An Entire Week in Clearwater Beach and there was no medical emergency!

We arrived in Clearwater Beach last Tuesday after our overnight Gulf Crossing from Carrabelle. Never thought I could be in one place for a week- (without a medical emergency :-)) - without getting antsy- but this past week has been perfect. It is so warm and sunny here! We walk everywhere and absolutely totally love it! I told Dave that we have to move here- everyone is so healthy looking... always out walking or running or biking. I really am enjoying walking to the Publix a mile away or to the shops on the main street. It just makes you feel good about yourself! Tomorrow we are leaving for an anchorage somewhere near St. Petersburg. Our reservations at Longboat Key don't start until the 14th so we will be just enjoying short days and anchorages- our favorite type of cruising! We are hoping to meet up with our new Rendezvous friends Lori and Dave and anchor out together next weekend. Right now Longboat is dealing with a terrible red tide and lots of dead fish and we aren't in any hurry to get into the resort!

Last week we went to the Clearwater Aquarium and a Dolphin Expedition. We probably didn't need the boat trip as we have seen so many dolphins- but it was fun watching the excitement of the children on the trip. We saw lots and lots of dolphins and the trip is actually research for the Aquarium as they gather data about the dolphins and the water quality. The aquarium houses the dolphin Winter that lost its tail in a crab trap. The movies Dolphin Tale 1 and 2 were filmed at the aquarium. Hope and Nicholas, who were also featured in the movie, are also still at the aquarium. It was so interesting to watch their training and Winter's physical therapy session. The aquarium is also an animal hospital and we watched them administrating I.V. therapy for a huge sea turtle. If you are ever in the Clearwater area it is well worth the trip!

On Friday we took the Jolly Trolley to Tarpon Springs with our friends on Plane 2 Sea (Charlie and Kay) and Elizabear (Tom and Jane). We had a wonderful time! It was like stepping back into the 70's! It is heavily populated by Greek Immigrants who were/are sponge divers/farmers. There are sponges for sale everywhere! We all (the ladies) bought a sponge and air plants to put into them. Dave said I will kill it just like all the others but I am hoping for better success! Lunch was incredible- fresh seafood and fresh house-made Sangria. We bought Greek wine and of course incredible Greek pastries! Dave said the restaurant looked like Disney World! All in all we just had the best day!

Saturday our good friends and fellow Loopers- Principal Bob and Sharon came up from Englewood to spend the afternoon and go out to dinner. We cruised with them from New York City up through Canada and really missed them! They are Gold Loopers now after crossing their wake in New Buffalo, MI. Today a friend of Dave's came and visited as he is in St. Petersburg on nuclear power business. Greg has the sister boat just like ours. We stayed at his dock in N.J. when we first started on our Loop.

We will fly from Tampa to Baltimore on the 19th and our good Maryland friends Jo Ann and Robbie are going to bring our van to the airport and we will leave for home from there.

Our niece recommended this place. First night not so good... but 2nd time was excellent!

 

Some of our favorite Loopers- Principal Bob and Sharon at Crabbie Bill's

Just loved Clearwater Beach and Pier 60 for sunsets

 

Instant waterpark on the beach

 

Love pelicans! They are very trusting around people here

 

Got very close to this bird too!

 


Sunset at Pier 60

 

This was our Dolphin Cruise. Enjoyed watching the kids

 

This was Nicholas an incredible dolphin. His mom was dying and beached herself in order to breathe easier. Nicholas followed her on to the beach and got 2nd and 3rd degree burns on his back. He has been in captivity since he was 6 months old.

 
 

Sea turtles that have been rescued

 

This was at the emergency hospital and they were administering I.V. therapy to an injured sea turtle

 

Nicholas smiling at us!

 

We have pointsettias in MD but they are hot-house grown- not in the ground!

Tom, Jane, Kay and Dave. Charlie was somewhere hunting for Key Lime Pie!

 

Saw really neat metal art everywhere. And of course being with Artist Kay I began noticing things that wouldn't normally catch my eye!

 

This was the girls favorite sign. Dave and Tom took advantage of our shopping time to have a "beer on the dock"

 

This was where we had lunch and the most incredible fresh sangria! Thanks Carrie and Evelyn for the lunch suggestion!

 

Hellas Greek Restaurant

 

Pastry counter at Hellas

 

 

 




Sponges that came off the boat- fascinating!


 
 

Here is one of the sponges and the air plants that everyone plants in them. Hoping I don't kill them!

