December 18-24, 2022
Ahhh, the week before Christmas. The holidays are so often fraught with the additional stress of holiday obligations, social gatherings and mandatory good cheer. I went into this week with a bit of trepidation. In the midst of so many changes in my life, what would THIS holiday look like for me?
Sunday, December 18, 2022
The weather predicted heavier winds coming in, but it was still sunny and warm (at least by my standards).
Paul spent the morning tearing apart an engine room blower.
Paul attempted to teach me how to operate the dinghy today. After the hourlong lesson, we returned to the Kya Anne. I don’t know that there’s enough therapy in the world to undo the trauma he endured. I also didn’t know a human’s eyes could go that wide. 😳 👀
Paul assured me that I will eventually be able to run the dinghy unsupervised, but at the moment, that seems a long time coming.
Beyond our dinghy adventure, it was a quiet day on the boat. I spent some time writing a long-overdue letter. We grilled and ate early, then watched the Transformation Church Sunday sermon, ‘Cuffed to the Clock’ in the evening. I retired around 9:00 p.m., feeling contemplative about the sermon.
Paul stayed up much later and was up and down from his cabin all night, monitoring the wind and weather.
Monday, December 19, 2022
I woke early but stayed in my cabin to complete my morning devotionals and spend some quiet time with God.
When I finally emerged around 7:30 a.m., I found Paul working on the electrical panel, chasing down the source of our oft distorted VHF transmissions. The wind had blown all night- with readings over 24 knots, but it didn’t feel awful and I never felt unsafe, despite Kya Anne swaying and moving all night.
Though we fared well in the windstorm, others were not so fortunate. Less than 100 yards north of us, Paul pointed out a boat that had sunk in the night. We both recalled a couple leaving the monohull together on a yellow and black jet ski earlier in the evening; we hadn’t seen them return. We had both watched the woman working diligently on the boat all day- cleaning and doing laundry, so I can only imagine her heartbreak when she learned it was lost.
Unfortunately, it isn’t the first sunken boat around here—as we took a dinghy ride around the area yesterday, we saw several vessels that had not survived previous storms and hurricanes.
A bit later, we took the dinghy over to the docks on a dumpster run, then tied up at a different dock to do some quick shopping. We walked down to a bakery/diner called Bob’s Bunz, where I had the best Apple Turnover of my life. (Paul had a chocolate croissant and said it was ‘good’.)
Then, despite me warning him about my family curse about being mostly unsuccessful fisherfolk, Paul insisted we update the fishing gear on the boat, noting that we would be grilling the fish we caught during our crossing and upcoming time in the Bahamas. (Given my family’s luck with catching fish, I’m not so sure I’ll survive if I have to fish for my supper, but time will tell.) We spent a decent amount of time (and too much money) at World Wide Sportsmen (which is a Bass Pro Shop unlike anything I have ever experienced- not that I’ve been to many.)
There are a lot of taxidermy fish on the walls, as well as a full-sized aquarium, which is not uncommon, but this particular location also included a restaurant, a marina, and a charter service. On top of all that, in the middle of the store is the replica/sister ship of Ernest Hemingway’s famed Pilar, the fishing boat that he owned and wrote Old Man and The Sea on. You can even walk around inside the boat. (It’s a 5-minute tour, but still impressive.)
Thoroughly shopped out, we returned to the dinghy dock and went back to the boat.
Tuesday, December 20, 2022
Another lazy-ish day. (Isn’t that the case with most of them?) I had a Tuesday morning bible study that included a deep and serious discussion about Sunday’s sermon (Cuffed to the Clock), followed by a morning of minor maintenance and cleaning around the boat. Paul took me out for dinghy driving lesson #2, which went much better. It’s taking me some time to adjust to the throttle and rudder being on the same tiller… I need to learn NOT to turn the throttle every time I want to adjust our course. (Apparently, it’s all about separating the actions of the wrist and the elbow).
After our afternoon adventures, the rest of the day was a much more relaxed, though windy with intermittent rain. We moved a few hundred feet north and re-anchored ourselves to better position Kya Anne for the winds that were predicted throughout the day. This moved us in front of the recently sunken boat, rather than behind it. The predicted wind and rainstorm did not disappoint; Intermittent thunder and lightning lit up the sky for a few hours and although she remained firmly anchored, the wind kept the Kya Anne swinging to and fro all afternoon and evening, and it was the ultimate lullaby (hence my mid-day two-hour nap).
