Okeechobee to Fort Pierce

Monday, March 9-

When last we met, we were sitting in Moore Haven debating the route we'd take to cross Lake Okeechobee.  The reports on weather that Tuesday morning were a little iffy...windy...so we decided to do the Rim Route which goes along the south edge of the lake.  It takes longer than the straight across route, of course, but there's more protection from the wind.  Looking back on the day's travel, it was the right choice for us.  The winds were strong, even on the Rim Route.  

We traveled 75 miles that day from Moore Haven over to Port St. Lucie State Park.  We had a little fog at Moore Haven that morning, but it lifted pretty quickly.  We got out by 8 AM and arrived at St. Lucie around 6 PM.  Long day, but we accomplished a lot.  ;-)  Below is a shot of the Moore Haven City Dock with one remaining boat...

We were entertained during the trip across Okeechobee by the beautiful scenery...

Port St. Lucie State Park is mainly a campground with spaces for tents to RV's.  There are 8 boat slips available, first come first serve, at a nightly rate of $30.  If you're old enough to get a seniors park pass (which we are, but don't have it with us) you get the slip for $15/night.  Having traveled long the day before, we decided to spend Wednesday at the park to r & r.  The park is right by the St. Lucie Lock so the first day we were there we saw more boats in one day than we'd seen since we left Ft. Myers.

On Wednesday afternoon we were alerted to the arrival of the Nina and Pinta tall sailing ship replicas coming through....

I was almost distracted from the ships' arrival when I saw the lovely view up the channel.

Thursday morning we planned a short trip to Jensen Beach anchorage where we'd arranged for Lucy to be groomed.  As we got on the water, we decided the next few days might actually be more comfortable in a marina.  Nothing like wind and rain to dull your enthusiasm for a dinghy ride.  So we canceled the Jensen Beach grooming appointment and made one in Fort Pierce instead.  Thursday afternoon we docked at Fort Pierce City Marina.  Right downtown Fort Pierce, it's a nice setting.

We're on fixed wooden docks, as are all the boats here now.  The marina had new concrete floating docks that were completely wiped out in a hurricane in 2004.  They are just now in the process of rebuilding those docks.

Friday we walked around town and checked out the place, including a local bakery.  I stayed in town a bit longer to peruse a few of the art galleries.  Art Mundo is a collection of studio/galleries and was most interesting.  I also checked in on a working gallery, The Treasure Coast Art Association, where anyone can pay $4 and come in to work in the studio.  An oil class was meeting the day I was there and a nearby table had 4 people painting away with oil, watercolor, acrylic.  They were very welcoming and would be a nice group to visit were we staying longer.

My next stop that morning was Beads and Baubles, a bead...and, well, baubles shop that not only sells the supplies but offers classes.  I looked around and made a small purchase.  The woman who tended the cash register, Ginette, had a cute haircut so I (of course) asked her where in town she got her hair cut. Turns out she's only down for a while from Boston,  cuts her own hair, and is a former hair stylist.  We talked further, we me lamenting the plight of short-haired lady boaters who must walk into unknown salons with every haircut.  Sad, isn't it?  Ginette looked at my ragged hair and suggested how it might be cut.  She allowed as how a barber would probably do a great job on the cut I was eyeing.  Seeing a barber right across the street, I made for the door with the intent of trying it out.  As I was leaving I heard Ginette say, "If I had my scissors, I'd cut it for you."  [pause]....

.........the air stood still.

"I just happen to have hair cutting scissors onboard our boat," says I, as I saunter back to the register.  Thus began what looks to become a lasting connection between me and Ginette.  ;-)  She came to the boat that afternoon and cut my hair (Did I mention how windy it is down here?  We had hair flying everywhere and Ginette had to stop a couple of times to clear her eyes and throat!)  She gave me a great cut...and we talked constantly while she worked.  Turns out Ginette is an accomplished oil painter.  She showed me some of her work and I showed her some of the things I've been working on this trip...including my art journal.  Ginette really liked the art journal idea, so I loaned her a book to get her started.  How lucky was I to meet this lady!!!

My new, wash and wear do...

I'm encouraging Ginette to set up a chair at the docks here when she chooses.  She'll get takers!!

