November 24 - 25
Thanksgiving Day we began our celebration with mimosas, the Macy's Day Parade, and phone calls to and from our families. While Richard cheered on his favorite football teams, I prepared homemade dressing, real mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and a turkey breast. I ran out of energy before I could make a pumpkin pie but in the end it was better for us that I didn't. What a quiet, peaceful day we had. Life doesn't get any better than basking on a boat in the warmth of the Florida sun in November!
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| We actually saw an alligator as we went into Tarpon Springs! |
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| Tarpon Springs is famous for sponge harvesting and Greek restaurants. Had we been closer to town we would have visited the sponge docks but we spent time here a few years ago so we just enjoyed being together. |
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| I have no words for this! |
The day after Thanksgiving, we untied our lines, ventured again into the Gulf and headed for St. Petersburg. The medium chop and numerous fishnet pots slowed us up but we are seldom in a hurry anymore. We arrived in St. Pete about five hours later and tied up at the Renaissance Vinoy Marina.
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| Passing by Clearwater Beach and Sand Key |
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| Approaching Tampa Bay |
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| Renaissance Vinoy is a magnificent pink landmark in downtown St. Petersburg. |
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| Safe and sound in downtown St. Pete |
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| The Pier is also a famous landmark but we like to visit here because we love the Cuban Black Bean soup at the Columbia Restaurant on the 3rd floor. |
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| These guys are always looking for a hand-out. |
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| I guess we are friends now! |
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| I kissed the cod in Newfoundland so I figured the dolphin deserves the same. |
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| I visited Sunken Gardens when I was visiting my Grandma Stadler in the 60's so I was excited to go back for another visit. |
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| Sunken Gardens has been a landmark in St. Petersburg since 1935. After George Turner purchased this property in 1903, he drained a shallow lake that dropped 15 feet below street level. Twenty-one years later, tourists were paying $.25 to see his beautiful gardens. |
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| A pair of kookaburra moving in sync |
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| In true holiday spirit, a grouping of poinsettias form a beautiful Christmas tree. |
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| The Bird of Paradise is one of my favorite tropical flowers. |
Richard and I so enjoyed St. Pete. Dining at 400 Beach Seafood and Tap House and the Park Shore Grill, we ate mussells, shrimp, and calamari, made good use of the $.25 trolley tour, and walked and walked and walked!! What a great place to spend a few days. On November 29, we traveled to Sarasota, Florida.
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| The Sunshine Bridge as we exit Tampa Bay |
November 29 - December 2
After going under the bridge, our waypoint was set to take us through the GICW to Sarasota. As we traveled through this shallow, protected waterway, we were entertained by dolphin dancing in our wake and the viewing of beautiful homes. Several bridges opened for us on demand while for others we had to wait.
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| Approaching Sarasota Bay |
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| Marina Jacks in Sarasota provided us with many amenities, a clean laundry room, safe docks, a Tiki Bar, a great marina staff, and courtesy transportation to Walgreens, Publix, etc. We also ran into Seamoore again so we enjoyed cocktails with them. |
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| Wherever we are , we marvel at the sunsets on Florida's west coast. |
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| As I wandered around Sarasota, I came upon this fountain decorated with colorful tiles. |
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| We enjoyed seeing this fountain from our stern each day we were in Marina Jacks. |
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| Leaving Sarasota, we continued down the Intracoastal Waterway. We traveled past Venice, Florida on our way to Boca Grande. |
December 3 - 4
Boca Grande is an upscale old Florida town at the south end of Gasparilla Island. We very slowly entered the 6 foot depths of the Boca Grande Bayou and made our way to the newly renovated Boca Grande Marina. Destroyed by a hurricane in 2005, new owners have replaced docks and built two onsite restaurants, a gift shop, ship's store, and restrooms. We felt very comfortable here in a well- protected harbor. Although we were only a short distance to town, we rented a golf cart to explore the rest of the 7- mile long island.
