Setting our new sails for Key West

Today Mark and I were soaking in the hot tub and discussing all of the items that need to be packed for our upcoming trip to Florida. We were having a dilemma on how to get the dinghy there so that we can use it to get us to land when we are anchored or moored. Do we try to check it on the airplane? Should we send it on Amtrak? Can we ship it? In the end our final decision was to box it up and ship it Fed Ex ahead of us. We sent it to the business where we bought our boat with prior permission. It is now being tracked en-route and is somewhere in Florida. Yay!!

Next we have to pack our bags and remember to bring PFD's, paddleboards and paddles, pump, snorkeling gear, tool case, fishing poles, tackle, and who knows what else will end up on the list! The good part is that we can leave all of this additional stuff on the boat. Our plans are to fly there again right after tax season for our spring trip. It will all be there and we won't have to worry about it.

We are picking up Endurance in Fort Lauderdale, FL. We have a reservation at the Los Olas Marina.
 Active Captain has a great description of the place and you can make reservations here Reservations. We have stayed here once before on New Girl for our trip to the Abacos, Bahamas and really enjoyed it. It is on the ICW 17th St. bridge, very inexpensive and also has mooring available. It is 2 blocks from the beach, washer/ dryer, showers, wifi, and close to shops. There is also the Sun Trolley that we can take for provisioning. It is a great means of transportation.

We will be celebrating New Years Eve right near the beach. They will be dropping a ball. That sounds pretty cool. I have only seen those things on t.v. in New York.  Key West will be celebrating with a drag queen in a large high heeled shoe. Ha! I hear there are crazy things that happen on Duval Street.

Then on New Years Day  we are to casting off the dock lines and heading out for Key Largo. We have a lot of plans for paddle boarding, snorkeling and lobster fishing. We have purchased our tickle stick, snare, net and bags that are needed for the hunt. I think there is going to be some good eating in the cockpit at evening hours! I am also hoping that this is something that doesn't freak us out and we can actually catch them. Have you ever tried this? What was your experience? Please let us know in the comments.

We will travel all the way down to Key West and do some exploring of Duval Street and the town. Hemmingway has a museum there with live 6 toed cats out front. Lol!

When our adventure is done in the Keys we will head back up the Gulf Stream and catch the elevator ride up. Our entry will be St. Lucie/Stuart and then head up the St. Lucie River toward the Okeechobee Lake. We will rest the boat on the hard at  Indiantown Marina. We did a lot of research for a place to leave her out of hurricane trouble and away from the high cost of Fort Lauderdale/Miami area. We will have to go through our very first set of locks with a 13ft. rise. I am so excited to experience this. I saw my first lock with my sister-in-law Mary in Appleton, WI.

Bahama bound is planned on her come November, 2015. We will head down with the truck and trailer in tow from Montana. We will get to visit friends and family on the way. Sail her to the flower Bahama Islands this time and then drive her home. Come May 2016 she will get dropped into fresh water for a nice bath, fun weekend sailing and racing with our yachties at the  South Flathead Yacht Club.

DIY Craft Table

This whole things started when Molly and I were crafting in the living room. We had to start cleaning up all of our stuff around us because we had to have the space livable. Sure would be nice if we could leave all this here and keep working the next day. That's when we both decided we needed a craft room. Where could we put one? Rachel had moved out a couple of years ago and we moved some gym equipment in there but the room just didn't get used enough. We both decided thats what we would do. So I started searching the internet for types of rooms that we wanted. There sure are a lot of beautiful craft rooms out there. I finally ended up on Pinterest pinning bunch of different ideas that we liked. I found one pen that was a craft table and had plans with it for building. Marco always tells the kids if you want something bring me some plans and we can build it. Perfect! I see a craft table in our future.

The first thing I did was go shopping with the truck. I needed to find some items discounted. So I went too the Restore  (Habitat for Humanity),  Salvation Army, Flathead industries thrift store and Goodwill. At the Restore I found an old hotel desk that I could refinish, put a new top on and some pull handles for the drawers. At Goodwill I found a dresser that I thought would look cute under the bay windows for storage. It has cute detail in the drawer faces. I just need to refinish it. At the Salvation Army I found a huge piece of plywood that would be the perfect measurements for the craft table top. I got this for $5. That will save me about $60. Now I'm headed to Lowes to pick up the rest of the wood for the craft table, the laminate top, stain, and varnish. The laminate top was a lot more expensive than I thought it was going to be but I believe one sheet will cover both the craft table and the desk. My truck is full. Time to go home with my treasures and get to work.

After all of the sanding, staining and varnishing, I ended up with some good looking furniture. Mark and I built the bookshelf ends for the craft table. Then he put the edges on the top and we I got on top and rolled out the air bubbles with a rolling pin. We brought it all up to the room and then Mark installed the electric outlets to the top of the table. That will work out great for glue guns and soldering. It will be nice having them right there. I found them in black to match at Lowes.

All pieces are now in the room and look great. I will do some organizing and bring all of my goods up into the room but the building is done!

 

What do you think of our progress and the finished products?

 

 

 

 

                                   Building the book shelves (the bottom of the craft table)

 

 

 

 

The bookend after applying a walnut colored stain and 3 coats of varnish

 

                                                     Edges were added to the top

 

                                                   Applying and cutting the laminate top

 

 

 

 

Mark with the power tools

 

     The electric outlets were installed under the table

 

 

                                           Black outlet and covers to match the laminate

 

                               The finished table. I will put baskets on the shelves for storage.
                                               I bought the chairs online from Kohl's

                               Here is the desk that I started with. I am thinking this will make a
                                                  nice sewing table. Nothing fancy.

Stained it all with the walnut varnish to match

and varnished it and the drawers

 

 

 

                                       I added hardware to the drawers for easier opening.

                           We used the remainder of the laminate and covered the desk as well.

                         I found this dresser at the Good Will for $29. I love the detail in the drawers.

                                Espresso stain for the top and bottom and some varnish.
                                I painted the drawers and the detail. I love how it turned out.

 

I found a post on Pinterest for a thread and

bobbin rack so I made myself one.

 

                                                Stained and varnished to match of course.