Snowbird paradise on the Gulf

In the last few days the temperatures have increased, the sun has been shining all day, and the snowbirds have finally been showing their true colors. Bert and I had been wondering where everyone was, after hearing how Florida in winter would be so crowded. We found them! Especially today in Naples and Marco Island, on a sunny Saturday. Boats, bikes, walkers, revelers - showing why they so eagerly ditch the cold north if they possibly can.

Since my last blog, the first exciting thing was meeting up with new friends Joseph and Terry. Janet and Joseph have been friends for 10 yrs, and Terry is a new friend of Joseph's from Oregon. They've been enjoying their first visit together, for about three weeks now. I was so glad they could meet up with us at lunchtime as we cruised near his home. Fabulous time we had, but too short.

As we continued south on the Intracoastal Waterway, we passed many fishermen and many birds. These two went together! I'd not yet seen a pelican sitting like this on a small occupied boat, so I'm glad I could get this picture. Most of what we saw along the Waterway were incredible mansions with "Florida landscaping". There's a certain "look" the rich real estate has here. I could show you some pictures, although you've probably seen them over the years already.

We anchored that night (last Thursday) in a green, pretty cove off of Sanibel Island, which is just outside of Ft Myers. We were the only ones there, and it was pretty windy, but NOTHING like the "hurricane" winds we'd had a few days earlier. So we were comfortable and slept well.

Friday morning, after awakening to a spectacular sunrise over the island trees, we cruised a short distance to Ft Myers Beach and tied up temporarily at Salty Sam's Marina for a bike ride. During the bike ride I got the sad call about Rich. I gathered myself and we continued the ride over this tall bridge back to Sanibel Island. The picture is from Sanibel back toward Ft Myers. Interestingly, I attended a conference about 10 yrs ago at the big high-rise resort you can see at the far end of the bridge. I recall then watching the boats coming and going and hoping my dream to someday be here on my own boat trip would come true.

We concluded our 23-mile bike ride and went back out into the Gulf to reach Naples for the night. While cruising off the coast, essentially by ourselves, this parasailing boat took off from far off to our left and passed immediately in front of us!! I guess they wanted to give us a personal show. By the time the couple passed over, they were so close they were waving to us and I could see their smiles.

Then a little farther along, we watched this Coast Guard helicopter and boat doing an exercise over the water for quite a long time. The copter hovered in one place for at least 15 minutes. But it was some distance from us, as I had to use a telephoto to get this shot.

But then, about 10 minutes later, after the copter had gone away, a sheriff's boat came speeding up to us and I realized they wanted to stop me. Oh no, what did I do now, that I have no idea of? It was strange - they wondered if I was okay. Huh? Wuddya mean? Well, he said, we saw the copter buzzing your boat for quite a while and wondered whether you were having some trouble. No sir, we're fine; that copter was not really near us at all, and I believe they were doing a Coast Guard exercise of some sort. Okay then, and he sped away. I thought the sheriff should have been able to contact the Coast Guard to find out what was going on instead of speeding way out to me in the ocean to ask if they were buzzing me. ??? At least the sheriff didn't notice my beer can.

Then we arrived at the inlet to Naples. I had been here four consecutive Januarys in the mid 1980s, but I sure had never seen Naples from this vantage point! Talk about fancy waterfront homes! Oh my! This picture is just one of a few thousand I could have taken as we cruised two miles back into the bay to the City Dock. Lots of boat traffic out there too.

We decided to eat dinner last night at the restaurant right there at our marina. It was hoppin! It seemed like THEE happenin place on a Friday night. And to our surprise, there were even some young folks there in addition to the usual older crowd of retirees!

This morning Bert and I went for a 34-mile bike ride through the incredible streets of this city, and then on the roads farther north. The populous was out in force on this sunny weekend morning. We saw so many cyclists, it seemed like Los Angeles. Joggers, walkers, walkers with dogs, and later...

...sunbathers. This picture of me is on the beach in front of the hotel resort I stayed at each of those four years that Nestle sent me here (and then the annual meeting was moved to Nassau in the Bahamas. I know, I know. Hey, why do you think the prices of Coffeemate and Butterfinger are so high?).

