Scenes and insights from the Miss TeRae 1st mate & captain

It's been another great week in Florida!  There's always something happening and something new and interesting which we had not anticipated.  I guess that's life too, isn't it!  Beautiful and intersting wildlife, scenery and birds await us at every turn.  Blessings abound!

Manatees feeding on Romaine Lettuce in the South Florida Aquarium (we have not seen them in the open water yet, but have had to watch our boat speed often for them), because they are an endangered species.

Long stretches of the ICW are "no wake zones" because of Manatees and our boat doesn't like to go slow.  However that does give us more opportunity to enjoy the scenery. 

                      Birds like to nest  or perch on the signs along the waterway.  Why not!

Don with his cousin, Richard B.  He sure does favor Grandpa Herm, don't you think??

We had a delightful lunch with them again last Monday.

A resident we shared space with at the Marina - saw him every day!

We name him "Pete".   I really don't know why.  He just look like his name should be Pete. 

 Another picture perfect home along the Waterway - we've seen so many!

We arrived in Ft. Myers on Wednesday and plan to stay a week.  Thursday evening we enjoyed a potluck here at the marina with other boaters.  Friday afternoon was spent with a DM friend, John Memmelaar and friends touring Sanibel Island and beach, followed by a tour of Ft. Myers Beach.  Thanks, John! 

Theresa does most of the research on which marinas to stay at.  She did another good job with Legacy Habour Marina.  We're close to a grocery store, restaurants, shops and the marina has a heated pool and nice boaters lounge, all at a reasonable price.  Had a few "hairy moments"  north of Ft Meyers when we missed a buoy and ended up in "skinny" water.  Touched bottom but didn't do any damage.    

And we certainly enjoyed John's hospitality.

  This is the Edison Winter Estate - Toured this historic treasure yesterday.  What an amazing man - Thomas Edison had over 1,000 patents registered in his lifetime!  He also did a lot of research on trying to grow trees to produce rubber, therefore there are lots of interesting trees and plants on the spacious grounds.

This huge Banyan tree does produce a type of latex and it is an acre in diameter, the largest in the US.  It was given to Edison by Firestone in 1925. 

This needs explaining.  The tree grows branchs down from it's primary branches. 

When they reach the ground they root and grow to the size of trunks but are really attached to and support the primary branches.  Over the years this keeps happening and you get a forest of what first appears to be several trees but are really just one tree with several trunks.  I  probably didn't explain that very well so if you don't get it don't worry about it.

We finished out the week with a car show in downtown Ft. Myers, much to Don's enjoyment. 

 There was also a Celtic Music Festival in the park earlier in the day and a fantastic Farmer's Market earlier in the week.  Yum, those stawberries melt in your mouth!  And the oranges and grapefruit are huge!
Today is Sunday and I miss Crossroads Fellowship.  We can't be too choosy about the churches we attend as we are limited by how far we can walk or bike.  We've had the opportunity to attend services at several different denominations.  Some services and worship syles we appreciate more than others.  Some were so dead I wondered if a hearse would be waiting in the parking lot after the service.  But we are united in that we all serve the same God and are saved by the same Lord Jesus Christ.

But I still miss Crossroads.

Enjoying Florida

It's been a good week!  We moved on south from Tarpon Springs to Clearwater Beach, which has become a very nice tourist location.  We caught the Sunset Celebration event there.

The next day we went on down the Intracoastal Waterway to the only McDonalds Dock we've seen thus far on our travels.  We met Don's cousin, Richard & Marilyn Bruxvoort and her sister and husband there.  They are staying at a very nice condo in Maderia Beach, FL.  We left the boat docked at McDonalds and went for lunch at Mama's Kitchen Restaurant a little way down the road.  It was a good time.

I got some coffee at McDonald's to make our docking there legal.  They didn't have a boat drive thru so had to go inside.
 

After passing under several bridges and working our way down, we arrived on the Manatee River and docked at the Regatta Pointe Marina, a spot where several people live aboard their boats.  There are 2 restaurants, hot tub (which we've indulged in every day) pool, guest lounges and many other amenities at a fairly good weekly rate, so we are here for the week! 

Sunrise here - many sailboats, all kinds of boats really.

Florida water scenes

 

We are in the town of Palmetto, across the river from Bradenton in Manatee county so we went to the county fair - checked out the butter manatee (no butter cow)! 

