#19 - Dec 7th - Dec 12th

Dec 7th  OOHH! It is a nasty heavy wet fog day.  We are just hanging out this morning waiting for the fog to lift a little.  We cast off around 11:30 am and headed down the waterway. Not to far, only 20 miles to Gulfport near St. Petersburg. The anchorage was invaded by at least 50 fishing skiffs the next morning. they would rush from one place to another and cast their 14 foot nets over the water to catch the schools of mullet. All the boats in the anchorage were rocking and rolling. It lasted about 30 minutes and they were off to another area around the bay following the schools.

Dec. 8 We hung out on the boat, catching up on paperwork and chores till 1pm since it was another misty soggy-just short of rain kind of day. We slowly made our way south to Anna Marie Island, a whole 17 miles.

This is the  magnificent Tampa Bay Bridge off our Port side as we Crossed Tampa Bay for Anna Marie Island

Our plan is to visit Greg and Chris Louch, friends from our 13th Street days in Port Huron, MI. Arrived around 4pm, watching the charts, following guides -- and promptly ran aground!!
Since chart and guide data published, a sand bar had developed. No maneuvering got us off. The best investment we  ever made - Boat US TowBoat Insurance. We joined the "when" club of the "when, not if, you go aground"group. Ha!

Dec 9th  The 'free' dock was vacant so we weighed anchor and parked the boat there for the day. Greg and Chris arrived and we visited and caught up on their adventures of planting roots buying a house in Bradenton just across the waterway from where we were.

Chris and Greg took us on a complete tour of Anna Marie Island, Then on to their neighborhood where these wild peacocks roam. 

 They proudly showed us their new home and all the work that Greg has done. We were really happy to see they are doing well and love being in Florida. It was good to see them. After a great steak supper they took us back to the boat where we decided to just stay put rather than take the boat to anchor. The dock is supposed to be for day use only but nobody bothered us.

Dec.10th - We are off to Sarasota, 13 miles. at 9:30am. The skies cleared and the sun appeared. Less wind but still chilly!  What's going on - its supposed to be warm down here!
Sarasota is a beautiful waterfront city, Lots of condo buildings but they are architecturally attractive. Marina Jack's manages a mooring field in the bay and we got the no 1 ball closest to the Marina. Easy in to the dinghy dock and the city. We hadn't had breakfast or lunch but snacks so we found our way to The Columbia Restaurant, recommended by friends Don and April Gordon. Didn't take us long to find our way on Bus #4 to St. Armand's Circle (the elite shopping mecca of Sarasota) and the restaurant where we had their signature salad and Sangria prepared at table.

preparing....

Enjoying!

Named after our Granddaughter

 We headed back to the boat after dinner, Connie feeling poorly from what started out what we thought to be allergies, but the congestion was worse and a fever set in with aches and pains. Got lots of remedies on board and by morning I was ready to go to the Circus.
Sarasota is the home of the John & Mable Ringling 66 acre complex. Their home, palatial, on the bay, their extensive art museum, gardens and Circus museums.  We spent the whole day.

This is just the Big Top in miniature displayed depicting Circus Life

Every piece is handmade and painted. This tent is the menagerie where the animals were on display for patrons before they entered the Big Top

There were draft horse tent, barber tent, cook tent, dressing room tent for performers, blacksmith tent, performing animal tent,  - a tent for every facet of life needed to keep a community of 1800 people fed, healthy and housed. Roustabouts could put up that Big Top in 2 hours. Many of the performances were for one day only - they would knock down and be loaded on the trains for the next stop down the road for the next performance.

Ringlings donated their holdings to the State of Florida. But John Ringling died with $311 in his bank account.

These are Banyan trees. They grow roots from the branches to the ground. Fascinating! Many adorn the grounds around he Ringling compound.

This is truly a place to visit if you have an opportunity. We left around 5:30 and headed back to the boat. Stopped at Patrick's on Main for the "best burger" in town.  And it was very good.

Dec 12th - Of course, now Bill is not feeling so good, Connie is better so this morning slept in, then at 11 or so headed down the waterway to Englewood Beach anchorage to just chill out, rest and recuperate. Next stop will be Cayo Costa State Park. I want to take my chair and sit on the beach in the Sun!

