Planning, planning, and more planning (Florida Boating, Post 2)

Here’s a picture of our van and our boat, sitting at home in Tucson, with a backdrop of snow on the mountains.

If we were normal people during normal times and we decided to go on a trip to Florida, we would pack a few casual clothes and a swimsuit into a carry-on bag and hop on a plane. But no. It’s the middle of a pandemic. And sometimes I think we just like to do things the hard way.

How can we get to Florida without flying? We drive! And how do we have something to do in a covid world once we get there? We bring our boat with us!

The rough itinerary is: 5 or 6 days driving out there, 2 days in a vacation rental on the keys, 4 days on our boat, 2 days back in the vacation rental, 4 more days on the boat, and 5 or 6 days driving back. 

John’s been ordering a steady stream of stuff to the house, getting the boat prepared.

The boat is essentially a daysailer, not really intended for overnight or liveaboard trips. There’s no bathroom per se, but there was a head (marine toilet) which John replaced with a composting toilet like the one we have in our van.

The problem with the marine head is our boat is so small, we never go anywhere where it’s permitted or advisable to dump our blackwater (like the wide open ocean). You’re not supposed to dump blackwater into the water around the keys. So our only option would be to wait and pump it out at the end of the trip. Marine heads can be stinky when not regularly flushed out, and pump outs are a nuisance. From experience, we know that the composting toilet is much less stinky and much easier to clean out after the trip.

In addition to the new toilet, he also installed a much larger anchor and made numerous modifications to make the small space more usable for sleeping and general living aboard.

As I was imagining a 5 or 6 day road trip to Florida (in middle of the pandemic) I was wondering, how and where would we eat? We already have a microwave and a sink (and a bed and a toilet) in the van. Maybe it would be easiest just to bring our own food. That would eliminate any need to try to drag our trailered boat through a fast-food drive-thru. It would also reduce our trips into grocery stores in states where people aren’t even considerate enough to wear a mask to help protect the health of their own community.

Also when we’re out on our boat in the keys, we aren’t going to have easy access to any facilities. Living aboard a tiny (19’) boat is like camping, except on water instead of in the wilderness. You have to have your own supplies with you.

It took me days to gather and organize that much food. I organized it per each stage of the trip; the van trip out, then the first boat trip, then the second boat trip, and finally the van trip back. I labeled the bags for the first 5 days of the trip, “breakfasts, van 1”, “snacks, van 1”, “dinners, van 1”. 

Next I packed bags for 4 days of boating labeled, “breakfasts, boat 1”, “snacks, boat 1”, “dinner, boat 1″….etc. 

Then for the second boat trip, “breakfasts, boat 2”, “snacks, boat 2”, “dinner, boat 2” and finally “breakfasts, van 2”…etc.

In total, I packed more than 12 bags of food for an estimated 20 days. I do plan to replenish a few perishables like eggs and yogurt while staying in our vacation rental.

It’s true I could have gotten all of the food for the second half of the trip while at the vacation rental, but then I’d be missing out on fun time in Florida! I figured best to have it done ahead of time, so I could relax on the trip. Our trips always seem to be a bit overly adventurous for me, so I’m all for doing any preparations that might make the actual trip easier. Plus it’s just easier for me to order online what I normally order from my regular stores, rather than trying to figure out what to order from a new store I’ve never even heard of. (Winn-Dixie? Seriously? Although that’s not as crazy sounding as Piggly Wiggly, lol!)

I sorted my clothes in a similar fashion, because I expect to have lots of different temperature conditions and activities, depending on where and what we’re doing. I appear to have too many clothes with me, which is a nuisance because they take up precious space. I always pack too much! But at least I have them sorted into multiple smaller bags, so I don’t have to paw through an entire month’s worth of clothes just to find my sweatshirt.

We will have opportunities to go to a laundromat during our “down” days in the vacation rental, but again, we’re trying to avoid enclosed public spaces due to covid. The further off the grid and the less interaction with other Florida tourists, the better. We’re turning into regular survivalists! (Well, not quite.)

On the day before we left, we took a couple of hours off from packing in order to hike with Dan and Dawn, John’s brother and sister-in-law, and their three kids. They spend winters in Tucson and summers in Minnesota. Normally they would be in Tucson before now, but illness delayed them. We haven’t seen them for a long time, so we are happy they made it to Tucson and we were able to see them before we left on our trip.

Sorry I totally forgot to take any pictures of the hike! Usually I remember, but it was a very busy day. And you wouldn’t really have been able to see much of us anyway, between the masks and the sunglasses and the hats. So instead, here’s a random picture of the desert surrounding Tucson from some other hike.

Next post, we’ll be on our way to Florida!

To send Kristina a comment, email turning51bykristina@gmail.com