Friday afternoon, after a shower to shed the stray hair, we took our laundry up to the marina laundromat and knocked out the whole job in about 1.5 hours.  Four new washers and dryers did the trick in no time!  Nice facility, to my way of thinking.  That evening the town held Friday Fest down near the marina with arts/crafts, food, drink, and live music.

Saturday was farmers market day and we donned our raincoats to cruise the booths early.  We came away with veggies and a sweet fix from a luscious pastry.  We then hauled Lucy (on foot and paw) to a grooming salon for a much needed haircut.  While she was getting pretty, we enjoyed a good lunch at Cobb's Landing.  Then we iked back to groomer and picked up a much lighter Lucy.



Sunday we made plans for our getaway on Monday.  After lunch at the Original Tiki Bar, we walked to the local Save A Lot grocery.  We walked away with 3 bags full of supplies...for the awesomely small amount of $26.

We contacted Hidden Harbor Marina in St. Augustine and made arrangements to stay there beginning next weekend.  We'll spend the next few days anchoring our way up to St. Augustine.   We're looking forward to spending some time with Dave, Heather and kids during their visit to Orlando later this month.  Should be fun!  We're ready to "get on with it!"  ;-)

Addendum to Ft. Myers Beach stay

Friday, March 6-

My friend Pam in Ft. Myers Beach is the publicity person for FMBAA and lives on the same street as the local Island Sand Paper editor.  She mentioned to the editor that she had an artist friend traveling through the area while on a year long boat trip and wondered if the paper might want to do an article on us.  The editor liked the idea and passed it along to Jo List, one of their reporters who specializes in human interest stories.

Long story short, Jo came to the art center and to the boat to gather material for the story and this article was published in the next week's paper.  Jo was with us on the boat for maybe an hour and we talked non-stop.  It was a really long article, starting on the front page and continuing on into the paper. She recorded our conversation, which accounts for some of the detail she included in the article.  She also did a great job linking to references made about the Loop, Mary Baumgartner, etc.  I told her afterwards, her research skills were worthy of praise from a librarian.  ;-)

This article is published here with permission from the Island Sand Paper.

Cruising the Loop

There are many cruisers in our community. Some call Fort Myers Beach home port, but for many, like Wayne and Doris Prichard of Knoxville, Tennessee, the island is but one port of many along The Loop, that includes the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, Gulf Coast, Mississippi River, Great Lakes and countless rivers that feed those waterways (go to www.captainjohn.org for maps and details about this massive system).

When the Prichard's were ready for their first live-aboard cruise using the loop waterways, they spent some time in 2008 in the Town's mooring field. "It was a great experience," Doris says with a smile (she smiles a lot). Their second cruise to the area in 2010 brought the Prichard's to Snook Bight Marina (just before it was extensively upgraded and renovated) and Doris remarks that it wasn't the best facility at that time. "It was a great location, though. And when we tried to reserve a spot there for this trip, they were completely booked." Checking out other marinas in the area, Doris found the Pink Shell Marina wasn't quite right for them. And though she says Legacy Harbor in downtown Fort Myers "is gorgeous", its location would not serve well her main reason for coming to this area - to hook up with her fellow artists and friends at the Fort Myers Beach Art Association, where she has been a member since the Prichard's first trip in 2008.

Doris is a painter who works primarily with water media, not altogether surprising considering her lifestyle choice to spend so much time on the waterways. And the course she set that has led to her pursuit of her art and her relationship with the Art Association is a bit of loop itself. "I didn't always paint, no. I've always liked to do things with my hands, though, like crochet and needlepoint. I made a lot of clothes for myself and my son David, much to his chagrin," she says with a laugh. But she also had the notion that she wanted to do watercolor painting, and took a course in one of those adult education classes offered through public school systems. "I enjoyed it, but at the time, I was still working and just didn't have the time to pursue it."

But in 2003, Doris retired from her position as Medical Librarian at the University of Tennessee (UT) Graduate School of Medicine, and immediately went out to find her muse. She has a friend who teaches art at the university, and asked him what he thought about her going back to her alma mater for a degree in art. He asked her what her goal was, and she told him it was to paint, to do art. "He recommended that instead of a degree, I should go out and find workshops and painting groups, so that's what I did." After trying a few classes and workshops offered around town, Doris found a teacher - Mary Baumgartner (www.wonderfulworldofwatercolor.net). "She's really good for beginners; she teaches the basics. You can branch off later, but you need those basics first. I started with still life and painting from photographs, but I am at the point now where I want to branch out. I want to start a piece before I even know what it's going to be." Her love of adventure in her art, and in her life, jives well with her work in water media. "It runs and moves... you never know what it is going to turn out to be."

