Jessie & Melody Went Down to the Beach (to play one day)

Sunday May 17, 2015

I love girl time.  It’s so rare that I’ve been able to have any lately.  Sure, the Virgin Islands was full of that for me where I was able to hang out with my cruising girls Genevieve, Kim, Jody, and Felica….but those days are long gone and while they’re all still out on the water having the time of their lives, I’ve been stuck in a boatyard in the middle of Florida.

Luckily for me, another cruising lady I became close friends with last year is currently on her boat in Fort Lauderdale.  Even better, we just purchased a set of wheels (in the form of a 2004 Kia Sedona) so now I actually travel by land to see her!  Since neither of us wanted to put the other one out by a full 90 minute drive up or down, we broke it up and decided to split the difference by having lunch in West Palm Beach.  Ever as much the frugal cruiser as I am, Melody found us a cheap authentic Mexican restaurant by the name of El Paso, and after getting lost only twice and parking in the wrong lot, where I was sure I was going to get towed but left the van there anyway, met my dear friend after just over a year apart.

Melody and I got to know each other last year when Matt and I spent a month in Fort Lauderdale.  It was kind of happenstance, where we met somewhat by chance and somewhat by Six Degrees of Other Cruisers, but the bond was instant and we’ve still been keeping in good touch even after we parted ways.  Sliding up to the bar we dove right into conversation as if we’d just seen each other last week.  After a really, really long hug of course.

I let her in on my woes of what to do in the situation of Serendipity vs Daze Off.  Having put her own boat on the market last fall without any serious bids, until they took it back off the market of course, she told me what a pain it is to go through the process of selling a boat, which still leaves me just as confused as ever.  The reasons for staying or going can be so random and odd as well.  ‘Leave on Serendipity…this may be the last time I ever see Melody again.  Sell Serendipity and work on Daze Off…weekend visits to Fort Lauderdale and more time with Melody’.  The puzzlement never ends.

When I wasn’t playing the ‘What do I do with my life?’ game we spent a great couple hours catching up, drinking ice cold beers, and enjoying some very good (and cheap!) Mexican food.  Always being the ones to give little gifts to each other, I surprised her with a shirt she had seen me wearing in a photo in Maderia that she loved and Matt coincidentally hated.  So much so that he almost ripped it so I couldn’t wear it anymore.  I think it will be better off in her hands than a trash bin…  And, Melody surprised me with one of my favorite things in the world: new nautical shackle bracelets which she designs and makes.  There was even a new one in there for me (and added to her line), based on the outfit I was wearing the very first time we met.  A white bracelet with light brown whipping, perfectly complimenting the white top and light brown llama skirt I had purchased in Peru.  Is that an amazing friend, or what?

For those of you who don’t know or haven’t clicked the affiliate link on my sidebar, Melody sells her bracelets through Maggie & Milly in an array of colors and sizes.  I love them SO MUCH.  They are the perfect accessory for me no matter what I am wearing, so to be stocked up with a few new colors completely made my day.  Well, aside from the fact that I was able to spend it with one of my best girlfriends. Plus since neither of us had any place we needed to be for a few hours, we decided to head down to the beach at West Palm so we could capture some photos of me wearing my new goods.  I’m not lying when I say I wear her bracelets everywhere, and I usually try and snap a few photos in my more beautiful locations for her to be able to advertise on her website.  Does anyone in that sidebar photo look familiar?

Arriving at the beach it was a beautiful afternoon and the area wasn’t too bad either.  A little more swanky that most beaches I’ve been to.  Strolling through the sand and the water we talked about what a crazy 12 months it’s been for the both of us and how much the cruising and boating lifestyle can change a person.  That we’ve only met three times in person previously but both consider each other one of our closest friends.  How things in our life can be completely crazy and most people will have no idea what we’re going through, but we can always count on and lean on each other.

There’s something about the water and a life on the ocean that has bonded our friendship forever. I guess Maggie and Milly’s namesake does have a point.  “For whatever we lose (like a you or a me), it’s always ourselves we find in the sea.”

MAGGIE AND MILLY
AND MOLLY AND MAY

maggie and milly and molly and may
went down to the beach(to play one day)

and maggie discovered a shell that sang
so sweetly she couldn’t remember her troubles,and

milly befriended a stranded star
whose rays five languid fingers were;

and molly was chased by a horrible thing
which raced sideways while blowing bubbles:and

may came home with a smooth round stone
as small as a world and as large as alone.

For whatever we lose(like a you or a me)
it’s always ourselves we find in the sea

~e.e. cummings