Friends at the Dock

Fitz and I have, until Marker One, been loners on this trip. When we came into Marker One there were some before mentioned, Loopers here. They were here for the month of February. Because of its location (2 miles from Dunedin, 1/2 mile from Publix and bike/walking trail) and a great Looper rate, a month is more economical than running your generator on a mooring ball or at anchor. We all now have bikes; there is a washer /dryer, and inspiration to get some quality exercise with some buddies. The knowledge we have gained from these experienced Loopers has served us well. We picked their brain for all sorts of information from future anchorages to how they pay their bills and handle mail. They also know all the great restaurants in the area. Last night Fitz and I went to one that they had not mentioned. It was a local bar with music by one of those fellas that have recorded background music and plays a guitar and sings karaoke style. It was pretty bad but the food was even worse. We are learning experience is invaluable.



Larry Crowder ready to ride



Nina Pennewell on board

The Wonder of Online Shopping




New Bikes



Fitz and Linda ready to walk

We got our bikes today. We ordered them from Citizen Bicycles just Friday and we got them today. I have a beautiful orange and Fitz a navy. They are 20’ with 6 gears just like Nina and Barts’ who let us test drive theirs. I think they will be perfect for our needs and let us explore more as we head south. The email Citizen sent us said they would not even ship until tomorrow so we got a great surprise this morning. Our buddies here at Marker One are on a great fitness kick and bike as many as 30 miles in an afternoon. I am inspired to get with the program. Between the biking, paddle boards and walking I may even live to be 100. There was never any doubt with Fitz he can keep up with them already. Nick sent us our mail from home and we got it today. I also got a necklace that I ordered from a friend of Stephanie Godfrey https://www.etsy.com/shop/RWillisGlassArtist?page=4 and I love it. It is the dichroic fused glass art that I love—the piece I ordered came the next day. Listen to the oldies this morning on WDUV the Dove and hear some James Taylor and Wilson Picket –Sitting on the Dock of the Bay—wow the memories. But if they play Kim Karnes’ Betty Davis Eyes one more time (4 times in the last 3 days) I may have to find another channel—what is that all about? Plus one of their ads is for a web site –https://noroofleftbehind.com/ --interesting.


Fog set in and then not

Our buddies here on the dock told us this would happen -- we woke to heavy fog and it really did not burn off quickly. So we went out to breakfast, went for a long walk and while Terry fixed something in the bowels of the boat, I relaxed, wrote, scanned etc. Watched a little of the Vols and Dores play some basketball—it is Saturday and March Madness is just around the corner. We ordered some folding bikes yesterday and they are going to be delivered here at Marker One so we may be here for a few days. I pictured us traveling for about 30-50 miles each day but so far it hasn’t panned out that way. We are still setting things up. The boating buddies here easy to hang out with and the Marina is very accommodating. Talked to folks back home and they report Nashville has a great weekend going. Then about 2pm the fog burned off and we had a glorious rest of the day. We went in the dingy on the bay and went exploring. The paddle boarders were out in force and we checked out Caladesi Island that has a great beach and attracts many locals and tourist—we will go back. We refueled with some cocktails and went back out for a great sunset. Note: Alcohol update--great new cocktail –equal parts Captain Morgan and Amaretto mixed with OJ (depending on how strong you like it) —it is called an Orange Julius and I think it is yummy. Also, we finally cooked a good steak on the grill and had a wonderful wine that Robin and Julia found when they went to Oregon for the beating some called a football game. It is Meriwether Pinot Noir 2006 http://www.meriwetherwines.com/ we may have to invest in a couple more bottles of this.



