Day 47 - Eleanor gee I think you're swell - et cetera

Welcome Eleanor Louise Simons born November 6, 2015 at 1:38 pm at Condell Hospital in Libertyville, Illinois. She weighs 7 pounds 4 ounces. Congratulations, we are so happy for you JP and Rachel. John and Priscilla are now first-time very proud grandparents.

Proud mother – Rachel

Proud father – JP

Miles cruised 0, fuel purchased 0, slip fee $ unknown – we might get a monthly rate, daily high temperature 82*F

Another day starts with trepidation. What will be the cost and timing for the transmission repair? We are already trying to plan out 2 – 3 weeks. The mechanic Robert was checking with several sources to get pricing on a new ZF transmission.

We received a call from Craig Bush the ZF technical rep. He found 7 transmissions that meet our specifications in the ZF warehouse in Ft Lauderdale. Of course the housing is not compatible and needs to be swapped out to fit our engine, the electronic shift kit needs to added and in order for the warranty to be in effect we need to replace the oil cooler. Robert the mechanic advised he can install it on Tuesday. “IF” ( the middle two letters in the word life) all goes well we can take the intercostal to Carrabelle on Wednesday and wait for a weather window to cross to Clearwater, Florida. This situation falls into the category that “no problem is so large that you cannot throw enough money at it to make it go away.” Once again having a boat partner with deep pockets is a good thing.

We were asked to move our boat to a slip. There is a 73′ boat coming tomorrow that needs our space. One of the marina staff lashed a power boat to our bow to help us maneuver. Dale did a fine job of backing CL into her slip using only one engine and the bow thruster.

Priscilla and I took a dingy ride up the canal that connects the gulf to the ICW. It was a little lumpy in the bay but dead flat when we were in the canal. There are some very large shrimp boats moored in the canal. It appears the Vietnamese have the largest and newest boats. We also saw several sunken shrimp boats in the canal and a sunken tow boat. Perhaps the canal is not a safe hurricane hole after all.

Vietnamese shrimp boats.

Not a good hurricane hole.

We celebrated the good news of Eleanor’s arrival at the Dockside Grill next to our boat. Everyone cheered and even sang happy birthday to Eleanor.

Eleanor’s first birthday bash at the dockside Grill in Port St. Joe, Florida Click on it.

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Lyrics from the Turtles – Eleanor – 1968 – not every song has the word et cetera in it.

You got a thing about you
I just can’t live without you
I really want you, Eleanor, near me
Your looks intoxicate me
Even though your folks hate me
There’s no one like you, Elenore, really
[Chorus:]
Eleanor, gee I think you’re swell
And you really do me well
You’re my pride and joy, et cetera
Eleanor, can I take the time
To ask you to speak your mind
Tell me that you love me better
I really think you’re groovy
Let’s go out to a movie
What do you say, now, Eleanor, can we?
They’ll turn the lights way down low
Maybe we won’t watch the show
I think I love you, Elenore, love me
[Chorus:]
Eleanor, gee I think you’re swell
And you really do me well
You’re my pride and joy, et cetera
Eleanor, can I take the time
To ask you to speak your mind
Tell me that you love me better
Eleanor, gee I think you’re swell ah-hah
Eleanor, gee I think you’re swell ah-hah
Hah

Carl (Chef) Wooden – quote of the day.
When you want to know how things really work, study them when they’re coming apart.”
― William Gibson, Zero History