We started the day with beignets and coffee as we headed for our dock at Fort Myers Beach. It's a little hard getting used to the idea of it being Christmas when the temperature is in the eighties but we managed. So today we just relaxed, tried to stay cool, went to the beach, cooked a big Christmas dinner, watched the sun set and walked around the little beach town after we ate.Friday we did some work in the morning…
Christmas Eve finds us anchored in Pelican Bay just across from Useppa Island.After lunch on Cabbage Key we checked on the boat and then dinghied over to the Cayo Costa State Park to walk across the island to the beach. Bart went swimming and we tried to take a nap on the beach but the flies wouldn’t leave us alone.It was amazing how many boats were anchored out here for the night. We saw lots of Christmas lights. We had…
We decided to linger on Useppa Island as long as we could in the morning. We got up and walked to the pool again which is a little hike across the island. We stayed until check-out time and then it was a very quick hop over to anchor at Pelican Bay. Just after we got settled at anchor we hopped in the dinghy for what turned out to be a very wet ride over to Cabbage Key to get the famous…
We are often asked what is/was your favorite place. That is so hard to answer and I usually say that wherever we are at the moment because it is all good. Well now I will have to say that Useppa Island is very special and at the top of this list I don’t have. This lush tropical island is loaded with exotic plants and the quaint architecture reminded us so much of the Bahamas. We'll let the photos speak for…
We left Sarasota this morning for the free dock at Venice Beach. We had stayed here before and enjoyed it very much. Isn’t it amazing that this community provides boaters with an easy opportunity to explore their beautiful town, on them. So, we did just that. We stretched our legs and walked downtown and did our shopping thing and then we walked back on the beach. We had a nice dinner at the Crow’s Nest which is close by the…
We were so excited to arrive at Marina Jack in Sarasota early on another beautiful morning. Tonight we picked Bart up at the airport and he will join us for the Christmas holiday and a week's worth of boat travel. We spent most of Saturday shopping, stocking up and waiting in line at the Post Office. Sarasota is a beautiful, clean city, a real people place. We loved walking around here and even the driving was enjoyable. Lisa did laundry while…
Slowly moving south towards Sarasota where we will pick Bart up at the airport (Saturday night). One last anchorage just off New Pass called New Pass Cove. A little anchorage in size, but quiet and calm. There was a mixture of homes, condos and a natural park or grounds of a club of some sort. We dinghied to a nature park from here for a short walk and some much needed exercise.
Still at the Long Beach Anchorage (second day here). We took a long dinghy ride over to Anna Maria Island and Bradenton Beach for lunch. A cute beach community. We loved walking through town which was nicely decorated for the holidays. It's kind of strange being in Florida for the holidays. Having spent most of our lives in Michigan we are not used to the warm weather during the holidays. So, going to town to shop reminds us that it…
We left for Long Beach on Long Boat Key with more calm waters on our 12-mile trip today. This is what I meant when I stated that it was time to slow down. It gives us time to absorb each port or anchorage, making the trip more enjoyable. Once settled in at our anchorage we went for a long dinghy ride and walked around the Long Beach neighborhood. We checked on a few restaurants because we thought it would be fun…
The next day was another grueling 26 miles of sunshine and calm waters to DeSoto Point, a cove inside of Manatee River, close to Bradenton. Lisa and I went ashore to tour the Desoto National Memorial Park, walk the trails around the point and learn about Desoto the Spanish explorer.It was also here that we were invited to Bill and Phyllis Haan’s home. They’re boaters and have been following our blog for the last three years. They plan on doing…
After a peaceful night and a leisurely morning we departed for St. Pete Beach and another anchorage. We took a detour just after we started out for a stop at the Clearwater City Marina so that we could top off our fuel tanks. I never would have thought that we’d be buying diesel fuel for $2.03 per gallon when we left home but we did in Clearwater. Last summer we paid $4.45 a gallon. The difference equates to a 54…
Our second days stop was an anchorage seven miles away from Dunedin, tucked back into a cove off Clearwater Beach. One of the advantages of anchoring in Florida is the hard sand bottom which holds an anchor really good. The weather has been great, with calm winds which are always appreciated when we’re not at a dock.
