We said our good-byes to Esther after Paul & Jessie got on their way to the airport. We had to wait till the tide rose before leaving Esther's canal which meant leaving after lunch. We cruised across Charlotte Harbor while the winds picked up so we decided to anchor in the lee of the Wildlife Preserve east of Boca Grande. We still rocked & rolled all night but our Vulcan anchor held steady. The winds didn't improve the next day, we cruised the rest of the way to Longboat Key Marina in cool, gray blustery weather.
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| Dave on his new stand up board |
We docked in a slip in front of the pool, where I had requested. Our friends, Amy & Bob who we met 2 years ago in Marathon helped us dock & then invited us to their boat for dinner. We like Longboat Key Marina for many reasons: pool, hot tub, nice bathroom/showers, big laundry, close Publix & CVS, great biking, good restaurants & bars, pickle ball court, bocce ball court & places to dinghy. This year, the weather has been cool & a bit rainy. We have many friends, old & new, that also spend time here. It has been a very fun, busy month.
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Greek restaurant in St Armand's Circle
Really fresh fish! |
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One of my injuries from the
bike accident |
We were able to put a lot of miles on our new E-bikes, even though I did crash shortly after arriving. I was following Doug off the property & Doug swerved to miss the gate arm by the guard house. I didn't see the gate so I ran smack into it. I put my hand up to protect my bike and ended up breaking the gate arm & my left hand. I only had a hairline fracture & needed to wear a splint. I was beat up pretty badly though, the worse I have ever been banged up. I had many bruises & abrasions everywhere but my head. Even though I had a large strawberry over my right hip, I didn't damage my new hip, luckily! We sold our old Dahons to a nice couple here who will be starting the Great Loop this spring.
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A fun dinner/movie night out with
Dave & Trish |
We attended a few docktail parties, dinners on our friends boats, Festivals in Sarasota, Farmers Markets, Happy Hours, a dinner & movie night & a progressive apps crawl on KK39's. We connected with friends: David & Tricia, Ed & Diane, Bob & Amy, Jon & Bonnie. Met new friends: Vicki & Mack on KK Confetti, Julie & Tom on Sum Escape, Toni & Robert on Sweetness, Kevin & Caroline on KK Red Tail. Dave, Tricia, Doug & I were even able to catch up with Waterford & Sea Dweller for a quick dinner while they stopped at Marina Jack's in Sarasota.
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| Our fav gang was back together for a fun dinner |
There was a sad, unfortunate death/suicide in the Woman's Sauna while we were there. The event was very unsettling for all; many detectives & police were around for weeks and the pool and bathrooms were also closed for weeks. We did not know the poor woman.
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Do you see a gate/arm? It blends very well
That's why I missed seeing it! |