With their son David grown and off to make his own way in the world, Doris found herself earnestly pursuing her art, while Wayne - after 15 years with IBM - went off to work for himself. Being an avid boater and diver, one of Wayne's first pursuits was the design of a tracker system that would allow the boat operator to locate any diver, and any diver to locate the boat from which they dove, using acoustic-based or sound wave technology. Dubbed "The Navigator," a company in Switzerland agreed to produce the product, and it won a Popular Science award (circa 1990's). A few months after returning from their first year-round cruise, Wayne started up his own Internet company "Cruiser Marine" - he ran all aspects of the business from home, selling products avid boaters and cruisers need. He sold that to a company in California last year.

For their trip this year, Doris had to do a bit of research to find a place to tie up for a while. Using "Active Captain,” an online resource listing all the marinas and anchorages in the area, Doris saw Fish Tale Marina. "We had eaten at the Fish House many times, but had the impression that Fish Tale was a much smaller marina than it really is. I just took the chance and called to see if they could accommodate us, and they said, 'Sure, we've got room'. So here we are. On Doris' blog (ourjourneytracks.blogspot.com) she writes: "So far, we love the marina and the setting! ... Very quiet, very sheltered...little wake. May be our new favorite marina in Fort Myers Beach." As she tells it on Tuesday afternoon looking out at the marina surroundings from the Journey's cabin, "It is just wonderful. This is the friendliest marina staff we have ever been around, to a person. It's been pretty amazing."

Their 32' trawler boat 'Journey' has been home since October 2014 to Wayne, Doris and their 9-year-old miniature schnauzer, Lucy. It's a small space, so stowing supplies can be a bit of a challenge, but the Prichard's have been practicing the fine art of downsizing for at least a decade now, and they are up to the challenge. "After our first cruise (on a 43' Californian Trawler), when we got home, our house seemed so much more than what we needed." They sold the house in the neighborhood with the pool and all, and got a much smaller house on a lake in the same area. That worked well for them, but after their second cruise, they decided they could trim their life's accouterments further, and bought a stand-alone condo, still in the Knoxville area. "There is something very freeing about having a small place to take care of and having very few possessions," Doris says, her quiet contentment with this way of living showing clearly in her face and demeanor.

Living on the boat for long periods of time has changed the Prichard's in many ways. "You learn to be patient with delays. You learn your schedule must always be flexible," Doris says as she begins to consider the ways her downsized lifestyle has affected how she and Wayne view the world and how to do even the most ordinary things. "First of all, the weather is always the gorilla in the room. You have to bow down to it when you're cruising." Doris says the big box stores are no longer appealing or even practical for them, with limited storage on the boat and in the condo. But having a different perspective on the amount and size of things in their life is not the only effect of downsized living. "We don't get the daily newspaper while we're out. We don't see a lot of TV. You don't have all that aggravation coming at you. I feel like we are spared a lot of things that we had to contend with before." 

Doris and Wayne both believe you should pursue those activities and situations that make you happy. One gets a sense that cruisers know something not everyone figures out. "Maybe life is not meant to be hard all the time," Doris says with a note of compassion for those who find life difficult. "We love where we are in our lifestyle. We are around happy people mostly having fun all day. It makes you feel good to be around happy people.”

Jo List

SIDEBAR
In the Art Association Loop

The big attraction to Fort Myers Beach for cruiser Doris Prichard is the Fort Myers Beach Art Association and the many good friends she has made there since joining the group seven years ago, on her first trip to Fort Myers Beach.

Following the advice of a friend in Knoxville, Doris has pursued the art of water media through attendance at workshops and painting groups in her hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee, and in just about every port of call. But clearly, she has made dear friends, like Pam Flaherty, while pursuing her art.

Like musicians who will seek out bands to sit in with when they are visiting somewhere, and who keep in touch with each other and share music with each other whenever and however they can, artists like Doris seek each other out to share their work and their techniques.

