Log 77 Day 197; Dec. 4, 2008; Burnt Store Marina, Punta Gorda, FL.

We met lots of these fisherman yesterday as they were out checking their crab traps

Here is a swing bridge we had to wait 25 minutes to open and why the intracoastal can be slow going at times

A typical example of the kind of narrow channels along the water way

And an example of the very shallow water just off the channel...it takes total concentration to stay out of trouble

Just one picture of the dolphin show...we have video of 6 of them playing alongside our boat

This is Charlotte Harbor, looking back at the Gulf as we came towards Burnt Store Marina

The bar at Burnt Store Marina

This is the view out the back of our boat today

Log 77
Day 197
Thursday, December 04, 2008

4:30 AM EST
Location: Burnt Store Marina, Punta Gorda, FL (click here to see our exact location)
Weather: 55* and light winds...forecasted to be 79 & sunny today

One of those very early mornings on HQ for me today. Woke up a little after 3 and finally got up a little before 4. I’ve been watching the weather channel and feeling bad for our friends in Michigan and Illinois. They are talking about a Canadian clipper the next couple of days...with 2 more clippers behind it. We, on the other hand, have sunny skies, and the forecast is for 79 the next 4 days and then 75 after that. This retirement thing seems to be working out so far.

Yesterday...we untied the lines at Marina Jacks at about 8:30, and shortly after joined the intracoastal again at about mile 74. For the next 44 miles we wound our way through small lakes, rivers, and man made canals, and finally came out in Charlotte Harbor. All the way, we fought narrow channels and very shallow water. I have two depth alarms set...one at 7 feet, and another at 5 feet. I finally turned off the 7 foot alarm, because it was going off constantly. I kept the 5 foot alarm on...but was going off all the time. It was “puckering”. Finally at mile 30 we joined Charlotte Harbor and turned due east for 10 miles to Burnt Store Marina. As bad as I make the trip sound, it was really a great day. The weather was great, and we were constantly entertained by dolphins. At one point we were going along with 2 dolphins on our starboard side giving us a show. I looked up to see another group of 3 or 4 playing ahead of us, and then they all got together, and at least 6 of them were traveling along our starboard side for a long time. (Deb has 2 or 3 great video’s of these dolphins...if you are interested in seeing them, send Deb an email at deb.koerner@gmail.com and she will send it to you). At about 3:30 we pulled into Burnt Store Marina...it’s been several years since we have been here, and although it is a nice marina, it is 10 miles off the ICW, and I wish we would have just gone 10 miles further and stayed somewhere else.

Today...we will travel 10 miles back to the ICW and follow it another 30 miles to join Caloosahatchee River near Cape Coral, FL. Then another 10 miles up the Caloosahatchee to Legacy Harbor Marina in Fort Myers, where we plan to stay for 30 days. It should be a great day with light winds, warm weather, and sunny skies.

Well, while I have written this log, I have made breakfast (biscuits, gravy and tater tots), and drank 1/2 pot of coffee. I want to take a dock walk, but it’s still dark out, so I’ll have to wait a while. Man...this cruising life is tough.

I’ll keep you posted.


Bob

Log 76; Day 196; Dec. 3, 2008; Sarasota, FL.

We ate lunch at Patrick's and they had several wooden statues...this is one of one of the owners, and Deb got him to pose next to his statue

We are in the land of palm trees

For lunch we went to Patrick's...where they have several of these full size statues carved out of wood...Deb took pictures of all of them

This is Patrick's at lunch...the owners are sitting at the corner

Downtown Sarasota...what a great "feeling" downntown

Deb was playing with the camera, trying to get this shot...and did

Another great sunset in Sarasota

This large statue is just outside our marina...notice Deb by the nurse's shoe?