After the bike ride, we departed to where we are now, Marco Island, 18 miles south of Naples. We got to take an inside passage through uninhabited swamp land and see lots of birds. Osprey have built their huge nests on just about every navigational post, and right now all the mommas are sitting on their eggs. We also saw tons of egrets and herons and cormorants. There were signs constantly along the way for manatees, yet I saw only one, and only for an instant as it got its breath. It goes without saying that dolphin sightings continue all day long, and they oftentimes play at our bow, our sides, or our wake.

Oh NOOOOOOOOOOO. Ya know what Breaking Away is doing in this picture? It's stuck! Yes folks, I ran aground this afternoon. And only 300 yards from my day's destination. We could see our anchorage (where we are right now) from our stuck spot.

I'm going to blame it on the Garmin, as usual. It's certainly never MY fault! haha But the Garmin showed me in deep water, close to, but not at, the shallow water. Right in front of a big marina, no less!

Luckily I was going only idle speed, so it was a gentle landing. Therefore, I thought I might just drift off eventually since there was a rising tide. We waited about two hours, doing pretty much what we would have done anyway if we'd made it the next 300 yds and anchored up (shower, Happy Hour, Facebook, phone calls, dinner). Funny how numerous boats passed me, and nearly all ignored my predicament. The few who said anything just remarked on the obvious (well, obvious by then anyway): "It's deeper over here", "You stuck?", "It's too shallow there." No one offered to help, even the guy at the marina who was close enough to speak to me in a normal voice.

I finally tried backing off the shoal but the prop was still hitting mud. So I broke down and called my friends at US Boat, the towing service I've had save me three times now. He arrived just after sundown, and eased me ever so gently off the shallow spot. I was barely stuck by the time he pulled me off. Finally we could travel those silly 300 yds and drop anchor for tonight.

Tomorrow we have a 50-mile cruise out in the Gulf to Shark River, on our way to Key West by next Tuesday.

In memory of Rich Hess

February 20, 1951 - January 27, 2011

My best friend, a wonderful man, loving memories always.


This picture is Annette, Rich, and Denise a few years ago on Rich's birthday, which also is Annette's birthday. Annette works at City Of Hope where Rich was treated, and he called her is guardian angel over the past many months.

Goodbye Rich, I will miss you terribly. You will be in Your Father's arms.

Near disaster

Yesterday afternoon (Tuesday)at 5 pm, a hurricane-force squall passed over where we were peacefully anchored for the night near St. Petersburg. We knew we were in for some strong weather, so we found an anchorage rated best for its holding quality and well suited for the wind direction. I laid out LOTS of chain in the 8-foot bay. However, it became far worse than expected, and we nearly had a disaster.

I was about to take a shower, but the rain, lightning, and wind had begun to get REALLY hard so I decided to watch the show. It was a good thing I did. At first it was fascinating, because it was blowing as I'd never seen it blow, with sheets of white blasting over the water. That's when I took the picture above. But then it got totally wild, with the rain blowing in so hard we could not see a thing out the windows and the boat was swinging and surging violently.

We were still in ignorant bliss about how exciting this was, until the docks from the homes behind us came into close view and we realized we'd dragged anchor. We were about to get slammed into the docks of the very homes in the picture above, and be a story on the local news station. See how far we dragged anchor?

I quickly started the engine to pull forward, and luckily Bert clued me in as to which direction I needed to go. For the next several minutes, it was wild chaos to keep from getting slammed because I would go in one direction with a surge of the engine to get away from the docks just a few feet away, but then the hurricane blew me too far in that direction and suddenly I would be near the homes on the other side of me. So I had to slow while spinning the wheel the other direction, and then thrust the engine again. Bert was pointing out each new hazard as he keenly watched around as best he could; visibility was only about 20 feet. (We also had to watch out for another boat anchored not too far from us.)

This went on back and forth, each time barely escaping a crash. And the whole time, the anchor was still down. I'm sure it had some effect on how my boat was responding, but I didn't have time to think about it because I was constantly averting disasters. Finally I got a few seconds of control, and I had Bert push the button next to me to raise the anchor. It took a while, but I was able to maintain control while the anchor eventually was lifted.

