Pat and Tom Dennis
We spent last night at the North Palm Beach Marina, and since the marina’s dock master told us there was no particular time that we needed to leave the boat slip today, we stayed until after the Dennis’s visit. It’s much easier to entertain guests from a boat slip than from an anchorage (no dinghy rides to and fro). Tom and Pat were also in awe of the mega-yachts in the marina, as well as the surrounding neighborhoods. After lunch at Duffy’s Sports Bar and Grill (where we go to watch football games), Tom drove us around the area. We showed them where the dinghies dock at the north end of Lake Worth and driving further, we found the state park we heard about, less than two miles from our anchorage (an easy bike ride). At the park, we can go to the beach on the ocean if we want to.
Driving further down A1A, Tom found the jetties at the Lake Worth Inlet, and Peanut Island just around the bend from the inlet, where Pat said they had anchored before. We saw the anchorage where we stayed at Singer Island in April of this year. It’s always interesting for boaters to view areas from land where they have been by sea. Pat quoted (from an unremembered source), “ When you go somewhere by land, you go through the back door. When you go there by sea, you go through the front door.” I love that quote because experientially, that is really how it feels.
Before going back to White Swan, we stopped by the French Café and Bakery to get dessert to enjoy at the boat before our guests left. While at the café, I had opportunity to practice my French (limited as I am). Gary and I are going to France this September with friends from Indianapolis and it’s always a treat to speak French when opportunities arise. Interestingly, our friends who are going with us to France are as excited about going as we are (our first time to go across the Big Pond), because we are going to travel southern France on a cruising boat (with Gary as the captain); and even though both couples have been to France many times, they have never viewed it by water. From reading our blogs, they realize it will be a totally different perspective and experience for them, thus their exuberance.
Back at the marina, the four of us walked over to the marina office and viewed the ICW and Parker Bridge. Again, interesting to all of us because it’s viewed from a different perspective on land. Earlier, while awaiting Tom and Pat’s arrival, I sat on a bench at the marina office and watched the water traffic go by… very peaceful.
Before Tom and Pat left their marina this morning, they bid bon voyage to another fellow sailor, John, who left port to head south. We are hoping he will stop here at Lake Worth on his journey south, so we can see him. He has spent a lot of time cruising the Ft. Lauderdale and Miami waterways and we would like to learn from him what he knows about the areas. Obtaining firsthand knowledge is invaluable, as there is only so much you can learn from charts and cruising guides.
Our time together with the Dennis’s passed swiftly and we said our goodbyes after enjoying dessert aboard White Swan. We were left with good memories of a delightful visit, as well as two and a half weeks of mail that Pat had gathered for us. She also brought us a fresh supply of lemons picked from our Melbourne neighbor’s tree. Florida’s fresh fruits are so fabulous, and we particularly enjoy our neighbor’s juicy lemons in water as a refreshing drink or used on baked local fresh fish. YUMMY……