"I take advantage of the workshops and painting groups here.” On Tuesday morning, Doris, Pam and a few other members were setting up for an Experimental class. "We share a lot, and try new things,” she says, adding with a chuckle, "It’s adult play time.”

In addition to classes, workshops and annual events like the Plein Air "Paint the Beach” Art Festival, the Fort Myers Beach Art Association will be offering a new fun event on a somewhat regular basis called, "Masterpiece and Merlot.” Led by artist Patty O’Kane (not to be confused with artist and Association member Patty Kane), Pam Flaherty says this is similar to Vino’s Picasso, where all supplies are included in the fee. "But Patty O’Kane is an excellent teacher. You will learn a lot from her.” This event will take place next month on Tuesday, March 10th.

For more information about all the classes, workshops and events held by this active group go to www.fortmyersbeachart.com or call 239-463-3909.

Bye, Bye Fort Myers Beach

Tuesday, March 3-

Our month here in Fort Myers Beach has flown by!  We got a lot done, both on and off the boat.

On the boat, we painted the upstairs deck; installed a new, larger anchor; installed a holding tank monitor (Wayne was wiring that booger for days!); cleaned the engine room; installed three new LED lights, one above the galley sink, one near the floor in the salon for night maneuvers, and one above the bed overhang; installed new red and green navigation lights and white all-around anchor light; had a Coast Guard Auxillary safety inspection (adhered the "we passed" sticker to side of boat); and made some further improvements to the shower.

Many of these project involved multiple trips to the hardware here at Santini Plaza...and some involved rather lengthy bus trips to Fort Myers for other resources.  The trolleys and bus system here are very handy...though, in the busy months (like February) the traffic on the island can really slow down the trips.

We rented a car twice this month.  First, Wayne and our dock neighbors, Marleen and Kevin on TIKA, went to the Miami Boat Show on February 13.  I had planned to go, too, but Lucy wasn't feeling well so stayed home with her.  They went over and back in one day and seemed to enjoy the venture.  Wayne allowed it was a very busy affair, however (parking was hard to come by), even more sign of the upswing in boating activity we've seen on this trip.

On Monday the 16th we drove to St. Petersburg, FL, for the Picasso/Dali exhibit at the Dali Museum.  We had purchased tickets online and got there around 11:30 AM.  The place was packed, of course, but we managed to see everything and learned a lot through our audio-guided tour.  Very interesting artists!  I didn't know they were contemporaries and that Picasso influenced some of Dali's work.  I've always liked Picasso's work.  There was one painting in the exhibit I really liked, so I noted the title: Woman in the Chair.  Little did I know, Picasso painted a zillion such paintings and I still haven't found an image of the ONE I saw.

The Dali Museum, new since we'd been last in the 1980's, is a beautiful building in a breathtaking setting.

We really liked St. Pete.  It's been years since we visited the city, and we want to go back for a longer visit, having seen it again.  Our friends the Benders stayed for a month at the municipal marina in St. Pete (seen in the background of above photo) and were most impressed with the town.  Bill almost had to drag Laura away from the place.  ;-)

We visited with various friends while here.  Our friends Pam and Tom Flaherty live here year-round and had us over twice for gourmet cooking...one meal with Pam at the helm and one from Chef Tom. Pam and Tom have completely renovated the home they purchased a couple of years ago when they moved to Ft. Myers Beach.  The most recent project, the kitchen, is a dream...and is put to good use by the talented couple.  We were lucky to be on the receiving end of those talents. We attempted to reciprocate with a meal cooked in our galley on Journey...

Pam and I met through the Ft. Myers Beach Art Association and "bonded" immediately.  We continue to discover common interests...and traits.

We had a wonderful lunch and reunion with Tom and Sue Jones.  We met Tom and Sue on the first Loop trip and really got to know each other while we were stranded for two weeks when the Illinois River flooded.  They lived in Chicago before their retirement and traveled the Great Lakes extensively.  They gave us some great insight on cruising Lake Superior...and followed that up with a trunk load of guidebooks for that area and others on which we will be traveling.  Tom and Sue spent years doing the Loop, taking their time to enjoy the areas they really liked.  Now they have sold their boat and purchased an RV so they can do the same kind of exploring on land.  