Lots of Spanish moss in the trees here.  We were able to walk to church here in Palmetto this morning.  We usually take the bikes except for one time we took the marina courtesy van.

 

Yesterday biked out to the Emerson Point Preserve - about a 3 mile trip out there and then back again.  Lots of interesting formations on the trees, roots and plants.  Saw a group of kayakers and a biking club.  The Preserve was out on Snead Island and we could see Tampa Bay, Terra Ceia Bay and the Manatee River from the overlook there.  We even got a picture of the Skyway Bridge over Tampa Bay!  You'll never guess why we didn't get it earlier.

Something to do with my navigation.  Followed a channel right out into the gulf  instead of left down the ICW.   It turned out okay - even saw a very large cargo ship.

 

One more interesting fact - every morning we hear trains going by, so decided we might want to check that out,  Found out that these trains carry only Florida orange juice on up the coast.

 (Topicanna has a plant here.)

Weather is great - 70's everyday.  I'm having a really great time.  And Theresa is doing okay too.

That is all the news from the Bruxvoorts this week. 

Back on the Water Again

We arrived back in Tarpon Springs last Tuesday, Jan. 10 and had some service work done on the boat, did some reprovisioning, laundry and now we're almost ready to move on.  It was great to be in Iowa for Christmas, spend some time with family and celebrate Don's Mom's 90th Birthday!

We had a great time in Iowa with family and friends but it's good to be back on the boat.  Also, glad we missed the snow and cold weather they got after we left.  Not a bad looking family even if I must say so myself.  Of course they got their looks from Theresa (brains from me???)

Our boat going up into dry storage for the time we spent in Iowa.

Also gave us an opportunity to inspect the bottom after1800 miles much of the time in rivers and canals.



Flowers blooming nicely, even though it's been a little cool here.

We went to the Street Festival by the Sponge Docks in Tarpon Springs today and Don was intrigued by the little alligator (It's a real one!)

You'll notice that it's mouth is taped shut.  Otherwise I would not be so brave.

We also rode the Jolley Trolley in to Clearwater one day this week - helped us decide where we may want to dock our boat when we get there.  They have renovated their downtown and it is really nice.

One morning this past week, when I got out of the boat to go to the bath house, I realized the bikes were missing.  We use them every day here to go in to town for groceries, sightseeing, etc. so I was a bit concerned.  Well, Don got out the boat hook and "fished" them off the bottom of the bay.  They had blown off the dock during the night.  Now he makes sure they are tied to a post at night!

We'll be moving on south, down the west coast of Florida in the days ahead. 

We've pretty well "cased out" this town.........

Waiting for a Suitable Crossing of the Gulf

Dec. 14, 2011   Yes we are still in Carrabelle, FL.  We've been here a week, ready to go again, but the week has gone fast.  We've climbed two lighthouses, walked the beach, did some biking and ate a lot of seafood (even fixed some - the shrimp- ourselves!) 

The IWC which is a route thru mostly protected water behind islands and bays ends at Carrabelle and doesn't begin again until Tarpon Springs.  This means 180 miles of  running thru the gulf in open water.   In boats our size, waves over 2' to 3' can be very uncomfortable, so everyone waits at Carrabelle until there is a good weather window.  After about a week there, their were at least ten boats in the two marinas waiting to cross.  This gave us the opportunity to meet several people who live on their boats and cruise as we do.   Many of the larger boats travel at 8 to 12 mph and take up to 18 hrs or more to make the crossing.  Normally they'll leave in the early afternnoon , run all night and arrive in Tarpon Springs or Clearwater the next day.   We run much faster but don't carry enough fuel for the whole trip.  The solution is to run a route closer to shore, duck into Steinhactchee River for fuel and a night of rest then finish the trip the following day.

                                                             Another beautiful sunset!

Tom & Jan's Boat -Laughter

We helped them decorate and rode along in the lighted boat parade.

Tom & Jan at the after party.  They won 2nd place in their division.  Got a nice trophy.

On St. George Island Beach, with the Gulf in the background.

 

A mountain of oyster shells in Appalachiacola, FL. 

 They use them for their roads and driveways instead of gravel.

We ate fresh oysters in this town - they were pretty good, actually.