On our first Loop we only took five days to get from Tarpon Springs to Fort Myers. This time we want to do it differently. Our goal is to visit places we’ve not been while trying to broaden our Florida, west coast, boating knowledge.Our first stop after leaving Tarpon Springs was only 17 miles south at Dunedin. This is a very quaint town. It has a very nice marina and is home to Lisa’s brother Mart and his family. After…
Tarpon Springs for fun, food and relaxation.We had to come back to Tarpon Springs because this little Greek fish town is full of character and charm, not to mention the food which we can’t get enough of. We decided to stay for a week to soak up as much food and Greek culture as we could.1905 is recognized as the approximate year that large groups of Greeks settled in the Tarpon Springs area to take over the sponge industry and…
Carrabelle, in the Panhandle of Florida, to Tarpon Springs is a 160 mile trip if traveled straight through. It would take 16 hours at 10 MPH so in order to arrive in daylight you’d need to leave at midnight to arrive before dark the next day. Yesterday we decided to break our trip up into two days. We left with Wanderin’ L&M at 4 AM to find the coastal waves to be less than three feet and winds less than…
Carabelle is only a short 31 miles southeast of Apalachicola and it is the last stop on Florida's Panhandle and ICW. From here you have to either cross southeast out into the Gulf of Mexico to Tarpon Springs (160 miles) or hopscotch around the "Big Bend."The Big Bend is three to four travel days with the advantage being that you're closer to land in case you want an exit strategy from the Gulf in a hurry due to worsening weather.…
Apalachicola, Florida was a 61-mile run from Panama City Beach on Florida's ICW. It was a beautiful meandering cruise through absolute wilderness most of the way. We saw eagles and many dolphins on this run through pretty swampy looking territory.We went through this cut during low tide as you can see in the photos below.Apalachicola is considered one of the top oyster centers in the country and when you're there Papa Joe's, in our opinion, is the place to go.…
Today we traveled to Panama City Beach, Florida. Our timing could not have been better. A front came through the day after we arrived bringing high winds and big white caps, even in the marina. It was reported that there were up to fourteen-foot waves on the Gulf. Good time to be tied up to a dock. We planned a three-day layover at Bay Point Marina which was touted as a good stop and we have to report that it…
Some people call this cut, in the Panhandle, from East Bay to Apalachicola the Grand Canyon of the Florida ICW but we don't think it is really anything like the arid canyons of out west but for us it is more reminisant of the sand dunes in the Leelanau Penninsula near our hometown in Michigan.This is my (Lisa's) favorite part of the trip south. The winding cut through this portion has a more intimate feeling than some parts of the waterway.…
Lisa asked me to write something about fuel economy as I am always explaining to her how much we're saving in fuel this trip so far, versus our last trip. In 2005/06 Lisa and I paid an average of $2.86 for gas doing the first 2,300 miles of the Loop and fuel prices were going up. So far in 2008, on our second Loop, we've averaged $3.50 for diesel fuel and prices have been going down. Here's how it breaks down…
While waiting for the turkey to cook we took the dinghy down for a tour of the harbor and a walk on the beach. It was the perfect day. Just a slight breeze, no bugs and lots of sunshine. We stuck our toes in the Gulf and squished our toes in the fine, white sand. Once settled into our anchorage Lisa prepared a traditional Thanksgiving dinner with turkey, home-made pumpkin pie, stuffing, gravy and mashed potatoes.We put the roaster on…
Thanksgiving day was spent motoring another six miles to the harbor in Destin, Florida to anchor out again. On our way we came across a school of dolphins playing in the crystal clear, sandy bottom, waters in the Destin Channel. We had five dolphins playfully swimming in front of, beside and under our boat, as Lisa captured it all with her camera. Remember what we said about nature providing entertainment?
The next two days we took it a little slower not wanting to hurry through a beautiful cruising area. We only traveled six miles each day. Our first overnight stop was to tie up to the Fort Walton Beach’s free dock. Everything we needed was within walking distance and it was time to get off the boat to stretch our legs. Lisa said it was time to find a hair salon and it was nice to just walk the two…
With the leak fixed we were able to leave early this morning for an anchorage by Elgin Airforce Base, Santa Rosa Island, which is six miles west of Fort Walton Beach. We were just on the other side of a barrier island which is the only thing that separated us from the Gulf of Mexico. We are seeing more and more dolphins now as we head east on the ICW. We were close to the landing path of those gigantic…
We developed a transmission oil cooler leak and luckily found an authorized Cummin’s dealer in Pensacola to handle the warranty repair. It was a beautiful cruise toward Pensacola. We are starting to see a lot of white sandy beaches and windswept bushes and trees. The repair was completed the afternoon of the day we arrived at the Pensacola Shipyard so we would be back on our schedule only one day or so behind.
Ingram Bayou is a fantastic anchorage located in the Orange Beach area. Well protected it is the perfect anchorage to enjoy a variety of birds, dolphins and amazing sunsets and sunrises.We were entertained all morning by a couple of dolphins who swam all around our boat for hours.
We took our time pushing off today, leaving at 9:00 am instead of our usual 7:00 of previous days. We have fond memories, from our previous Loop, of the ICW along the Panhandle and want to slow down and savor our time spent in this area.First off we decided to stop at Lulu’s for lunch. Lulu’s is owned by Jimmy Buffet’s sister Lucy. It is a fun place and you would almost think you were in the Bahamas. In the…
Our return to the beautiful shores of Fairhope, Alabama was a welcome respite from our long adventure on the river system. It was a very warm, sunny day and the sights, sounds and the smell of the salt water air made us breath deep and relax a little. No more locks, hopefully continued warm weather and lots of coastal sunsets to appreciate.We spent three days at Eastern Shore Marina resting, stocking up, doing laundry and socializing with friends.The first night…
We started out in the fog with a swampy cedar woods along the river until suddenly it opened up into the Port of Mobile. All kinds of tankers, cruise ships, Coast Guard vessels fishing boats and freighters. It was a pretty dramatic experience after being in mostly uninhabited anchorages the last three days.
