(8/24/14) Day Two in Naples

I awoke just before sunrise and went out onto the deck to enjoy the early morning serenity and picturesque beauty. I looked up in our spreaders and rigging, and to my surprise, there was a pandemonium of parrots gathered. I was able to snap a couple of quick photos before they flew off. The forty or so birds left ample traces of their presence on the roof of our salon, however.

Sunrise over Naples Bay

Parrots in the rigging

When startled by my appearance, the parrots flew off to these other boats

This was Sunday, so Cindy and I readied ourselves and set out for worship. Today, we chose to visit St. Anne’s, which is about an eight or nine block walk from the City Dock. The service was quite beautiful and our souls were refreshed by being there. One striking feature of the church was the “Corpus,” what looked to be a wire mesh sculpture of Christ suspended in mid-air rather than with a cross behind him. Quite contemplative!

“Corpus”

After church we walked a few blocks down to 3rd Street South, a sophisticated shopping and dining area on historic Third Street. We had the most wonderful pulled pork sandwiches with onion crisps and Asian slaw for lunch at Tommy Bahamas. Who knew Tommy did food as well!? After a brief time culinary overindulgence, we made our way back to Beatitude, spending the rest of the day aboard.

At Tommy Bahamas in my Tommy Bahamas shirt

Mmmmm… Pulled Pork

God’s artistry

Same flower in a different shade

Before leaving for church this morning, we accomplished the cumbersome task of dragging our mattress up out of the owner’s hull, through the salon and cockpit, and onto the front deck of the boat. We let it dry in the hot 94° Naples sun and wind for about five hours. I believe that did the trick. We frantically retrieved it from the bow when Cindy yelled, “It’s raining!” We’ve had another afternoon of quick showers accompanied by sunshine. Weird.

Lugging the mattress outside

Mattress drying in the sun

I made the wonderful discovery of wifi which can be accessed from Beatitude. We can’t be in the salon or cockpit, but must be up on deck with a clear view of the dock area to get service. It works very well. With wifi, I was able to work on several blog posts this afternoon in between losing a game of chicken foot to Cindy.

Beatitude at rest with Naples Yacht Club in background

“I think that I shall never see a poem as lovely as a tree.”

We enjoyed a pleasant evening on board while thunder rumbled in the distance. Eventually, around 8 pm, the storm found us and we had a few minutes of wind, rain, thunder, and lightning. It didn’t last long, however. The lingering, cooling effect of the storm, lasting through the night, was most welcome. We ate cheese enchiladas, watched a Teaching Company lecture on The History of European Art, and retired for the evening.

Sunset from Naples Mooring Field