Day 195 Longboat Key Marina Friday, November 30, 2018

Day 195 Longboat Key Marina Friday, November 30, 2018

Sun and clouds but the temperatures warmed to mid 70s. Nice. Light NE wind

Note: Add your email above to receive email  of postings. Must be in "Desktop Version" to see Email sign up line. If using mobile. there is a link beneath the Home button at end of the post.  Be sure to verify confirming email - check spam if you don't get one

Well we start our first full day at Longboat Key. Today is task day with trips to the nearby Publix grocery store and next door CVS. We also signed up for the Christmas Day Dinner at the adjacent golf clubhouse.

We think we will really enjoy our stay here.

And here is my first coffee and bagel in the morning.

As I mentioned we are right next to the pool and hot tub. And we checked it out today - and the hot tub is naturally heated, but the pool is also - nice!!

See the hedge in the above photo. Here is a shot looking at our boat. We really are close!!

And here is the Admiral trying out the lounge chairs

And behind the pool is the tennis and pickle ball courts.

And I met the CAT service guys Paul and Eric - got a lot of free tips

And here is the CVS - a ten minute walk.

And the Publix parking lot next door - even the parking lots are nicely landscaped.

And here we are walking back by the golf course to our boat.

And here we are back at the boat.

Ah, home again.

As we have completed our first dinner on board and the night has surrounded us while we were watching our football games, it is time to say ..........

Good Night and May God Bless

Day 194 Longboat Key Marina Thursday, November 29, 2018

Day 194 Longboat Key Marina Thursday, November 29, 2018

Sun and clouds and the temperatures warmed to mid 60s. Brrrrrr in the AM. Light NE wind

Note: Add your email above to receive email  of postings. Must be in "Desktop Version" to see Email sign up line. If using mobile. there is a link beneath the Home button at end of the post.  Be sure to verify confirming email - check spam if you don't get one


Well this was a BIG day. We made it to Longboat Key Marina. This will be our winter home for the next three months!!. It feels really wonderful to tie up and not have to think about moving unless we want to go for a ride. That is a strange but great feeling. Like being at our home marina in Maine.

The ride today was about 55 miles. It was cool over night so I didn't feel like starting out at the crack of dawn. We needed to fuel and have breakfast and didn't get underway until shortly after 0900. The day was overcast as cool with temperatures around 50 degrees. Fortunately, the light breeze was behind us so it was comfortable on the flybridge. And YES to anyone that is wondering, I made my goal of being in shorts the entire time since living NH on May 21 - follow the sun and the warmth is the mantra of this trip.

So here is some photos to capture the big day. Here we are just starting down the Gulf Intercoastal Waterway that we will be following all except when we cross Tampa Bay.

There are mega homes everywhere.  There are a lot of folks that have a lot of money down here. We speculated that most of these mansions are just vacation homes.

And here is a boat that was driven into the tops of the tress in the hurricane!

Well not really - if you look close you can see that is on a boat storage rack - but it caught my attention for a moment.

And this section is down along Indian Rocks Beach area. It is called the Narrows - catchy name. eh?

And there are a pant load of bridges. Fortunately, I can put my radio antennas down and we were able to pass under each one without needing an opening.

We are now heading out toward Tampa Bay. It is shallow here as you can see if you look to the left and notice land poking up above the water. I have had enough of too shallow water for a good long time thank you very much.

But as I was looking ahead I saw some strange shapes. OK my "I Spy" friends, what is it up a head in the water?

Can you tell now?

How about now?
And I have no idea why they are out on the mudflats.

And here is the Tampa Skyway Bridge. They are real proud of their bridge, and you pay dearly to enjoy a ride in a car over it. Fortunately, photos are no charge.

Crossing the 8 mile Tampa Bay

Traveling along the inter coastal again

A tourist boat from the area. And it is a real paddle-wheeler!! Sarasota is in the distance - we are getting close.

And here is a not very clear photo, but this is the John and Mabel Ringling (think circus) Mansion that we visited last year on our car trip to the area.

And Sarasota - but not today as our marina is just a bit further and to the right

And we have turned west and are heading into the marina.

Which is very large. I will have to find out how many slips.

And here we are. Right in the front row!!

The facility is first rate. Faye is in the courtyard between the office and the Italian restaurant - hope it is good!  The pool and hot tub is just the other side of the restaurant and we are the closest boat to it!!