 

I wasn't allowed to bring much on our trip, but I did manage to bring aboard my Willow Tree Nativity Set



Big Bend crossing from Carrabelle to Clearwater

     The Big Bend of the Florida's Gulf of Mexico is an interruption of the inland Intercostal water way.  The ports along this part of the Florida coast tend to be shallow and require planning to enter with the tides, moon phase and wind condition. For this reason many cruisers make a "B-line" across the Gulf to either Tarpon Springs, Clearwater or other southern ports. Bets and I had discussed how we would cross many times. We really were leaning towards shorter daily sun light runs to the ports on the bend. When it finally can down to decision time in Carrabelle Fla. we decided to make the "B-line" to Clearwater. Reports of a friend who was stuck in Steinhatcheehy for several days waiting for the winds to change so there was enough water to leave port was a big factor in the crossing decision. We had been watch the many weather report services and fell into the perfect weather window on Monday for an over night crossing. Eddys Weather WAG is our overriding decision source. Eddy provides this service to Loopers and his conservative stance on crossing ensures you will have an acceptable ride, even though its a "WAG"!
   We hooked up with friends  Tom and Jane on the 49' DeFever Elizabear. Our speeds were the same and we made perfect partners for the crossing. We headed out at 3PM from Carrabelle and headed into the Gulf. Initially the water was dead flat calm. It was looking like the perfect conditions. About three hours into the trip we did experience ground swell waves that hit the four foot range at times. That only lasted a few hours and when the sun went down the seas flattened and we had a smooth ride the whole way to Clearwater. The trip was 188 miles and made Clear water at around 1130. Fryedaze and Elizabear communicated at the top of the hour along the trip check up to see if everything was going well.
   Bets and I had a little anxiety about an over night run 45 miles off the nearest coast. When the sun finally went down it was black out on the Gulf. The stars were amazing. Without the light of cities and clear skies you cane see more stars than back on shore. The moon came up at around 11 PM. This reduced the view of stars but added more visibility of the surrounding water.
   Bets and I traded off three hour shifts at the helm. We were so excited in the beginning that we didn't sleep on our off watch time. After midnight we did get some needed sleep while off watch.
All in all it was an incredible experience that we will remember when we cant remember anymore:-). It was pretty cool coming into the Clearwater marina and meeting up with the Loopers who had finished the trip in the last two days.

The Pelicans are saying " Dude, this is no big deal"

 The route across the Big Bend would take us from "R2" at Carrabelle to "R2" at the Cross Florida Canal and then on to Clearwater.


 Dead calm across the sound YIPEE!

Elizabear heading out and in the lead for the Big Bend crossing.
Elizabear takes us out of the harbor.

 We never get tired of these guys playing with us.



We decided that we will wear life vests with water activated strobe when we leave the bridge, it makes it easier to find the body :-)

Escort service

 

Emerald Coast Cruzin

This trip across the Panhandle of Florida has been one of my favorites! Yes, Rita Dick I do say that about everywhere we go. I guess the point is our trip just keeps getting better and better! The next phase of our trip will have us stopping for months at a time- December-February in Longboat Key, and March and April in Marathon. Conceivably, Loopers do this to "rest" from the hard work and angst of doing the locks, the river systems, dealing with the big tugs and barges and just the uncertainty of it all. Me personally- I don't need to rest. This trip has rejuvenated me physically (yes even with all calamities Ben) but spiritually as well. There isn't a part of this trip that I don't see God and all his handiwork. I have learned to relax and go with the flow of life (well okay- this may be a stretch). I am grateful to God every day for allowing us to have this experience- but I also grateful to my husband Dave who worked so hard on our "home" that we can cruise worry free. I am also grateful for all the people that we have met along the way. Any of them would do anything in the world for us- but there are some very special ones who just "get me." I have made life-long friends on this trip that I know will remain our friends forever. I guess you can say this is my "Thanksgiving" post! Thank  you all for reading and encouraging us all along the way!

We leave at 3:00 to make our Gulf crossing to Clearwater Beach! Our first 21 hour trip overnight! Cannot wait to see the dolphins, the moon and the stillness of the night!

Beach buddies on Ft. McRae Island

The Blue angels practicing while we enjoy the beach

It's cool what the camera does all by itself sometimes.

Sunset at the McRae anchorage

Gus scoping out the sunset too.

This warship at Pensacola Naval Station just looks plain mean.



Unidentified sculpture on the Pensacola Nava Base. We went to look for it but couldn't find it. Dave Fitz?



Enjoying the evening with Tom and Jane on Elizabear at a beautiful anchorage.

Dave Fitz our friend from Maryland was the communications director for the Blue Angels before coming to Calvert Cliffs. Through his stories we got so much insightful information about the Navy and the Blue Angels!



Elizabear on anchor



We had the privilege to have a private tour by our new friend Frank at the Naval Aviation Museum. This man has logged over 14,000 volunteer hours scanning and creating permanent discs of all the various Navy and Air Force planes. We enjoyed our day with the Fitz family and were very grateful they picked us up at the marina and took us all over Pensacola!

Fort Walton Beach- we just passed on by!

Being our navigator! As you can see it was very cold that morning- notice enclosure zipped and I had on 2 layers plus my coat!

 

 

 



Christmas in Sandestin! What a gorgeous resort area! While expensive compared to our usual docking- they were very good to Loopers taking $1.50 a foot off price and let us use their golf cart for free. I loved it there and Captain Ron is one of my favorite dockmasters ever!



Christmas display at Sandestin 

 

We never get tired of these guys playing in our wake. This was one of two dolphins that "accompanied" us for almost 5 miles!

 

This was our anchorage across from Apalachicola! Very peaceful and teaming with life! Incredible ecosystems here in Florida!