Lap of Luxury, Breifly

Bed before… at Marriott in Ft. Meyers near Sanibel Island.

Since June 30, 2012, Wayne and I have not enjoyed a normal queen-sized bed together.  Not due to sleeping preferences or marital issues, simply circumstances. 

In our case, in choosing the cruising life, we’ve also chosen to still live within our means – no loans – any bills paid off in full monthly.  Making sacrifices comes with that; we chose a smaller, older (1977) boat (Pearson 365 ketch), known primarily for its seaworthiness.  Safety and storage (for food, diesel, water, propane, gear) trumped a roomy living space, though we do enjoy a separate shower, a rarity on boats our size.

Bed after… at Marriott in Ft. Meyers near Sanibel Island.

Maybe we’ve just forgotten how they work!

Normally, Wayne’s and my four feet share less than two feet when it comes to our sailboat’s v-berth bed (click here to see our v-berth bed).  We haven’t rented hotel rooms (another living within our means tradeoff), and when when we’ve overnighted at friends or relatives, we’ve shared a sofa bed or slept on an inflatable mattress.  At least then, when we’ve sat up in bed, we haven’t had to worry about clipping our eye with a wing nut, nor did we need to rely on minor acrobatics to elevate our torsos through a narrow slot, carefully avoiding inflicting damage to each other navigating in and out of bed.

Photo“borrowed” from Marrott’s website; a nicer view shot
than the one I took at the Sanibel Island/ Ft. Meyers Marriott. 

Photo“borrowed” from Marrott’s website; a nicer view shot
than the one I took at the Sanibel Island/ Ft. Meyers Marriott. 

There were, however, with two recent and memorable exceptions…

After a stressful, exhausting week and a half of care-taking and health advocacy for my 89-year-old Dad (click here to read about that), Wayne drove 325 miles from Marathon to Sarasota to pick me up.  My brother generously treated Wayne and me to a night at the Ft. Meyer’s Marriott. We needed to rest before making the long return drive. Posh hotel, fabulous view, spacious room with an excellent shower and a blissfully comfy bed.  It was the perfect setting for some much-needed TLC; which Wayne lovingly administered.  Thanks, Mark.  Feels like I won on the sibling and spouse lottery; my brother husband are both awesome!

A week ago, our cruising friend, Jose Pagan of Atlantica, warmly welcomed us as guests in “his [and wife Char’s] humble abode.”  Jose showed us “his” neighboring Naval Marina, Boca Chica, a place we’d love to stay.  Boca Chica, however, and pretty much anyplace else will have a tough time topping the sensational sunrise we enjoyed at Jose’s.  That’s saying a lot; we are connoisseurs of sunrises and sunsets.* Thank you, Jose.  You are a wonderful host, sailor, cruiser and chef, and…. Oh, and, ahem, did we mention how grateful we were to share a normal queen-sized bed?  Yes!  Yes!  Yes!  Thank you! Jose and Char, we look forward to connecting up somewhere in the Bahamas again this year.

Breathtaking Florida Keys sunrise from our friend's
Jose and Char's, near Key West.

We wistfully bid a fond adieu to those sumptuous beds.  For now, the lure of the great beyond beckons much more compellingly.  Tomorrow, January 26th, weather permitting, we are Bahamas bound, for new adventures and at long last the ability to find our own private space out in the open.

* One of the few sunrises we’ve seen more spectacular than “Jose’s” Keys sunrise, was over the River Salee, through the spine of Guadeloupe (click here to see that one).