Log 76
Day 196
Wednesday, December 03, 2008

6:30 AM EST
Location: Marina Jack’s...near downtown Sarasota, FL
Weather: 42* and light winds...forecasted to be 73 & sunny

I have been getting emails and phone calls from folks up North, so when I tell you it got cold last night (down to 41), I’m sure you don’t feel bad for us. And, when I tell you it will be 82 in Fort Myers (where we’ll be) on Friday you may actually be upset. But such is the case. The strong North winds did bring clear and cold to the area, but it will be out of here today, and the next week will be just gorgeous.

Yesterday...was kind of a lazy, catch up, day. Deb did laundry here at the marina, and I took a walk to the Sarasota downtown area. What a great downtown. As they say...”this is where the rich and famous hang out”. It was probably about 6 blocks on both sides, with every kind of food and every kind of store you can imagine. Each one nicer than the other. So...when Deb got done with the laundry we walked into town (about 2 blocks from the marina) and walked around. As usual, we were looking for the perfect cheeseburger, so we stopped at Patrick’s, a fairly large local bar on the corner. It would remind you of a “Cheers” kind of bar. Lots of locals, and also the occasional tourist...us. Deb, being Deb, didn’t take long to meet folks, and ended up meeting the owners, and hearing all their stories. As you can see from the pictures, she took several of wooden statues (there were 7, but I only included a couple) and even had one of the owners come over and pose next to a statue of him. When we left, they were offering her to sit down and have a martini with them (mainly because she said it looked really good). I’m glad I was with her, or she might still be there.

After lunch we took a long walk around town, and then back to the boat by 1:30. After a short nap, I washed the boat, and did some more waxing. Deb did some bookwork, and finished the laundry. Everyone told us there was a great Mexican restaurant in town, and we thought about going there for dinner, but decided we’d eaten out enough, and Deb made some awesome chicken and gravy, and we watched the latest episode of Worlds Toughest Fixes.

Today...we will wait for the sun to warm things up a bit, and then head 45 miles to Burnt Store Marina in Punta Gorda, FL. If you want to see our location on Google Maps (click here). This is about 1/2 way to our destination for December in Fort Myers. We will stay in the intracoastal waterway today, because the Gulf is still rough. It is pretty shallow, and is slow going, but should be a great day.

I’ll keep you posted.

Bob

Log 75; Day 195; Dec, 2, 2008; Sarasota, FL.

Deb took this picture just to prove I did visit another museum

Feeding time with the manatee

This is the actual size of the jaws of a Megalodon shark

A look at our marina from the Sarasota bay

Standing on our dock this morning this is what we see

Last nights sunset

I am putting these shots in for all our friends who are fighting snow back home

A great sunset...a great day

Ok...one more

Log 75
Day 195
Tuesday, December 02, 2008

7:50 AM EST
Location: Marina Jack’s...near downtown Sarasota, FL
Weather: 56* and windy...forecasted to be 74; sunny; windy

This is a great morning. Slept in till a little after six, and after making a fresh pot of coffee, and checking email and world status (futures market is up today after a terrible market day yesterday) I took a dock walk in our new marina...Marina Jacks. The sun came up while I was walking, and it’s a beautiful day. Back at the boat Deb said if I could wait a few minutes for breakfast, she’d make me some sausage gravy and biscuits...no problem...I’m waiting. So with a little time on my hands I decided to write this log...man, the boat smells good right now.

