St. Petersburg, FL

A couple of things to clear up from previous posts. The gaggle of fishing craft speeding directly

A swarm of mullet fishermen

at us and throwing nets yesterday on our entrance to the marina are fishing for mullet this time of year they go for fish eggs and the fish meat as well. I understand it is quite profitable, they are not allowed to net on the north side of the pier near the beach, so when the school of fish swim under the pier the fishermen go after them in a mad chase.

Really beautiful in real life

Secondly, here is my Christmas present i.e. a “picture” of this beautiful green and purple glass sculpture.

We visited the Chihuly Collection here in St. Petersburg the only permanent display of his work outside of Tacoma. He worked hard with an architect to design the space, his work is all about the space rather than a specific item. He has a 40 person staff with 12 people on a team that works on the glass during any firing. They produce thousands of large pieces of glass each year. I will let the pictures tell the rest of the story.

The Roof at Birchwood

This evening Alex and Andre from Allison Leigh one of the trawlers that cross the gulf with us drove up from Gulfport, what a great treat. We had drinks on the roof at the Birchwood and tacos at Red Mesa Restaurant two places we would not have found on our own. It was a beautiful sunny day here in St. Petersburg with a high temperature of 81^o. We heard today the longest streak of sunny days was 768, gotta love Florida weather.

Madeira Beach to St. Petersburg

Cleared the Bridge

Just a short 18 mile run today down Boca Bay and around the tip of the St. Pete/Tampa Bay peninsula. At one point a channel described as a “short cut” diverged from the intracoastal-waterway toward the mainland, Carol was navigating and we started up the channel. As we saw the destination, I asked the height of the bridge we would pass under. Carol looked it up in the Skipper Bob Guide and said it was 25 feet, and continued to peruse the Guide. As we neared the bridge I asked are you sure? “Oops” was the next comment, in the fine print - item 4, the guide stated this bridge was only for boats that can manage to go under an 18 ft bridge. Our measured height is 17’ 1” the tide was rising and the marker was unclear below 16 feet. After some quick calculations we decided to proceed. Carol climbed up on the sundeck roof at the same level as our highest point and RISKED HER HEAD to view the clearance.  Fortunately, we did clear the bridge.   The price for not reading the fine print can be very steep!

Talk about bravery under pressure, Carol should get extra points for the longshoreman’s card. 

The Swarm Attacks

Nets go in the water, but what are they catching?

Just as we approached the marina entrance we noticed about a dozen fisherman in small, flat, one and two-man boats near The Pier. As we approached the entrance they all rushed toward us like a swarm, crowding and leaping over each other’ wakes.  And then, stopped just short of crossing our path and tossed nets into the water. We hope to learn more tomorrow about this bizarre activity.  Must have been a great school of fish right there.

This evening we got dressed up and went to a nice restaurant on Beach Ave.  It was called “Moon Under Water” and was greatly enhanced by all the Christmas lights decorating the palm trees.  Good dinner, pretty walk in the park, a little window-shopping.  Nice ending to an adventurous day.

A view from the helm

Christmas lights in Seminole, FL

Our Stars

Its beginning to look a little like Christmas,,,,, everywhere we go.  Today we went to visit my Mom in Sarasota and her home was beautifully decorated and it was good to see her.   It was over 86 degrees all day and that was a record-setting temperature for Dec. 8 in this area.  We watched the Packers win a game and had lunch with brother-in-law Fred at Sarasota Brewing Company.  If you pass through Sarasota, but are missing a good “up north” bar/restaurant, you must seek out Sarasota Brewing near the Stickney Point Bridge on the Mainland side of the ICW.

Tis the Season

This evening we were treated to a great home-cooked meal at the Naudas and we went on a tour of the Seminole Botanical Gardens, which are exquisitely decorated with Christmas lights.  Musical acts are performing along the walkways and Santa was in residence to visit with young children.  That was followed by a drive through Christmas lighted neighborhoods  - so we are bound to get in the holiday mood even without snow.

We have also decorated the boat to bring the season along with us.

This could be the MTOA turtle

75,000 lights

Nice evening!

Birds at 

Christmas?

A visit to St. Petersburg

The St. Petersburg Boat Show is this weekend and we traveled by car with Al and Charli to the show. Lots of really interesting boating items: compact 12 volt AGM batteries to replace our flooded 8D batteries, an electric motor/generator that could be used to power the boat in case of emergency, new generation of solar panels, information on how to clean our canvas, propane powered dingy motors and on and on. 

