After a good night's sleep, we were off and running the next day. We went up to Tarpon Springs, Sponge Capital of the World, in the rental car. We took in the museum and had fun picking out sponges to take home for Xmas gifts.
Several folks told us about Hellas Restaurant and Bakery. They had awesome authentic Greek food including their famous flaming cheese - ooommpah!
Next, we drove out to Honeymoon Island for some shelling. There we were treated to a beautiful sunset.
The next day we were off again - this time on our bicycles. The Pinellas Trail is an awesome biking/hiking trail that runs from St. Petersburg to Tarpon Springs. We biked down to Clearwater where we happened upon this festival.
Train depot at Dunedin.
Edgewater Park across from the
Municipal Marina
Had dinner with some old friends from Fairhope
The next day we were off to St. Petersburg Yacht Club for a Gold Looper Celebration for our buddies aboard Barefoot'n. It also happened to be Randy's birthday; so, we were in for a double celebration.
St Pete Yacht Club
We stayed with Barefoot'n at their beautiful home on Treasure Island. They took us on a tour of the area that included a sand sculpture tournament with entrants from all over the world - it was quite impressive.
John's Pass
Our good friends, Randy and Vicki.
Lovin' life...
Time to say "goodbye," at least for now...
As Jeff won a month's free dockage at Marker 1 at the AGLCA Rendezvous, it was our plan to leave the boat there at Dunedin and return home for the holidays. We took off for home with plans to return after New Year's.
We got back to Dunedin on Dec 30, got the boat all cleaned up, and went out to celebrate my birthday. The following day we met with Curtis Stokes to discuss putting SeaGlide on the market at the conclusion of our loop trip. Curtis is out of Ft. Lauderdale and since we cross our wake and earn our Gold Loop status at Vero Beach, just north of there, we decided to list the boat with him. We decided to not put the boat on the market until the conclusion of our trip, and we were excited to get back underway.
On January 1 we picked up Jeff's brother and sister-in-law, Bill and Sherry, at the Tampa Airport. They had plans to ride with us down to the Keys and then fly back home from there. We were so excited to share the trip with them.
Parking lot at airport - reminiscent of a drive-in
with updates of incoming flights
Our crew arrives
We spent some time around Dunedin waiting for the weather to break. We showed Bill and Sherry around Tarpon Springs and Clearwater one day and walked the Pinellas Trail the following day. Finally on Jan 4, we were all excited to start the journey. As we tried to get out of the slip, SeaGlide was stuck in the mud. As we waited for the tide to rise, we had a champagne toast.
Brainstorm session planning the trip
Walking the Pinellas Trail
Lots of Osprey nests
Even though our start was delayed waiting for the tide to rise,
we found it a perfect time to have a champagne toast with our guests.
Before we got out of Marker 1 this interesting boat made an appearance.
Radioed Barefoot'n when we got into Treasure Island.
Here's Randy aboard give us a wave.
White pelicans and cormorants
Coming into Bradenton
Finally after a good day of progress, we found the perfect meal.
We awoke to a beautiful morning - for a change! Since we had to wait for the tide to rise, we took a walk on the beach. Our destination today is the Cape Haze anchorage. It will be Bill and Sherry's first night on the hook.
Lots of boats on the water today
Vibrant little village
Smiley face sky writer
Popular hangout
Low flying aircraft
Sprawling estates
New Captain at the helm
Yikes!
Finally on the hook and everyone chills out
to watch a beautiful sunset off the bow
We awoke to a bank of fog in Cape Haze - good name for this place! We got an early start trying to get ahead of bad weather. Frost warnings were issued for south Florida tonight. Visibility being at 1/8 mile, we activated the fog horn and pulled out in time to make the 0830 bridge opening just south of the anchorage.
There was severe fog until the last hour of our journey when it turned beautiful. Once we got close to Sanibel Marina the weather changed again - white caps and high winds and surf. The entrance to the marina was very narrow and it was dicey getting in.
The following day we decided to stay in port as small craft advisories were issued for the area on top of low temperatures and very windy conditions. I was glad to have an extra day in Sanibel for shelling at the lighthouse.
Very cool fog rainbow
On dolphin watch
This ferry was not on AIS. Jeff heard a radio announcement
of his location and backed off the throttle.
Thank goodness for our great Captain as this guy
passed way too close.
Finally the clouds lifted
The narrow entrance into the marina
Sanibell is such a great place for shelling
Amos and Bill bonding
A pelican snuggling up in the cold
Best buds...
On January 8, we pulled out early in route to Rose Marina on Marco Island. It was very windy in the gulf, and the water changed color to aquamarine. We got to the marina early, which was great as it gave my shelling buddy and me time to hit the beach. And what a beach it was! The largest stretch of sand I believe I've ever seen.
The Captains surveying the situation
What a beach!
My best shelling buddy
What a shelling opportunity.
The beach was full of conch
- many were live so we had to be careful.
The next day we looked forward to making it to the Everglades National Park and the Ten Thousand Island anchorage. There wasn't much traffic on the water and as we pulled into the Everglades we were welcomed by a pod of dolphin dancing around us trying their best to communicate.
Once at anchor, we lazed around naping, reading, and shell cleaning. Then the guys went for a dinghy ride. Upon their return, after Bill disembarked, the dinghy hit SeaGlide in such a way that it flipped over dumping Jeff overboard head first. Thing is, the handle for the motor was stuck on and the motor kept running. Bill, Sherry, and I were frantic with fear and as Jeff's head popped up out of the water, I had never felt such relief. Definitely the most scariest moment on the trip thus far. We all enjoyed a well-deserved toddy as we watched the sunset along with a kajillion insects - gave us a reason to break out the Thermacell, which worked great.
The welcoming committee
I love how the dolphin swim on their side
to get a better look at who they're talking too
This dolphin cruise captain noticed our antics and
followed us for a bit to get in on the action
Another flock of beautiful white pelicans
Pulling into the anchorage - our home for the night
Our haul from Sanibel and Marco Island
We even found a couple of whole tulip shells - a first for me!
The guys strike out looking for adventure
The Captain all wet, with life jacket deployed,
decides to stow the dinghy much to my delight.
The skies looked promising for a beautiful sunset
So we got out the bug zappers and settled in. Here is
bug zapping the old way (above) and the new (below)
Even Amos was ready for a relaxing evening
The Captain all cleaned up returned to his
jovial self pretty quickly
The show was spectacular as night settled in
The next morning was foggy and windy, and we dodged crab pots all morning in route to our next stop at Little Shark River anchorage. Little Shark River is a favorite jump off point for the voyage to Marathon as evidenced by the two sailboats and cat that followed us into the anchorage. We had dolphin, manatee, and shark sightings along with lots of waterfowl at the anchorage.
Another foggy start
More company had joined us in the anchorage overnight
A long line of crab pots kept us on continual watch
as did other random obstacles
Little Shark River anchorage
Waterfowl in the mangroves
On shark watch...
You can barely see this shark's dorsal fin
in about the middle of this shot.
After another spectacular sunset,
we settled in for a night of canasta
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