The Veggie Boat

Location: Radford, Virginia

When we were living on our sailboat, Rachel, in the San Blas Islands off Panama's northern coast, the arrival of the "veggie boat" was a very big deal. Open fishing boats about 20 feet long, they did double duty as floating grocery stores and provided us with the necessities of life - like vegetables, chicken, and occasionally wine - all for very reasonable prices. A few of the islands had "grocery stores", but these were not always convenient or well stocked. The veggie boats, also not always well stocked, would make their seemingly random rounds of random anchorages on some random schedule that none of us cruisers could ever figure out.

We always had a shopping list prepared on the off chance that today would be veggie boat day. After being there a few months, we came to the realization that our list was actually not so much a shopping list as it was a wish list. 

 A shopping list, at least to us, implies that one will go to a store and buy what's on the list. In the San Blas, however, one "goes shopping" and buys whatever the veggie boat has on board. You may not really want bananas or cabbage or "pollo entera" (chicken, plucked, with head and feet still attached) but when that's all there is, that's what you buy, whether it's on the list or not. Needless to say, mealtimes often required a certain amount of creativity.

And there was always the awareness that, if we bought more than we needed, someone else further down the line might not be able to get what they needed. We were all in the same boat, so to speak, and were very aware of that fact. That being said, however, your chances of getting what you wanted were directly proportional to your position in the fleet - distinctly better if you were among the first boats visited rather than among the last.

We've found that, to some degree, going to the grocery store these days is a bit like shopping from the veggie boat. We never know what we'll find or what will be out of stock (other than hand sanitizer and toilet paper, of course). Obviously, the range of options is much broader here at home than in the San Blas, but all the same, we are grateful for our "wish list" mentality and the lessons we learned shopping "veggie boat style".

Please keep others in mind, buy only what you need, and may your veggie boat always come in,

Mark & Julie

Where the Wild Things Are

Location: Radford, Virginia

We tire of being cold, so the day before Valentine's, we decide to take a month or two and travel south to warmer climes in our camper.

Things down here are a far cry from the frozen tundra up north in Virginia. Here we are able to wear shorts and tee shirts while we hike, visit with several old cruising friends, and generally spend our time exploring, relaxing, and being "not cold". And we are, once again, amazed at the sheer abundance of wildlife down here.

One evening early in the trip, at dusk at our camp in the Georgia woods, we are surprised by a plethora of strange bird calls. Mostly what sounds like hoots, we guess it's owls and do a quick owl call search on the Internet. Turns out the trees above and around us are filled with barred owls – it must be spring and mating season has begun. Unfortunately, we have forgotten to bring our binoculars – a.k.a "bins" (doh!), so we don't see any, but are happy to hear them. 

Our first day in Florida we go hiking on the beach at Ft. Clinch State Park in Fernandina and see a sand covered turtle who has come ashore, we suppose, to lay eggs. Another harbinger of spring? Luckily, we are fast enough (and, thankfully, the turtle is slow enough) that we are able to capture a photo.

As we travel we become used to seeing bald eagles, osprey, and sandhill cranes. Egrets, wood storks and many other shore birds are also frequently observed. Unfortunately, we are unable to see them as close as we'd like since we don't have our bins...

At Silver Glen Springs we find crystal clear water and puthering sand springs – very cool and, like our camp fire, easy to watch and get lost in.

After breaking ourselves free from the puthering, we chat up a young man with a couple of kids, all in wet suits. They've been snorkeling with the manatees for the last hour or so and have really enjoyed themselves. Apparently, one manatee is very friendly and keeps sneaking up behind and nudging them – they tell us it's quite a startling proposition the first time it happens. Hopefully, this is not also a sign of spring mating season...

At St. Augustine on the walls of the old Spanish fort we see pigeons cooing and wooing, grabbing each other's beaks and doing their strange pigeon mating dance. Yep, spring is definitely arriving.

We also get to see some gators! One about 10' long across a river from where we are walking with friends, then on another day with other friends, a little four footer from about 8 feet away, followed by a huge 12 footer from only about 25' away! Needless to say, we continue on without trying to get closer, make friends, or visit. Don't want to risk wearing out our welcome! It would be cool to have our bins, though.

At Mayaca State Park we get to participate in one of our favorite wildlife viewing activities – watching and listening to bird watchers watching birds. There are so many varieties of shore bird here, all looking for fish and shellfish, that our new friends are very animated, talking excitedly among themselves and snap-snap-snapping pictures. As always, this makes them even more enjoyable to watch, and we spend a while observing them. Unfortunately, we can't see much of what they're discussing without our bins...

On one of our last days, we are taken fishing by old cruising buddies. Julie catches a sheepshead – excellent eating, according to one of our hosts. He then goes on to catch a second one, then cleans them both and gives us all the fillets. We pan fry them the following night and, as promised, they are delicious. Yum!

Then, like everyone else we know, our plans are suddenly short-circuited by Covid-19. We'd hoped to stay south until early April , but with state governments closing facilities and what looks like a looming country-wide shutdown, we scurry back home.

Here we are greeted by a lawn that needs mowing, happily blooming daffodils that Mark gave Julie for her birthday last November, and – wait for it - stores with no toilet paper!?!? We don't get it - hoarding toilet paper? Go figure.

At any rate, we have just stocked up the camper (4 rolls), so we're good for "bog roll" for the time being. A quick trip to the grocery for some fresh veggies, dried beans, seeds to sprout and a quick perusal to see what else we can find to supplement our stores and tide us over for the next few weeks, and we're good to go for our next phase - voluntary self-isolation.

Our isolation reminds us to be grateful for the all-too-short vacation we just had. Now the only wildlife we get to see is local birds, the odd squirrel, and our neighbors. At least we have our bins!

Best wishes to you all, stay safe and be healthy.