Back on the rolling anchor

We took a short trip back to Sun N Fun on Sunday, joined by Mike (our marina manager), his daughter Lauren, and Wild and Micki (with their new baby Yorkie Sade) from our (in)famous C Dock at Twin Dolphin. C, of course, stands for Cool, Classy, Chic, Charming, Courageous, and Courteous....primarily because a large portion of the dock is made up of boaters from Tennessee.

Sun N Fun has a great pool, big waterslide for small and large kids, putt-putt, and lots of other amenities mentioned in the blog from our earlier trip there. We had a good wet afternoon in the pool and on the slide, then when we went back to the campsite to cook we had a good wet evening with the rain pouring down in sheets while Jay cooked the burgers and wings. But it didn't matter; we had a great time anyway, and we think Lauren may be lured back for some sliding, swimming, snacking, and RV exploring. She didn't even seem to mind being surrounded by old coots, and she and Sade behaved much better than the rest of us.

Back to the beach

We left Myakka and went to Little Gasparilla Island to spend time in a beach house with William and Judy. Their kids rented the house for them for a week to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary (they were only 2 when they got married). All three kids, their spouses, and the 6 grandchildren celebrated with them over the weekend, and we joined them later in the week. They had a few small adventures before we arrived...the water heater burst into flames in the middle of the night and later a scorpion tried to join them. Thankfully everything had been stomped out, replaced, and relocated by the time we arrived.


We'd heard some bad news about the parking situation (you can only get there by boat; no bridges to Little Gasparilla), so were somewhat concerned about leaving the motor home. Thankfully, Eldred's Marina (hear the banjos?) accommodated us (for a small fee) since we used their family's water taxi for a ride to the island.


The beach house was really nice, and the beach was almost deserted.




We relaxed, walked on the beach, picked up shells, were over-served (how does that keep happening??), ate too much, enjoyed the beautiful full moon, and wished we had another week there.

It took two dinghy trips to get off the island, but the dolphin show made it worthwhile. It looks funny to see a dinghy on a trailer (especially behind such a big truck), but the guys got it loaded for the trip back to Twin Dolphin.

Anchoring out on wheels

Marina friends Henry and Chachy also have a motor home, and they're leaving for three weeks of travel to Maine. We spent the night with them at Myakka State Park to see them off, sharing happy hour, dinner and good conversation.

Their motor home is beautiful, but the best feature by far is the lord of the manor, who gets whipped cream every night from his servants.

We enjoyed the super harvest moon (combination of full moon and autumnal equinox, which won't be experienced again for 19 years) and Jupiter at the end of a great evening.





The next morning we explored the park and took the canopy walk. The canopy walk was made possible by donations from park supporters, who financed the towers on either end, the benches surrounding, and maintenance.






One interesting feature was a "nail" on top of some of the posts to discourage nesting (to prevent spatter-painting of the towers and bridge). These are pretty big nails and we've now decided to build a nest somewhere else this year.



The view was terrific from the tower, and the slightly swinging bridge was fun to cross, seeing the tree-top foliage, birds, and the forest below. Not a bad way to anchor out!

Marina mania

We're still planning to plan to plan our work. Soon. In the meantime, we're having a ball at (and around) Twin Dolphin. Good friends John and Susan (s/v Alchemy), whom we met crossing to the Bahamas in 2007, came by water from Clearwater to Twin Dolphin for a weekend visit with their Power Squadron members and invited us to join them poolside for dinner Friday evening.



Pat and Dan (s/v Ariel) whom we met in Marathon in 2005, came up from Ft. Myers for an afternoon visit Saturday and went to a happy hour(s) reception at Mattisons with us. We caught up on old times and their new great-grandbaby Gabriel and made plans to visit more often and soon. We hope they had more than fun than it looks like in the photo....blame the photographer.



The reception (a monthly event) not only featured lots of slipholders, but also a lady in a red dress with a bird on her head selling raffle tickets...you just never know.