At that point, we used the Garmin to guide us farther out in the bay, while Bert watched for the other boat and some posts we remembered. Whew, we finally got away from everything and could re-anchor once it calmed down to "normal" high winds and rain. We later turned on a local news station and they were showing "tornado" damage to a gas station and several homes, saying how much force the squall punched as it passed over. It continued to rain on and off all night, but the wind never approached what it was during our "hurricane".

This dolphin and his buddy were playing right in front of the bow as we departed Crystal River last Monday morning. It was a perfectly calm and warm day on the Gulf, such a change from the previous Saturday. We traveled about 70 "boring" miles (what a relief) to Tarpon Springs, which is where the Intracoastal Waterway starts up again. We got to use Otto, so it was a relaxing day.

Tarpon Springs is Greek! It is world famous for its sponge industry. In 1905 a Greek man started a sponge-diving business that grew into Florida's leading industry in the 1920s. Greeks flocked here over the years, and still do. We docked right at the end of the famous waterfront street where all the sponge boats dock and the sponge markets thrive. We had our choice of about 8 authentic Greek restaurants, and we chose Mama's.

This is picture of me in front of one of several sponge merchants, and it was only about 50 yds from where Breaking Away was docked. The whole street, while authentically Greek and with an active sponge industry, was touristy. But I loved it.

See, they really did sell sponges. Everywhere. I thought they were expensive. $10 for an average-sized one.

And here is one of the many sponge boats docked there, with their Greek names. Actually, this was one that carried tourists out into the local waters to observe the divers at work retrieving the sponges from the bay floor.

Yesterday morning, before we departed Tarpon Springs, Bert and I did some serious laundry. We packed the dirties into our backpacks and rode about three miles to a laundromat. Waited. Packed in the cleanies, and rode back.

By then, a strong southerly wind had picked up. We were sure glad we weren't out in the Gulf! We traveled the rest of the day until about 4:30 against that strong wind, into big chop considering we were in protected waters. One of my placards with the boat's registration number blew off into the water (bummer), and Bert saved the front flag that got blown off its holder. We were the only fools out on such a bad day. The entire boat was salt-stained from all the splashing and blowing (but the hurricane cleaned all that off!!). Little did we know then how much stronger the wind would get.

This last picture shows the 12-mile-long Sunshine Skyway Bridge across Tampa Bay's mouth. The clearance is 175 feet there in the middle. Today we traveled 57 miles with a strong tailwind, across Tampa Bay, past Sarasota, and here to another Venice Beach. Along the way, Bert and I kept exclaiming about the never-ending string of huge mansion estates, with their private docks, yachts, swimming pools, and homes large enough for at least families of 15 to 20.

Soon after arriving at our marina, we rode a few miles to a grocery store for much needed supplies. We then had a fabulous Happy Hour with three other Loopers docked here (one had done the Loop twice). It was so much fun sharing stories of where we'd been and what we'd experienced. This truly is an amazing adventure for all of us.

Manatees!

They are incredible! These gentle giants were wonderful today. Look at how close you can get to them. You can see this one's face and eyes. I have many more photos below, after telling you about Steinhatchee and the trip here to Crystal River.

As soon as we arrived in Steinhatchee last Thursday, we went to pay the marina fee and this parrot startled me as I opened the door. It took me a few moments to realize he was real. And he had a partner sitting nearby. This made it really seem like rural Florida in the unspoiled Big Bend area where we were.

This is one of the houses we saw on our walk around Steinhatchee. Note all the crab pot bouys for decoration! I learned to hate those things since we had to weave an obstacle course around them coming and going, and again yesterday when we came here to Crystal River. Anyway, this house again reminded me of the kind of place this area is: earthy in a fisherman sort of way!

We decided to stay in Steinhatchee an extra day since the Gulf was rough, AND, we couldn't depart until the tide rose in the afternoon. That would have made it too late to arrive at the next possible river to the south, Suwanee, because of the tides.

I should mention that when you cruise in my size boat along this part of FL, you are a prisoner of the tides. The rivers here are so shallow that you may travel in and out of them only at mid tide or higher. I mentioned our plans for Suwanee River and the dockmaster suggested I speak to the local guy who rescues grounded boaters (with the company that has pulled me out of the shallows twice on this trip!). He said even if I entered Suwanee at highest tide, it'd be dicey and he would not recommend we go there. Who am I to argue with THIS guy?? So we planned to go to the next possible anchorage 25 miles farther on Saturday, but ONLY if we would leave before dawn to avoid the low tide.