Dec. 15 & 16, 2011  We made the infamous cossing of the Gulf!  Started out Thursday at about 9:30 AM and arrived in Steinhatchee at 2:30 PM for the night.  Up and travelling at 8:30 the next morning to arrive in Tarpon Springs at 1:45PM.  Got settled in and took our bikes to check out the Old Time Greek Town - very touristy and sponge capital of the World!  Sponges everywhere!  They are harvested right here in the gulf.

We left Carrabelle and ran the 7 miles to the pass into the gulf between Dog Island and St George Isand in verily calm water but at the pass and into the gulf some waves were 4' more more.  For the second time in all our boating life Theresa got seasick.  It was a very bumpy ride for the first couple of hours.  After that things settled down some and by the time we got to Steinhatchee it was verily calm.  The following day was much better although most of the day we were dodging the floats tied to crab traps.  Commerical crabbers run traps as much as 50 miles from shore.

A ship we met out in the gulf.

You've probably figured out by now that we are not sending Christmas Greetings,

so A Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year to all from us.

(We're flying home to Iowa for the holidays and plan to return to the boat Jan. 10.)

Florida Panhandle

Welcome to the Florida Panhandle, which includes the Emerald Coast (Pensacola to Panama City)
 and the Forgotten Coast (Panama City to Carabelle).

                                                      Dolphins out for a swim one morning.

                         Friendly birds at the Pensacola Marina, just waiting for us to take their pictures. 

We think they were homeless as they kept begging for food.

Large ship next to our marina in Pensacola.   It's function is to lay oil pipe lines in the gulf.  It was in the harbor being refurbished.  This picture doesn't  do justice to the size of this ship.

                                                       Oranges, ready to pick in Pensacola.

                                                      Beautiful sunset at Fort Walton Beach

We tied up to the city pier for one night in Fort Walton Beach.  The 2nd night we got a room at a resort on the water.  They had a slip for the boat, spa, heated pool and laundry at off season prices.  

It was nice having a king size bed and big bathroom even if only for one night.



Christmas in the South.  Someday I'll learn to rotate a picture and put it on the blog.  Now I can do only one or the other. 

                           Florida's Grand Canyon (Intracoastal Waterway "ICW") - more white sand

                                                    Full grown deer here are rather small.

                                                  Low Tide - raking the bottom for oysters.

                                      Shrimp boat heading back in to port - we've seen several...

                Carabelle Marina - where the locals gather for coffee in the AM and beer in the PM.
          Note: burn barrel, wood, basket for cans, dog.  They tell fish stories, boat tales, you name it.





 This is one of the more interesting marinas we've stayed at.  Tonight there's a free barbecue chicken  dinner, a lighted boat parade and fire works.  This is the end of this part of the ICW.  It begins again at Tarpon Springs.  This means we'll be traveling in wide open gulf water for the next 180 miles.  Several cruising boats are here waiting with us for a favorable weather window to make the crossing.  We'll probably be here another couple of days.

Florida!

We've arrived in sunny Florida - lots of people, condos, restaurants,marinas and BIG boats!  And lots of water!  I have a couple of corrections to the last blog - The picture was of Mr. Pelican, not Mr. Seagull and the Hurricane that left so much damage along the Gulf was Katrina!

                                                    Shrimp Boat rigged and ready.

                                                         Constant companions..

                                                      Lunch at Lulu's (Jimmy Buffet's sister)

We got stopped by the Coast Guard right before this lunch - they came aboard and made sure we had all the required safety stuff on our boat.  We passed, thanks to our "attention to details" Captain!

           We saw a group of dolphins swimming in this area one morning - we'll have their picture next time.

We are now running along the Gulf of Mexico, sometimes travelling the Intracoastal Waterway, which is more protected and calmer water.  We still run into LOOPers wherever we go, even saw our solo, sailing friend  from Germany sail by as we were docked in Perdido Key, just inside the Florida State Line.

Temps have been a little cool, but expected to warm up this weekend.  Daytime hi's should be in the 70's.
Until next week...........
                                

Mobile Bay

                                Snowy white egret - we see them all along the lower Alabama River.

Waterfall below Demopolis, AL lock - where Don fell in the water.

He's OK, just a little more cautious now!

Another German sailor locked through with us - he's alone!

(Quite a journey to do by yourself.)

                                                             Entering Mobile Bay

                                                       Busy harbor - many container ships

                                                             
                                     Seagulls view of Mobile Bay on remnants of the Hurricane

Mr. Seagull

Thanksgiving Day with fellow Loopers

Next week we plan to head on to Florida (less than 50 miles from here).

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!