The Kitchen, nice couches on the sidewalk

We had lunch at The Kitchen an outdoor restaurant on the street with good food, friendly service and rock music. Then for a walk around town to the Vinoy Hotel, the marina, a great park with a fine climbing tree. We did a short visit to the Chihuly Glass store where I picked out my Christmas Present for $6600 very pretty.

Ready for Christmas

Great climbing tree for about 30 kids

Lastly a bit of grocery shopping and Charli cooked shrimp and asparagus risotto, very tasty. All in all a fine day in St. Petersburg.

The Vinoy a beautiful pink hotel

The Vinoy Marina and basin

Clearwater Beach to Maderia Beach

Friday St. Pete

Readying for the broadside attack

A gorgeous sunny day in Florida; We hardly thought about the 12 degree temperatures in Wisconsin and the ice storms between here and there.  But since we were here…….we took the boat down the Intracoastal Waterway from Clearwater Beach to Madeira Beach.   Along the way we encountered a pirate ship that looked like it was hosting a child’s birthday party – or else they were holding a lot of little hostages.

Great boats and people

At Madeira Beach we pulled in alongside Charli and Al’s boat “Always Five O’Clock” and tied up at the dock outside their beach house.   We met these good friends in Chicago back in September, but even though they have finished the loop their hospitality and friendship continue.  This afternoon we walked to the Johns Pass tourist village and along  the beach at sunset.  We stopped at a tiki bar  (we aim to find one in every town in Florida) and tonight we enjoyed “First Friday” in downtown St. Pete.   It’s just like first Friday in Racine – except for that 12 degrees part.

We enjoyed an Italian dinner in St. Pete along with live music in the street and plenty of people-watching. 

Madiera Beach, St. Johns Pass

Eliot's new Tiki Bar

Fun on the Beach at Sunset

Enjoying the sun in Florida

Dunedin to Clearwater Beach Marina

The current location link to the left has our current location, zoom out to see the land around us.

Marker 1 Marina a good place for a long stay

On the water again – and moving slowly down the Gulf Coast of Florida.  We moved from Dunedin, Marker 1 Marina to Clearwater Beach.  Marker 1 was a great stop and we highly recommend it.  The people were very helpful, the facilities are clean and well kept and its only a half mile walk to Publix and even less to a couple of fun restaurants/beach bars.  They also give good discounts to all Loopers.

Carol trying and succeeding to relax

At Clearwater Beach we spent the afternoon on the white sand beach wandering past the Tiki Bars.   Made a stop for ice cream near Pier 60.  Pier 60 is where the sunset party is held every evening.  Even though we were barefoot and watching the pelicans and palm trees, “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas” was playing on the restaurant PA system. Seemed a little odd but fun.  

One could easily become intoxicated with the pink sunsets and the mild evening among all the fishing boats and fishing birds.  What a gorgeous spot.

He/She barely moved when we docked the boat

Sunset in Clearwater Beach

Marker 1 Marina Dunedin, FL

Trout Almondine at Rushing Waters with Ruth and Norm

We went home for 12 days to visit friends and family over Thanksgiving, good flights both ways with superior service from Southwest Airlines. Several weeks before our trip home Carol booked tickets from Panama City, FL to Milwaukee our best Marker 1 Marina Dunedin, FL thinking and planning at the time of the booking. We actually moved much further along our route all the way to Tampa. Carol changed the tickets for a departure from Tampa to Milwaukee, same days but different times and departure city. No change fees, No hassle, and a $200 credit toward our next flights. That is truly great customer service!!!

Carol, Autumn and a new puppet

It was cold in Racine upon our arrival, 18^oF, it did not get over freezing for the first 6 days of our time home. Much different than the 80^o temps here in Florida. Had a great time visiting friends from our Friday night bible study group and we were fortunate to be able to attend three services at MPLC, with sermons from each of our pastors.

We also visited family and bunked in at Eliot and Jenny’s house the first couple of days. Visited with Kim, Scott and Autumn for a couple of good meals before they departed for Philadelphia for their Thanksgiving holiday with Debi and family. We also spent several days at Ruth and Norm’s cabin, I was especially pleased that each of our hosts had projects that kept me entertained during our visit.

Kim and Autumn with new winter hats

Now back in Florida we are getting back to normal, planning the next several days of travel and researching Naples and the Keys for later in the winter. The new “rust buster” chain for my bike arrived in our absence and the bike shop installed it and a package rack. We have only been in the Gulf for a few weeks and the chain would not move around the sprockets but the new chain works really well and should survive the salt water better than a standard chain.

Mallory's friend Jess joined us for Thanksgiving

Mallory enjoyed the drumstick

Everyone decorated cookies or ate a few

Fred's in Burlington, Best Hamburgers in the World