12/20/2017

Just realized how long it has been since my last post.  Now that we are not traveling on an almost
daily basis, there does not seem to be as much to say.

We stayed at Punta Gorda for almost 3 weeks.  As I said in the previous post, lots of company & a very nice marina.  We met a live aboard that arrived 3 years ago & never left!

 Riley went swimming with Cali, a yellow lab who is also on the loop.  Cali chases a toy into the water, which Riley has never done.  Well he did this time!  Turns out he is very competitive.  We had to pull him out & let them retrieve separately.

We arrived in Fort Myers Beach on 12/15.  The trip was uneventful.  There was a little confusion when we arrived at the marina.  No one seemed to know which dock we were assigned.   One of the dock hands did find a dock for us & said they would figure it out on Monday.  No sooner were we tied up, when friends came knocking on the boat.  They were in town for a short vacation.
 The dock master did come to the boat the next day & said we could stay where we were.  As with anything, it has it's good & bad.  It is out at the end, so not crowded & a nice view.  Also out at the end is a pirate ship.  They can take 2 cruises a day & that can get a little noisy & busy, but it doesn't last long.  It is a no wake zone, but not everyone adheres!

We have been using the dinghy almost daily.  Looking for the best way to get to the beach.  We have tried different routes.  Using free dinghy dock & then walking or taking the dinghy all the way to the beach.  We also walk to the beach & back to the boat every morning.  It all works.  Riley loves the beach & swimming.  He really sleeps well at night as he is missing his naps!

Today we stopped on the way back to the boat for breakfast at Bonita Bills.  They have resident cats.  Very tough cats.  There was a stand off & a confrontation.  The cat finally left, but not before getting his licks in!  Riley remained on guard for entire time we were there.

We have been spending time on the beach with friends we met there several years ago.  Soon our usual Christmas buddies Toni & Fred will be here to celebrate Christmas with us.

Merry Christmas to all.

GUESS WHAT THIS IS???

HISTORIC PUNTA GORDA

PATTI ON CLEARWATER BEACH.  IT WAS  COLD!

OUR CURRENT DOCK PARTNERS

CAN I GO HOME NOW?

CAN YOU SAY REINDEER?

WAITING FOR A SEAT AT ELKS TIKI BAR

The answer is.....barnacles on the bottom of an inflatable.  Not ours thankfully.

December 3, 2017

Coming to you from Punta Gorda.

We left Clearwater on 11/21.  Headed for Sarasota.  We did on over night stop in Gulf Port.  We were on the intercostal & it is very slow going.  A combination of skinny water & no wake zones.  The upside....very scenic.  Our weather was good, about 74 & sunny.  the only thing of note at that marina was the ability to rack store a 42' boat.

Next stop Sarasota.  The plan was to stay on a mooring ball.  We tied up to the ball without difficulty, at which point I noticed we were not on the assigned ball.  Marina said, "No Problem."  Tim started the generator & we started to get organized.  At which point the generator stopped.  I called the marina again.  Yes, they had a dock & yes we went to the dock.  Tim worked on the generator.  It was the impeller & yes he had a spare.  Three fins had broken off.  To date, he has found 2, but is confident it will be ok.  The good & bad:  We stayed at Marina Jacks for 3 days..  Nice, but rather expensive.  My childhood friend lives in Sarasota & we had Thanksgiving at her house.  Four of her 6 children were there.  She told no one we were coming, so when her daughter opened the door & saw us, she was speechless.  I wish I had camera ready for the expression on her face.  It was a great time.
We rented a car while there & made our first Costco run since leaving home.  Tim was ecstatic.  Another Tim wish list was also fulfilled, Total Wines & More.
One more thing, the bad weather seems to be following us.  Sarasota was nice the whole week before we arrived & with us came the "front".  Rain & cool.

We left Sarasota & headed south.   Hopefully their weather improved with our departure.  We stayed one night in Gasprilla.

On to Punta Gorda with a stop in Cape Haze for fuel.  Tim was warned, it was a narrow channel with small boat traffic & he would probably have to back out.  It did not deter him.  The price was right.  We fueled, got some info on were to stay when in NY & what boat soap & wax to use & Tim as usual did a fine job.  In case you are wondering, why all the NY info, the dock hand was from Jersey City.  While fueling, I was looking around for grass for Riley & what did my wondering eye behold, but a full grown pig wandering around the grassy area.  I know nothing about pigs, so discretion being the better part of valor, we did not go shore.  There is a picture, unfortunately not a good one.  It is laying on the ground in front & between the white car & dark truck.


