We're baaaaack!

Internet service is back, and we're back on the water. We had a good Christmas in Tennessee with the family, and had fun in Bradenton in January getting the boat ready to leave and generally enjoying the great town and Twin Dolphin Marina. We enjoyed a visit in January from Bob and Mary, best friends from TN along with their friends Bob and Charlotte and LaVada (standing on dock in Bradenton). We left Bradenton February 7, and traveled in mostly cold windy weather to the mooring field in Ft. Myers. We planned to stay here a few days, but we're now in our second week (this is beginning to be a pattern). There's a 30+ wait list for mooring balls in Marathon because the weather has everyone backed up, so we decided to wait here for the crowds to clear rather than try to find a less-than-desirable anchorage there while waiting for a mooring ball. We have enjoyed Ft. Myers several times before and haven't been disappointed this time...with the possible exception of having to wear 6 layers of clothing for dinghy rides to town and the beach (see William and Poor Old Judy on the beach). There's something less than beachy about socks and turtlenecks.... We reconnected with old friends Pat and Dan from our days in Marathon 5 years ago; they live in Ft. Myers and joined us for lunch at Doc Ford's. We also got to reconnect with new friends Mary and David from Fairhope, Alabama who were visiting their friend Pat in Naples and drove down to join us for lunch at Bonita Bill's. People are the best part about our travels, and it's always fun to see and hear from them again. It's also nice to be traveling with William and Judy on Optimystique (that's their Island Packet on the hook at Useppa on our journey down), because we can share dinghy rides, confer about the best happy hour prices (Jay and William could write a book), mix our laundry together, have family meetings about our travels, and share leftovers. We've found great happy hours and appetizers and restaurants, and also been invited to a pizza party with other boaters in the area. There was a singing duo we really liked on our first visit here 5 years ago, and we were lucky enough to hear them again and get a new CD on this visit. This, as William says, does not suck!

Under construction

Having been without internet service for a few weeks, the blog is now in a mess. The admiral finally figured out how to get pix in the text, and lost service in the process. Pix will be back, text will be updated, and photos of the holidays will arrive....soon.

It's Christmastime in the city

Bradenton is a great place to begin the Christmas celebration; there's always something going on, and the city has a huge display right by the marina. The farmer's market on Saturday mornings is a fun place to browse and see the gorgeous produce along with local crafts and junque. Saturday the 12th was Winter Wonderland, with snow slides for the kids, booths for everyone, and a pirate Santa!

Poor Old Judy, Admiral of Optimystique, finally arrived back in Bradenton after an extended visit with her Mom in Crossville. Hopefully William will start behaving again now that she's back. Ray and Delilah West (Sundancer) also arrived in Bradenton on the 12th, so we quickly commandeered their shrimp boat for a boat parade viewing spot. John and Susan Tokarz (Alchemy), friends we met on our first cruise and spent time with in the Bahamas, joined us for the evening too. We toasted the arrival of Judy and the Wests, and as an extra treat Delilah played the keyboard (standard equipment on shrimp boats) for Christmas carols.

Monday the 14th was departure date for our trip to Tennessee for the holidays. We nearly smothered in our cold weather clothes (it was nearing 80 in the morning), but had a safe and uneventful trip over the river and through the woods. We're on the farm now in Maryville, waiting for all the relatives to gather for the Christmas weekend and hoping to see some local friends while we're here.

Bradentucky

Bradenton is a beautiful little town, and we just happen to have a great tour guide, food critic, and taxi driver. William has been here long enough to know almost everyone and every place, and the guy knows his restaurants! We love Twin Dolphin Marina, which is has all the amenities -- great clean showers, swimming pool and hot tub, good restaurant with specials every night and bands, beautiful Christmas decorations just outside the gates, and a great staff and nice residents. What more could you need?

We had a good surprise this weekend; cruising friends Lee and Susan Laningham are searching for a boat and ended up in the area for the weekend. We had a mini reunion and dined far too much (notice William chowing down at the Cortez Kitchen). We visited the St. Pete boat show courtesy of William and Whiteaker Yacht Sales, and stayed for the Latitudes and Attitudes party afterward featuring free drinks and pizza and a great band (Eric Stone). Imagine our surprise when we saw Jim from Freedom and Tom and Deb from Heart's Desire, boats we'd traveled with on the Tenn-Tom and crossed the gulf with to Clearwater. Sometimes your wakes cross again sooner than you think they might.