We wrapped up the day with more movies—John Carter (which Paul recommended and really likes, but I could not suffer through any longer after the first 45 minutes) and the second half of Contact, which we had started a few nights ago but hadn’t finished. (And yes, we had both seen Contact before. Neither of us live under a rock.)
Wednesday, December 21
My laptop crashed today. The keyboard stopped functioning, making it impossible to use. I tried every method of rebooting under the sun. Nothing. I tried various trouble-shooting tips (that found using my phone). Nothing. My recovery key couldn’t be entered because the keyboard wouldn’t work.
To say that I was anxious and frustrated may be a slight understatement. When I think about everything on my laptop – photos, memories, writing projects, history and records of every sort, its hard not to kick myself for not being better about back-ups.
So while Paul spent the day chasing down a problem with the blower motor, I spent the day researching (on my phone) where I could take my laptop for repairs.
There was nobody local around that was open to take a look at it. The one store in Key Largo (about 17 miles away) that answered the phone when I called said he was out of town for the holiday and would not be back in his store until Monday, and only for a couple hours.
In desperation, I jumped on my iPhone to chat with Apple support. Nothing that was suggested as a possible solution worked, and she said I would need to bring it in to be looked at. The nearest Apple store was in Miami- 85 miles away. <Insert heavy sigh.> Fortunately, she was able to find an appointment for the 23rd, which was a mini-miracle, considering how busy they are, especially during the holiday season. I booked the appointment and started looking for the nearest easily accessible rental car locations.
Thursday, December 22
A low-key day with nothing noteworthy occurring. Our social interactions with other people was limited to Conrad, who came by to provide pump out services. We were pleased to find that Monroe County provides free pump out services in the Florida Keys.
I alternated between agonizing over not having a laptop, searching for rental car locations (that actually HAD a rental car available- the big upcoming holiday travel weekend made car rentals scarce), and trying to figure out the bus schedule to get to said rental car facility.
Friday, December 23
Paul and I were up and out early today. I was anxious to pick up my rental car and head into Miami and he was excited about seeing his grandkids and son-in-law. He was feeling extra adventurous, so he opted to hop on the bus and ride with me to pick up my rental car. Paul said it was the first time he had been on a city bus in DECADES (other than the double decker bus he rode when he was in Europe).
People often bemoan public transportation, but aside from the fact that they are not always timed to accommodate my exact schedule, I found the last few bus rides I was on to be pleasant experiences- they were clean, well-lit, and safe- and at $2.00 per person, it was heck of a better deal than the $50-$60 estimate for an Uber ride.
We arrived at the rental car agency (Enterprise, if you must know) and picked up the car, then headed straight to Miami. My Apple Genius appointment wasn’t until later in the afternoon, so I tortured Paul by making him go to the labyrinth at Unitarian Universalist Church of Miami to walk their labyrinth. The labyrinth was in the back of their church and we had to (ahem) ‘explore’ the property in order to locate it since the gates were closed and locked. (I’m sure it wasn’t to keep ME out…)
As we left there, we saw another plethora of peacocks, and Paul was able to get them to spread their tail feather (don’t ask how).
From there, we headed to The Falls Shopping Center, where the Apple store was located. We were still over two hours away from my scheduled appointment, so I dragged Paul around the mall, trying to find Christmas gifts for his grandkids, but found nothing that we thought would appealing to them. We killed time by stopping at BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse while we waited.
And the people watching was… interesting.
I thought I had no fashion sense, but this makes me think that I don’t WANT to be ‘fashionable’ if it means dressing like this…
Consider the temperature (see picture), then look at the bundled up child in the stroller. It was 75 degrees, the dad was in shorts (I cropped him out of the photo to focus on the baby) and baby is bundled up with a winter hat? I have so many questions.
Thoroughly entertained, we headed to the Apple store (after backtracking to the car since I forgot my laptop in the trunk of the car. 🤷🏽♀️)
I surrendered my laptop at the Apple Store, said a quick prayer and then we headed back to Islamorada so Paul could meet up whit his family.