Yesterday...based on the winds and forecast we had decided to stay at Bradenton a couple more days, so I walked into town and had breakfast at Robin’s again. On my way back to the boat I took a leisurely stroll along the docks, and talked to Charlie, the dock master, to tell him we were going to stay, and I’d be back later to settle up. Back at the boat (about 8:30) Deb was having a relaxing morning, and we were discussing about leaving, when a big gust of wind came up, and confirmed our smart decision to stay put. I decided to wipe down the boat, and take time to clean the power cords. As I was cleaning the power cords on the dock, I was watching the flags, and the wind kept getting lower and lower...not what they had forecast. After about an hour of watching this, and getting frustrated I walked back to the boat and said “Deb...get ready, were leaving”...and she said lets go. So at 11AM we untied the lines and headed out. As it turned out, the trip was no problem. They had forecast the winds to be strong out of the NW and Tampa Bay to be rough, but when we hit the open waters of Tampa Bay it was a little “rock and rolly”, but not bad at all. Once we made the turn south to join the Intracoastal again it was smooth sailing. We arrived at Marina Jacks in Sarasota about 2:15 PM...it was sunny, warm, and wonderful. After settling in, we took a walk to the office and marina bar where we met a couple from Voyager II, someone we had not seen since October 27th when we were with them on the Tenn-Tom. Back at the boat Deb made sausage pasta, and we watched Andy Griffith reruns for our movie.

Today...we plan to stay one more day here in Sarasota. Deb is going to do some laundry, and I need to clean more of the boat, and I’m going to install new vent filters on our holding tank. (side note: normal holding tanks (for toilet waste) have vents on them to make sure plenty of air gets in which helps break down the waste. The problem is sometimes the holding tank smells and when you flush the toilet it can really stink up the area. On HQ we have filters that are in these vent lines to prevent the smell from getting outside). We also plan to walk into downtown Sarasota, which everyone says is really nice.

Tomorrow...we continue our trek south...toward Fort Myers. The winds are still forecasted to be a little strong, so we’ll probably stay inside on the Intracoastal, instead of going outside to make some time. It’s a lot more hassle, because you have to deal with shallow water and bridges, but much more comfortable because your are totally protected from any waves.

Well I just finished my biscuits and gravy, so it’s time to get started. It’s going to be a great day.

Bob

Log 74; Day 192; Nov. 29,2008; Bradenton, FL.

Here's what I did on Saturday...wax the top of the boat

On Friday we went looking at BIG boats. We toured both these boats

Marlow Marine...these are awesome boats

Woody's...we went there by dinghy for lunch on Friday

One of the outdoor bars at Woody's...great spot

Woody's...you can see Deb waving in the backround

Deb, at Woody's...wonder what she's thinking about?

Log 74
Day 192
Saturday, November 29, 2008

3:30 PM EST
Location: Bradenton, FL...just south of Tampa, on the Manatee River
Weather: 76* and a little windy...forecasted to be 82; sunny; windy

Got up this morning and started cleaning and waxing the boat...something I started yesterday. Beautiful morning...bright sun...warm...a little windy.

Yesterday...after the departure of Andy and Mary I started waxing the boat. I wanted to at least get the front bonnet done, and ended up waxing the bonnet and the topside on the port as well. It’s not bad if you keep up with everything. Keeping the boat sealed with wax really helps, so I just kind of work my way around the boat over time. I keep a log of what I wax, and when, so I know what needs to be done next. For lunch Deb and I jumped in the dinghy and went about 5 miles up the Manatee River to a place called Woody’s Roo on the River. Awesome spot for boaters, and as you can see by the pictures a perfect spot for Deb and me. On our way back from Woody’s we decided to go further down river (where we came in) and go back in a bayou to a place we visited last January when we brought our Whaler done here. It’s the home of Marlow Marine, and they are a first class marina that has been around for a long time. At one time they were the worlds largest Grand Banks dealer, then they started selling Selene’s and finally designed their own boat; called a Marlow. Deb and I went aboard a 53 Selene. It was an awesome boat...you can see one of the 47 pictures Deb took, above. Then they talked us into going aboard a 61 foot Marlow. Words can’t describe how cool this boat was. If you are a boater...this is your kind of boat. Mr. Marlow (now 70) designed this boat, and it is near perfect in every way. Back at HQ by 3 we relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. Dinner was a stir fry from leftover pork chops, and the movie was pre-recorded episodes of Survivor and Mentalist.

