The best thing about cruising..

[OurJenny]

When we started cruising, we thought it would be the places we experienced that would bring us the most joy. We were very wrong. The places have been great but the people we have met are the best part. For example, today we took the city bus to town in search of a thrift store. (We like treasure hunting inland too..) Being ignorant of the day of the week and the fact that the buses quit early on Saturday, we found ourselves waiting for a bus that would not return until Monday and a ten mile walk from the boat. We had our pack, a large bag, and two closed cell foam pool rafts that we plan to convert to cockpit cushions. We did look a lot like a homeless couple as we were walking along. After about a mile, an older station wagon pulls up with a seventy-five year old man with a Bronx accent asking if we needed a ride. We jumped in and we were off. You would be amazed what you can learn about a man in nine miles. Raised in an orphanage and foster homes in New York City, in the mid 50's once hitched from New York to Florida. He was arrested twice for vagrancy in the deep south and spent sixty days on a chain gang. Prior to that he had spent three years in Attica when he was the slowest one running from a stolen car full of delinquents. He straightened up married and raised five very successful children. He was a delight. We shook his hand back at the marina and as he drove away we read the sign on the back of his station wagon. It read, "KINDNESS, PASS IT ON". Ron Jackson, age seventy five, currently of Vero Beach Florida is a man I will remember for quite a while and another reason why the people we meet are the best part of cruising....

Deb and I are on a ball in Vero Beach waiting for weather to head further north after returning from the Exumas a few days ago..

[jen.brett]

I agree! We met some amazing and generous people in our travels.
Glad you're having a great time!

Cheers,
Jen Brett, CW associate editor

[mrdai]

This is what I care about. I just had a trip like that, really great.