When I left for Florida last October, it was the coldest October on record - though I would damned well freeze to death before I got out of Chesapeake Bay. A lot of days the temperature was in the low to mid 40s, which on the water really feels a lot colder. Then the rain hit. Keep in mind that you don't really have any protection from the elements while in the cockpit of a sailboat - even a larger one.
When I finally arrived in Miami, the temperature was a brisk 62 degrees during the day - still too damned cold for this old man. Fortunately, just 110 miles to the southwest, in Marathon, the temperature the day I arrived was a balmy 78 degrees, the humidity was relatively low, I tied up to the mooring ball in Boot Key Harbor, mixed an ice cold Margaretta, looked the palm trees in the sunset and said, damned, this is how the rich folks must live.
Donny, there were NO bugs, there was always a nice breeze, and I loved performing outdoors - and the audiences loved the wonderful tropical atmosphere of music under a million stars, while sipping on a cold drink and loving life. I had the place filled with people dancing to just about everything I played, the tip jar quickly filled, and they never wanted the music to stop. When it came time to go home, they didn't want me to leave, and in reality, I didn't want to leave as well - but I had to do so in order to preserve my marital status - yep, she woulda shot me right between the eyes with that .357 mag.
So, I'm glad you enjoy shelling out lots of money to the power companies, shoveling snow, slipping around on ice covered roads, stuff like that. You can have my share as well. Come 2015, if I still have most of the body parts I current have, I'm gonna point that boat's bow south again and like this past time, I'm not gonna stop till the temperature and my age are equal. I envy Diki being able to make a living in Paradise. And, there's an old saying among the locals from South Florida - "I never knew anyone that retired and moved north."
Gary