Today...Saturday...went on top the hard top first thing this morning and wiped it down to get the dew off, and get it clean for waxing. While I was waiting for that to dry, I waxed the topsides on the starboard side, then went up top to wax the hard top. First time I have ever waxed the hard top...not my favorite thing to do. At 11:30 we ventured over to the bar/restaurant at the marina for lunch. We had received a $20 coupon when we signed up for a week, so we wanted to use it. The place is really first class. Good food, good atmosphere, and right on the water. After a great lunch we walked over to the Bradenton museum/aquarium/planetarium...all 3 in one place (50% off coupon to see this place). We watched them feed the manatee; listened to a guy tell us all about the stars and planets; and learned how big a mastodon elephant is. I’m feeling pretty smart right now.

3:30 now, and not sure what the balance of the day will bring. I already took a short nap (in the planetarium, while the stars and planet show was going on), so I think I have that covered. I’m thinking a beer on the back deck while I watch a little football.

Also...I know Uncle Bill (by the way Deb and I hope you’re feeling better) likes to know the statistics of the trip, so I decided to include an update of where we are at this point.

· Days since we left Michigan 193
· Number of miles traveled 3,064
· MPG 1.46
· Fuel used 2101.39 gallons
· Fuel bought 2121 gallons
· Fuel cost per mile $2.45
· Average fuel cost $3.54 @ gallon
· Avg. docking cost per day $43
· Avg. total cost per day $111

Based on the weather, it looks like we’ll be here until Tuesday, and then head to Sarasota...I’ll keep you posted

Bob

Log 73; Day 191; Nov. 28, 2008; Bradenton, FL.

Here we are at Council's...a local cheesburger place.

Her is a great walkway along the Manatee River...behind Deb is our marina

This is a shot of "F" dock...our home for a week

This is a shot of the marina Thanksgiving dinner...isn't this the way most folks spend their Thanksgiving, surrounded by palm trees.

The main table at the pot luck

Andy, Mary, Deb, and I at the pool

My second nap of the day...must have been the turkey

A shot from our boat...Christmas is alive and well in Bradenton

One more shot of Andy and Mary before they leave.

Log 73
Day 191
Friday, November 28, 2008

6:45 AM EST
Location: Bradenton, FL...just south of Tampa, on the Manatee River
Weather: 49* with calm winds...forecasted to be 77; sunny; North winds 5-10 mph

Still a little cool overnight, but the days are sunny and warm. It’s forecasted to be 77 today, and 80 tomorrow. Sunday and Monday do not look so good, with rain and very windy. Right now it’s just starting to get light out, and the skies are bright and a beautiful blue.

As some of you have read these logs you learn that Deb and I have done several things that normal folks do. Walks; visiting museums; group get togethers; etc. Those who know me, know that this is not my normal “things to do” list, but it seemes like the right thing to do at the time. One of my best friends (and brother in law) Terry, seems to have an opinion on this matter. He was so direct in his opinion, I felt obliged to include his words in this log.

Terry writes...”It all started innocently enough, just a note in the blog to say that you had put off boat washing chores to go sightseeing in Memphis or Nashville. I remember thinking that was strange for you, but, whatever. Then, a side trip to the world’s biggest ball of twine. (which you seemed to enjoy) OK, so maybe he’s getting’ the hang of retirement. Then comes a note saying you were enjoying following Moe around (I always think of you as a leader, not a follower) And again, I didn’t say anything. Then comes a non-stop string of meals in restaurants when everyone knows you like eating at home, followed by riding your bike to the West Marine store. I held my tongue even through the posed picture of “Sponge Bob” at Tarpon Springs. But now, the final straw. A POTLUCK? Have you gone mad? This ain’t the Bob Koerner I know. This retirement/boating thing is changing you, man. I don’t feel like I know you anymore! A freakin’ POTLUCK? Really? OK, you go, you have fun. You and your white haired friends have your potluck on the dock. But when you’re done and you need to be reminded of who you are and who your friends are, you come see me. I’ll take you back to the day when you checked your voice mails and emails 13 times a day. Back when you got up at 5 am, not to analyze weather forecasts but productivity or cash-flow forecasts. Back in the day when getting a contract signed was more important than “what’s for dinner tonight, Debbie? Or would you rather go out to Pirate Pete’s Treasure Island Seafood and House Pet Smorgasbord?” Oh, yes, I miss my old friend Bob. Whatever happened to the guy who had it all together with a great job, a beautiful home and all the rewards that came with it? Now, floating around like Captain Ron in sunny Florida with not a care in the world. Well, it’s irresponsible, I say. Get it together, man! This is your wake up call. Come back to reality and stop this foolishness. Grown men just don’t behave like this. You’re acting like a child!