When we came down to Ft. Myers Beach in 2010, I discovered the Fort Myers Beach Art Association (FMBAA).  I joined that year, and have been a member ever since.  Every winter they have a couple of nationally known artists come to present workshops.  I've been fortunate to have attended at least one workshop a year there since 2010.  In addition to the workshops, an Experimental Group meets on Tuesdays from 9-12 (lunching 12-1, until the afternoon Portrait Group convenes with a live model).  There's also a Wednesday painting group and plein air groups.  I've met some amazing artists and have been inspired by the projects going on there.  This year was no exception.

Our nationally known artist this year was Sue Pink, NWS, SW, FWS.  Sue is a member of the art association...one of ours who's done great!  The workshop was geared to abstract painting with acrylic paint and was well attended.  It was informative, varied in activities...and fun!  One day Sue requested we come wearing a "unique" outfit.  It was a great way to start the day!



The class at work...





Later that week Wayne and I had an "open boat" for friends at FMBAA...















Lynne (seen below) is wearing an even bigger smile today because she won 1st place in the show which just opened! Check out the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/fmbaa.







On the Friday before we left Ft. Myers Beach, our friends Laura and Bill of Kindred Spirit III stopped by to meet us for breakfast in Santini Plaza.  They were staying in Punta Gorda and were taking a road trip to Marathon, FL, for a get together.  We talked non-stop...and Laura even managed to get in some shopping at the Fish Tale Ship Store!  Here we are in Skye's Restaurant that morning...






In between all the activity, Wayne and I enjoyed lots of meals out...and trolley rides.  It's fun for the young and the old.  ;-)





Now for a few more memory shots from the month.  First, one of the fish hauls we saw while there.  Talk about some excited anglers!

A view of the mooring field in Estero Bay from the bridge going over to Ft. Myers Beach.

I love finding clever boat names, like this one.

One Saturday morning while we were there one of the forklifts went up to the edge of the dock...and the piece that was meant to stop the forklift gave way.  The forklift was left dangling over the edge, with a transmission fluid leaking from the bottom.  The whole marina crew flew into action.  The white pieces you see in the water are absorbent pads to soak up the leaking fluid.

Later in the afternoon, a huge crane (um, mechanical crane, that is, not the bird kind) was brought

in to pull the forklift up onto the dock.  All that's missing is the popcorn!

And, yes, I've become fascinated with the panorama shots from my phone.

A view of Estero Bay from the bridge at the lower end of the island.

One of the many beach access walks....

So, we left Ft. Myers Beach with TIKA (headed home to Jacksonville, FL) on Sunday morning.  We went out the lower end of the bay at Big Carlos Pass and ran outside to the river going into Ft. Myers.  It was only about a 30 mile trip and we were there in time to have lunch downtown with Kevin and Marleen.  We spent the night at the City of Ft. Myers Yacht Basin (sounds fancy, but those who have been there will tell you it's comfortable...but not fancy.;-)

Yesterday morning we left Ft. Myers in the morning after the fog cleared and did the first leg of our trip on the Okeechobee Waterway.  We got to Moore Haven City Dock at around 4 PM.  We had some wind and current against us on the way, but all in all it was a very pleasant, if long, day of travel.

Moore Haven is a neat little place.  Not much here, but we're right across from the City Hall and the public library.  Today we are looking at the weather for crossing Lake Okeechobee.   

"Lake Okeechobee means "big water" in the Seminole Indian language, an appropriate name for a water body whose opposite shore can't be seen from the water's edge. With a surface area of 730 square miles, it is the largest lake in the southeastern United States. Despite its impressive size, the lake is shallow, with an average depth of only 9 feet." South Florida Water Management District 

The fact that the lake is shallow and long allows for some fierce wave action depending on the direction and speed of the wind.  It's 6:15 AM on Tuesday morning as I finish this and I'm guessing we'll be doing the rim route today.  More on this later....

Fort Myers Beach!