Here's another house on our walk around Steinhatchee. It also captures the way of life here in this old, small fishing village. On our walk I was thawing out, since I'd frozen earlier while cleaning the barnacles and growths in the bow thruster prop blades. Even with my wet suit, I was so cold, and it took a long time to pick and brush and clean in that narrow opening in the bow (and on both sides of the bow). My hands ended up with 25 cuts (which I felt all too painfully when I made the mistake of eating salt and vinegar chips. lol).

But the good news is: the bow thruster works normally again! Sitting for 2 1/2 months allowed it to get all nasty and therefore ineffective. And boy do I need a bow thruster when docking!

One more photo that reminds me of what this area looks like. Many of the trees had tons of moss like this.

After our walk and I stopped my shivering, we took a bike ride. Here's Bert, and in the background you can see Breaking Away at the marina dock.

After a cozy night in our heated boat that protects us from the 20-something lows at night, we were up at 6:00 in the dark to prepare to leave by 6:45 - which we did! We beat the low tide, and escaped back out into the mine-field Gulf with all the crab pots. Our goal was a 60-mile trip to Cedar Key, half way to our next destination, Crystal River with the manatees. But once we got to where we'd turn into Cedar Key, it was early enough that we decided to just go on to Crystal River. It would be a 95-mile trip.

It was a horrendous 95-mile trip!! It was the roughest day on this entire trip, with 25 mph winds, 4-6 foot swells hitting us from the back and side, and we confirmed later there was a small craft advisory. I could not use Otto Pilot since the swells were crashing at the stern, so I fought the wheel for 10 hours. Luckily, Breaking Away is a safe trawler for these conditions, and we plowed on in, relieved to be safe and sound in a marina. Poor Bert got seasick early on, so he had a truly miserable day.

We awoke this morning after a long sleep to recover from the stress, and immediately wanted to go see the manatees. Boy, were they better than we ever imagined! We kayaked only about a quarter mile from a new marina farther up the river, and there they were, coming and going along a little channel that had several side channels with houses on one side and nature on the other. It was a bright, sunny day and the tourists were out. Many many boats carried manatee viewers and snorkelers.

This picture shows a mama and her calf. They move so slowly, if at all. And they seem to have zero fear of humans and our kayaks and boats. Unfortunately, about 50 of this endangered species dies from propeller wounds each year. When we first saw them swim by us so close to us and near the surface, we were so excited.

They come up every few minutes to breathe. This one is breathing, and only the snout surfaces. They can get up to 10 feet long and 2000 lbs, yet it seemed many were bigger than that.

Here you can see its eyes as he was right up next to the kayak!! Oftentimes they were just under us or next to us, hardly moving.

Bert and I kayaked far back into the river, which is fed by natural warm springs, which is why they like it here so much (and why I could go into the water without freezing). There were quite a few tourists out crowding some parts of the waters, so we went down one of the channels between rows of homes and found our own treasures. We were all alone for 45 minutes with a group of about 20 that just hung out there to delight us.

On the kayaking back to the marina, I got this shot of a huge one with Bert in the background. There were still tons of tourists out and about, and they were not disappointed as the sea cows were everywhere.

Once back to Breaking Away, I got out my wet suit, mask, snorkel, and fins, threw them into the dinghy, and went back to try swimming with them. Bert took a bike ride (and bought me a scraper for hull barnacles). I motored along at idle speed to avoid them, and then cut the engine and paddled in the final 100 yards to where I wanted to snorkel. As luck would have it, I was the only human there, right where 30 or so had been earlier.

It was fabulous, beyond words! I pretty much stayed motionless out there, and they came right up to me and stared me in the eyes a few inches from my mask. I couldn't believe it. At first it was scary to have such a huge beast so close, but they were motionless and I soon lost my fear and just pushed them away if I needed to. One took a liking to me and would always return to face me up close. She yawned once and green vegetable yuk spewed from her mouth. I finally wanted to see some others and swam away and suddenly there she was next to me, not wanting me to leave her. I put my hand on her back and let her pull me along.

