Hey Look! A Post!

As blogs often go, they start out well intended and slowly fade as life gets in the way.  I have to say I truly admire those that can keep their blog going at a regular rate and keep things interesting.  It’s been a good while since we have made any entries and hopefully from time to time, we will actually take the time to make an entry. I read once, on a blog actually, that you should write a blog for yourself. Don’t write it with thoughts of the people that may or may not read it, but write it as a sort of journal for yourself to look back upon down the road so that you can remember the things you have done.  That’s what I hope to do, but obviously, it hasn’t been working.  I have to say that a big deterrent from actually keeping things posted is the fact that neither of us really use a computer on any regular basis.  Ashley’s laptop bit the dust over a year ago and it was replaced with a Tablet.  We didn’t even have a keyboard for that until just a few months ago. I have a laptop that I lug all over the country with me, but I rarely fire it up. In the days of touch screens and specialized apps and lack of internet anywhere I ever seem to be make my phone my go to device. I can wifi hotspot with it, but that drains the battery in no time and it then of course requires me to actually fire up the ol’ laptop. 

Well here it is now, May of 2017. Goodness time flies and so much has happened. It has been a solid 14 months since our last entry. I know this isn’t really a huge deal since I fully know that nobody really reads this except maybe family on rare occasions. But as I said before, this is for us and if anyone else finds entertainment in it, then even better.   I don’t plan to write all that has happened in the past year here in one blog entry, but plan to make several that will cover the major items.

In the past year we have cut our teeth to be sure.  I tested the extent of Ashley's love for me and pushed it further than I dared and yet she still agreed to Marry me. Not only that but she hasn’t sunk the boat or threatened to leave me because of it! So I say all in all, it was a hell of a good year! Woo! 

We made  two trips to the Bahamas which each held their own adventures and tested our resolve as a couple.  We have also made Florida and the Space Coast feel more like home.  Our life plans have gone up and down and back and forth so many times, I can hardly remember what they all were.  We still have no definite plans but we know what makes us happy and what we want to be doing for the near future.  I know my ultimate goal is to quit working as soon as possible and find myself on a beach next to my wife with a cold drink in my hand somewhere where the sand never gets cold and the sea breezes never stop.  We still want to buy a condo somewhere in Florida and rent it out to Snow Birds in the Winter.  We really love Cocoa Beach and the people, but after two years of shopping, we still can’t find a condo that meets our wants.  We recently shopped for Condos in Punta Gorda, FL and we absolutely loved it. We found so many  that we loved. We still want to scope out the area some more, but we may very possibly find ourselves there one day.

Ashely has been working on finding some leads for herself.  She has gotten involved with the HUBBS Institute doing work in the Lagoon which she really enjoys.  She also has been getting certified as a Florida Master Naturalist.  She is loving every minute if it all and meeting all sorts of great people.  I have taken up working for Tow Boat US on the side. It is a great gig and have met some great people.  It is getting paid to run a boat around in Florida and help out fellow boaters.  I enjoy it and look forward to what it brings.  We have a trip planned with some good friends of ours to head to the Bahamas for two weeks on their boat, a Powerboat! I’m not sure I'll know how to do it! I mean we will get places so fast! We are looking forward to a return trip and to spend it with such great friends.  We are also planning a trip in a year that I have wanted to do for so long! Us and three other couples are going to rent a Catamaran in the BVI! Ashley and I did a two week rental on a mono hull by ourselves and loved every minute. I have always wanted to do a catamaran with friends but could never find the right friends. I am so stoked for the trip.  For now that is what is going on in our lives.  No big trips planned on our boat. Just projects. I’ll write about some of them here as I find the time, or don’t.