Jan 13-31, 2017 Our travels on the Gulf Coast of Florida

As our friends & family retire, we have more & more people to visit here in Florida. In Cape Coral, we spent the day strolling through the Art Festival with Tom & Rita & then enjoyed docktails with our friends Mark & Mary Beth from IHBC back in Maumee.  We stayed at Tarpon Point Marina, a new stop for us.  There is a Westin Hotel, Restaurants and shops surrounding the Marina.

Instead of heading south like most snowbirds, we headed north to Cayo Costa State Park and Pelican Bay anchorage. The water seems clearer and prettier this season and we saw lots of Dolphins and a few Eagles. The weather has been great-temps in the 70's with calm winds and sunny skies.  We took a long dinghy ride over to Gasparilla Island and walked the main streets of Boca Grande.  It's a very upscale community with historic big homes, golf courses and lots of colorful flowers.  Doug, Jeri & I had stopped and toured this island about 15 years ago when we chartered the KK Columbine from Ft. Myers.

Onto Punta Gorda to see our dear friend Esther.  We celebrated her birthday by taking her out to dinner to a great restaurant. The night was balmy so we were able to sit out on their delightful patio and enjoy some live entertainment.






Our next stop was an anchorage @ Lemon Bay, so we could visit Lou & Van, friends who live on the GICW.  We took our dinghy in, tied on their dock and watched the sunset from their lanai while catching up on their upcoming adventures. The Dolphins have been playful and entertaining, one stayed with us for many miles and through 3 bridges-he swam along beside us and I could almost reach out & touch him sometimes.

Longboat Key Marina was one of our stops last year, that we enjoyed but only stayed 3 nights.  We had decided we wanted to stay longer this year and we sure are glad we did.  There were other Krogens there, some we knew well, some we had meant recently @ the KK Rendezvous in October and some who became new friends. All in all, there were 10 Kadey Krogens in the area. With so many of the KK family, our social calendar filled up.  In 10 long days, we played Pickle Ball for the first time with Lauryl Anne, Bocci Ball adding Gratitude, Rachel and Next Dance, took a dinghy lunch cruise adding Bon Voyage and Tapestry, toured the Farmers Market with Forever Exploring and enjoyed 2 weekly breakfasts with all the Krogens.  Oh and we can't forget a side splitting game night aboard Gratitude, dinner & dancing @ the Marina Restaurant and poolside cocktail parties many nights. We love our Krogen family.  We also had time to fit in family and nonKrogen friends.  My brother Bob & wife Karen came & took us to lunch, Ohio friends Jim & Chriss visited and brought us a delicious lunch AND dessert. Our last night, we dined at a great Greek Restaurant @ St Armands Circle with Ed & Diane on Coaster who arrived a day early in order to see us.  In between all of this, Tricia & David had us to their boat for dinner, the 4 of us toured St Armand's Circle, we played 2 more rousing sessions of Pickle Ball and shopped at Trader Joe's. Whew, I'm tired just thinking about all that.  We enjoyed every minute and miss everyone.

Good-bye Longboat Key, until next year!

Jan 1, 2017 Happy New Year: on the water again

Leaving Jacksonville, beautiful
artwork

 We left our temporary home, The Marina @ Ortega Landing.  We stayed here 2 months this visit, the longest we have stayed anywhere since we began this adventure in May 2014. We are back on Day Dreams and heading south.  We anchored off Pine Island our first night amid the grasses, herons, bright stars and vibrant moon.  So glad to be on the hook!

We stopped back at one of our favorite Marinas: Hammock Beach Resort for a few nights.  We entertained & fed our good (Staples) friends Glen & Jill on board. We took long walks and we both continue to get stronger.  My brother Bob & sis-in-law Karen stopped by for a visit on their way to Daytona.

Another night at anchor this time, near Titusville.  If there had been a rocket or satellite taking off at Cape Canaveral, we would have had a great view but alas no excitement scheduled.





We stopped at a new place for us: Vero Beach Loggerhead Marina.  It is located amid a condo development.  The other boaters were friendly and they have a nice pool, hot tub and Captain's lounge.  The finger piers are stubby, so we had to stern in.

When we arrived in Stuart, we stayed at another Loggerhead Marina.  Our four days here were busy, busy. We were able to reconnect with our good friends, Jeff & Ellen on Sea Dweller, Tricia & Dave on Lauryl Anne, our friend Roberta from Toledo Beach Marina, our Uber friend Linda & her husband  Paul and my longtime friend & Matron of honor, Deb. The Ocean Research Foundation conducted an interesting educational session about water quality of the lagoon and the Okeechobee waterway at the local library, that we attended with Jeff & Ellen.  The Stuart Krogen group meets for breakfast once a month and we were lucky enough to be able to attend and see & meet more fellow Krogen Cruisers. Our last night in Stuart, we moved over to Sunset Marina so we could leave for the Okeechobee before sunrise with Lauryl Anne.

Our cruise through the locks on the Okeechobee was uneventful and that's a good thing.  We were able to make it across the lake and through the Morehaven lock the first day, so we didn't need to stop in Clewiston.  We stayed at the Morehaven City face dock last time through but this time we docked next door at Riverhouse, which is also a face dock but more narrow and not as sturdy.  They do have a small pool and one bathroom with a shower but it was sketchy.  Both were the same price-cheap @ $1.00/foot and both have electricity and water.  Our next night we anchored on the west side of Franklin Lock enjoying a full moon and warm temperatures. We even were able to drive from the bridge.

Glad to be back with our friends, they always make me smile