I can smell home. I am like a horse who realizes that the trail is leading back to the stable. Seas? Who cares about seas? Rain? Good, the boat won’t need a scrubbing from the salt.

We left Dinner Key. No wind – calm seas ahead or so we had read!

Surprise! Swells of 5 feet! But, none of it matters. We are going home. In reality the boat handles the ocean quite nicely. We continue tooling along. The winds pick up; rain comes. But we boat on. And I thank Kelley that he said we should leave early.

Once we were settled in the slip he has rented for a month, I checked the weather and look what was posted:

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED

SPECIAL MARINE WARNING

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL

212 PM EDT SAT MAR 22 2008

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MIAMI HAS ISSUED A

* SPECIAL MARINE WARNING FOR...

  COASTAL WATERS FROM DEERFIELD BEACH TO OCEAN REEF FL OUT 20 NM

* UNTIL 315 PM EDT

* AT 210 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A

  THUNDERSTORM...CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A WATERSPOUT...ABOUT 12 NM EAST

  OF SUNNY ISLES....MOVING NORTHEAST AT 9 KNOTS. GUSTY WINDS OVER 34

  KNOTS AND HAIL ARE ALSO POSSIBLE WITH THIS STORM.

ANOTHER CLUSTER OF STORMS WAS MOVING OFF THE MIAMI-DADE COAST NEAR

GOLDEN BEACH AND WERE ALSO CAPABLE OF PRODUCING STRONG WINDS.

FREQUENT TO EXCESSIVE LIGHTNING IS OCCURRING WITH THESE STORMS. IF

CAUGHT ON THE OPEN WATER STAY BELOW DECK IF POSSIBLE...KEEP AWAY FROM

UNGROUNDED METAL OBJECTS.

WATERSPOUTS CAN EASILY OVERTURN BOATS AND CREATE LOCALLY HAZARDOUS

SEAS. YOUR BEST COURSE OF EVASIVE ACTION IF THREATENED BY A

WATERSPOUT IS TO MOVE AT A 90 DEGREE ANGLE FROM ITS APPARENT

MOVEMENT. SEEK SAFE HARBOR IMMEDIATELY.

How happy are we that we are safe and sound! We decide to celebrate and go for a walk.

Hey, we hear thunder…maybe it will drizzle…or RAIN! And rain it did! We stopped and had a glass of wine and watched the rain. It’ll let up soon. Well, time for another? Nah. We’ll dash to one store covering after another. Alas, there are no more stores. Trees are dripping larger drops than the sky is letting fall.

You know, it was a free shower! I suggested we sing “Singin’ in the Rain,” but, it is hard to sing and run, hence the reason in the movie An American in Paris Gene Kelly was dancing. Another positive though, it continued raining most of the night, and hard, we didn’t need to wash the boat.

We fly home Wednesday. I am excited! Hope to see you all. We will be home until the 15th. Family! Friends! Home! Partaker Cottage! Casa Safari! We shall be so busy!