After spending a quiet Saturday evening on the boat (March 17th), we began making preparations to leave the dock Tuesday morning. Several of our dock-mates decided to get together Sunday evening for a cookout, so Todd and I borrowed Ken's car (the shrimp boat captain) and went to the store to reprovision and to pick up some steaks, courtesy of Heath & Tyra, to grill that evening. Everyone pitched in and we enjoyed a great meal of steak, pork loin, baked potatoes, corn-on-the-cob, salads, fresh bread and Abner's signature eggplant dip.
Abner, the grillmaster!
Todd made arrangements for the Coast Guard Auxiliary to come by on Monday to conduct a Vessel Safety Check. Our last one was done in Mobile in June of 2006, so we were due for an update. The process went smoothly and we now have our 2007 sticker in place. When I returned from doing a little last-minute laundry, Todd informed me that he had volunteered us to help out at Bonita Bill's that evening when The Yard Dogs were playing so that was how we spent our last evening at the dock. Actually, I just sat at the bar and provided moral support while Todd worked but I figured that was fair since he was the one who volunteered us!
Bonita Bill's with bartenders Kirby and Kendra and, of course, Captain Todd.
Captain Bruce stopped by Tuesday morning to do our final electric meter reading and we said our good-byes before pulling away from the dock and heading out into the Gulf for the trip to Marco Island. We arrived at Mike & Mary's anchorage near Keewaydin Island about 2:00 Tuesday afternoon, rafted up to them and enjoyed a nice afternoon sitting on the bow of our boats with a beautiful view of the Gulf. John, a local friend of Mike & Mary's, boated out to visit for a few hours and then Todd and I went with Mike in the dinghy to take the dogs (M.E. and HID) over to the beach.
On Wednesday we boated over to John's house where Mike & Mary topped off with water, got some ice, dropped off trash and went to the store for a few provisions while Todd and I anchored nearby. After leaving John's at 3:00 p.m., we spent about three hours making our way to an anchorage in the Ten Thousand Islands area between Picnic and Tiger Keys. We again rafted to Mike & Mary and enjoyed a quiet evening on the boat.
Thursday was cloudy and drizzly so we weren't able to get out and explore in the dinghies, although we did take one short ride to the beach on the other side of Tiger Key and then by Camp Lulu Key before returning to the boats. Todd went fishing Friday morning and managed to catch a sea trout. He actually caught several fish but none of the others were good eating. He was pretty certain he had a big Snook (supposedly very good to eat) on the hook yesterday but he wasn't able to get it to the boat before it broke/cut the line (many of the saltwater fish have very sharp teeth and they aren't afraid to use them!).
Friday evening we went over to the beach intending to build a campfire but ended up chatting with some other campers and then just enjoying a nice evening watching the stars and searching for satellites. While fishing Saturday morning, Todd was approached by an Everglades National Park Service Ranger who informed him that we weren't allowed to anchor within a quarter mile of the beach without a permit so we moved the boats to the next key north, Panther Key, which is not part of the Everglades National Park. We spent the next three days at Panther Key sunning on the beach, exploring in the dinghies, eating fresh sea trout which Todd had developed a knack for catching, and we built a very nice campfire on the beach one evening using some wood that a former camper had graciously left behind.
On Tuesday morning we decided to move north again to White Horse Key where Todd and Mike spent some time scraping barnacles off the bottom of "Life's2Short" and looking at our bow thruster which isn't working very well, probably due to barnacle growth. However, as they were snorkeling under the boat they encountered thousands of worm-like critters in the water and decided the barnacle maintenance would have to wait for another day (and location!). On Wednesday we dinghied over to Gullivan Key (north of White Horse) and spent a wonderful afternoon enjoying the beautiful beach there.
These photos will give you a taste of the 10,000 Islands area - very nice!
Todd and I left the 10,000 Islands area Thursday morning to head back to our "home" dock at Fort Myers Beach for the evening. About seven hours later we arrived at the dock only to learn that Heath & Tyra (the couple mentioned above who took us to meet the Cruise Connection bus and who bought steaks for our dock cookout) had been arrested by the FBI on March 20th, the day we left Fort Myers Beach for Marco Island. The FBI had also confiscated their recently purchased sailboat. Apparently Heath, whose name is actually Keith, was wanted for grand larceny in Idaho and also for questioning in the disappearance of a known acquaintance/associate of his; Tyra was wanted for a parole violation from Montana. At any rate, we were stunned to say the least!
After cleaning up we went to Bonita Bill's for a burger and retired fairly early that evening. We borrowed Kirby's (one of the bartenders pictured above) car and made a quick grocery run late Friday morning and left Fort Myers Beach about 1:00 p.m., headed for Pelican Bay in Charlotte Harbor, about three hours north, where we spent a quiet evening with about thirty other boats anchored there.
We exited Charlotte Harbor Saturday morning and traveled in the Gulf about eight hours to Longboat Pass where we returned inland and anchored at Longbeach for the evening. The Captain graciously offered to treat me to dinner at Moore's Stone Crab Restaurant, which was located just a few hundred yards from the boat, but we decided to clean up some leftovers and spent a peaceful evening on the boat enjoying the almost-full moon and beautiful weather.
While traveling in the Gulf between Charlotte Harbor and Longboat Pass, we were entertained by dozens of performance boats racing past us with several helicopters tracking their progress.
On Sunday, April 1st, we made the final trek to Cathy's house in St. Petersburg, getting tossed around the last couple of hours of the journey by the turbulent water in Tampa Bay and the enormous wakes of big powerboats passing by. But we arrived safely, got secured at the dock and spent the rest of the day visiting and catching up. Then Cathy and I made a two-hour run to Wal-Mart about 8:00 that evening and stayed up until 1:00 a.m. chatting and watching TV. Todd got up Monday morning and gave the exterior of the boat a good cleaning while I put away the Wal-Mart goods from the previous evening and got the cabin in order.
While in Tampa Bay, we crossed the path of this colorful sailboat race.
Roger & Dixie Olsen came by in their 37-foot Nordic Tug Monday afternoon with their daughter, son-in-law and two granddaughters (all from Colorado) who were spending a few days with them in the Clearwater area. Roger & Dixie are long-time Lanning family friends who we spent some time with this past fall when we were heading south from Columbus, MS on the Tenn-Tom. Their boat has been in Panama City since December and they recently made the Gulf crossing to Crystal River and then came as far south as Clearwater where they had arranged to meet their daughter and her family during the girls' Spring Break. Roger & Dixie are planning to take their boat to North Carolina before returning to Colorado for the summer, so Todd and Roger spent a few hours discussing routes and anchorages while the rest of us chatted and relaxed pool side on Cathy's patio.
Tuesday was spent doing laundry and other chores in preparation for our return to Missouri on Wednesday. We will be in Missouri through April 18th and anticipate reconnecting with Mike & Mary at Cathy's house when we return. They are currently in the Marco Island area and will gradually make their way north to St. Petersburg.
We will likely leave St. Petersburg together sometime the week of April 23rd and continue north to Tarpon Springs and Crystal River before making the Gulf crossing in late April/early May, depending on the weather. We will try to be more timely with our next blog update but I suspect it will be near the end of April since we will be in Missouri a good portion of the month. Until then, we always love hearing from those of you who are keeping up with the blog so please feel free to drop us a line any time!
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