Lovely Rita Meter Maid...

We have been in need of a way to monitor our fresh water consumption.  Frank had been pleading for a water meter or tank monitor for quite some time.  I, the cheap one, have been hard to convince.  After selling his motorcycle, he decided that he needed to treat his heartbreak using some of the huge chunk of cash burning a hole in his pocket.  It was really hard for him to sell it as it was the last thing he owned that didn't need to be fixed.  It really was the last thing we had that wasn't boat related, aside from our broken car, not to mention it was fun as hell to ride. We finally came to a compromise and got a water meter instead of a tank monitor because it was cheaper.  This doesn't tell us how much water we have in our tanks, but it does allow us to monitor our consumption.  The meter itself mounts in line with the plumbing and has a remote digital gauge that is mounted in the galley.  It doesn't count down, it merely counts the amount of gallons you have used, and it does have a button to zero out the counter.  Being the sexist that he is, he claims it is a gift for me as women belong in the kitchen.  Hmmm.....I would've rather kept the motorcycle....

On a lighter note, we spent the day at the beach after our morning project of painting a coat on our mast.  (I will talk more about that project when we're done with it.)  After going through our photos the past couple of nights, I realized that we haven't been to the beach in a while.  I was in much need of some ocean time.  I needed to hear the waves roar and smell the sand to reacquaint myself with the beauty of the natural world.  

These are some old photos of some of the beaches we would camp out at for weeks at a time in Hawaii.  Frank would spear fish and we'd cook our food over a bonfire on the beach, watch the sun set, and sleep under the constellations.  Some of the beaches were a bit of a hike, but they were well worth it because there would never be anyone there. What I would give to be there again...

Cooking with my makeshift spatula...a stick :)