DECEMBER 24-JANUARY 9: STILL IN PALM ISLAND, FLORIDA

The great house hunt continues:  We have spent several days touring areas around Venice, Sarasota and Tampa evaluating communities as potential permanent bases.  So far, no one location has jumped out at us as the perfect spot.  Oh, well, the search continues.

The marina that we are currently located in is typical of most Florida waters...it is very shallow.  Here are some photographs of the marina at low tide.

Entrance to the marina at low tide

Definitely do not want to take a short cut via this route into the marina.

At a recent full moon, we had an exceptionally low tide.  This is the Duddon Pilot sitting on the bottom at this very low tide!  

Love that mud!!

As we were sitting on the bottom, we could not use our air conditioning or heating system (yes, we actually needed heating as we had a rather cold snap) so we asked to be moved to the other side of the marina that is considerably deeper. 

Here is the Duddon Pilot happily floating in deeper water.

No, this is not downtown Istanbul...these buildings were originally part of  the Tampa Bay Hotel and were donated to the University of Tampa by railroad and shipping magnate Henry B. Plant.

Built between 1888 and 1891, at a cost of $3 million, the 511-room giant rose five stories, surrounded by ornate Victorian gingerbread and topped by Moorish minarets, domes and cupolas.

The rooms that once hosted Teddy Roosevelt and his Rough Riders, Sarah Bernhart, Babe Ruth (who signed his first baseball contract in the hotel’s grand dining room), Clara Barton, Stephen Crane, Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant, the Prince of Wales, the Queen of England and many other celebrities of their day, are today's classrooms, laboratories, public rooms, academic and administrative offices–the heart of the University that now fans out around Plant Hall.

On one of the beautiful, sunny days, we took a break from house hunting and boat chores and took our dinghy across to the barrier island of Palm Island.  Here is the Captain relaxing on the deserted beach that seems to stretch forever.

The beach is covered with shells.

Unfortunately it was also covered with dead fish as a result of a recent Red Tide.  According to Wikipedia, 

Red tide is a common name for a phenomenon known as an algae bloom (large concentrations of aquatic microorganisms) when it is caused by a few species of dinoflagellates and the bloom takes on a red or brown color.  Some red tides are associated with the production of natural toxins, depletion of dissolved oxygen or other harmful effects which causes certain fish species to die.

One fish's poison is a turkey buzzard's bread.  Flocks of these birds were enjoying a smorgasbord of fish.  They really are quite ugly but perform a useful clean up function.

The posted speed on Palm Island which is perfect for the main mode of transportation seen below.

Christmas decorations really seem strange in 80 Degree weather.  Some folks take their holiday decorations pretty seriously.

Another sunny day, another excursion to another beach.  This time to the barrier island of Boca Grande which is a rather upscale resort area.  The charge to cross the short causeway to the island is $6.00 which is designed to keep the undesirables out-somehow we managed to scrape the fee together and enter this upper crust domain.  President George W. Bush has a home here.  We were not invited in, however.

The Captain in front of one of the smaller beachfront houses-at least in the area that allows the public riffraff to enter.

Boca Grande is well known as a sports fishing center.

The mandatory ice cream stop.

Checking out the pink gasoline option!

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.