We docked at Laishley Park Municipal Marina at noon on 11/26 & are still here.  I did not realize how many people we knew in this area.  That day friends, Mark & Bonnie, drove up from Naples to visit, have dinner & share some laughs with us.  The next day 3 more couples stopped.  Thank You Kris & Gene, Marsh & Linda & Bill & Mosey.  Kris & Gene are going back to the frozen north, but we will see Marsh & Linda again, we have been spending time with Bill & Mosey as they live in Port Charlotte.  We went to the Elks club with Bill & Mosey for lunch.  Of course, Tim saw someone he knew, Ron,  from Beaver Park Yacht Club at home.  We are still making plans with others we have yet to see.  We will be here at least 2 weeks.
It is a nice marina & a nice town.  There is a great park & harbor walk.  Riley is glad to have both.  When we get back from  our morning run/walk,  he is grateful.  At least that is what I think he said.  Went to a farmers market today & a car auction last evening.  We learned of the auction while having breakfast at an out door cafe.  There were car trailers with all make & model of cars pulling in.  I have never seen anything like it.  Tim got to see a 69 Super Bee.  He had one when I met him, & he loved that car.   A little aside.  That's when I knew he loved me.  He gave it to me to use after I demolished my car!  (Not my first totaled car, by the way.  Not sure I told him about the others.) I used it for a summer while he rode his motorcycle in all kinds of weather.
When we arrived we were docked at the end of a T dock.  Great view of the park & the water way.  Also a wide, pretty private dock with a good breeze.  Unfortunately as the week end approached the traffic increased & we were rocked to the point it was difficult to stand on the boat.  The Marina staff kindly offered us an inside dock which we took.  View is gone, breeze diminished, but rocking is greatly diminished.

A note about the pictures:  Sometimes I get them from another source or late & they do not make the post they go with.  If I waited, these posts would take even longer.  Also, they are not in any particular order.  If I took time to figure that out, you guessed it, these posts would take even longer.  My apologies.

CAR AUCTION PARKING LOT

FRIENDS, BILL & MOSEY & RILEY

SOME CARS FROM AUCTION

COOL TREE (SARASOTA)

ON THE GULF CROSSING

ON THE FREE DOCK WITH THE BIG BUGS

ANOTHER COOL TREE, PUNTA GORDA

HOUSE ON THE INTERCOSTAL

A NEW HOOD ORNAMENT

RESIDENT PIG

VIEW FROM T DOCK IN PUNTA GORDA

PUNTA GORDA HARBOR WALK (RECOGNIZE ANYONE?)

SUPER BEE

NEEDS NO CAPTION

TIM'S NIGHTMARE (CHECK OUT THE BIRDS ON THE BOW)

TIM AT TKI BAR IN PUNTA GORDA

11/19/2017

Coming to you from Clearwater, FL.

We left Panama City on Sunday 11/12.  Sunny day with only small white caps on the open bays.  Pretty uneventful.  We ran to White City & stayed on a free dock with no amenities.  Many buzzards, I guess because of all the fisherman cleaning their catch.  No cell service.  We are back in Eastern Standard Time Zone.  That's good for me.  Never get used to time changes.  We sat out on the dock for awhile watching some giant bugs (I think I mentioned, I don't like bugs).  I was told they were Palmetto Bugs & get used to it.  Like that is going to happen!  Anyway, looked more like giant beetles to me.  Are Palmetto bugs black?  I managed to feed a couple to the fish.

We stayed at Apalachicola next.  Only 1 night.  The marina we originally planned did not work.  The docks were not big enough.  Went up the river a little & stayed at Scipio.  New owner,  is currently renovating.  Uneventful.

We went to Carrabelle in the morning to wait for a weather window to cross the gulf.  The day was sunny & the water was choppy & skinny.  On our first morning there we woke to find the stern was sitting in the mud.  Low tide & skinny water.  Not a good combo.  We waited till the tide came up & moved to another dock where the water was deeper.  The people at the marina went & measured dock widths till they found one the would accommodate our beam.  As it turned out, they were partially right.  We could not get all the way back.  Docks in FL tend to be pilings with just a short dock near shore.  We need that to get us all off the boat.  Especially Riley.  We were able to tie up close enough to the dock with a little grease (just kidding) & Tim's expert docking abilities.  Yea, Tim.

