Star Wars – MV Simple Life

While it’s unusual for me to spend so much time in one place rather than to keep moving… I was having too much fun to depart to other destinations. My winter was spent in Cape Coral, FL.

Cape Harbour Marina

The marina I chose was Cape Harbour in South West Cape Coral. I had a great location along the boardwalk.

Every morning I would make my coffee and walk the boardwalk. The cafe on the boardwalk would often have live music.

Flashed back to high school when I heard Fire & Rain

Galley Action

Upon returning from my walk, I would often griddle me up something to eat and pack the fridge with leftovers. Cooking is something I enjoy doing but when you are cooking for one I often find myself cooking large quantities. I love leftovers!

What is interesting about food provisioning for my boat… I often stick to non-perishables that store without refrigeration and last a long time. Lots of rice, bean, pastas, oats, can goods, etc. Nice to know if I shove off… food is not going to be one of the things that will force me back to a dock. When I’m in port and plugged into shore power I’m usually close to a grocery store. Those are the times I enjoy my steaks, fresh vegetables and of course mint chocolate chip ice cream.

Oreo Cookie Pie crust with MCC ice cream

Tiki Bar

When you run out of ice cream it’s off to the V.O. Tiki Bar around the corner for a beer.

Angela

New Years Eve

It was nearing the end of 2019 and the 2020 New Years decorations were being put into place.

Star Wars – A Space Opera

The last Star Wars movie had recently been released to theaters.

Star Wars in chronological story-time order

A friend asked me, “Are you a fan of Star Wars?”. “Of course!”, I said. He then asked me… “What is your favorite Star Wars movie?”. His question caught me completely off guard. Hmmmm. I tried to think back of all the different Star Wars movies I have seen in the past and I simply blurted out “Return of the Jedi”. I have to admit in that moment I simply could not recall the details of the individual movies and simply gave him an answer to avoid dead silence or him believing that I was not truly a Star Wars fan. We then made plans to go see Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker (2019) in the local theater. It was in that moment that I realized I needed to re-watch the whole Star Wars series of movies in what I’ll call “story-time order” so that the SciFi space opera makes sense.

This was quite an undertaking but when I got to the last Star Wars movie I realized that the answer I had given earlier was 100% bullshit. Return of the Jedi is the worst of all the the Star Wars movies. Return of the Jedi is like watching The Muppets and it was full of cheesy dialog that just doesn’t fit the drama unfolding.

The best Star Wars movie is a toss up between two of the stand-alone movies, Rogue One & Solo. Note that these two Star wars movies were not part of the original trilogy, prequel trilogy or the sequel trilogy which form the base of the Star Wars story (shown on the bottom of the story-time timeline pictured above).

**Star Wars: The Mandalorian** series – also a favorite of mine

As I took my seat, I was excited to watch the last in the sequel trilogy, The Rise of Skywalker.

The Rise of Skywalker

While I enjoyed the last episode tremendously… the ending did raise lots of questions for me.

What do Y’All think?

Norfolk Leg — Route from The Great Machipongo Inlet to Top Rack Marina, Chesapeake, VA

Well we woke up early and left The Great Machipongo Inlet. The dolphins once again escorted us out and I turned South with the sun streaming in the port side pilothouse windows so hard I had to close the curtains and use the radar alone to tell what was on that side of the boat.

The sea was as flat as a model’s tummy so I lowered the RPMs on the diesel to get 2 MPG rather than 1 MPG. Simply by slowing the boat 1.3 knots we double our fuel efficiency! Don’t you wish that were the case for your car?

Thimble Shoal Light - Norfolk VA — Thimble Shoal Light

In a few hours we had snuck through the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, past Thimble Shoal lighthouse and we were approaching Norfolk Navel Station.

What an amazing sight to get to these American Navy ships up close.

Warship 19 — USS Mesa Verde (LPD 19) – Amphibious Transport Dock Ship

You can see the barrier fence that they stretch across the opening and that fence line is protected by a Navy Patrol boat with a machine gun on the bow.

A local news story revealed just a few months ago there were six bomb threats called in to the naval station and you can call NCIS if you know anything. I wonder if you can call and ask for “Leroy Jethro Gibbs” or “Tony DiNozzo”?

USNS William McLean (T-AKE 12) - Military Sealift Command — USNS William McLean (T-AKE 12)
– Military Sealift Command

USS Leyte Gulf (CG-55) – Ticonderoga-Class Guided Missile Cruiser

USS San Jacinto CG-56 — USS *San Jacinto* (CG-56) – Ticonderoga-Class Cruiser

MH-53E Sea Dragon Buzzed Us From Overhead

As the Sea Dragon buzzed us my navigation system popped up forcing me to ACKNOWLEDGE the fact that there was a “Dangerous Target” nearby. The Helicopter was not alone and there were a pair of jets making that deafening sound that seems to well up from a simple background rumble to a roar.

Jet — McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet – Screeching Across the Sky

I believe that is a McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet? Maybe one of our military aficionados will comment if I got any of this incorrect?

Dry dock ship — I Believe this is the Stern of a Amphibious Transport Ship?

Medical Ship — USS Jason Dunham (DDG-109) – Arleigh Burke-Class Destroyer Alongside The Hospital Ship Comfort

The Hospital Ship Comfort made it’s way down to Puerto Rico as part of the relief efforts.

News Story about Hospital ship and it’s relief efforts.

So after navigating past all the warships and being careful to keep our distance it’s on to the Norfolk International Terminals and the Virginia Port Authority.