Tropical Storm Bonnie skirts on by...

Rain... wind and more rain.

I'm not going to gripe about Tropical Storm Bonnie dumping a lot rain on a Friday. It's gotta rain sometime otherwise we'd all be griping about a dry spell. Bonnie did indeed dump some rain but not near what seemed to have been forecast-ed on the weather reports.

The rain I suppose was a nice change of pace from the oppressive heat of the past two weeks and an opportunity to see what leaks the boat may perhaps have. Well yes...S/V Blondie-Dog does indeed leak in a few places. She's got a leak at the base of the mast, the V-berth, and leaks along both port and starboard portholes for starters. What the hell... all boats leak somewhere. The sea-cocks don't seem to leak and the bilge has yet to fill up so I gotta be happy about that.

It was my first day not to do a damned thing aboard the boat. I closed everything up as best I could after deciding that I wasn't quite ready to put up with a stuffy cabin all day. I later headed out to Starbucks, then later to the public library so I could spread my stuff out on a table, and finally back to the comfort of the air-conditioned marina lounge. Later that evening I went chasing a good time and a few cold ones at a nearby tavern that caters to chain-smoking, fuddy-duddies. The place has a multiple flat TV screens and cheep beer. I happened to want to watch a little Texas Rangers baseball for whatever compelling reason. (Rangers 1, Angels 0 for what its worth)

Not that anyone really cares, but penne pasta along with garlic-basil pasta sauce were on the dinner menu today. The galley was hot and steamy since all the hatches were closed up in an attempt to keep all the wind and rain out. It certainly was no a joy to be slaving over the alcohol stove but I was damned hungry and scarfed it all down with a few slices of bread to mop up the sauce.

It's now a day after Bonnie swept by and it is a beautiful morning with blue skies and gentle breezes. I've got my bed linen and comforter drying out up on deck along with my sleeping bag. This all after wiping the deck dry with a dish towel.

Memo to self: Cleanup, shave, and say hi to all the good looking young and not-so-young ladies strolling by with their dogs throughout the day.