The Gulf can be crossed slow or fast.  Our boat is capable of a fast crossing, but we were unable to find a fast buddy boat to cross with.  It is safer to cross with a buddy & we absolutely needed one as our radar is not working & we were unable to get it fixed at this time.  So instead of a 10 hour daylight crossing it was 21 hours.  Our buddy boat was Donna Mae.  We saw the sunset & sunrise while on the Gulf.   The stars were awesome.   As predicted, around midnight, the seas kicked up, so we were rocked around a bit.  When we finally got to the approach to  Clearwater, the sun was shining in our eyes.  Poor timing.  To make matters worse we were now on 30 hours without sleep & having to dodge crab pots.  It is not something I would do again.   Riley agrees.  I had pee pads, with his scent on them.  He would not use them no matter how I prompted him.  When we made land, we ran off the dock & he stopped at the first tree & created quite a puddle.  Then it was nap time.  The plan was 2 days in Clearwater, but we ended up staying 3.  Riley got to go to the beach & charge the surf & meet a horseshoe crab.

ABANDONED BRIDGE GIWW

DOCK PARTNER??

ABANDONED BRIDGE GIWW

CARABELLE DOCK

DOLPHIN IN OUR WAKE

GIWW

GIWW

RILEY WATCHING DOLPHINS

SUNRISE ON THE GULF

CLEARWATER BEACH SUNSET

SUNSET ON THE GULF

TIM ENJOYING OYSTERS

A MAN & HIS DOG,  AKA TIM & RILEY

11/11/2017

Panama City, FL.  Arrived yesterday.  Staying at least today.  Wind is howling.  When we do run, the plan is Carrabelle via Apalachicola to wait for crossing window.

When we left The Wharf, we went to an anchorage at Fort McRee.  Best yet.  Protected & surrounded  with sandy beaches.  Riley got to run.  He also thought it was fun to run in the water.  He quickly learned, one does not drink salt water!  It was near Pensacola, so we were treated to a free air show.  The Blue Angels were practicing for the Veterans Day air show.  A pod of dolphins swam right next to our boat.  At night we had the swim platform lights on & saw a school (gam) of baby sharks (pups) just hanging around.  We grilled burgers & were joined for dinner by our traveling partners, Lori & Derek.

Next morning we headed to Bahia Mar Marina to pick up props.  It was a short run.  Lori & Derek traveled on.  We spent the night, picked up newly refurbished props & received lift struts Tim had ordered from Amazon.  Now all we need is oil & filters, so he can change all that before we cross the Gulf.

Next stop Rocky Bayou.  It was a little of a wake up call for me.  It was cloudy, windy with some rain.  We got out in the bay &  realized it was pretty choppy.  I was used to being in the ditch where weather was not really an issue.  Looking around at the water, it was 3 -5's!  No one else was out.   Not that Craic couldn't handle that, but had we been at home, we would not have gone out unless we had to.  Lesson learned.  Pay attention.  We are now back to some open waters.  (That is why we decided to stay in Panama City another day).  We were able to run on plane for some of the time, which made the trip faster.  We ended up in Niceville, FL for one night.

On our run to Panama City, there was plenty of open water.  Problem, very skinny.  Do not nose out of the channel.  We found ourselves in 2ft or less.  Some of the buoys for the channel were missing, hence the skinny water dilemma.  I was monitoring my Garmin charts & Tim his Navionics.  The sail line was not always the same.  Garmin wins😃

Another Riley Story.   He was at his usual place at the stern, guarding against who knows what, when he started barking like crazy.  I looked back & not only was he barking, but backing up as fast as he could.  He pressed himself against me at the helm seat & peeked at the back of the boat.  I looked & saw nothing.  He does have better eyes.  I went back & in the wake, dolphins were following us.  Guess he will take  on Asian carp, but dolphins are a little too big!  Or maybe he watched Jaws when we were not home???  He could be excused from not knowing the difference between sharks & dolphins.  Anyway, I gave him a pass.

SPEAKS FOR ITSELF!

