Runners, take your mark...

An absolutely beautiful day in the Tropical Tip... just what I think of for a January day (back before that damn global warming started making the weather weird... yes, that's a little humor).  Clear blue sky, very little wind, and a high around 70º, with low humidity.  A few more days like this, and I would never leave.

Which would be a problem, since we are ready to do some land traveling.  Wild Blue came out of the water and went into storage on Monday.  We've been getting things ready to go around the house.  And today, the HitchHiker came out of storage.

Side by side.  Then, Big Red hooked up, and time to move it on out...

I had some concerns as we headed for home: the tide is out and the swing bridge to get on the island was sitting pretty low - I thought the front landing gear legs may drag.  There was a pretty good hump in the roadbed of the bridge on the way out.  Joan suggested we get close to the bridge and check it out.  As we approached, I could see that, even with the tide a bit lower, the hump was no longer there.  More than likely, the bridge opened while we were gone, and when it closed, it was in a smoother position.  Whatever the reason, it make pulling the 5th wheel over the bridge a non-issue.

We put the Love Shack on a site near the house and started getting her ready to be lived in again... first task: getting the water system and fresh water tank sanitized, taking the insulating sheets out of the windows, then the loading process.  It looks like she did fine in storage, and she's anxious to hit the road...

She's not the only one.

 :-)

Fortunately, Canon is "expediting" the repair...

Here's what that means...

"We are in the process of examining your product. Please check periodically for further details or contact us for more information."

That is after two days of heated exchanges with Canon customer service, and their assurance that the repair will be "expedited."  I looked up the word "expedited"... it doesn't mean: we're gonna let these things sit for a while to show you who's in charge here.  Seems to me that the folks at Canon lied again, since I was told the repair had started... and they are saying they are still "examining" the product.

Of course, I am referring to the repair of the Canon 10x30is binoculars that has been on-going for 3 times longer than the time Canon repair service said it would take.

We will be heading out for some land traveling in a few days.  We had to give Canon an alternate address, since they are obviously not going to get the binoculars back to us any time soon.  Want to bet that they won't go to the right address?

I have no intention of dragging out indefinitely this discussion about how ineffective, slow, and indifferent Canon has been during the hassle of trying to get these repaired, but I know some folks who read here are now "invested" in the saga.

Canon 10x30is binoculars - BEWARE!

Yes, that title is for search engines.

This has gone beyond ridiculous.  Several exchanges back and forth with the "supervisor" (his title seems to change with each e-mail).  They will cover the repair as long as it wasn't caused by "misuse"... I get an e-mail with a zero balance and an estimate of the time for repair.  When that time passes with no word, I check their web site with my repair number:  "repair being processed."  Still no word on delivery.  Call to find out why it is taking so long, then get the outrageous invoice for over $846.  Call to find out what is going on - no one seems to know.  Then, they claim "water intrusion," which I ABSOLUTELY deny.  OK, then... they must have been dropped.  Also not true.

Now: if I let this whole thing drop, they will cover the new outrageous charge.  This quit being about money when I found out what a joke their repair service actually is... OK, not a joke, but lies, indifference, and deceitful business practices.

At this point, there is no telling if the binoculars will ever find their way back to us.  Or, what $$ they will try to extract with another "made up" charge.  Or, what state of repair they will be in.

Seriously - if they had said, "The repair of the binoculars would be more than the price of new" right off the bat, I would have probably just gone out and bought another.  I understand that things wear out.  But, this has gone on and on due to their lack of response.

Just be aware if you have any item to send for Canon repair: the estimate for cost and time for repair apparently has no relation to what the final cost will be and the time it will [i]really[/i] take.  You will be ignored or lied to.  If you are able to find a phone number to contact them, you will be put on hold and ultimately be given no useful information.  If you ask direct questions, you will be told, "I do not have that information."  Then, expect a punitive, higher bill to be forthcoming.

I have to shake my head with this one.  I currently use Canon cameras and have gotten good use out of them.  When they wear out, I toss 'em and buy another.  These binoculars were great... at first.  After two years, they began to disintegrate - all the rubber on the exterior became sticky to the touch.  For a piece of equipment designed to be used outdoors, this seems like a major shortcoming.