We took a stroll around the marina. We walked two miles!! Do you think this might go faster than my boat? - or just about any boat for that matter?

A few more shots of the marina.

This is the clubhouse on the other end of the marina.

Looking out to the channel at mangrove islets that line the outside of the marina

And look at the pelicans in the mangrove trees!!

And your friendly Ibis flock has stopped by for a stroll.

And here is Perelandra in our front row slip. The office/spa/restaurant buildings are the backdrop. Not bad, eh? We hope it is as much fun and relaxation as we expect - and we are off to a great start.

As you can see the lights are on here in Longboat Key so it is time to say ..............

Good Night and May God Bless

Day 193 Clearwater Beach Marina Wednesday, November 28, 2018

Day 193 Clearwater Beach Marina Wednesday, November 28, 2018

Sun but the temperatures cooled more to mid 50s. Brrrrrr. And breezy

Note: Add your email above to receive email  of postings. Must be in "Desktop Version" to see Email sign up line. If using mobile. there is a link beneath the Home button at end of the post.  Be sure to verify confirming email - check spam if you don't get one


Today was a terrific day as we had a visit from friends Jim and Justine - fellow loopers we traveled with over the last part of the Tenn Tom. They have docked their boat in Crystal River for the winter. They drove over from their home in the Villages.

We left Caladesi Island and were to meet them late morning in Clearwater Beach. But we had an unanticipated delay. Leaving Caladesi there is not a marked channel the entire way. We found out that the water was thin on the way back to the main channel. The tide was extra low and we were trying to get out at that time. So we had a hour and a half to wait to be lifted off the actual 2 foot spot that on my chart plotter shows 5 feet. Oh well welcome to shallow Florida water boating.

And here we are stopping for a while to view the beauty of the bay of Honeymoon Island

If you look close you can see the waterline a little higher than usual. Really appreciate the our Bayliner has  keel. This protects the propellers and rudders as it bottoms out first and the boat sits on it.

And in the background you can see TowBoat US vessel coming over to check on us.  He didn't believe me either when I said we were just sitting here to enjoy the view. But we were fine and he headed off to a different boat actually needing assistance. What was amazing that the breeze was really cold (relative to Florida) but the water was as warm as bath water.

Here we are on the move again. The Clearwater Bay Bridge is ahead of us.

And we had a wonderful visit. Lots of laughs and more wonderful stories including party crashing by a horse.

And we were having so much fun I didn't even get a photo - here is one back from Mobile that will have to suffice.

So our guests have sadly left, and night has fallen, so it is time to say ..........

Good Night and May God Bless

Day 192 Caladesi Island Dunedin 5th day Tuesday, November 27, 2018

Sun returned nicely but the temperatures cooled to mid 60s.  Breezy

Note: Add your email above to receive email  of postings. Must be in "Desktop Version" to see Email sign up line. If using mobile. there is a link beneath the Home button at end of the post.  Be sure to verify confirming email - check spam if you don't get one


The clouds left overnight on a cooling NW wind. It was a great sleeping night and a wonderful morning for coffee - a two cupper morning.

The morning warmed from the mid 50s to the low 60s and still breezy. We decided to stay another day as the wind was to stay up all day and night and the marina is perfectly protected from all wind directions.

Another walk on the trail is the order of the day. There is a lot of great places to sit and enjoy this place of "Heaven on Earth" that others have recognized as well.

If you recall several days ago we had photo of a rather small fresh water pond. As you can see the local wildlife crowd is pleased that the rain has filled their pond with nice clean water.

 The forest. a wonderful mix of pines, hardwoods, and palms, is a joy to behold

 
The mangrove pond near the beach is a wonderful site - we didn't see the number of birds that we did the other days - likely because of the cooler weather.

As the tide was low, we were able to walk up the beach for the last half mile.

There seems to have been a fair amount of erosion along the edge of the beach. Here you can see the interesting root system of the palm tree.  It appears that there are volumes of small roots to hold in the sand and catch any amount of water that may soak through.

The waves were the highest we had seen. 

Another bench reminding us of the wonder that many others have seen when visiting the beautiful oasis in Florida.

 It doesn't get any better than this.

A passing park ranger was kind enough to snap our photo. Glad to get a shot of us to remember this wonderful spot.

And the evening sky is icing on the cake of a beautiful day here at Caladesi Island.

As the wind has blown out the last flickerings of the big candle in the sky,  it is time to say .....

Good Night and May God Bless