Andy, Mary, and me...after lunch heading for Islands
Lots of big boats in our harbor
Another shot of Clearwater harbor
This boat leaves the harbor twice a day with tours
Last nights sunset over the harbor...the weather has been awesome
Log 71
Day 187
Monday, November 24, 2008
6:00 AM EST
Location: Clearwater, FL...Mile Marker 135 on the ICW
Weather: 55* with light winds...forecasted to be 78; sunny; East winds 5-10 mph
It didn’t get as cold last night as it has been lately. We have had the heat in our bedroom set at 65* and I don’t think it kicked on once. It is supposed to get up to 78 today in Bradenton (where we’re headed) so it should be very nice. In fact the next 10 days are supposed to be in the 70’s with no real chance of rain until next Monday. Sorry for all those in the Midwest suffering through the cold.
We have really enjoyed the last few days in Clearwater. We went in with Mary and Andy on Good News, and rented a car so we have had transportation, and that changes everything. We used the car Friday to go shopping. Liquor; West Marine (by far the largest one I have ever seen); groceries; and a Wal-Mart...the 4 of us made the rounds. On Saturday we took a road trip to Dunedin, and Tarpon Springs, about 20 miles north of Clearwater. Tarpon Springs is famous for it’s sponge production, and for the huge concentration of Greeks. We toured the town, and ate lunch at a Greek restaurant (while we sat on the water front), which turned out to be very good. When you stroll the town much of the conversation among the locals is spoken in Greek, and old Greek fisherman are everywhere (Deb got a couple of great pictures...but I can’t find them this morning, so I’ll put them on another log). On the way back from Tarpon Springs we made another stop in West Marine...hey, who knows what they might have that the last one didn’t.
Sunday (yesterday) we (Andy; Mary; Deb and I) decided to take the dinghy and stop for lunch on our way to what they say is one of the top beaches in the US (Caladesi Island)...just about 5 miles north of our marina. We left at 11:30, and stopped at Frenchy’s for another good meal (that’s the 3rd time Andy and Mary have eaten there since they got to Clearwater). After lunch we headed toward the Island, but the waves would not cooperate. It was just windy and choppy enough that we could not go fast without getting wet, and going slow would take too long, so we turned around and explored the harbor instead of the island. Back at the boat, I watched a couple of football games while Deb and Mary went shopping again. For dinner we took rice and desert (candy bars) over to Good News and they cooked pork-ca-bobs on the grill...very good.
Today...after Mary and Deb take the car back this morning we will get some fuel ($2.34 a gallon...cheapest since we left) and then head to Twin Dolphin Marina on the Manatee River in downtown Bradenton, FL...where we plan to spend a week. Andy and Mary will be heading to St. Petersburg, to do some sightseeing there. They also plan to stop at Twin Dolphins for a couple of days, once they leave St. Petersburg, so we plan to be together for Thanksgiving. The dock master (at Twin Dolphins) told me that they plan to have a big pot luck meal on the dock Thursday with all the boaters...all we had to do was bring a dish to pass, and they were providing the rest (do candy bars count as a dish?). When I told Mary about this event she said “oh...that has me written all over it...I already know what dish I’ll be making”. While this is not something Deb and I would normally head for...it sounds like a good time.
For today’s navigation we actually have options. We can either follow the intracoastal about 45 miles as you wind through many coastal towns (interesting scenery, but hard to navigate), or go outside here at Clearwater, and come back inside at Tampa Bay. Not sure which way we’ll go yet...I’ll keep you posted.
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