Save your money, avoid the frustration.  Pass on the Canon 10x30is binoculars.

---------------------------------

Some of you know I was a photographer/studio owner for over 30 years.  We used Hasselblad equipment prior to the switch to digital; in my opinion, it was the best that was available at the time.  Even so, with the use they received, regular service was part of the cost of doing business.  Authorized Hasselblad Service had a minimum service charge... stated that up front.  Some folks called that a "this is how much it is going to cost for us to look at it" charge.  Not true - that money was all applied to the service cost.  You just knew up front that was going to be the minimum.

There has been some discussion that this was Canon's first charge of $159 plus shipping.  NO WHERE on the invoice did it say that.  It said, "This is the charge, it will take 5 to 7 days for the repair."  Only when I questioned them on how long the repair was taking (hey, I was patient... waiting 19 days for a repair that was supposed to take "5 to 7 days"... we are heading out soon.  I wanted to know if I should expect it before we leave or if I have to make other arrangements for shipping) did this new charge come up.  I was not demanding, nor out of line - just looking for information, since they were not holding up their end of the service arrangement.

Then, the "Well, they didn't know there was more wrong with it when they estimated the $159.  So, they re-estimated it."  (Yes, that is a quote.)  Had I paid the first charge, I would have been out that money - forfeit it or pay the additional TWICE THE COST OF NEW charge.

The customer contact guy says he is "trying to work with me"... either he is underestimating my resolve or he doesn't know what the repair people are trying to pull.

No doubt, Canon thinks I am being ingracious regarding this situation... they have charged me, removed the charges, done nothing with the binoculars, charged me even more AFTER I called, then removed the charges again.  With the caveat "As of right now, there is no charge..."

As of right now, I am seriously pissed with the lack of response, indifference, arrogance, and deceitful attitude of those at Canon.  They seem to think I am the problem, when this would have been a complete non-issue had they returned e-mails and been honest in their dealings.  I received ZERO response from them (other than the canned "someone will contact you within 48 hours", but of course, no one ever got back to me) - and all I wanted was the damn address for where to send these Canon 10x30is binoculars (yep, for the search engines again) for repair.  I never asked for something for nothing.  Never asked for preferential treatment.  I just wanted to get them fixed... or tell me that they aren't fixable.  SOMETHING - some kind of reply.

When they realized they had dropped the ball, a customer service guy (Raymond) tried to make it up to me with a free repair... which their repair people tried to turn into an $846 repair.  And, now, they will drop that $846 charge to repair those Canon 10x30is binoculars... until they decide to charge me again.  I understand the veiled threat: "As of right now..."

I would be delighted to present Canon's point of view here... something beyond "I'm working for you."  Believe me, I keep EVERY e-mail exchange, and every invoice (I now have 4 different invoices for this single situation).  Dates, names of who I talked to or exchanged an e-mail with.  They obviously prefer to make contact via e-mail (IF they respond), since NO ONE AT CANON has called me regarding this situation.  Shows how little concern they really have.

If you want to see the original forum post that started this ridiculous exchange, here it is...

http://forums.usa.canon.com/t5/General-Discussion/How-do-you-get-Canon-Customer-Service-to-respond-to-a-request/m-p/12805#M314

I don't think I was being unreasonable, even posted when it seemed they were trying to help.  Had they simply responded to 6 e-mails over the period of months (it wasn't like I was sending them one after another - I was patient, waiting for a reply... which didn't come until AFTER I made that first post above).

BEWARE if you try to get service done on the Canon 10x30is binoculars.

;-)

Wild Blue gets a rest, and THE WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE I'VE EVER SEEN!!!

We pulled Wild Blue out today, cleaned her up, and put her in storage.  It's always sad to see that beautiful boat in storage, instead of covering miles on the water.  Oh, well, we are ready to move on with some land traveling.

On the way home from the storage yard, I got an e-mail from Canon Service.  I had sent them binoculars to be repaired.  It took SEVEN e-mails to them to get one response... and all I was looking for was the address and procedure for repairs.  The biggest issue with the binoculars was the fact that the exterior was disintegrating... really, anything that was rubber on the exterior was turning into a sticky slime.  Then, the image stabilization quit working.

