We left Ortega Landing on December 1 as our monthly slip lease was up. We love this marina and are somewhat sad to leave. The boat had a nice month there but we spent a good deal of the month away with family as noted in the previous post. Great people.
Downtown Jacksonville.
Our target was almost 80 miles, Marineland Marina, as it was going to be a bit more windy than we like for anchoring out. Upon arrival we rinsed the boat and took a nice walk on the beach. We did not tour the Marineland Museum but its history was interesting to read about.
Our target was almost 80 miles, Marineland Marina, as it was going to be a bit more windy than we like for anchoring out. Upon arrival we rinsed the boat and took a nice walk on the beach. We did not tour the Marineland Museum but its history was interesting to read about.
On Monday December 2 we went to the Titusville south
anchorage and tucked in the corner out of the winds. Nice restful evening, cold when we woke up.
We called the Vero Beach City Marina and found that they
would have a mooring for us and we arrived in time to get some fuel and a pump
out. Interesting that a pump out was
required prior to taking a mooring ball there.
They gave you a zip tie to put around any overboard discharge lever to
be able to prove you did not discharge overboard after the pump out. Interesting procedure. Pump out was free so I guess no complaints on
this policy.
We took a nice walk around the community and a shuttle bus trip to the grocery store.
We also contacted Tom’s sister and brother in law who live nearby to meet for dinner. Deb and Don graciously picked us up and we went to the happy hour and early dinner at the Wave Kitchen and Cabana Bar. It was very good food, a beautiful ocean view and it was great to see Deb and Don!
After dinner they took us to Target so we could purchase a few needed items including a 5-1/2 foot Christmas tree and lights for our holiday decorating once we arrive in Longboat Key. We ended up buying the floor display as it was the only one left! They delivered us back to the dinghy dock and probably got a few chuckles watching us load the tree and us into the dinghy for the short trip out to the dark the mooring field.
We so much appreciate all the help Deb and Don. Have a great winter in Florida, hopefully we can drive over for a visit again (or you can come our way).
We took a nice walk around the community and a shuttle bus trip to the grocery store.
We also contacted Tom’s sister and brother in law who live nearby to meet for dinner. Deb and Don graciously picked us up and we went to the happy hour and early dinner at the Wave Kitchen and Cabana Bar. It was very good food, a beautiful ocean view and it was great to see Deb and Don!
After dinner they took us to Target so we could purchase a few needed items including a 5-1/2 foot Christmas tree and lights for our holiday decorating once we arrive in Longboat Key. We ended up buying the floor display as it was the only one left! They delivered us back to the dinghy dock and probably got a few chuckles watching us load the tree and us into the dinghy for the short trip out to the dark the mooring field.
We so much appreciate all the help Deb and Don. Have a great winter in Florida, hopefully we can drive over for a visit again (or you can come our way).
After two nights on the mooring,
we departed for Suart on
the 5th. Our friends DeVere
and Carole (Job Site) plan to meet us there and travel across the Okeechobee waterway together. It was so good to see them again! They are headed to Punta Gorda for the winter.
We had a nice dinner in the evening
and headed out together for Moore Haven on the 6th.
and headed out together for Moore Haven on the 6th.
We left the next morning for Fort Myers Legacy Marina.
Heading through the open lock to lake Okeechobee.
Approaching fort Meyers.
It was a nice couple days traversing the
Okeechobee Waterway, especially being able to travel with our ole Bahamas buddy
boat and crew again! We Ubered over to
Fort Myers Beach to rendezvous with Scott and Brigette (Putz’n Around) our
other Bahamas buddy boat and crew for dinner.
We were joined by DeVere and Carole and Brian and Kim (Freedom) who we
also met in the Bahamas. It was a great
dinner and reunion. Happy hour aboard Job Site prior to dinner.
On 12-9 we headed to Don Pedro State Park for an anchorage
near Cape Haze. This is a favorite spot
for us as we can dinghy over to the park and walk the beach and this is exactly
what we did. A very nice evening at anchorage.
We set out on the last leg of our journey for Longboat after
some morning fog cleared. It is only a
43 mile trip so no rush to get going anyway.
We saw quite a few dolphins along the way. We never get tired of their playing in our
wake. They love the wake we put out at
around 10mph. Given this is our normal
cruising speed we see a lot of them. In
fact at one point we had them in the bow wake and both the starboard and port
midship wake! They love to play!
Our arrival at Longboat Key Club Moorings was late afternoon
and we were assigned slip H4 along the walk by the pool. It is a very nice slip with a garden and pool view.
All decorated for Christmas!
Friends Larry and Karen (Dream On) keep their boat at this marina and invited us over to their beautiful Sea Ray Sundancer for a beverage and then drove us to the Chart House for dinner. It was great catching up with you Larry and Karen, we’ll have to do it again before we store the boat in May.
and we were assigned slip H4 along the walk by the pool. It is a very nice slip with a garden and pool view.
