Wednesday Nov. 27

0 miles

We spent the morning cleaning the boat to get all the salt water off. While cruising through the water and the moisture from the wind salt gets everywhere. In the afternoon a fellow “looper” couple took us to do some shopping with them in there rental car.

Priorities in a "gated" community. The marina is key access only. (very safe)

 

 Barnacles show up at low tide.

 

 

Thursday Nov. 28

0 miles

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

The wind finally slowed down and the sun came back out. We took a walk to downtown Gulfport which is about 1.5 miles away. Gulfport is a quaint little town right on Boca Ciega Bay. Its waterfront district with its mix of cottages, shops, and restaurants situated among mature oak trees and brick paved streets is often referred to as “Old Florida”. We had a very quite Thanksgiving meal with Cornish Hens and all the fixings, even pumpkin pie.

 

 Saw this dragon on the roof with a sign under it saying:

Do not meddle in the affairs of Dragons...for you are crunchy and good with ketchup.

 

 Boca Ciega Bay

 

 

Downtown Gulfport FL.

 

 It is Thanksgiving!

 

 

Friday Nov. 29

0 miles

We took another walk to town and now we are back on the boat planning our trip home to Holland to celebrate an early Christmas with our family and friends. It seems strange sitting here in 68 degree weather while back home it’s snowing. Break out the long underwear we are heading north.

We will be leaving the boat in Gulfport for the next several weeks to get some maintenance done and make our trip back to MI. The blog will continue after we get back.

 

Tuesday Nov. 26

25 miles   0845-1230   Clearwater Beach to Gulfport, FL.

It is time to move on. Especially with the high winds and storms that are predicted for this area. So we left Clearwater Beach and headed to Gulfport City marina which is located near downtown St. Petersburg FL. This marina has good protection from all the high winds that are forecasted. Out in the Gulf the waves were up to 11 feet high, but we could travel on the ICW (Intracoastal Waterway). Most of the waterway was very narrow so we had great protection from the wind. Only a few spots widened out but even then there was only a 6” chop.

Cruising along the ICW.

 

 Some areas there is only a very thin strip of land between the ICW and the Gulf.

 

 Cormorants even like to swing sometimes.

 

 Johns Pass - Along the ICW there are several channels to get out to the Gulf.

 

 One of several bridges that we had to go under today. Most of them averaged

22-25 feet clearance. We fit under them but had to lower the antennas.

 

 Most of our cruising today we passed homes on one side and condos on the other.

 

 There are a lot of finger canals off the ICW similar to this.

Sunday Nov. 24

0 miles

The water in the Gulf has been pretty wavy lately so there were a lot of “Looper” boats that could not make the crossing from Carrabelle FL to here. Well that finally changed and 3 of them came in to Clearwater today that we had previously met along our travels and became good friends with. Gary & Christelle (Time & Tide), Terry & Donna (Meridian), & Jim and Belinda (Rickshaw).  It was great seeing all of them and catching up with how their cruising has been going and what they did and saw. We are all cruising “The Great Loop” but there are many different ports and anchorages you can stop to visit along the way.  After catching up we all hopped on the Trolley and went to Dunedin. There was no festival today but the downtown area is fun to walk through all the shops. There are no corporate franchise restaurants or chain retail stores. It reminds us a lot of Saugatuck MI.

 

Monday Nov. 25

0 miles

Today the winds picked up to 20 miles per hour with gusts as high as 30. It was a good day to sit still and just visit with the other boaters. We went for a walk, did some shopping and ate lunch at Frenchy’s. We were told this was the place to go for seafood. We were not disappointed. It sits right on the beach so we had a great view of the Gulf.

Friday Nov. 22

0 miles Priorities – 4 miles dinghy

Today was another laid back day doing a few things on the boat, going for a walk on the beach and taking a nice long dinghy ride. We putt putted in some areas that are too shallow for Priorities to get in and did some sight seeing.