I had to make a post on the Canon sponsored owners forum in order to get someone to return my e-mail request for service information.  I tried to put that behind me and do what was necessary to get the binoculars repaired.  After the Canon service facility received the binoculars, it was several days before any confirmation from them regarding receipt.  I got a bill for around $150.  The repair was put into process and I was told, "5 to 7 days"... that was 19 days ago.  Now that I had a phone number and a repair number, I decided to call to see why there was no word from Canon regarding the completion of the repair.

Shortly after that, I received a new bill... for $836.41.  Seriously???  No mention of anything out of the ordinary until after I called.  I called again, outraged, and spoke to a customer service person who said, "A supervisor will call you right back."  That never happened.

Here is the last message I posted on that Canon forum:

-------------------------

OK, one more follow-up.  It is now 17 days after my previous post.  The bill for that repair was supposed to be around $150.  I was told it would take "5 to 7 days" for the repair.  When I contacted customer service today to see why it was taking longer than the "5 to 7 days", I received a new bill...

FOR $846.31

I was told the new charge was because the binoculars "had been immersed in water."  ABSOLUTELY NOT TRUE!!!  Never even used in the rain.  That price, by the way, is more than the binoculars originally cost.  I thought I was finally able to get the service work I have trying to arrange, FOR MONTHS, accomplished.  There was no mention of this SUPPOSED immersion damage in the first repair estimate.  Let this be a lesson for those who have purchased Canon products and try to get a repair done: be quiet; don't question how long a repair will take, even if they tell you "5 to 7 days"  and you patiently wait nearly three times that length of time.  Question them, and the bill will more than quadruple!

I am angry and appalled.  I have no doubt that this new bill was issued as a punitive action for contacting customer service to find out why the repair was taking longer than I was originally told.

I called customer service again this afternoon to question this new, outrageous, charge, and I was told a supervisor would be calling me right back.  I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but that didn't happen, either.

I don't need another apology from someone at Canon - I need CUSTOMER SERVICE.  Not lip service.

Sincerely,
Captain James B

-----------------------

On edit: one of the C-Brats asked me what a new pair of 10x30is binoculars sells for... I had to look it up: $419.99, with free shipping from Amazon.  That is LESS THAN HALF what those vile bast... um, people whose parents never married... at Canon tried to charge me to fix an old pair.

Now, I am REALLY pissed!

So, it begins...

We've been in one place for nearly 3 months.  Well, we did take some time away over our anniversary to go to San Antonio, but it's time.  Today, we started "changing gears" to go from house with the boat out back mode to wandering about with the RV.

Big Red figures into all this, but she has to change from sport truck (with the color-matched fiberglass tonneau cover) to RV hauler.  We left the 5th wheel hitch in place when we got back from San Antonio... it just fits under the tonneau cover.  That cover is heavy - I'm guessing about 120 pounds; it has "pointy parts" that have to be carefully lifted from the truck.  Then, you have to do something with it.  I made a rack in our cargo trailer to hang it, and it just fits.  So, while holding that awkward cover, you have to tilt it to fit in the trailer, then maneuver it around, and lift it over your head.

That is the heaviest task with all the changes that need to be done.  Then, on to the boat: water systems drained and RV antifreeze put in.  The camperback has to come off, get cleaned, then carefully put away (don't want to scratch those eisenglass windows).  Sta-bil put into the motorcycle tank, then run it up and down the road a bit... OK, I didn't mind that task at all. ;-)

Joan and I were tired when we finished eating an early supper.  She said, "Do you have it in you to run some fuel out of the boat?"

"Well, I guess I'm not that tired."  I went down to get the boat ready while she put the dishes in the dishwasher.  "I guess we'll make this one a sunset cruise," I said.

It was a warm day, with the temp in the upper 70s and a warm breeze.  It was mostly cloudy when we shoved off, but the sky soon showed us plenty of blue.  I put the coals to it... we have been careful about adding fuel over the past month, trying to make sure Wild Blue comes out near empty.  We should be good.