Congratulations!”

The last couple of days have been sunny and very nice. On Wednesday Andy and Mary arrived. Both Deb and I have really enjoyed our time with them, and were looking forward to seeing them again. After they got settled, and washed the salt off their boat, we went for a walk down town Bradenton, in search of a great cheeseburger we had been told about. We found the spot we were told about (you can see from the picture it looks like something out of the 50’s), and did indeed have a great homemade cheeseburger. The only little ripple was the cockroach Deb found next to her chair, but it turns out it was dead, so no harm, no foul. It was funny though, that before we left Deb decided she wanted to tell the waitress about the cockroach, and did not want to make a big deal about it, so she went around the counter. She put her arm around the waitress to quietly tell her, and the waitress thought she wanted to hug her, and to thank her for her service, so the waitress gave her a big hug. Then Deb told her what she really wanted. You had to be there...but it was funny. For dinner, Andy and Mary came to our boat, and brought something to throw on the grill. We had a nice evening catching up, and discussing future cruising plans.

Yesterday...was a very sunny and nice morning. Deb and Mary took a long walk along the water front, and I took a long dock walk. The buzz at the marina was about the Thanksgiving pot luck that was planned for 3 pm at the pool. Even though my brother in law thinks I have gone nuts, it was very nice. The folks from G dock deep fried 5 turkeys, and everyone brought a dish to pass. I filled up on turkey with homemade mashed potatoes and homemade gravy. It was awesome. Back at the boat I had my second nap of the day, before heading over to Good News for a evening cocktail. Not a normal Thanksgiving...but a great one none the less.

Today...Andy and Mary will be leaving this morning as they continue to head south. They are heading for Marathon, where they have a slip rented for part of the winter, and then on to Key West where they will spend Christmas with their two boys who will fly in. All of us are a little “bumbed” that we do not have any plans to hook up anywhere at this point. I’m sure our paths will cross, but we don’t know when, and we’ll look forward to spending time with them somewhere along the line. Deb and I have some boat chores to do, but today looks like the best all around weather day, so we plan to jump in the dinghy and head out on the water to find Woody’s...a water front bar and restaurant that the locals say is a lot of fun. I’m sure we’ll get to sample another cheeseburger and continue on our quest to find the best one. I’ll keep you posted.

Bob

Log 72; Day 189; Nov. 26, 2008; Bradenton, FL

Mary, Deb, and Andy...at our waterside table in Tapron Springs

This is a sponge diver, just getting ready to head out of the harbor

The next generation of boat captain who will go out and look for sponge

A very typical person who you meet on the street in Tarpon Springs.

Is this the perfect picture of a Greek fisherman...or what?

I'm not sure how Deb convinced me to take this picture...I have officially lost the battle.

Lots of draw bridges like this one on the intracoastal

This is an old wooden boat that had run aground, and has rotted away...just outside the channel we were in

The Sunshine Skyway bridge at the entrance to Tampa Bay

One of the wierdest clouds we have seen

Log 72
Day 189
Wednesday, November 26, 2008

6:20 AM EST
Location: Bradenton, FL...on the Manatee River
Weather: 50* with calm winds...forecasted to be 72; sunny; North winds 5-10 mph

A cold front came through last night, dropping the temperature down to 50 overnight, but the weather is forecasted to get warmer each day now. Thanksgiving (tomorrow) will be 75 and by Sunday it’s supposed to be 80...sounds good to me. No real chance of rain for several days.