Caladesi Island--the speck is an utralite plane with pontoons



Fitz out on the dingy



Caladesi Sunset

Stormy Day in Dock

Today was supposed to be a windy rainy day and so we planned projects on the boat for the afternoon. This morning we went and checked out a bike store but I think we are going to order some on-line like the one I rode yesterday. We took a long walk (Terry really got energized and walked twice as far). This afternoon I am scanning old family photos and enjoying a trip down memory lane. Of course there are the kids birthdays and Christmas pictures but the big ski trip to that haystack in Indiana –Paoli Peaks, school programs, a Disney cruise, and especially summers at the lake have been a joy to revisit. This project may take all 6 months but it is fun so far. This will be the first evening since we have been here in Dunedin without a sunset but the storms, while bringing major wind, seem to be OK when it is warm.I know that Nashville and Cookeville got hit hard by this storm, I hope it is sweeping winter out and you have a nice long spring now. We found a great oldies radio station --just listened to a little Wham--we played that album/tape?!? over and over up in Mine Lick on Center Hill Lake.

Out to Brunch with the Bikers and Clocks

The ladies here at the dock went on a bike ride this morning and invited me to go along. The guys piled into a car and headed to Home Depot and West Marine. Penny would be proud how I hopped on this 6 speed bike (Citizen folding—we may have to invest in a couple) and headed out across the docks and pretty much kept up. The promise of brunch half way down the way was the carrot, plus the company was very pleasant. A couple of hours of exercise felt great and here in Florida there are not many hills to make it too challenging. We stopped at O’Hana’s for brunch (a Hawaiian-like village café) and it was great. Back at the boat on this gorgeous breezy day and I can either nap or write. Life is hell ain’t it? So I might share our clock conundrum. We have a variety of clocks aboard and only 1 of them keeps accurate time and it is battery powered. Scott would go crazy. I understand when we are underway the process of being plugged into the shore power, to the generator and to the inverter causes clock radios and the coffee pot to have intermittent power outages. But…even when they do not change power sources these devices lose time or gain time. They are never the same—there is no rhyme or reason. On the crossing we had one of the devices on the bridge with us and randomly the clock would tinkle like it was a phone ringing and reset the time. Never to the correct time. During the 18 hours it took we watched as we lost about 45 minutes on that clock. Weird to us—anyone got an answer?


Nina, Linda and Stephanie (Biking Buddies) at O'Hana's

Dunedin and Marker One

We pulled through Clearwater Pass past hotels and beaches full of President’s Day vacationers and the ICW (Inter-Coastal Waterway). Marker One is north from Clearwater about 5 miles and to this tired sailor it seemed about 20 miles. Steve, the dock master, took us in, helped us tie up with our nose in so we could get the dingy down, and sent us to bed. We tried to make it to sunset but did not happen. We fixed a cocktail and sat down and Terry woke me up 15 minutes later and said he had fallen asleep too. Earlier in the day we tried to remember if we had ever pulled an all-nighter on purpose—couldn’t remember except maybe an overnight flight. Anyway we slept until 8am Tuesday morning refreshed and ready to start the next step. We mixed up some vinegar and water and wiped down the boat to get the salt crust off the railings. Met the fellow Loopers on the dock and all 3 boats are Tennesseans. Bart and Nina used to live next door to Andy and Mary in Knoxville and we knew them and their children about 15-20 years ago. Larry aboard a Tolleycraft went to high school with Fitz in Nashville. We joked about how we can’t get rowdy because you never know who knows you. These couples have been here a month and do not seem to be in any hurry to leave. It is pretty perfect here. This morning we did some laundry, walked to the nearby Publix, and took a dingy ride into town (Dunedin). It was so nice to get the dingy out and ride by all the fabulous houses into town –it took us about 10 minutes --by car it would have taken a half hour—no traffic. Had a wonderful lunch at one of our favorite restaurants – Café Alfresco and then took a walk around town where they are preparing for Spring Training. The Toronto Blue Rays are here in the winter and my favorite (only) baseball player R A Dickey’s picture is up all over the place.


Clearwater Pass



Me and R.A.



