Homeward Bound!

Well, it's April 13th and our last trip to Stuart was upon us!  Off we flew with a one-way ticket, not knowing from which city we would be returning home (VERY adventurous for us Type A folks).  We arrived as usual in Stuart on a Friday night.  As we flipped the switch to turn on the lights, nothing happened.  Now what we grumbled?  Well whoever was last to work on the boat forgot to turn the boat's electricity on, so we stumbled around (a lot) until we discovered the problem.  Okay, so now we had lights and a plan to get up early, whip the last-minute workers into a frenzy and start provisioning the boat.
The next day passed in a blur of errands, final good-byes to the marina staff and a thorough inspection of every inch of the boat.  The last-minute workers were indeed in a frenzy and were crawling around the boat like ants.  It was discovered that our custom screen was not built out properly, so a frantic call was placed to both the carpenter and screen maker.  Since it was a Saturday, both had family plans.  Using every wile known to me, I cajoled both into coming first thing Sunday to make everything right.
Our captain, Patti Moore, arrived on Sunday.  We immediately set out to buy every imaginable thing to eat that our imaginations could conjure up.  You would think we were leaving the civilized world for unknown parts instead of the ICW!  After leaving the "spirits" store with a few cartons, I could feel the quizzical eyes of the cashier boring into my back.  Good, let him wonder what we were up to.  We arrived back at the boat to find both the carpenter and screen maker up to their ears in "stuff".  Their tools were strewn in a wild arc around them and neither was saying much.  Oh, oh, time for a nice refreshment of some sort I thought.  That thought saved the day!  I rustled up something for them to eat and drink and the project was completed (after about 3 hours) with smiles all around.
We planned to leave the next morning at first light.  I got to see the first of some very spectacular sunrises.  Normally, I would have balked at getting up at that hour, but the adventure ahead of us was compelling enough to have me up and about without encouragement.  I must admit I felt a little sad to see the Harborage become a speck in the distance.  We spent some very happy days there on our special boat with new friends.  As we sailed off with hot coffee, the sun rose higher in a crystal clear blue sky as if to beckon us on our course north.  We were taking our girl to her new home in New York!