Tuesday, February 3-



Here's our home for the next month, Fish Tale Marina at Fort Myers Beach.  We left Sarasota as planned on Friday, January 30.  The trip through Lemon Bay was easy and uneventful.  We had planned to stop for the night at Caya Costa...but, as a backup, had also considered Cape Haze anchorage.  When we saw Cape Haze, we decided to stop there for the night.  A nice little cul-de-sac right off the ICW and surrounded by quiet residential property.  We've been to Caya Costa and decided a change was in order.  ;-)

After anchoring we launched the dinghy and followed a canal through the residential section to a bridge where we could "park" the boat and walk Lucy.  Lucy gets excited when she hears the dinghy engine start up.  In spite of blindness, she knows what's coming when we take off in the dinghy with her life jacket (aka "handle) on her body.



Oh, the things we get into getting Lucy to shore!  This is the bridge.

Here's the concrete "step" around which our dinghy is tied...and upon which Wayne hoisted himself to shore.  We then use Lucy's "handle" on the life jacket to lift her up from dinghy to Wayne.

And Wayne removes life jacket and puts on Lucy's halter and leash for a walk...

Notice the waterproof pants, handy for those early morning runs in the dinghy when dew has settled on the seats...Oh, yeah, and when you're going to be crawling out of a dinghy onto a bridge drainage structure.  

After Lucy's walk we continued on the canal to the ICW and doubled back to take the small channel to Don Pedro Island Park.  We went all the way up to a dock, but decided to head back to the anchorage due to the time of day.  Here we are, all snug in the Cape Haze anchorage.

Saturday morning we repeated the Lucy event...then pulled up anchor and headed for Ft. Myers Beach.  This part of the trip involved going through some open waters and past the Boca Grande Pass.  The channel is narrow with shallow waters to each side.  We got tossed and rolled by waves and boats for most of the trip...but survived with only one casualty: my favorite wine glass. ;-(  Oh, well...an opportunity for a new wine glass!

We got to Fish Tale Marina around 2:30 in the afternoon.  The trip in through Estero Bay took us through some low readings on the depth finder...read: under 3 feet.  We have a draft of 3.5, so must have been polishing the keel part of the time.

So far, we love the marina and the setting!  There are only about 4 boats here with people "living aboard."  Very quiet, very sheltered...little wake.  May be our new favorite marina in Ft. Myers Beach.

We're right behind a shopping center with a drug store, retail shops and restaurants, a laundromat, and bars.  The beach trolley stops in front of the shopping center so it's convenient to get to the Art Center or to the Publix.  And...the best part...we're within an easy walk to the beach....

Nearing the end of Sarasota stay

Tuesday, January 27-

Well, all good things must come to an end...so's you can move on to all the rest of the good things.  ;-)
Today we started planning routes, anchorages, and our departure from Marina Jack and Sarasota.  The stay has been shorter than we planned...but we've crammed in a lot!

Last Wednesday we had a beautiful day on our hands and decided to walk across the Ringling Causeway to St. Armands Circle and lunch at the Columbia.  Sitting outside with our meal complete (right down to the almond cake with fresh strawberries and zabayon sauce), we decided this was well worth the trip.  (We took the bus back!)  ;-)

That evening I walked to the Art Center for a session on CV's and artist statements.  The class was small, 4 people total, but we had an interesting discussion.

Thursday evening we walked down to Anne and Jim's condo for wine and conversation.  We loved their location and the condo!  We invited them to come to the boat for lunch on Saturday so they could acquaint themselves with a trawler.  They are sailboaters...and we're hoping to pick up some storage ideas while they are here.  ;-)

Friday brought up winds gusting up to 40 mph!!  Yee-ow!  That and a negative tide that cropped up a couple of times this month have kept Wayne busy adjusting lines on our fixed, concrete dock.

Saturday we walked around town in the afternoon and checked out some places we hadn't seen before like Burns Court.  Loved the small shops and the architecture...

Sunday morning we had a visit from Bob and Jace.  Jace visited Segue back in 2008 when we did the first Loop trip and thrilled us all by demonstrating his ability to start the engine while we were in a slip...and the boat was in gear.  I threatened to tie his hands behind his back this time! ;-)  Jace is growing up fast...and excelling in school and on a competitive swim team.





Sunday afternoon we caught the bus to Siesta Key and lunched at S.K.O.B. (Siesta Key Oyster Bar) outside on the deck.