We had a very nice cruise from Clearwater to Bradenton. We decided to stay inside, which means we had to wind our way along the intracoastal and pay close attention to stay in the channel, because it’s very shallow if you just get a little outside, but the scenery is worth it. There are also a lot of bridges along the way, but we only had to wait for them to lift one bridge, as most of them had at least 20 foot clearance and we need 18’ 6”. At this point the intracoastal is fairly wide open, meaning it’s a lot of rivers and small lakes tied together. It still has a very narrow channel, but in several places that channel goes through the middle of a lake. The channel depth runs between 6 and 9 feet, in the center. Go just a few feet outside, and it can go to 1 foot very quickly. There is also a lot of no wake zones we traveled through, aggravating to some...but we were in no hurry. About 2/3’s of the way here we were crossed the open waters of Tampa Bay, and ran a route parallel to the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, a real cool sight to see from the water. From there it was about 5 miles across the bay and another 5 miles up the Manatee River to Bradenton (home of Tropicana...a former customer of mine).

We arrived in Bradenton about 1:30, and after a quick rinse of the boat, we headed up to check in at the marina office, and get our bearings of the area. This marina staff could not be friendlier, or do more for you. The harbor master, Charlie, knows everything, and everybody in this area. And, he is happy to give out information and advice. We had a lot of questions...and he had a lot of answers. So, following his instructions, we took a walk up “Old Main Street” to see the downtown. Hard to believe, but we ended up in a tavern...Kangaroo Bar I believe it was called. Just a local bar, with lots of friendly folks. They also had a big barrel of salted in the shell peanuts which you could help yourself to, and Stella beer on tap. My kind of place, but after 1 beer we were back to the boat. For dinner we had pork chops on the grill, and for our movie, we watched some old Andy Griffith reruns.

Yesterday...I got up and walked into town and had breakfast at Robbins. Charlie said it was a good spot, and he was right. It was a warm sunny morning, and the walk was excellent. After breakfast I came back to the boat and got ready for a air conditioner technician to get on the boat and fix our helm area A/C unit. I thought it was low on Freon, and it turns out I was right. He did a great job, and $217 later, the unit works just fine. While this was going on, Deb went to do laundry, a project that lasted about 3 hours. Just before she was coming back it started to rain, but it only lasted about an hour, and then the sun came out again...but not as humid or as warm as before because the front was coming through. The afternoon was spent giving the boat a good wash. I got up on the hard top and washed everything with good soapy water, and worked my way down, putting lots of soap on everything I could, to get the salt off. This is something I’ll have to do more of, in order to keep the rust to a minimum. The late afternoon was spent with another dock walk. For dinner we had rotisserie chicken that Deb picked up in Clearwater, and the movie was Shawshank Redemption...one of our favorites.

Today...Andy and Mary (on Good News) will be arriving at the marina this morning. According to Mary’s blog, they anchored out just a mile or so down the Manatee River last night, so I’m sure they will be here by noon. No real plans today...I’ve got a long list of boat to do’s that I keep working on. The good news is...none of them are really major at this point, so there is no fire drill. I also want to go fishing at some point, and this is a good place to take a long dinghy ride, which I’m sure we’ll do as it warms up this week.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving...and we certainly have a lot to be thankful for. I get many emails from friends, and people we don’t even know, who have heard about the blog and now are following it, and they tell me how lucky we are. Well I don’t think luck had anything to do with our ability to make this trip, but we are certainly fortunate to have what we have...and do what we do. Not for one minute do we take it for granted. Each day is special in its own way...and I’m sure this one will be no different.

Bob

Log 71; Day 187; Nov. 24th, 2008; Clearwater, FL.

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.