Another one out there seemed like it was 20 feet long. It had to have been a granddaddy since it had lots of algae and green on its body. A big school of fish kept cleaning off the green as he just lay there still in the water. I swam up close and personal with them, all alone, for about 30 minutes before heading back.

More local color in manatee land. Bert and I saw this on our bike ride. We were too late for the Manatee Festival in town this weekend since it closed at 4:00.

Earlier, after my snorkeling, I scraped barnacles off the metal trim levelers at the back of the boat and brushed the green gunk off the hull. Luckily the prop and rudder were completely smooth and clean. I also had to wash the boat down to get all the salt off, and a few other chores like vacuuming. Bert cooked a great steak dinner,

All in all it was a fabulous day, and I'm glad we came all the way here from Steinhatchee to have the entire day for fun and chores and bike riding. Tomorrow we plan to make it to Tarpon Springs, which will get us off the open Gulf and back into the protected Intracoastal Waterway.

Successful crossing!

This is the scene we enjoyed after successfully crossing our section of the Gulf today. A sleepy fishing village in a mostly uninhabited and natural section of Florida, on the Sheinhatchee River (pronounced Steen-hatchee).

Here's another photo from the river here, one of many sunken boats left to rot along our route since last Saturday.

The trip across was just fine. Thank goodness for Otto Pilot! We left at the crack of dawn after refueling almost in the dark. We puttered across the waterway past Dog Island, and once we passed it we were finally out in the open Gulf of Mexico for the first time. At that point, I just set Otto on the straight-line route to Steinhatchee, and Bert and I relaxed most of the rest of the way across.

The headwinds and swells never got too large, it was sunny much of the time, and we just kept hoping the favorable weather would hold. It did, but barely. It started raining on and off as soon as we arrived, and by now (9 pm) it's pouring outside. We're snuggly tied up at a marina, and ate at our first restaurant since we began last weekend.

I almost didn't land when I arrived here; more like almost crashed into all the boats down current from me! The dockmaster waved me in to land on my starboard side AGAINST the current. I don't know how one can land against a strong current, and essentially I didn't. Bert threw her a line as my bow went straight into the dock (gently). Bert luckily hopped off the bow onto the dock, and helped pull me in against the flow. The two of them almost could not hold on, such was the force of the current pushing my boat away from the dock. I couldn't do anything to help. They kept using all their muscles and gradually were able to pull me in. So much for experience - I still don't know how to pull off a landing like that.

This is a picture of a dolphin swimming right behind the propeller wash! We had more dolphins play with us as we got close to our destination. Even more notable were the crab pot floats we had to avoid. Hundreds upon hundreds of them during the final 15 miles, all scattered about forcing us to dodge this way and that way, lest their lines get caught in the propeller. I'd read about them, but this was ridiculous!

Depending on the storm, we may stay here all day tomorrow and another night. We can depart and enter the next few rivers down the coast only in the afternoons at high tides, and the weather forecast is for continued rough weather and seas. So, we'll see what comes

It was a sad day for Bert. He learned last night that his dog of 13 years, Peanut, had taken a sudden turn for the worse with his kidney failure. He went to bed knowing only that his wife would be taking Peanut to the vet with the possibility of having to put him to sleep. He learned this morning as we were crossing (3-hour time difference) that indeed that's what had happened last night. We had a few toasts to Peanut after we landed this evening.

Ready to cross the Gulf!

Tomorrow morning we will make our only ocean crossing of the entire Great Loop trip. It should be okay, but you never know. I've been in the ocean before -- off of New Jersey -- but we could see land the entire time and could dodge into a harbor if the weather turned bad. And on the Great Lakes we could take refuge if needed as we cruised within sight of the shore. But many have asked all along, "Will you ever be out at sea?" Tomorrow will be the only time, where we are out a great distance from land and must either make it all the way, or turn back to our origin.

We are snuggly in a marina here in Carrabelle, FL. It's the last city on the Intracoastal Waterway before it ends and one must cross the "armpit" (bend) of Florida over to the Steinhatchee River, about 80 miles away. We need to make it before sundown not only for the light to see, but because a big storm is scheduled to arrive by sundown tomorrow. I'll hope the seas are calm enough (they're supposed to be) to travel at a faster rate than I usually do - about 9 to 10 mph. We will fill with fuel tomorrow morning at 7 am and then take off.