This week we've been planning and preparing for our trip down to Ft. Myers Beach.  We did take time to go to Bob's for lunch with him and Shirley on Tuesday (spaghetti carbonara, fresh green salad from his earth boxes, homemade whole wheat French bread, and homemade biscotti and coffee!!).  We returned the favor today and had them out on the boat for a taste of crockpot bean soup...and the boating life.  ;-)

We leave tomorrow morning after fueling up here at Marina Jack ($2.99/gal. diesel is a welcome change from our 2008 trip!).  Depending on the traffic and slow zones, we'll get to FMB either Saturday or Sunday.  I'll leave you with a few other pictures from our stay here and walk-arounds...

The Selby Public Library of the Sarasota County Library System has a distinct architectural design and is located right downtown.  Their friends group has a bookstore for used book sales...and, of course, I found something to buy even though I've tried to do all e-books on the boat.

The beautiful Sarasota Bay setting with walking/biking trail alongside...

Marina Jacks, Sarasota

Tuesday, January 20 -

Well, we're back in Sarasota after a short, but good, visit to Wake Forest, Knoxville, and Athens.

We left on New Years Day, picking up our 2-week rental at the Sarasota airport.  Stopped for the night in Georgia and got to Wake Forest around 3 PM on the 2nd.  [Had some problems with getting the rental car: booked with Payless through AARP but ended up dropping that one and going with Avis.  Bottom line, we didn't leave until around noon on the 1st.  Lesson learned!  Also, re: rental car, we found a pick up on the 1st MUCH cheaper for the total rental than to rent on the 31st of December.  ;-)]

Spent Friday-Sunday with Dave, Heather, and boys.

Saturday morning on the couch

Marbles Kids' Museum

Look at that colorful tower!

Fantastic clear disk creation!

Wayne's birthday cake....Got it?

Master of disguise

Left on Monday morning to pick up Lucy (always keep her at a kennel when the boys are around because she's been known to bite) and drove to Abingdon for a brief lunch visit with Nadine and Amy.  (Jerry had to work and we sure missed seeing him!)  After lunch we proceeded to Knoxville and got home in time to turn on the water in the daylight.  ;-)

The rest of our week there was spent visiting our doctors, friends, and Mamaw Prichard in Athens.  We left Knoxville on Tuesday, January 13, driving to Gainesville, FL, where we spent the night.  Two weeks and 2200 miles on the odometer, we finally made it back to Marina Jack on the 14th and are settling in again to our water home.

First call went out to our friend, Bob.   He left later in the week for a visit with his son and left us his car for the weekend.  Woo-who!  Thank you, Bob!

And...our friends the Alexanders and Pearces were here for the week so we had fun running around with them!  Thursday Ralph and Kay picked us up and we all met Rob and Jane for lunch at the Dry Dock Restaurant on Long Boat Key.  Rob and Jane were participating in an art and antique show here and had set up their booth earlier that morning.  After lunch we spent a wonderful afternoon talking and laughing at their Gulf-side condo.

Rob and Jane gave all of us passes to the show so on Friday we converged there for a look-see.  After the show ended for the day we walked to downtown Sarasota for supper.  We had our sights set on the
Pho Cali Vietnamese Noodle House, which had been talked about at the art/antique show by vendors.  Unfortunately for us, others had heard of the restaurant's appeal and the small place was packed...and  with people waiting outside.  We decided, instead, to eat at Barnacle Bill's downtown.  It, too, was hopping on that Friday night, so we spent some time in the bar before being seated.  We were met with a great menu boasting a variety of fresh fish and preparations.  We enjoyed our meal...and our company.  Edys Ice Cream on the way back to the marina made our evening complete.

On Saturday Ralph and Kay came over to the boat for a light lunch, then Ralph and Wayne went out in the dinghy for a tour of the nearby waters.





Kay and I headed for Art and Frame of Sarasota where we mined through their great collection of art supplies.  We both went in with shopping lists...and came out with that and more!

We're so glad our crazy boating schedule finally pulled together so we could be here in Sarasota while  our friends were here!

The past couple of days we've run around taking care of errands while we have Bob's car.  We ate at Pop's Sunset Restaurant down in Nokomis for "old times sake." (We were in Nokomis last February and went to Pop's several times.)  Pop's is right on the ICW near Albee Bridge so there's always water traffic to ogle as you eat.

We'll pick Bob up at the airport this afternoon and look forward to spending some quality time with him and Shirley.  ;-)