Another surprise -- William was having breakfast across the Manatee River and ran into Jeff Richard (at picnic table by pool with Lee and Susan), who was in the area for training. We cruised back to TN two years ago with Jeff and his wife Elizabeth; they now reside in Tennessee with their new baby Daniel.

We lunched with Paul and Gail Carroll (featured in previous adventures in Clearwater) and Pat and Kat Chadwick, friends we met in Marathon four years ago and then ran into again in the Bahamas two years ago....my, how time flies! Lee and Susan and William joined in, and a good time was had by all (even though it turned from a balmy day into a chilly one on the terrace of the Reef and Grille). It seems cruising friends are better about staying in touch than other friends; maybe we just need to keep up with others' adventures.

Clearwater....and now Bradenton

Clearwater is one of our favorite stops, and we weren't disappointed. William Mayberry, a boating friend of over 30 years and cruising companion on our last trip, drove up from Bradenton to take us to lunch at the world famous Frenchy's. William's second favorite thing in the whole world is a fried grouper sandwich and a cold beer (or two), and Frenchy's is definitely the place for that...delicious! William and Jay discussed the weather predictions, and it began to look like Tuesday was departure day.

Monday evening, friends Paul and Gail Carroll (s/v Puffin; we met in Marathon 4 years ago) took us to their home for a wonderful dinner, evening, and visit. We always enjoy their company, and wish they'd cruise with us. Paul and Jay looked at the weather predictions too, and it was decided...Bradenton on Tuesday (where we'll leave the boat when we return to TN for the holidays).

William is in Bradenton, having lived on his boat there for two years with his lovely wife Poor Old Judy. He arranged a wonderful slip for us...right beside him! It's a great marina (Twin Dolphin), and we look forward to exploring Bradenton before we head back to Tennessee.

Clearwater!

After an easy crossing (no storms, no bumps in the night), we arrived in Clearwater Sunday afternoon to stay at Clearwater Yacht Club. We've stayed here several times before, and the people and accommodations have always been great. It's about 75-80 degrees, sunny, and to Jay's delight there's a keg on the deck of the club! Thanks to a new member campaign, there were lots of folks around having BBQ, and even Jason the Balloon Guy! He was udderly amazing, even for the bigger (older) kids.

The owl and the pussycat went to sea

Goodbye Apalachicola at sunrise Saturday; it was a perfect time (but not quite enough wind to sail the whole time -- it was a motor sail instead). For those who think of the crossing as a romantic, quiet interlude after chugging down the river systems, it goes pretty much like this:

Every statement is answered by "whaaat?", since we've been riding sidesaddle on a Perkins diesel for 30 hours and the only sound that would pierce our eardrums is a crazed chihuahua. Meals are dicey, because if the seas are rolling the cook has to plant feet apart against the cabinets and prepare food as quickly as possible before either the food or the cook slide off somewhere else (picture Richard Simmons on crack). Any venture outside the cockpit means wearing a lifejacket and hooking onto the jacklines, to insure that if you get knocked off the boat by a rogue wave you will thump against the outside of the boat forever afterward to remind the passenger on board to pull you in (a reason to behave as well as possible at all times). Fashion is very important, with costumes remaining in place for about two days and one night. Preparations must be made for cold weather during your watch, so socks may need to be added to the costume, which always makes a bold fashion statement with boat shoes.

On the other hand, the almost-full moon will glisten silver against a sea which looks like chiseled onyx, with whispers of waves against the boat. Dolphins will escort you in groups of two or three, close enough to the boat that you can hear the puffs of air when they breathe. Other boats will be ahead and behind you at times, with only their lights visible in the night. Occasionally a song will come on the radio by Enya, Sara McLachlin, or Chris Botti. When the moon goes down, it looks like a giant pumpkin sliding into an infinity pool. The combination gives you God moments of such beauty and peace that you can't even describe them.

But socks and boat shoes still look dorky, even in a beautiful pea green boat..