I overheard two of the dolphin excursion boats - they were both looking to see some dolphins, but no sightings.  We ran on by them, heading down the ship channel towards the Gulf.  I pulled back the throttle to enjoy having the windows open, and Joan said, "Dolphins at 2 o'clock!"

I put the boat into place and handed her the camera...

She said, "Since this is our last 'show' for a while, I hope they stick around."  No issue there...

While we sat, they swam all around the boat, being especially playful!  It was a great show!

They were close - they were in front of the boat - they were right behind the boat.  Nice way to wrap up some boat time here!  During the show, I called the excursion boats on the VHF to let them know what we were seeing.  It wasn't long before one of them showed up; thanked us and we visited for a bit.  They had a pretty good crowd on their boat - it's always fun to hear the "oooing and aaahhhing!"

I pointed the boat for home, hoping for a sunset, but there was a pretty good cloud layer right at the horizon.  Joan was still out in the cockpit when she said, "There's no pee stream on the motor!"  I positioned us on the windward side of the channel in the shallows and let her know I was putting the anchor down.  No alarm on the motor, yet.  She had a wire out to hand me as I went back to check the motor.  About three seconds with the wire in the pee hole, and we had a good stream again.  Anchor up and heading for home.  Back to the sunset...

You can see that cloud layer right at the horizon.  So, we'd see the sun go behind that instead of the horizon - that still works for me...

We made our turn up the Port Isabel Channel as the sun dipped into those low clouds...

One more look... and it was gone...

A lovely way to wrap up the day!

So?

24 hours later, and the seam on the dinghy that we glued seems to be intact.  I'll need to pick up another glue set sometime to fix the other side... after we have a chance to put some water in the dinghy and make sure it isn't leaking on that side.

A beautiful day in the Tropical Tip, so we spent time on Wild Blue... sunny, breezy, temps in the mid-70s.  The dolphins were playing, mostly teasing - moving from one side of the boat to the other, then diving down when they'd hear the camera turn on. ;-)

Dinghy stuff, part 6...

Yeah, just kidding - I have no idea what "part" this is.  There have been a lot of nay-sayers, nay-saying (that's what nay-sayers do) that gluing this dinghy back together is near impossible for an amateur.

Little do they know, I take a more positive approach... I am positive this is impossible for an amateur. ;-)  But, I already bought the glue... and I have burned all my bridges with the half-ass medical clinic.  I'm doing this!

The stuff is all ready...

Joan and I donned our rubber gloves... "I'll go here, you go there."  It's important that you have a plan.

"OK, that isn't working - you go here and I'll go there."  Honestly, I don't know if mice make plans, but this endeavor was not a best-laid plan - we were flying by the seat of our pants.  With each of us taking a side on the dinghy, I started spreading glue.  If she pulled my side separated; when I pulled, her side separated.

On to Plan E: I suggested we rotate the dinghy and put the part that we glued on the bottom, thinking gravity would be our friend.  Nope, apparently gravity doesn't much like us... the glued part separated.  Rotate back, refresh the glue, and... push-pull.  This glue has a working time of 20 minutes and a set up time of 1 to 2 hours.  I spent the better part of the next hour pushing the glued part back into place.  We took a break to make some lunch while things set up.

Gravity's buddy, Mother Nature, must not be too crazy about us, either - the wind blew the dinghy over while we were eating... so much for the glue setting up.  We moved it, stuck things back into place, and could see that we weren't going to have enough glue to do the whole job.  On to Plan F: let's see if we can get this side done; we'll evaluate things after we see how this side sets up.

There are two flaps that have to be glued along the entire side: one flap sticks to the flotation tubes, running up the side; the other flap sticks to the bottom of the flotation tubes.  They have to work together to keep the water out of the dinghy.  The inside flap that runs up the side of the flotation tube is the tough one - and the one we did first.  With that one in place, the other flap will pretty much go into place.  Or, at least that's the plan... we must be up to Plan Q or R by now.

I moved the dinghy against the house to try to get it out of the wind... or, less in the wind.  Checking the first glue job...

I then spread the glue on the flap of the floor and the bottom of the flotation tube - it actually went together reasonably well...