BLUE ANGELS

MORE BLUE ANGELS

DOLPHINS, VIEW FROM OUR BOAT AT NICEVILLE

FERRIS WHEEL AT THE WHARF (YES WE RODE IT)

FORT MCREE ANCHORAGE

SAND DUNES ALONG THE DITCH

VIEW FROM BOAT AT NICEVILLE

SUNSET PANAMA CITY

MOON WHILE ANCHORED

LIGHT SHOW AT THE WHARF

November 6, 2017

We are currently in Orange Beach, AL at The Wharf Marina.  We arrived Saturday 11/5.  The plan is to leave Wednesday for an anchorage near Pensacola & a free air show.  While here we found a diver to change the props.   We hit a dead head in the ditch after the last lock.  He seems to think we will be happier with the 4 blade vs 3 blade.  We shall see.
Now if we can just get the radar to work.  Someone looked at it, but found no solution.  Tim is now taking it apart.....to be continued.

We have been doing long days to get here.  Anywhere from 50 to 70 miles per day.  At not quite 10mph, that is a long day filled with tows & locks.  Speaking of locks, we went thru our last one till we get back up north.  Once thru the Coffeeville Lock, we hit salt water.  Tim & Craic both shuddered.  They are still quietly sobbing. 😢

The monotony was broken by wildlife sightings.  A large coyote was standing on shore just watching us pass.  Eagles flying low to catch dinner.  And last but not least an alligator.  It was huge, (at least I thought it was).  My guess 12 feet.  And my personal favorite, moths.  I have never seen such BIG moths.  First time I heard one, I thought Black Hawk.  I swear it is only a slight exaggeration. 😇

Arriving in Mobile Bay was a shock after days of traveling the ditch.  Civilization!  Big & bustling.  Ships, tows, barges, city buildings.  We left the shipping channel & cut across the bay.  It was odd to see so much water with so little depth.  Average about 7 foot.  Once again my eyes were glued to the depth finder.  We made it to the GICW without incident.  Nice area.

Anchoring presents a challenge for Riley.  Tim can not take him to shore after dark due to the wild creatures.  Just not safe for either of them.  That makes for a long night for him, Riley not Tim.  Not to mention the lack of grass.  Grass is his toilet.   I told him he could relieve himself on the boat, but so far, no go.  (Pun intended).  Speaking of Riley, he did not need to go to the vet.  His limp is gone.  A dock hand suggested he may have been bitten by fire ants.  She said that happens to her dogs.  Given what Tim said about him just standing in the grass when he yelped, it made sense to me.  Limp is gone & he is running like the wind again.  His new favorite thing to save us from, Pelicans.

Here's a little ditty (no not Jack & Diane) about the garage & the inflatable.  We carry the inflatable on the swim platform.  Works well.  We also have a very large "garage" in the transom.  When we first saw the set up we thought "this is great. Storage & an easy way to carry the inflatable".  Now the problem.  The garage is packed.  We mostly stern into a dock for ease of egress.  When sterned in, we cannot get the inflatable off the platform.  Hence no access to the garage.  It has become a standing joke. When someone asks for something, we say, oh yea, we have that, but it is in the garage.  People we have been traveling with automatically say, "I know, it's in the garage."  We have slowly been moving things to other places on the boat or going without.  Moral:  Theory & practice do not always jive.

One day while running the river, I was taking down canvas.  All of a sudden the engine noise was very loud.  I looked at the cockpit floor & to my great surprise, saw it opening.  I started yelling, "What are you doing?"  Tim of course denied, he had anything to do with it.  Riley was trying to find a place that was stable.  I, of course, was still blaming Tim & telling him to stop.  He was yelling, that I was causing the problem.  Not possible, I'm just taking canvas down.  Turns out it was possible.  Unknown to me, there is a switch on the side of the ice maker which controls the floor.  I just happened to be balancing with my foot pressed against the switch.  Moved my foot, put the floor back down & all was well.  Of course I apologized profusely for blaming him.  😁

We have run into some very cold weather.  I did not pack for that.  We were going south.  It's warm there, right?  Wrong.  We have had nights in the 30's & days with wind, no sun & 50 -60.  Hopefully that is behind us.  I had on so many layers, I looked like the kid from the Christmas story.

TELEPHONE BOOTH, MIDDLE OF NOWHERE, DOES SUPERMAN LIVE IN THE AREA?

VIEW FROM BOAT

AMTRAK BRIDGE HIT BY TOW IN '73, 47 DIED

ANCHORAGE

FISHING BOAT MOBILE BAY

MORNING FOG

MILE MARKER MOBILE BAY

MOBILE FROM THE WATER

NAVY SHIPS MOBILE

BEAUTIFUL SUNSET

 VIEW FROM BOAT
 AT ANOTHER MARINA

EVER VIGILANT SALTY DOG