December 5

We left Vero Beach with reluctance. We had met new people and "old" friends. Captain Joe was one we met last night as we returned to our boat. He was from Brooklyn and had a million stories and funny things to say. We said goodbye as he left on a Huckins motorboat that he was hired to move. He remembered Annette's name as he motored away because he has a girlfriend by the same name and he always carries "a net" on his boat. We also met another captain moving a boat next to us. He had asked us where we were from. It turns out he could make a connection with Jerry Kember, a former music teacher in Newark, from the time when he was a musician. He was associated with a music group that played at the Winter Olympics and later came to Newark when Jerry was there. This morning, we saw Jim as he was leaving and made another mutual connection. This time it was with Jerry Senecal, our friend from Cedar Lake. He knew him from fishing and boating in Oak Orchard. Annette insisted upon calling Jerry so that Jim could say hello to him. They had a nice conversation just before Jim had to leave.

We made our way to Jensen Beach that day. Pat and Walt had elected to stay at Vero Beach on a mooring ball for another day so they could enjoy the beach scene. They planned to go outside tomorrow so they could catch us at Lake Worth, where the West Palm Beach inlet was the next viable opportunity to get in from the ocean. The picture shows the bridge at night at Jensen Beach. This anchorage was where we spent the Easter holiday last spring with Jack and Sheila.