Captain Jaybird is golfing again (after many years) with Lyle (appropriately nicknamed "Wild" by a Mayberry grandchild) and his brother Gary, William, and Mike (the marina manager). They have a great time and friendly competition. Golf technology is obviously similar to computers, skiing, boating, etc., because when Jay took his clubs to be re-gripped, they told him he needed new clubs, not new grips. The clubs have grown over the past 30 years! But they still work, along with a loaner Big Bertha from Wild.

Happy Labor Day (sorry little pig)

Twin Dolphin hosted a Labor Day gala on Sunday, complete with live band, tiki bar, and a roasted pig. Even with the downpour (lasting about an hour), a good time was had by all. Some people just jumped into the pool when the rain started, to even out the wetness. The potluck dishes were, as always, delicious, and there were lots of transients attending from other marinas who seemed to have a great time too.

The lovely lady in the photo is Julie, who works part-time in the marina office, and her husband Rick (who had knee surgery just 3 days prior to the party).

There must be some mistake!!

How can the Admiral be 60?? What happened to those other 40 years?? But, after checking the newly-renewed driver's license (which doesn't require new pictures anymore, you just draw some wrinkles in with a Sharpie every year or two), it appears to be true (that's supposed to be a "60" with the hands at the pool).


No trauma, drama, or tears, just some nice surprises from the Captain. There were flowers and a Happy Birthday balloon on the boat, great dinner and morning-after mimosa supplies, and we started the day planning someplace to go. After not much debate, we settled on a park called Sun 'n Fun, because it had more amenities than could be listed in a one-page ad. There were 1500 sites for motor homes, a huge pool, two large kidney-shaped hot tubs, bocci ball courts, lawn bowling courts, shuffleboard courts, miniature golf, driving range, restaurant and bar, three man-made lakes, two dog parks (one for shy and/or small and one for boisterous and/or very large), and lots of trails and streets for strolling, biking, power and manual scootering (new verb I just made up), golf carts, roller blading, etc. It was huge, almost totally full, and quite an experience for us since we're novices.

















We have now learned some important Motor Home Lessons:

1. Size does matter.

2. Outdoor accessories (mats, chairs, entertainment systems, lighting, fans tablecloths) matter.

3. Auxiliary travel options matter. There were golf carts (with their own trailers and some with outfits coordinated to the season/attitude) in all shapes and sizes, even a souped-up, big-tired one with "Granny" painted on the sides (and lots of empty beer cans in the holders). There were at least 40 teeny parking spaces for golf carts....like looking at a parking lot through the wrong section of your progressive lenses.

4. You gotta have a dog. It can be small as a lab mouse, or large as a Clydesdale, but you gotta have one. If you don't, you have to use your husband as a conversation-starter, and at his age it's hard for him to lift his leg at every tree and tire.

5. Learn how to back that sucker up. We saw several drivers who may have been new, but they certainly weren't unknown by the time they made several passes at their space. Of course (as is also true of docking) if you're gonna screw it up, you'll have LOTS of witnesses. Thankfully, the Captain is a driving/parking savant, so we didn't have to take a Walk of Shame through the park.

It was a great experience, and we've learned that motor camping is just like boating in that you meet lots of nice people, you already have something in common, and there's something about enjoying the outdoors that brings out the best in most people. We had a ball and have already started planning another trip. We're also very happy to be back on Serendipity and the best mattress on earth!

Friends and Family

The Admiral flew to Tennessee for a week with her Mom and oldest son John, then rode back to Florida with long-time best friends Bob and Mary. The Captain met us in Indian Rocks Beach, and we spent several days at their condo.



We came back to Bradenton on the weekend to welcome the Admiral's sister Becky and her boyfriend Michael for a brief visit, and we showed them the marina, some of the city of Bradenton, had happy hour(s) at Mattison's (and a long chat and recipe exchange with the chef), and a moonlight boat ride across the Manatee River where we picked up a bride and groom and brought them back to dance and head for their honeymoon suite. Even though it was a short visit, it was nice to see them and show them where we live and play.


We went back to Indian Rocks the next week so Captains Bob and Jay could replace some tile on the patio of the condo and tell tall tales and sip cold ones.


















Bob and Mary's granddaughter Katie visited the second week, so we got to bore her with oldies talk and laziness. It was nice to catch up, walk on the beach, and make plans for future trips.