It only puckered in a half-dozen places.  I put the very last of the glue in those puckers and duct taped it in place... yeah, that didn't work at all.  The only thing that works is constant pressure on the puckers.  I was able to do a couple of them with the fingers on one hand, a couple more with the fingers on the other hand, one more with my foot... and don't even ask about the last one.  Really.  Don't ask.

In a day or so, we'll see if that glue held.  Then, we'll see if it holds water... or, rather, keeps water out.  If so, I'll buy another $27 package of two-part glue and do this all over again.  Maybe in a month or two.  Maybe.

Beachy...

The woman is an enabler... I was thinking I should get after gluing the dinghy - she proposed a beach walk.  Well, it is an absolutely beautiful day... we don't really need the dinghy right this minute for anything... and, did I mention: it is a beautiful day?

Lunch out, then working off those calories on the beach...

Joan wanted to send a photo text to Steph... one of those, "The weather is beautiful, wish you were here," kinda things.  Steph and Dan did a "jumping" shot when they were here... Joan didn't get as much air, and there is a bit of a delay on the camera in the phone...

Later in the afternoon, back home.  Joan did some measuring on the boat for upcoming projects; I put a tweak on the action on the neck of my newest favorite guitar...

The dealer told me, "A sixteenth of an inch at the 12th fret is where the action should be set."  Right where it belongs.  I did some measuring, too. ;-)

The rest of the story...

I was told a 45 minute wait at the clinic... it turned out to be a bit over 3 hours.  All for about 2 minutes of discussion with a medical person to get the prescription renewed.  At one point, I opened the door of the room they put me in... I wanted to be able to see people coming and going, so I knew that people who came in after me were going out before I was seen.  I finally went out into the hall and asked if I had been forgotten.  Truly, it shouldn't come to that... but, it got results.

I specifically asked the PA to write the prescription so I could get 90 days worth at a time, since we travel a lot.  Someone else brought the prescription into the room... nope.  You don't have to say it: I will NOT be going back to this place.

On the bright side, Joan had a late lunch waiting for me when I got home.  I played guitar for a while - that is always relaxing.  Then, Joan suggested we take a late afternoon boat outing... a very good idea!

It was warm today, temps in the mid-70s, sunny and breezy.  It would have been a good day for working on the dinghy repair project... but, tomorrow will be fine, too.  We shoved off on the boat, and just plugged along.  We did see some dolphins, but a fishing boat ran right across them, and they didn't come back.

Coming back up the ship channel, we had the sparkly water Joan likes...

Further up the channel, we saw what looked like a shrimper with 4 booms...

No, it was one shrimper right behind another.

Mid-week, so not as many boats out as this past weekend.  A relaxing ride.  A big ol' sportfisher even slowed down for us as they went by... one in a row!  Nice way to end the day.

This is just sick...

I've been sitting in the waiting room of our local half-ass medical clinic... 15 people in front of me.  Most seem to have the flu... maybe the bubonic plague?  It's a damn petrie dish.  I am well, thanks for asking (no, I didn't glue my finger to my nose, if you read yesterday's post)... just need to renew a prescription.  $60 for the privelege of asking for another prescription... for something I have been taking for years.  (My regular doctor up north retired.)

What a waste of time and money.

The high-paying, fast-paced world of inflatable repair...

So, today I'm about to try to re-glue the floor back to the tubes. I bought a 2 part epoxy made for this, I've cleaned up the long area, but when "test fitting," I can't get the seams to line up. If the tubes are fully inflated, I can't stretch the floor far enough; if the tubes are slightly deflated, I can line up the pieces, but there are puckers. This is my first go-round with inflatable repair... I asked for some help on my favorite forums.

Here's the problem...

Even if you aren't familiar with boats, it's pretty clear that the bottom of the boat should NOT be open to the water.

My response on one forum...

The problem isn't holding the floor on, the issue is getting the seam to lay flat long enough to stick. The floor is flexible pvc, as are the tubes.I may try duct tape, going inch by inch... glue a little, try to hold it in place with the tape, repeat... a bunch of times.

Looking on inflatable sites, it sounds as this is not for the "amateur"... I would classify my inflatable repair experience as: none. One inflatable dealer said that they don't try these repairs, they send 'em back to the manufacturer. I don't even know how much I don't know!

