NOVEMBER 10- DECEMBER 23: BACK TO BOATING

Maureen finally finished her cancer treatments so we prepared to leave Rhode Island and head back to the good ole Duddon Pilot and resume our boating adventure. Before we left Rhode Island, we attended a celebration for our friend Bill Farrell who was honored with the highest award that the Government of Japan bestows on individuals for their contributions to US-Japanese relations.

Maureen with her friend Bill Farrell when she had just finished Chemo. From Baldy to the "Poodle" 

Maureen with slightly more hair with her niece Sharon who visited us over Labor Day.  Since then, she has been christened the "Poodle" as her hair has grown back curly.

 November 10:  Leaving Rhode Island:   We loaded Peter's Yukon to the rafters with all our boating gear and spent a few days driving down.  As part of our ongoing search for a new home, we stopped in St. Augustine for three days.  With the help of a local realtor, we toured several locations in and around St. Augustine.  Not sure if this is the right place for us, so the search will continue.

November 18-December 4:  Indiantown:  After spending a few delightful days in Vero Beach with our friends, the Patotas, we finally arrived in Indiantown, FL on November 18 where we were reunited with the good ole Duddon Pilot.   With lots of work ahead of us, we proceeded to remove the shrink wrap covering that has been protecting the boat from the elements for the last 8 months. 

Just in case you all thought that boating was all about drinking wine and reading books-here is the Captain hard at work painting the  propeller!  And below working in the engine room.

The "Bilge Bunny"

As the boat was still on land, we had to stay in the only hotel in this tiny town-the Seminole Inn.  The Inn has been owned and managed by multi generations of the same family and is decorated with murals depicting various aspects of the Seminole Tribe.  We met one of the family members who gave us an overview of the family and history of the Seminole Indians.  They are the only Indians who have never signed a peace treaty with the United States Government.  Economically, the tribe is doing well and owns most of the Hard Rock Cafes around the world.   http://www.seminoleinn.com/aboutus.php

Some of the Seminole Murals.

Resident greeter at the Seminole Inn.

We ended up staying at the Seminole Inn for 8 days.  As the Inn does not provide breakfast, we trekked over to their sister facility called "Crackers".  Crackers is a name originally given to Floridian Cowboys.  Some sources claim it originated from the "crack" of their whips as they rounded up the cattle.  Florida actually has a large cattle ranching community.  Today it refers to old time Floridians.   According to the restaurant, the term refers to rugged individuals who can always be relied upon to keep their word and help others in need.  I prefer that definition.

The restaurant is decorated with old Cowboy memorabilia-whips, guns, hats etc. It is also frequented by a group of locals who gather there every morning to solve the problems of the world.  We were soon greeted by them every morning with a friendly wave and smile.  One morning, a very tall, younger man wearing spurs and a cowboy hat came in.  He sat quietly by himself.  I observed him as he removed his hat when his food arrived and said grace before putting his hat back on and eating his breakfast.  A real Cowboy!

December 5-7:  Finally Cruising Again: After two weeks of grueling boat work and cleaning, we were ready to depart Indiantown to head towards the West Coast of Florida.  We left on a gorgeous, calm and sunny day to travel across Lake Okeechobee.

Lake Okeechobee is a large, shallow lake that is about half the size of Rhode Island.  A canal connects the East Coast of Florida to the Lake which allows boats to transit via another canal on the West side of the Lake to Florida's West Coast.  Because the Lake is so shallow, a strong wind can make the crossing very uncomfortable so boaters need to wait for the right weather to cross.

Arriving on the West Shore of Lake Okeechobee.  Very skinny water so staying in the Channel is job number one!

Boaters delight-Nice calm water!

Some of the wild life along the way.

Not so wild life- Believe it or not, Florida is a large cattle ranching state.

Back to the "Locking Experience".  We had to traverse three Locks to travel all the way to Fort Myers.  Fortunately, they were all low lifts or rises of only a few feet.  

Our journey also required negotiating several low bridges.  Here is a swing bridge with a 9 feet vertical clearance so one we definitely need to wait for its scheduled opening.

It is great to be back on the Duddon Pilot!  We have adjusted to our small space again.  It is comfy and it makes us realize that we really don't need that many things to enjoy life.  

December 8-14:  Fort Myers:  Legacy Harbor Marina was our home for a week.  Great marina in walking distance to the downtown historic section of Fort Myers.  We took a much needed rest here, enjoyed the local theatre and continued the house hunt with a local realtor.

Downtown Historic District-Decorated for the Holidays

December 14- 23:  Palm Island, FL:  After a week in Fort Myers, we departed for our next destination on an overcast day that promised moderate choppy weather on the Intercoastal Waterway.  Fortunately, the weather report turned out to be overly pessimistic and we had a decent run to Palm Island.  Palm Island Marina will be our home for the next month.  We plan to use this location as our base to explore the area south and north of Sarasota as part of our ongoing search for a new home.