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| We stopped for ice cream while we were exploring the town. |
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| Outside of Hudson's Grocery stands this relic from the past. |
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| Boca Grande's most famous landmark, an 1890's lighthouse, has a museum on the first floor where we learned interesting facts about the island's flora and fauna. Although iguanas are not native to this island, they have repopulated the area to the point of now being a nuisance to the island folk. All the result of a pet owner's indiscretion - Who let the iguana out??! |
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| On the porch of the lighthouse looking beyond the beach is Boca Grande Pass, are one of the world's best tarpon fishing grounds because of the deep waters in the Gulf of Mexico of at least 80 feet. The cool, breezy day kept most people off the beach on the day of our visit. We thought the weather was perfect! |
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| After our lighthouse visit, we drove to the South Beach Cafe for lunch. I enjoyed a lobster filled crepe and Richard ate his usual fish sandwich and fries. Yum! |
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| It's always nice to know how to get from here to there...Richard now knows how faraway Fenway Park is...Go Red Sox! |
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| A little story here... We were having dinner in the marina restaurant Friday night. Sitting near another couple, we struck up a conversation with Bob and Karen. We chatted a bit, went back to eating our dinner until Karen startled me by asking if we would like to join them on Saturday for a cocktail party at a private marina on Useppa Island. When they arrived to pick us up in their boat, Karen quickly told me that she doesn't normally 'pick up' strangers as I responded with 'neither do we!' But some our best times have been when those impromptu, perhaps little reckless, opportunities arise. We had a wonderful evening on Useppa Island, 5 miles southeast of Boca Grande. |
December 5 -7
Opposite Boca Grande Channel on Florida's west shore is
Punta Gorda, our next stop n' dock. Our marina of choice,
Fishermen's Village Yacht Basin, proved to be one of my favorite places to while away the two days that Richard had to be in Chicago. Not only does this marina have the usual amenities above and beyond the use of bicycles and a heated pool (air temperature was in the 50's and 60's) there is a mall with 5 restaurants and 37 shops! Heaven!!!
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| Palm trees, Christmas wreaths and wooden soldiers - Christmas in Florida... |
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| Even Snowmen exist here |
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| Do the little kids really buy into Santa's Dolphins?? |
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| After two days of shopping and Richard's return, we left for Punta Gorda on December 8. |
December 8
Continuing south, we motored a few hours to our next location,
Sanibel Island. Every day of our travels since entering Mobile Bay, Richard has experienced
dolphin sightings. With his eyes always on the water, he alerts me when he sees them. Today was the best dolphin experience yet. For the first time one, then two, then three dolphin swam next to our boat, sometimes racing faster than we, jumping, swimming on their sides, and teasing us with their flippers for a good 5 minutes. What a beautiful sight to see them playing so up close and personal.
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| One dolphin |
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| Doing the side stroke |
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| Two playful dolphins and a third on her way |
Sanibel Island, in contrast to Boca Grande, is more commercial and more populated, but it is truly a beautiful tropical island. We stayed overnight in the only marina on the island,
Sanibel Marina. With rain and cold coming, we decided to go for our walk to the
Sanibel Lighthouse at Point Ybel.
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| A pirate guards our boat. |
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| We enjoyed homemade clam chowder and crab meat balls at Gramma Dot's. |
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| OK... In New York we have deer crossings! |
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| Sanibel Lighthouse (circa 1884) |
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| Sunset at 5:26 |
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| Sunset at 5:30 |
December 9
Based on the prediction of windy and cold conditions, we decided to spend less time than planned on Florida's Gulf coast. So after one night in Sanibel, we skipped our planned stop at Ft. Myers and continued on to Naples. Although we only spent one night here, we enjoyed the luxurious Marina at Naples Bay Resort, dinner at the Bonefish Grill, a pleasant walk to near-by shopping and the beautiful multimillion-dollar homes along the waterway.
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| Marina at Naples Bay Resort |
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| Sunset in Naples |
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| Naples Bay Resort |
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| We see this caution in every marina. Manatee are endangered and easily injured by careless boaters. |
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| Naples is well-known for its exclusive real estate. |
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| Beautiful scenery and location |
December 10
From Naples, our cruise to Marco Island was just a few hours. We tied up at the Marco Island Marina where we met some very friendly people. One couple who Richard spoke to gave us really good advice as to where to stay in Key West. Since they spend several months there, they recommended the A and B Marina. We were very fortunate to reserve a berth for a month (only because of a cancellation). Although our time in Marco Island was short, we did enjoy a nice walk in the area.
After checking the weather and water for our Florida Gulf crossing to Key West, we left Marco Island on Saturday at 7:15 a.m. Originally we had planned to spend time on Florida's west coast and head to Key West from Marco Island on December 15. Based on the prediction of high seas and wind beginning December 12 until ??, we made the decision to head to Key West on Saturday, December 11. We had a very comfortable crossing, making good time (about 9 hours). Pulling into the
A and B Marina around 4:30, the brisk winds challenged us as we worked very hard to go stern in and perpendicular to a long dock, securing the bow first to pylons. Although more than one attempt was made, much to the excitement of a gathering crowd, Captain Richard maneuvered
Rambler into her berth for a month-long rest.
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| Approaching Key West Bight and A and B Marina at 4:40 p.m. |