"Test fitting" showed us that inflated all the way doesn't work. Uninflated doesn't work... tomorrow, I will try partially, mostly, but not quite all the way inflated. Worst case scenerio: I'm out the $27 for the epoxy. Well, OK, the worst case scenerio is I'm out $27 for the epoxy, I accidentally get glue on my hands, try to indiscreetly pick my nose, get my finger stuck in there, have to go to the half-ass medical clinic here, and some guy with a mail order medical certificate knocks me out, gets his cousin a new kidney, and I still have my finger stuck in my nose. Other than that, what could possibly go wrong? 

I'll go after it again tomorrow.

Boat cleaning day in the Tropical Tip...

My buddy, Herb, offered me the use of his boat lift to clean Wild Blue's bottom - very gracious!  It allows me to do the work, instead of having the guys in the boat yard blast off my bottom paint (that I paid them last year to apply).  Herb's lift is a good size for Wild Blue...

(photo courtesy of Wilma Stark).  We crawled around, checking out the condition of the bottom, after 2 1/2 months in the warm salt water...

(photo courtesy of Wilma Stark)  I said, "It doesn't look bad!"  When I got under the boat with the power washer, I kinda changed my tune... what looked like slime was stuck on there pretty good; it took a lot of power, some scrubbing, and the loss of some bottom paint to get it off.

My friend, Charlie, asked why I didn't just get in the water to clean the bottom.  That is the way I usually do it.  Our unusual cold weather the past three weeks has dropped our water temp to around 60º... too darn cold for me to get in the water, even with a wetsuit!  Typically, I anchor in relatively shallow water and scrub with a long handled brush, allowing me to reach to the middle of the bottom.  It sounds primative, but it works well.

Using the power washer also works... although, trying to keep the dinghy in one place while the sprayer is blasting was a trick.  My shoulders will be feeling the effects of that in the morning.  I'm hoping Herb won't be sore... while I was the one in the dinghy, he was guiding it and feeding me line from the power washer.  I didn't mean for him to have to work, too.

Adding another interesting twist to working from a dinghy under the boat: the dinghy began to fill with water.  I thought, "Damn, I know I am getting water everywhere (especially all over me), but it didn't seem like I should be getting that much in the dinghy.  When Herb and I pulled the dinghy up on the dock afterwards, we could hear water running out... and the plug was still in.  Looking down, you could see daylight between the floor and the tubes of the inflatable!!  Yep, the glue it was assembled with had given up.  It all looked fine when I cleaned the dinghy yesterday.  Good thing it occurred while under the boat, cleaning, and not on a lumpy trip to shore from a far away anchorage!

The end result: I was a soggy mess.  I offered to take Herb and Wilma out for lunch, and called Joan to have her bring me some dry clothes.  Yes, I had a wetsuit in the boat... didn't think I was going to need it!

With the cleaning done, Herb lowered Wild Blue in the lift to make it easier to get on and off...

The four of us had a nice lunch at Pirate's Landing, with a view of the Laguna Madre.  Back to Herb's after lunch, some chit-chat, then plunking Wild Blue back into the water... trying to make the 3:00 bridge opening.  As I came under the causeway, there was an excursion boat sitting crossways, watching dolphins.  I slowed way down to not cause any stress to the dolphins... and just made the bridge opening!

Add another chore before we head out again with the boat: reglue all the seams on the dinghy!

When the going gets tough, the tough...

... lie in the sun and watch someone else work.  Well, that's the way little Izzy does it...

Another gorgeous day in the Tropical Tip.  People are out and about; playing golf, fishing, boating.  Joan was doing laundry, so I felt like I should be doing something constructive.  I tried to let that feeling pass, but the guilt got to me.  We have been discussing how we are going to clean the bottom of the boat.  It has been in the water for 2 1/2 months, not moving as much as usual, and there is some green "fur" that needs to come off.  The local boatyard quoted me "an arm and two legs" to pull it out with their travel-lift and pressure wash the bottom.  I usually go anchor in shallow water, put on a wetsuit, get out the scrub-brush, and git 'er done... the water is too cold for me to get in there right now!  Yes, even with a wetsuit.