Now that I've built up all this suspense, I'll try to post a quick blog entry tomorrow night announcing how it went.

The Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland!! I always wondered whether I would pass through any bayou land or swampy areas on the trip that would remind me of the beginning of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. In the past three days we have! Here is one of many examples of the little shanties we have seen in the wooded swamp land we've passed through. I have another photo farther along in this blog.

On the other hand, we've seen even more land with high-rise condos and stately homes. It's hard to believe the density of the condos. This picture is just one of hundreds we've seen lining the waterway.

To explain, the entire distance to here from Mobile, AL has been in an inside waterway called the Intracoastal Waterway. For the most part, it is separated from the Gulf of Mexico only by a thin strip of barrier islands. On both sides of the waterway are a constant supply of high-rise condos and estates

In two other instances, the waterway has been a canal dug through swamp land. One cut was 25 miles long, and the other 45 miles. THAT's where we saw the shanties and other scenery that looked like Pirates.

In one of the canal sections (yesterday) we kept flushing these birds along in front of us, much as cattle drivers would push the herd forward. As we'd get close, they'd fly forward and land again, and the process kept repeating almost the entire 25 miles. Most of the birds were pelicans, and it was fun watching them dive for fish and gulp them down as we got closer before they had to fly off in front again.

Ever since we reached the Gulf, we've also had tons of fun with the dolphin. They do love to play with boats, and ours is no exception. They swim alongside us, right behind the propeller, or they surf (and jump) in our wake. And so many of them!

Here is Bert driving the boat. It's been so cold this week that we've navigated from the downstairs helm a majority of the time. On several occasions we've done something I haven't done yet on Breaking Away - running the heater while underway, which requires the generator.

And yesterday was really foggy most of the day. Worst fog yet on the trip (other than a short spurt of it on the TN River one morning). We had to slow down and keep a sharp eye out. That's when your GPS chartplotter pays for itself since that's the only thing showing you where to go. I would have just stayed in port otherwise. (Yes, I know, you can use paper charts and a compass to run blind, but I wouldn't now that I'm spoiled with the Garmins!)

How about this sighting in Panama City?

Here is just one of hundreds of fancy estates lining the waterway. Multiple boats, big home, big view, big pocketbook.

Last night we anchored in California Bayou (the night before was Joe's Bayou). We grilled steaks in the calm evening with a full moon. When we went to bed it was totally calm. When we awoke this morning it was totally calm. What happened in between was anything but calm! A squall blew over in the middle of the night and was a doozy!! We were rockin and rollin as if in a hurricane. I couldn't sleep with the force of the wind, the pounding rain, and the waves bouncing us around. I'm glad the anchor held!!!

Here's another of the Pirates/Caribbean shanties from today. This one actually looks like the one on the ride.

Interestingly, we are about the only boat out here in these waters. We've seen only two other boats doing the Loop, and only about 10 other boats total in the three days we've been out. A few small fishermen, a couple large fishing boats, and a few sail boats. I think it's the wrong time of year for boating in general here, and most Loopers are ahead of us. Certainly, it's been too cold for outdoor activities.

Doesn't this look just like what a swamp is supposed to look like? In the final miles of today's 45-mile cut canal, this is what we saw. We expected to see alligators, but we didn't, no matter how many logs we at first thought might be! Lots of pelicans again today, and cormorants, a few eagles, hawks, and egrets, and...I'd need my sisters to identify the others.

After three long days of non-stop travel, we arrived here in Carrabelle at the end of the Intracoastal Waterway until it picks back up in Tarpon Springs, which is just north of Clearwater. Luckily there was an IGA grocery store right across the street, since we had already run low on a number of items.

In just the last three days, we've run 27 hours and 215 miles. On each of the days, once we started we never stopped all day. We're tired, yet tomorrow will be the longest yet. Then we'll get to rest for a day while the storm passes through on Friday. Can't wait to see what the unspoiled natural coast of FL will be like, up the Steinhatchee River.