Pirate greeting on the ICW

18 Hour Gulf Crossing

Here I sit in Marker One Marina in SHORTS! Sorry Nashville buddies but warmth has been found. On Sunday night at around 9pm our friends on the Lauren Grace radioed that the time had come to pull anchor (in the dark much to Fitz’s chagrin) and to head out. With our hearts racing we headed out of Dog Island with its beautiful navy waters and khaki beach through a maze of channel markers and went to the open waters of the Gulf. The nap we were going for earlier in the day??? Did not happen. We were just too pumped. The wind and wave action kept the cruise a challenge for about the first 5 hours. If this was the “calm, perfect conditions” for crossing, I needed to revise my definitions. Fitz and I took 2 hour shifts watching the helm –that is really about all it took too—watching. The Lauren Grace led the way and we just set the Autopilot for the same course and the radar to keep them in line about ¼ to ½ miles in front of us. When I took my first turn, I asked for a tutorial and Fitz just said to not touch anything. The first shift was hard—I would look at the clock and it would be about 3 minutes from the last time I looked. After that the “magical” part came. The seas smoothed out and the almost full moon showed the way. Absolutely no cell service –you kids would go nuts. The only radio station we got was a man ranting about vitamins vs. prescription drugs or a sports guy talking/ranting about how NBC had gone too far interviewing Bode Miller after his Olympic win and causing him to cry. It is time to put an MP3 player or a CD player on the fly bridge. For the next 4 hours we had a wonderful night time cruise then the sun came up (will be one of the few sun rises for this gal). The sun rise was spectacular. The advice is to not get into harbor in the mornings because the sun on the water is blinding and you will not be able to see the crab pots that are in abundance the closer you get to shore. No problem. Around noon we started seeing the dolphin (they must be late risers) and the seagull would come and fly beside us. The water turned to a beautiful aquamarine color. We made it to Marker One around 3:30pm—the 18 hour run was all it was cracked up to be and more. The lost nap was wearing on us both and we didn’t even wipe the salt off the boat—we went to bed.



Diamonds on the water



Don't touch anything!

Last night/morning in Apalachicola

Met up with fellow Loopers and we spent the last evening planning a 9am departure and share a little spirits. Theresa and Larry Valentine have 2 previous Gulf Crossings –we are grateful to have them leading the way. Sunday and Monday have been deemed by Tom Conrad, the muse of gulf weather, as a magical window to cross—little wave action, no winds and close to a full moon. While planning our adventure, we were watching a beautiful ketch (50 ft.-ish) come down the ICW with a great sunset behind it. They must not have been paying attention because suddenly they veered off the channel and got stuck. The keel of the ketch is such that this will mean a professional tow is in their future. I believe there was quite a bit of cussing going on that boat –it was high tide and after hours for the area marinas. They dingy-ed off when it got dark and it was still there this morning when we left out. They will be leaning in the mud by low tide. Lesson for me—you gotta pay attention –driving a boat is like driving a car. The Lauren Grace (or the Valentines--I have now learned you refer to fellow boaters by the name of their boat) and Sunny Days headed out for Dog Island right at 9am. It is a beautiful morning and the dolphins are out playing. We “anchored down” (for my Vandy buddies) at about 1pm. Terry will spend the afternoon checking out the generator and mechanical blah, blah.. and I will spend the time making sure all the loose objects aboard are tied down or put in cabinets. If we hit bad seas we don’t want them to become missiles. Then we nap so we can stay up all night for our gulf crossing adventure—napping in paradise should not be hard.