 

Saturday Nov. 23

0 miles

Dunedin FL, a town just a few miles north of us put on a Celtic Festival today so we hopped on a trolley to check it out. What a blast! There were men, women, and kids dressed in kilts and Scottish attire. There were Scottish souvenirs set out to sell both touristy and authentic. There were tents for food, beer and of course music. The music was amazing. They started with the local middle school and high school bands then several bands that were invited from other areas. As the day progressed so did the talent. They even played rock n roll songs with a bagpipe. It was a great festival and a fun day.

 

 Middle School band

 

 High School band

 

 He is holding an electronic bagpipe.

(sounds just like a real one and he doesn't have to blow into it)

Wednesday Nov. 20

0 miles

Today we did some cleaning on the boat and then walked through the shops and trinket stores along the Clearwater beach. It was a very nice laid back day in partly sunny 78 degree weather in Florida.

 

 

Thursday Nov. 21

0 miles by boat – 60 miles by car

We went to Sarasota with another couple to visit the Ringling museum. The grounds cover 66 acres and you can tour the Ringling museum of art, circus museum, bayfront gardens, and the winter residence of John and Mable Ringling called Ca’d’Zan (which means house of John). The art museum was mostly a collection that John Ringling had collected through the years. Again not our cup of tea but a little culture never hurt anyone. The circus museum was a lot more fun to walk through because what “kid” young or old doesn’t like a circus. The mansion at a cost of $1.5 million to build with its Venetian Gothic style reflected the Ringling’s love of Italy and was amazing to walk through.

Banyan tree

 

 

 Cypress wood ceiling.

 

 Replica of the 100' yacht that used to be docked in front of the mansion.

Tuesday Nov. 19

0 miles

We are still on anchor in Clearwater Beach FL. The weather is great and we are finding a lot of things to do in this area. Today we drove to downtown Saint Petersburg with another couple to tour the Dali Museum. This museum is a show case of paintings from the surrealist painter Salvador Dali. Not really a fan of this type of art but after our guided tour by a woman who was very educated in Dali’s work it gave us a new insight to his paintings.

Reflection of lights on the water from Clearwater.

 

 Full moon getting ready to set on the Gulf.

 

 Across the road from our anchorage is Clearwater Aquarium

where the movie Dolphin Tales was filmed.

 

 Dali Museum

 

 This staircase winds up 3 stories in the center of the building.

 

 Some of Dali's art work.

Sunday Nov. 17

0 miles

Today we did more sightseeing by car with Jim and Karen. We drove south along the Gulf coast to a quaint little turn-of-the-century fishing village called John’s Pass. Located on the waterfront there are over 100 hundred merchants offering a variety of unique shopping, restaurants, fishing fleet, dolphin watching, boat rentals, (you get the picture).

 

This sculpture is called “The Hand of Fate” and is a memorial to all Florida fishermen lost at sea.

 

The sign under it reads;

 

Fisherman’s Prayer:

I pray that I may live to fish…..

until my dying day.

And when it comes to may last cast,

I then most humbly pray:

When in the Lord’s great landing net

and peacefully asleep

That in His mercy I be judged

big enough to keep.

Every night people gather at the beach to watch the sunset and get treated to the local street performers showing off. Well tonight Randy got his 15 minutes of fame when one of the performers of an acrobatic act included him in their act.

 

 Mermaids on the beach.

 

Monday Nov. 18

 ¼ mile

Took a walk on the beach in the morning, did some wash, then it was time to say goodbye to Jim and Karen. Vacation was over and they had to catch a plane back to Knoxville. It sure was great to spend the past week sharing new experiences on the water with them. After they left we cut loose the lines and went on anchor just outside the marina. Tonight we will dingy in and go watch another sunset and see if Randy has any more hidden talents with the street performers.

Setting chairs out to get ready for the day.

 

 Wood Stork

 

 This BMW was completely covered with velvet.