Bert and I arrived yesterday! The first thing we did when he arrived with his rental car was go to a grocery store. Wine was on the list, as you can see. So was blackberry cobbler. We're really roughing it, aren't we? As I type this, the cobbler is in the oven. mmmmmm

So far so good on everything still working on the boat, and finding all systems as we left them on Nov 3. I couldn't believe coming back after 2 1/2 months to such a clean boat and nothing out of sorts (other than my bike chain, but rust is inevitable there). I arrived a few hours before Bert, and got things going and heated up. I ate a soup-and-spaghetti dinner from what had been left here.

Last night was so cold! We're going to leave the heater on tonight so it won't drop to 50 degrees as it did on the shivering last night.

We had visitors right away this morning! This is a picture of Annie, her daughter Carrie, and Carrie's friend Dylan. Annie and Carrie are friends from Charlottesville, VA, although they moved here about 10 years ago so it's been a long time since we've visited. We drove Bert's rented car to the airport early this morning, and then Annie picked us up there and returned us to the boat. We had a wonderful visit on a beautiful, sunny morning.

This picture shows where Breaking Away has been since last Nov 3. I'm looking west toward Alabama, which is precisely where we traveled this afternoon - "backwards" to AL. I wanted to stay one night in a state other than being in Florida for 4 1/2 months, in case FL decides I have become a resident of their state and needs to charge me taxes.

When the time came, the engine started right up, we released the six tie lines, and traveled all of 3 miles into AL since the border was only about 200 yards west of us. We got to see dolphins playing near us along the ride!

When we got to this marina, we did several chores. One I had planned to do was scrub the hull, but after I donned the wet suit and dipped in the water, I jumped right back out again! It was FREEZING. So, I did my best by getting in the kayak and scrubbing the sides from there...but it didn't work too well. Still, I stayed with it for a long time to get as much of the gunk and barnacles off the hull as I could. I'll hope for warmer water in Key West to finish the job then.

Late in the afternoon, Bert and I decided to take a bike ride. Well, he got to anyway - 21 miles! But my chain had rusted solid, and it took almost an hour to get it operational again. I had to work on each chain link, one at a time with WD 40 and then lube oil, and manually pry each link back and forth to get it cleaned and free to move. I eventually did take it out for a ride, but I must have ridden only a few miles. But it was my first time on a bike outside in about three months!!

While I was on my short bike ride, I took this picture of the houses here on their stilts. The hurricanes are common enough that the home owners want the flooding to stay below them. We saw these stilted homes along the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers too.

Tomorrow we plan to make some good distance to the east. We have about 200 miles until the Intracoastal Waterway ends, at which point we have a 70-mile crossing on the Gulf to reach the Steinhatchee River. Look it up on a map, and you'll see how we are rounding Florida's Nature Coast bend before reaching civilization again down by Tampa Bay. We hope to see manatees! The weather forecast is for rain tomorrow. Breaking Away can handle it! See ya soon.

Will resume trip on January 15

My vacation from my vacation will end Saturday when I return to Pensacola, FL Saturday to resume my Breaking Away adventure. Bert Stock, my friend from Valencia, CA will join me until we reach Key West. Then, Hawthorne High friend Lee Smith will be with me for about two weeks as we cruise north to Daytona Beach. Both Bert and Lee have been on the boat before. I look forward to seeing them again and getting back into the saddle (although I will miss Janet!).

This is a picture of a sports sculpture outside the orthopedic surgeon's office who repaired Janet's torn rotator cuff in a surgery on Nov 11. He is the "famous" doctor for the Cincinnati Bengals and Reds, and his office was a virtual sports museum of autographed mementos and photos of famous Cinci athletes. I loved it. This sculpture is a man swinging a bat, and it's made entirely of baseball bats. Janet's surgery went well, and she's improving her range of motion. However, it is still painful and full recovery is months away.

This is of Cheryl, Janet and me on Christmas morning. We loved Cheryl's week-long visit. Cheryl and Janet had lots to yak about, both being elementary school teachers and book readers.

I've gotten some serious school experience during my time here, as a full-time volunteer in Janet's class. I really do like it, helping teach math, tutoring some of the kids, and in general helping with the daily routine. I look forward to seeing them again in late February.

I visited Simi Valley in early December to pack my things into the motorhome, which is stored at Bruce Perry's (my boat mate in May and June).

In about 10 days I hope to post again with an account of the first four or five days in Florida's Big Bend.