Friends Larry and Karen (Dream On) keep their boat at this marina and invited us over to their beautiful Sea Ray Sundancer for a beverage and then drove us to the Chart House for dinner. It was great catching up with you Larry and Karen, we’ll have to do it again before we store the boat in May.
Our friends Nancy and Carey (Tug Lee Loo) were again renting a condo on the beach here at Longboat. We were able to see them a couple times for a pizza at Portifino at our marina and some card games before they left for Vegas for the Winter. Thanks for a great time Nancy and Carey, it was so nice seeing you again.
Our friends Sonny and Phyllis (Corkscrew) are here for the
month of December so we were able to have a wonderful dinner with them at the Blu
Kouzina in Saint Armand’s Circle. Before dinner we enjoyed a bottle of Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon that has been aboard since we left on our adventure. This bottle was actually a gift from one of the banks we used when my former employer completed a large transaction in 2013. We thought that given Sonny and Phyllis's boat name (and love of a great wine), this would be a logical time to break out this wonderful wine! It was
wonderful wine and it is always a pleasure meeting up with you Sonny and Phyllis. Enjoy the rest of your winter in Fort Meyers.
We adjust quickly to life here as it is our third winter at
Longboat. Publix, CVS, post office,
Hardware store etc. are all a short walk or bicycle ride away.
A little brightwork maintenance...varnish, varnish, varnish.
And we love our beach walks.
We were pleasantly surprised by the arrival of our friends Nikki and Craig (Joy Girl) who we spent a good deal of time with in Canada in the Summer of 2018. It was great to see them again and look forward to potentially visiting them in Colorado when we visit our son and daughter in law.
A little brightwork maintenance...varnish, varnish, varnish.
We were pleasantly surprised by the arrival of our friends Nikki and Craig (Joy Girl) who we spent a good deal of time with in Canada in the Summer of 2018. It was great to see them again and look forward to potentially visiting them in Colorado when we visit our son and daughter in law.
We took the bus into town on a Saturday
where Julie’s cousin Jill and her boyfriend Scott met us at the Sarasota farmer’s market for a cup of coffee and some shopping.
They drove us to St. Armand’s Circle where we had lunch at the Columbia Restaurant, one of our favorites. They joined us aboard for some more conversation in the afternoon. We hopefully will get together again this winter.
At St. Armands Circle on the way back to the boat.
where Julie’s cousin Jill and her boyfriend Scott met us at the Sarasota farmer’s market for a cup of coffee and some shopping.
They drove us to St. Armand’s Circle where we had lunch at the Columbia Restaurant, one of our favorites. They joined us aboard for some more conversation in the afternoon. We hopefully will get together again this winter.
At St. Armands Circle on the way back to the boat.
On Christmas Eve the weather forecast predicted only a 5%
chance of rain so we rode our bikes to the 4PM Christmas Eve Mass. Well, our 20 minute ride went well for 10
minutes but the last 10 minutes it drizzled rain! We were pretty wet upon arrival but
being early allowed us to use the rest rooms to dry up a bit.
On the way home it was a cool but sunny evening so we stopped at the beach for a moment.
We had our traditional shrimp bisque for dinner after we returned. And on Christmas Day we enjoyed talking to all our children before dining on a rib roast. We really miss all our children and cannot wait to see them at our family reunion in Maui in February! We love you all!
It’s good to be “home” on one hand, but we do enjoy travelling by boat as well.
On the way home it was a cool but sunny evening so we stopped at the beach for a moment.
We had our traditional shrimp bisque for dinner after we returned. And on Christmas Day we enjoyed talking to all our children before dining on a rib roast. We really miss all our children and cannot wait to see them at our family reunion in Maui in February! We love you all!
It’s good to be “home” on one hand, but we do enjoy travelling by boat as well.
Susan and Mike, friends from Michigan, were planning on
being in our area on New Year’s Eve so we invited them to join us for a short couple
day boat trip. We anchored at Punta
Blanca Island near Cayo Costa State Park on New Year’s Eve and dinghyed over to
the beach for a walk before dinner. We had a nice dinner aboard, played some cards but actually didn’t make it to midnight…
On New Year’s Day we dinghyed to Cabbage Key for breakfast at the famous resort restaurant there.
We dropped anchor across the way here while we have breakfast.
There were a few other folks there as well. We took the short nature walk after breakfast but it was too cold to view the tortoises. Later we proceeded to the Crow’s Nest Marina in Venice for the evening. We took a nice walk into town, along the beach and had a wonderful meal at the Crow’s Nest Marina Restaurant.
On New Year’s Day we dinghyed to Cabbage Key for breakfast at the famous resort restaurant there.
There were a few other folks there as well. We took the short nature walk after breakfast but it was too cold to view the tortoises. Later we proceeded to the Crow’s Nest Marina in Venice for the evening. We took a nice walk into town, along the beach and had a wonderful meal at the Crow’s Nest Marina Restaurant.
We returned to Longboat
and saw many, many dolphin along the way!
and saw many, many dolphin along the way!
Thanks for joining us Mike and Susan, we hope you did not
get the cough Julie had during this trip!