Our Marina is on the mainland side directly opposite the barrier island of Palm Island.  There is a regular scheduled ferry service that takes passengers across the short distance to the island.

Palm Island Marina-nice spot with its own pool and clean facilities.

Palm Island is a holiday resort with beautiful pristine beaches.

Enjoying the sunset from our boat.

A Manatee family-parents and baby-frequent our marina.  They are hard to photograph.  This is the best that we could do.

Manatee Junior.

We have made several trips into Venice which is a delightful, small town about 15 miles from our marina.  The town has installed "tortoise and dolphin art"  all over its main street.

Pizza Pete checking out his competition.

APRIL 2012-BACK IN RHODE ISLAND

Well, the Duddon Pilot will be on the hard for quite a long time.  My Chemotherapy and radiation treatment will not be complete until the end of August maybe the beginning of September.  The plan is to leave here during the second week of November, travel to Indiantown, spend a few weeks getting the boat ready and then to cruise around Florida for a few months.  That's the plan anyway, although we have learnt that the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry!

Anyway, the blog will be in hiatus for most of the time.  Unless something exciting happens-like my hair growing back.  Right now I look like a skinhead or an escaped prisoner!! Definitely could scare the neighbors..

MARCH 18-APRIL 2: JOURNEY TO INDIANTOWN

March 18-22:  We left today for the long drive down to Florida to move the boat from the Keys in Islamorada to Indiantown.  This entailed a two day drive with our first stop in Vero Beach where we stayed with our friends Joan & Reggie.

After an early start, we arrived in Stuart where we picked up a rental car.  Then we headed for Indiantown to drop my car off and make arrangements with the marina to keep the boat there for several months.  With those arrangement made, we drove to Islamorada.

The Duddon Pilot was waiting for us.  Safe and Sound.  We spent the next few days provisioning the boat and preparing for our departure.  A quick visit to the hairdresser and my long locks were replaced with a short pixie cut in preparation for my date with Chemo treatment!

March 23:  The weather was perfect for our departure from Islamorada.  We were sad to leave as we really enjoyed this location but it was time to move on.  Our destination is No Name harbor (yes that really is its name!) which is just south of Miami in Biscayne Bay.  The waters around here are very shallow so we have to pay attention and make sure we stay in the channel.

Marina & Restaurant en route

We arrived in No Name harbor around 3:00 p.m.  The harbor was not crowded and we anchored without difficulty.  The harbor is part of a State Park and the fee is $20 based on the honor system.  To spare the Captain from lowering the dinghy and putting ashore to pay the fee, the stalwart Admiral offered to swim ashore to complete the task.  Armed with $20 and a pen secured in a watertight zip lock bag, the Admiral took off on the perilous swim to shore.  Mission accomplished, we settled down for the night.  All was well until midnight when a rowdy bunch of boaters arrived.  They proceeded to party until 4:00 a.m.  Needless to say, we did not get much sleep.

March 24:  We could not wait to leave the next day and did so as soon as it was light.  We contemplated making a lot of noise and sounding our horn to wake the inconsiderate party animals but decided it would be unfair to the other well behaved boaters.

The weather cooperated again for another beautiful day as we headed across Biscayne Bay towards downtown Miami.

All was quiet early in the morning as we passed through Miami Waterfront.

We passed six cruise ships as we negotiated our way through Miami harbor.

We are now in the Intercoastal Waterway-known as the ICW.  This will be our route for the next few days. 

Here the ICW is lined with high rise apartment style buildings in the densely populated areas around Miami.

Our main challenge on this part of the ICW is the number of bridges that cross the channel.  The one in the distance here is high enough for us to pass under but we encountered dozens that were too low.   Most of the bridges have scheduled openings which is fine if one can make it to the bridge in time.  Unfortunately, we were not able to make all the openings in time and had some long waits until the next scheduled opening.

Further up the ICW, the banks are lined with some pretty fancy homes.  A little out of our price range!

Some of the fancy pads also have their small runabout boats parked out front.

The other challenge on this part of the ICW is the number of small recreational boats that ply the waters.  Unfortunately, we were traversing this section of the ICW on a beautiful Saturday which meant that everyone and their dog that owns a boat was out on the water.   Some of these boaters are not too conversant with the rules of the road or too polite-it requires one to be alert to avoid some of them.

Approaching Fort Lauderdale, we encountered the third hazard on this section of the ICW:  Cruise boats.  They definitely have the right of way on the water but as you can see there are a lot of small boats zipping in and out!

This is a photograph of our GPS as we passed through Fort Lauderdale.  Each of the red images depicts the   Automatic Identification Signal (AIS) of a large boat in the harbor.  Quite a collection!