Stuck ketch ...they were probably watching the beautiful sunset 



Apalachicola Nome



Sunny Days and Lauren Grace

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Morning Eagle

This morning we woke to a beautiful sunrise and an eagle sitting on a post about a hundred feet to our port. Oh my, this is a great way to wake up. We are still in Apalachicola awaiting a weather window to cross the gulf and this little port town just gets better and better. We are across the inlet from St. George Island and I know Mary and Andy used to come here a lot on vacation. Good call. I looked up how close Alligator Point we are where Vereen has a house – not far—we hope to go by there when we pull out. They have a little Marine Museum we went to and it mostly talks about how during the Civil War the North blockaded the rivers here and what was once a thriving sea port hit on hard times. Last night we went to “The Owl” for dinner and it was fabulous. Today all the restaurants that take reservations are booked but we found 13 Mile Seafood and will probably go there and get us some dinner to cook on the boat. They have something called Grouper Cheeks that the guy says is the best part of the fish. I am intrigued. We got a golf cart and went to the Piggly Wiggly to get a couple of things and ran into a fellow we met last night at Happy Hour with some fellow boaters. Terry says we have been here too long when we meet someone we know in the grocery. This weekend promises a couple of weather windows to cross to Clearwater. The Valentines (a couple with a 42 Jefferson that travels about the same speed) are heading here from Port St. Joe. We will meet up and plan our crossing together. It is wise to have a crossing buddy because we will be going about 200 miles in open water and it is good to have a traveling buddy. I am looking forward to meeting them.


Still Chilly

Oyster Shell Gravel!

Stormy Day in Paradise

Tied up with the shrimpers

As we watch via our phone and computer the nasty weather in Tennessee and Georgia we should not complain about the stormy rainy weather here in Florida where it is still in the 50’s. But it was a good day to get some things done around the boat. I brought all the photo’s we had at home and put them in a cedar chest here on Sunny Days. My project for the next few months will be to scan them so I set up this project. It will take the entire time but it is fun to revisit the past in what we considered important enough to take pictures. Plus it gives me an ongoing project to show some productivity while Fitz is doing his boat projects.

Put away the winter garb until next winter

Last night's sunset in Apalachicola

We are tied up here at the commercial waterfront at Apalachicola along with the shrimpers and oyster boats. No one ventured out today. Downtown is only a half block away where there is a restaurant at every corner and lots of cute shops. I did visit a couple but I am not that bored yet. So I scanned pictures and Terry put in an extra water pump. Listened to Oyster Radio (everything here is about oysters—apparently Apalachicola is the main place for oysters in the Gulf) and listened to a lot of the Eagles and Jimmy Buffett.

Apalachicola

This morning we had a very thick fog. We had planned to go the 60 miles to Apalachicola but hesitated when we were fogged in so badly. Fitz went to the marina, drank some coffee with the locals, came back and announced we were starting engines. By the time we got out of the marina and into the channel the fog had cleared and we had a bright and sunny day. Sorry to say this to my



Hovercraft



Awesome dolphin



friends and family in the frigid north but we got down right toasty. With our late start (10am) we had to hustle to make it to the marina before sunset. We go about 10 miles an hour—we made it just in time. A naval hovercraft blew by us in the channel first thing and we had to wonder what we would see on the open waters. The dolphins were amazing—when we kicked up the speed across the East Bay we kept hearing a slap, slap—looked back and the dolphin were jumping our wake. I thought of Katie and Nick on ski’s when they were little. We had a herd of them swimming with us for about 10 minutes. The pelicans are plentiful but we are wondering where the osprey are. Jeff at Apalachicola got us tied up and we are now ready for the rains that are said to hit us tonight.

Panama City Beach—Bay Point –Start of the longest stretch yet



First fabulous Sunset at Bay Point

We woke up this morning to the most beautiful sunny day we have seen since September. And it went up hill from there. We left Nashville behind yesterday morning with its snow, below freezing temps and friends and family wishing us well. We found Sunny Days had fared well while we were gone. We will spend a couple of days provisioning and then head for Apalachicola to wait for good weather to cross the Gulf. Last night we had a fabulous sunset  (something missing when we were here in December) and met nice folks here on the dock. This morning Carol on the American Tug next to us and I watched a big jellyfish swim under her boat--a sign of warm weather coming to stay? Today Fitz is washing the boat and I will escape to the grocery. Tonight we will Skype with Leeton and Holden (and of course their parents). Electronics make trips like these easier. Notes: found a great oldies channel—heard Carol King this morning (her performance with Sara Bareilles was the highlight for me at the Grammy’s this year) 95.1 Panama City Beach. Found the perfect place for our Angel to hang in the Main Salon—she will keep us safe and talking to each other. Thanks Sue!

Winding down

Made me laugh out loud!