work as power tools again filled the air. For us it was turbo cleaning and degreasing
followed by two layers of high temperature paint to tolerate high engine room
temps. Uncovered bits of engine parts
were also cleaned and painted grey...a much better color/condition than rust. Looking good!
Dinner was a take-out pick up order from Queen Falafel in the Winn Dixie
strip mall (3/1). It’s a tiny Lebanese place with food that explodes with freshness.
We had falafel sandwiches and foule madamaas (fava bean salad spiked
with lemon, mint, garlic and more). It
is a one woman show and the Queen makes everyone feel special. Another inserted project in the To Do list was
organizing a long cable used to lock the dinghy to docks. When not in use the cable is coiled inside
the dinghy. Unfortunately, the velcro on
the strap holding the cable while stored has burned out in the sun and no
longer corrals the cable. Chris sleuthed
a snap type solution and installed it with the help of a grommet kit from, you guessed it, Marine Oil (3/2). Bingo!
This little project is a big lifestyle boost because the cable was
constantly coming undone and getting underfoot.
Happy Hour at Hurricane Patty’s was an easy way to end the day. Work and fun. Another warm day revealed that the high temp paint
was dry...so on went the turbo (3/3). The
high temp silicone gasket material needs 24hrs to cure so coolant won’t be
added until tomorrow. Ah, the luxury of
time is truly a luxury for us. A couple
more weeks in St Augustine should wrap up our projects nicely and continue the
trend of warmer days.
Southwest
Crab Queso Dip (Key
West Commercial Fisherman’s Cookbook) serves a crowd
1
T olive oil
1
red bell pepper, chopped
1
small onion, chopped
1
clove garlic, minced
½
cup dry white wine
2
cups heavy whipping cream
1
(8oz) package cream cheese, cubed
1
(8oz) package velveta, cubed
1lb
lump crab meat
1
(4oz) can green chiles, chopped
¼
cup lime juice
¼
cup scallions, chopped
1
T taco seasoning
1
tsp chili powder
1
tsp crushed red pepper
1
tsp salt
Bag
tortilla chips
·
In
a 4qt sauce pan heat olive oil over medium heat. Add red bell pepper, onion and garlic. Cook 3 minutes.
·
Stir
in wine and cook until liquid is reduced by half, stirring frequently.
·
Add
cream, cream cheese and velveta – stirring until thickened.
·
Stir
in crab meat, chiles, lime juice, scallions, cilantro, taco seasoning and chili
powder. Simmer 15 minutes.
·
Add
salt and crushed red peppers. Serve hot
with tortilla chips.
Lindy’s
Delish Pasta
(serves 4)
1
head cauliflower, cut into bite sized florets
6
T capers
5
T olive oil
½
tsp salt
¼
tsp pepper
1
onion, chopped
3
cloves garlic, minced
2
tsp fresh thyme (1 tsp dried)
2
T butter
2
T lemon juice
3
cups cooked chicken, shredded (like rotisserie from supermarket)
8oz
pasta (short like fusilli, rotini, bow tie)
¼
cup Parmesan cheese
Garnish
individually: lemon wedges and Parmesan cheese
·
Heat
oven to 425F. Combine florets, 4T
capers, olive oil, salt and pepper on baking sheet and toss to coat. Cook 30-40 minutes until edges brown
(stirring frequently).
·
Saute
onion in olive oil until translucent.
Add garlic and saute 1 minute.
Add 2T capers, chicken, caper juice, thyme and lemon juice.
·
Boil
pasta and drain.
·
Toss
onion mix with pasta and Parmesan cheese.
Serve.