Cali’s gastrointestinal issues don’t seem to be resolving on their own, so today we broke down and took her to the vet over in Stuart. We actually made the appointment yesterday after doing some investigation online. We went with Surfside Pet Hospital and we are glad we did. There is a good reason they got 4.9 stars on Google. Everyone at the clinic was caring, competent and good at what they do. Dr. Abadia gave Cali a thorough exam, listened to her history and set us up with some meds to hopefully get her on the right track. An antibiotic, an anti diarrheal and he suggested probiotics to maybe help for long term health. We started her on the regimen and hope for a quick recovery. We took her home, grabbed a quick bite to eat, then sped off to meet Travis from Zeke’s Surf, Skate and Paddle for our complimentary lesson that was included in the purchase of our new board.

We met up with him at a little marina across the street from the shop. After going over some basics on the lawn area, we asked a few questions then got our paddle boards into the water. We spent an hour or so paddling around learning new techniques and correcting some potential bad habits I’ve been getting into figuring this SUP thing out on my own. Travis was awesome, patient and knowledgeable and we came away with some new skills and insights into being better paddle boarders. Thanks again to the folks at Zeke’s for a great, no pressure buying experience.

On the way back to Hutchinson Island, we grabbed a veggie delite sandwich at Subway and took it over to the beach in front of Holiday Out and sat on the sand and refueled. There were a handful of oldies from the community lounging on the beach dodging the high tide and the abundance of sargasso weed that was washing up on the shore. We jumped in for a swim but the seaweed was thick we didn’t stay in too long. We took a stroll up the beach to check things out but didn’t see much other than a man o’ war and a washed up coconut with a bunch of shellfish growing on it.

On the way back to the car, we made a stop at the bocce court and tossed a few balls while our board shorts dried off. We aren’t any good at it, but that doesn’t stop us from being competitive trying to ace out the other player. We made our way back to the RV to check in on Cali and put our gear away. I killed some time making us little shark tooth necklaces with a couple of the teeth from Hanna Park. When we stopped at Walmart to pick up cheap life jackets to be legal while paddling, I grabbed some leather cord and copper wire and used that to make them. Not bad for the first try, but I’ve got some ideas to improve on the next attempt. An easy night in getting prepared to head south tomorrow.