Gallows Bay,
Christiansted,
St. Croix, USVI
17.44.911N
64.41.908W

Today, Dale stripped the old outboard of anything useful and brought back all of the pieces and parts in various ziplock bags. Then he brought the new outboard home to rest on its perch on the back deck. I immediately switched the new cover for the old one and except for the shiny shaft and propeller, which I hope will lose its paint quickly, it looks just like the old one.

Apparently Bruce was impressed with Dale’s strip job because when we walked by the shop later, the outboard carcass was in the dumpster. Normally, Bruce gives the locals the broken outboards for stripping but Dale had done such an outstanding job already, there was nothing left to take off. Dale hasn’t said anything yet but I know he’s itching to play with his new toy.

We finished the day up at the marina restaurant where they had a local band playing. None of the members were younger that 50 but we enjoyed every song they played. Some tunes were from our toddler years but when you grow up in homes where music is played on a regular basis, you remember all of those tunes even though they’re not from your generation. At one point, Dale said that they made him feel old but I noticed it didn’t slow him down any; he was having a real good time. His only complaint . . . They didn’t know ‘A Long Black Veil’.