Today is also the day that I begin my annual Christmas retreat into solitude, so I dropped Paul off at Lorelei’s to meet his family for dinner and a magic show, then checked into my hotel.
Saturday, December 24 (Christmas Eve)
Since I intended to spend the bulk of those holiday weekend alone, I had decided that Christmas Eve and Christmas Day would be a good time to do a 48-hour fast It was a LONG 48 hours. (For reference, see Mark 9:29)
When I woke up, I took advantage of having access to a vehicle and drove into Miami (again) so that I could visit a (different) labyrinth, as well as stopping at a Target to pick up a few items.
My first stop was the labyrinth, which I struggled to find, but I was glad I persevered. It was over an hour-long drive just to get to the labyrinth at Christ Congregational church in Palmetto Bay and the labyrinth wasn’t marked or easy to find. It was overgrown and hasn’t been tended to in a while, but absolutely worth it for the 10-15 minutes I spent there in quiet contemplation.
When I left there, I headed to Target to pick up a few boat items and supplies.
Here it was—Christmas Eve, and what I saw in people as I was out and about was disheartening. As I wandered through Target, grabbing a few necessary items, I saw a lot of people, and very little peace. Within the first five minutes in the store, I passed two couples squabbling- not exactly the Christmas spirit we are supposed to revel in. It was another reason I opted to forgo ‘celebrating’ Christmas with others, and instead retreat into solitude in the days surrounding Christmas.
When I left Target, I head back to the Keys, passing Islamorada on my way further south to Marathon, where I had learned about a labyrinth located at St. Columba Episcopal Church.
The drive took considerably longer than I had intended, and traffic was horrendous- backed up for miles and moving at a snail’s pace. I thought about turning around and heading back, but had no particular place to be for hours, so I stuck it out, listening to some music and taking advantage of the crawling pace to peer around me.
What was a mild inconvenience for me looked to be devastating for at least two other people and their vehicles. As I drew closer to the cause of the delay, I saw that a serious accident had blocked one lane of the two-lane highway, and the Sheriff’s department was directing traffic around the accident scene. One vehicle was flipped over on its roof and looked as though it had caught on fire. The other had a completely crushed front end. I pray the passengers and drivers fared better than the vehicles.
However, once I got past the accident, it was less than five minutes to my destination, St. Columba Episcopal Church.
When I arrived, I popped briefly into the church, where I discovered the choir getting ready to rehearse for their Christmas Eve service. A very nice church member graciously walked outside to show me where the labyrinth was located and invited me back to worship with them later that evening.
Their labyrinth was not like any labyrinth I had walked before. It was really a lovely labyrinthine path and had the feeling of peaceful seclusion. It was tucked into a small space on the church property in the middle of a neighborhood, but the landscaping and effort put into creating this sacred space was evident.
I enjoyed my experience there, despite get NO revelations whatsoever. (I suspect that because I was feeling altogether unsettled for no reason, there were no revelatory pronouncements to be shared- probably because my mind was too cluttered with other things.) It was disappointing, especially considering the drive time, but ultimately ok. (See how great I am doing with just learning to go with the flow, even when it doesn’t appear to be flowing my way?)
I made the drive back, paying attention to how many miles long the traffic was backed up heading southbound. It was a six-mile traffic delay. I felt badly for the people who were on that road trying to meet friends and family for Christmas Eve and Christmas. The Overseas Highway (Florida State A1A, also known as US 1) is the only road to Marathon and beyond (which was primarily the lower Keys, including Big Pine Key and Key West).
I returned to my hotel room, washed up and headed to Christmas Eve Worship services at Island Community Church, where it was standing room only (I literally stood against the wall at the back of the church.) Christmas Eve worship was different than what I expected; I am used to seeing a reenactment of the Three Wise Men visiting Baby Jesus.
Instead, there was a small group of congregation members on stools on stage, singing (mostly) traditional Christmas songs (there were a few I didn’t know) and the pastor/minister/preacher got up between songs to talk about how much God loves us and desires a relationship with us. The service closed with a candlelight ceremony, where we all turned on our miniature handheld electric candles and sang a final Christmas song. I pondered that experience as I headed back to the hotel, where I ran a hot Epsom salt bath and soaked in it before retiring for the evening.