These are the type of boats depicted on our GPS above.

This was the largest one that we saw.  We decided to pass on buying one as it would require a full time live aboard crew and that would cramp our style!

Another collection of small cottages along the ICW in the vicinity of Fort Lauderdale.

We spent our first night at the dock outside our friend Don's house which is just off the main ICW channel.  The Captain did a superb job of navigating the narrow inner channels and docked the boat perfectly.  It was a pleasure to spend the evening with Don and Elaine as well as to have a peaceful night's sleep.

March 25:  We still had a number of low bridges to deal with during the next leg of the trip and some rain as well.  However, the weather cleared up in the late afternoon and we enjoyed a beautiful sunset and quiet anchorage.

March 26:  The last leg of our trip to Indiantown!  The landscape has changed with no high rise buildings and fewer homes along the ICW.

A few abandoned boats did not present much of a hazard.

The ICS is dotted with signs warning boaters to slow down for Manatees.

This is one we saw along the way.  Manatees are not scared off by the noise of boat engines and can be hurt by approaching boats going at high speeds.   They are very docile and friendly creatures.  We finally reached the St. Lucie River and turned off to enter the Okeechobee Canal.  A short distance up the Canal we passed under the last bridge and entered the Indiantown Marina.

March 27 & 28:  The next couple of days were spent preparing the boat to be hauled.  I cannot believe the amount of stuff we were able to pack into my car.  Not room for another thing!  It was sad to see the Duddon Pilot being hauled and transported to its new location on land.  Soon it was time to say goodbye and head to Vero Beach to stay with our friends Joan & Reggie again. 

March 29-April 1:  Fortunately, our friends talked us into staying an extra day in Vero Beach which we really needed after  an exhausting week.  We thoroughly enjoyed the rest and were able to set off the trip home relaxed and able to enjoy the trip home.

MARCH 17, 2012 UPDATE

The blog was suspended when I came home for some routine medical tests.  Unfortunately, one of the tests was anything but routine.  As some of you may already know, I was diagnosed with breast cancer.  Fortunately, it was caught at an early stage and was successfully removed.

After undergoing an additional genetic test, it was determined that I am in the high risk group for a recurrence.  The consensus amongst my medical team is that the best treatment regime for me is to undergo a 3-4 month course of Chemotherapy followed by 6.5 weeks of radiation.  Not exactly what we had envisioned to do for the next several months but unfortunately a necessary precaution.

We leave for Florida tomorrow and plan to move the Duddon Pilot from its current location at Islamorda to Indiantown, Florida.  Indiantown is considered to be a "hurricane hole" and therefore a safe location for us to leave the boat until we resume our adventure on the Loop.  

I will post updates from time to time to let you know of my progress and our plans.  Many thanks to everyone for their well wishes and encouragement.  

JANUARY 2012 VISITORS & A SOJOURN IN MIAMI

We were lucky to have visitors from Rhode Island in January.  Renee and her father Don spent a few days in Islamorada.  We enjoyed visiting some local haunts with them as well as some great meals.

Don & Renee enjoying some Florida sun.

At the invitation of other friends from Rhode Island, we took a side trip to Key Biscayne which is just outside Miami.  Arthur & Judy were wonderful hosts and showed us around Miami and its environs. 

South Beach Miami.

Judy was our guide and gave us a tour of the unique Art Deco architecture in South Beach which is the in place to be seen and to people watch.

Peter's retirement car.  He needs to have a chick magnet.

The weather was spectacular and we had lunch at a waterfront restaurant.
Peter & Judy waiting for our table.

View from our table at the waterfront location of Smith & Wollensky: http://www.smithandwollensky.com/sw-miami-beach

Arthur & Judy took us to the Fairchild Botanical Gardens.  The Gardens are named after Dr. David Fairchild who was a famous plant explorer.  The Gardens are a treasure trove of tropical plants from around the world and serve as a major conservation and educational center.

There are sculptures and works of art interspersed amongst the plants.  This one and several others were created by Dale Chihuly, an artist who spent a great deal of time at the Rhode Island School of Design as a student and a teacher.

An up close view of one of the exotic flowers in the hothouse section.

Judy in the hothouse.

Another example of the Art that is scattered amongst the plants and trees.


Rambunctious tourists sitting on one of the "flower petals".

All aboard the open air bus for a tour through the Gardens.

One of the influential patrons and founders of the Fairchild Gardens.

"Hitchee" the White Egret who hitches a ride on the open air trolley and has become a fixture in the Gardens.

The legendary Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables.  We peaked inside for a view of "Old Florida".  The hotel has hosted the rich and famous since the 1920s.

Views of Miami at sunset from the Rusty Pelican Restaurant where we enjoyed a delicious meal with our friends.

Miami at night!