#18 Nov 29 - Dec 6th

 November 29th was the big day to to the big jump 170 miles to Tarpon Springs.  5 boats left from our location around 1pm in the afternoon for what turned into a 23 hour voyage.  The first few hours were a little lumpy but nothing the least bit extreme.  Our group settled into a  nice steady pace and kept track of one another over the moonlit night. We reached the area about 3 hours out from Tarpon at dawn. Perfect to see the traps that were fairly significant in number.  There was not an issue as we were very vigilant.
Tarpon Springs is a delight. Highly recommend you make it a stop you are in the area.  It has the largest Greek population and influence in the U.S.  The area is known for the Sponge industry. It's harbor is most definitely a working harbor with boats dedicated to Sponging, Shrimping, Crabbing and Fishing  Of course their are Marinas for pleasure boats visiting the area and the waterfront has become a tourists dream.  All with a very strong Greek influence. Sponges (all from the Gulf, I might add) and soaps, great Greek restaurants, little Greek social clubs where the guys gather to play cards, outdoor coffee shops.

Can't keep the guy away from those pastries from Hellas - the primo bakery in town.

Greek Sponge Diver, most divers use wet suits and tanks today.

Working sponge boat, sponges hanging and drying after the gelatinous membranes have been removed. The tarps on deck are covering hundreds more sponges. The sun actually rots the inner gel, then the sponges are cleaned and dried again.

We went on a dinghy ride to see the Manatees and saw this palm.  Unbelievable, such perseverance!

Our friends in the Manatee Lagoon. We saw many but was impossible to catch the photo.

He just threw his net in the water and brought up about fish.

Waterfront from the river

Not a lot of high rises here, but beautiful manicured homes all around.

Dec. 3rd we headed out for Clearwater but only went about 10 miles to Dunedin and put down the anchor.  We just savored the evening away marveling at the weather.  Saw little Optimist Pram Sailing fleet in the Bay and commented how "Gosh, the kids must have the day off". Dad says, No, It's summer".  No it isn't!  We laughed! Sure felt like summer to us.  Come to find out it is a sailing club of women, the Windlasses.  Every Thursday morning they are out there.  We took the dingy in, saw some other boaters we met there tied our dingy to their boat and explored the town.  Some very interesting facts.  Dunedin is where the first amphibious tank was invented, the heard about it and the rest was history. Eventually over 18000 were built.  Also, Orange concentrate was developed here and the government once again contracted for the company to produce mass quantities to be sent to Europe during the WWII to supplement the citrus they were lacking in their diet.

Dec. 5th we pulled anchor and went a whole 10 miles to Clearwater Beach.  Oh My, I have never seen such pure white sugar sand beaches in my life. Just the right amount of Hotels, shops, Honky tonk shops, Fisher Charters,  The entire waterfront is meticulously maintained and the community offers tons of attractions and things to do. But I think folks just loll around on the beach.
Friends Arline and Ray Cutro, who we traveled with early in our trip picked us up around 3pm. Arline, as promised us a fabulous Italian dinner.  The evening was way to short as we reminisced about our travels, sharing experiences and photos.  They completed their "Loop" in September and now fly their "GOLD Looper Burgee" on their boat.

Dec. 6th  We have done our laundry doing breakfast and are about to grab the "Jolly . Trolly" for more exploring of the area.

After our breakfast this morn while waiting for the laundry, a fellow came by to show us his beautiful birds. 

Smallest BEST!

Two long boats paddled roasting the Christmas pig in the middle!

Ray and Arline picked us up and took us to Duneden where the lighted boat parade was held.  We had ring side seats on our friends Tim and Pam's boat Sweetwater.  The above photos really don't do justice  -- the lights were phenomenal! These three were the winners in  my opinion.

The best part was being on that boat with folks from all over North America, Illinois, Michigan, Ottawa, Canada, Arizona, Florida and a couple whose boat is their permanent home. All of us sharing in the Great adventure of doing the Loop. Oh, the couple From Ottawa left in June with their dog in a canoe.