I suggested that I could get out the inflatable dinghy and get as much of the bottom that I could reach from that.  Remember that old saying about draining the swamp and being up to your ass in alligators?  We haven't had the dinghy out in a couple years... I was informed, "The dinghy is a mess - it will need to be cleaned before you can use it."

Hmmm... I have to clean the dinghy before I can use the dinghy to clean the boat bottom.  This is getting complicated.  I pulled the dinghy out of our storage area... yep, it was pretty grubby.  I inflated it (held my breath, hoping for no leaks - it's all good), got some soapy water and a brush, and went after it.  Apparently, seeing me do that made the Blonde feel guilty and she said, "I'll clean the bag the dinghy was in."  That was even grubbier than the dinghy... but, I did go over that inside and out with the brush.  She was determined to make the bag look like new, cleaning it with bleach.  Of course, that made me feel guilty, so after thoroughly scrubbing the dinghy, I got some Clorox Wipes (no actual bleach in those) and really scrubbed on the dinghy.

Apparently, that made Joan feel guilty, so she went into the boat and removed cushions and bedding to clean those...

Someone has to put an end to this escalation... I quit feeling guilty.  But, between the sun and the hard work, I declared the boat bottom would have to wait for another day.

In the meantime, little Izzy was getting worried... "When they clean like this, it means we are going somewhere!  Now what??"

I told Izzy that she could relax; she has a little more time around here.  Then, I invited the Blonde for a late lunch or early dinner  (Linner?  Dinch?) out and some time at the beach.  The meal was so-so, but watching the water was relaxing.

Which leads me to another of my favorite sayings: "Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow."  But, I do have the cleanest dinghy in the neighborhood. ;-)

Just a typical day...

 Except, we haven't seen many of those since we've been back.  November was warmer than usual; same with early December.  By Christmas, it turned cold and windy... and stayed that way.  Our typical January days of sunny, high around 70º, and moderate winds didn't happen.  Today was back to "normal."

Joan suggested we have a boat day and said she'd make lunch on the boat.  No way I could turn down that offer.  I turned on the fridge and helped carry stuff out.  We shoved off.

Just out of our canal and into the turning basin, we came across our friends Leonard and Doris, out on their Ranger Tug with family...

We visited for a while - they went off in search of dolphins, we headed for an anchorage for lunch.  Along the way, Joan decided to start lunch while en route...

While she cooked, I played with the iPad...

One click, and you have internet...

LOTS of boats out today - I think I can safely say that there has been a lot of boat folks who have been missing their normal outings...

That's an AdventureCraft above.  We looked at one of those before deciding on the C-Dory.  A lot of room for a trailerable boat.  That open area up front would be nice for line handling, but you loose the v-berth area and separate sleeping accommodations.  An enclosed head, but a shower wasn't an option at the time.  Nifty fly bridge with a good place for a generator on top.

Plenty of small boats with people out fishing...

This is a Vee-Twin 26 Weekender.  Joan and I went out on this with the previous owner when it was new.  It made us consider making the switch from sailing to powercruising...

The only accommodations are a queen berth and a porta-potty; but, it is fast and smooth.

The water was flat and pretty...

By the time I threaded between a couple fishing boats and made my way close to shore to anchor, Joan said, "Lunch will be ready in a couple minutes."  Good timing...

(on edit: I got a private message: that's a bacon cheese burger with a grilled focaccia bun, corn on the cobb (obviously), and home-made mac & cheese - YUM!)

Some kayakers paddled by...

Plenty of shrimpboats heading out...

We were lounging at anchor when we saw another friend approaching: Herb in his Ranger Tug...

We visited for a bit, but he had miles to make - got to get out into the Gulf and then back home in time for the Laguna Madre Yacht Club doin's this evening.

From where we were sitting at anchor, we counted at least a dozen excursion boats (dolphin watching and bay fishing)...

With this beautiful weather and relatively flat water, when we pulled up anchor, we poked out into the Gulf...

And, it wouldn't be a complete day on the water if we didn't see our dolphin friends.  Fins to the left...

Fins to the right...

And all around.  Baby tail...

Yeah, this is more like it.