We had a long day traveling the last leg of the River System yesterday. We choose Little Lizzard Creek for the ancorage at the end of a long day. We set our anchors and settled in for a quiet, but cold night. No anchors moved and we slept like babies. We feel contented as we contemplate another completion of eastern America's amazing river system and are excited as we look forward to approaching Mobile tomorrow.When we woke in the morning…
We all left Bashi Creek to more tug traffic on this final stretch of fresh water we’ll travel in for the next year-and-a-half. We also locked through the Coffeeville Lock today, the beginnings of saltwater and our last lock until we head north on the ICW in the spring.We did it in style locking through with a tug boat and his full load of coal. Hard to believe but this was the first time we have ever locked through with a tug…
Another early day as we depart Demopolis at 7 AM to cover 71 miles and one lock on our way to a postage stamp of an anchorage called Bashi Creek. Today, Freedom’s Turn, Our Turn, Roy-El and, of course, Kismet negotiated eleven tug boats with barges mostly on the tight twisting turns of the lower Black Warrior River. We gained another boat in our caravan today, Our Turn shared this anchorage with us tonight and will probably join us the…
42º that was the boat’s interior temperature when we woke up at 6 AM to leave for Demopolis Yacht Basin. We fired up the generator and stoked the furnaces and before we knew it our bones were warm again. The Demopolis stop was the last marina and opportunity to experience any kind of civilization for the next 216 miles. We stopped to recharge, fill up water tanks and reprovision for the final three days of river travel before we reach…
When we left Pirates Marina Cover we headed to our next anchorage, Sumter Landing. We are traveling with two other boats now. Roy-El caught up to us en route to this anchorage and Freedom’s Turn joined us at the end of the day. We had an impromptu happy hour to review our recent Loop experiences and discuss anchorages and time tables for the next few days.
Pirates Marina Cove in Pickensville, Alabama, was our anchorage on this relatively short twenty-eight-mile day. We dropped our hook in calm waters in this little cove and even threw out a stern line for good measure. Around Midnight a storm came through along with some strong winds and our boat lost its hold. We pulled the anchor up to reposition the boat and found a big surprise. The anchor had snagged a small tree complete with long roots and an…
We stopped at Columbus Marina in Columbus, Mississippi for two nights to relax a bit as we'll be on the move everyday for the next seven days. We've got 350 miles, four locks, a multitude of tugs with barges, locks and fog to negotiate before we make Mobile Bay and a well deserved, three day, layover.On our way to columbus we spotted two bald eagles perched on a branch beside the river and tonight we had nine deer feeding and playing…
We left Midway Tuesday morning at first light, which is now about 6:30 am. We had a long day ahead of us, mostly in light rain conditions. We went fifty-nine miles through four locks. The highlight of today's trip was to be the stop in Aberdeen, Mississippi for a great deal on fuel and their delicious ribs, potato logs and fried chicken.It's been three years since we first had the deep fried chicken in Aberdeen and it was still just…
We traveled 55 miles and went through three locks our first two days, spending the first night next to the Montgomery Lock Monday night. It was a short jaunt to Midway Marina, in Fulton, Mississippi on the second day out. There were at least fourteen other looper boats already docked at Midway when we arrived.We had a chance to meet up here again with Roy and Elvie Short on RoyEl. and Bill and Ruth Donovan on Georgia Peach.Besides the many…
We were off early this morning to go the short distance to Lee Spry Marine, in Iuka, Mississippi, to have the boat hauled to have the props checked. Before we make our journey down the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway we wanted to make sure we had no damage from the debris we negotiated during and after the flooded waters of the Illinois River. We thought there might be just the slightest vibration, enough to warrant the pull. To our surprise the prop…
Sunday we returned to Grand Harbor Marina Resort where we were greeted by Chip, the Site Manager. This is a first class harbor that we have fond memories of from our trip in 2005/06. We only enjoyed one short day and night here but for those that have never visited here before they have many amenities for boaters. They have a pool (in season) a great boaters lounge and Chip has done a great job with the marine store. P.S. they stock…
Our first stop after leaving Joe Wheeler was to return to McKernan Creek. We had barely gotten our anchor in the water when we were welcomed over the radio. Then just a few minutes later Pride Tompkins showed up to welcome us and invite us over to his house for a glass of wine. Last time we had stopped here we met a man named Cameron and Pride is Cameron's friend who we did not get a chance to meet…
We are now back to Joe Wheeler State Park in Rogersville, Alabama for a few days to catch up on boat chores and decide what our schedule will be on our next leg of the trip, going south on the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway. We need to have our boat taken out of the water to check the props since Jim thinks he feels a slight vibration when going a certain speed, so we are figuring that into the new plan as…
Today we had to raft up together in the small lock so it was a little different experience. Think we had only done this once or twice before. All went smoothly and again a beautiful, sunny, warm day.
This time through Goose Pond Marina in Scottsboro, Alabama, we didn't go into town so we had more time to explore the surrounding parklands and water. We would have to say that this is one of the most beautiful marinas we have been to.
