Christmas Among the Palms

Christmas at Eric and Lisa's home in Tampa was great!  In addition to Eric, Lisa, baby Kathryn, and us, there were Lisa's mom and dad, sister and brother-in-law, and three cats.

Apollo Beach puts on a pretty good lighted boat parade.  There were more than 30 boats like this.

Baby Kathryn's first Christmas...

Nancy gave each of the men a supply of floating golf balls.  After all the presents were opened, the boys floated a "green" on the lake behind the house and practiced golf shots, much to the neighbors' amusement.  Richard gave Lori a lesson.

The day after Christmas, Nancy saw these guys at the mall, trying to decide where to park.  Guess they needed to exchange some gifts.

Family Times

This is our seventh winter in Florida, but every prior year we've been in the Keys.  This year we're on the western shore of Tampa Bay to be near Kathryn, our new grand-baby...Oh, and Eric & Lisa, of course.

Pop finally meets Kathryn

We drove to spend Thanksgiving with Patty, Johnny and Shad in Louisiana...Ended up staying a whole week helping with house projects, preparing the house for sale.  They're movin' on up!  Lunch at a unique "tea house" where Shad used to work was a welcome break.  Tea expert Shad suggested various delicacies; all were excellent.

 Johnny, Patricia, Shad and friend Meggin at the tea house

Don't Sail Where the Birds Are Walking

From Jewfish Key to Apollo Beach, on the west side of Tampa Bay, was an easy half-day in good weather.  We paused to photograph flocks of birds -- herons and egrets wading, pelicans and gulls perched on the sandbars. 

We don't see white pelicans like these very often.  

Tampa Bay is a major seaport.  We skirted the channel edges as this fellow went by.

Later we had our own private dolphin show!  Soon thereafter we arrived at Lands End Marina in Apollo Beach, our home for the winter.  It's 15 minutes from Eric, Lisa and Kathryn.  And about 12 minutes from the golf course.

Tail photo by Nancy

The West Coast...

....of Florida, that is. After our lumpy crossing of the lake we passed through three more locks, spent a quiet night at the LaBelle free public dock, and proceeded north in good weather to Pelican Bay, where we rocked all night in a north wind. Somewhere in central Florida we picked up a stowaway.

The next night found us tied to the free dock (do you see a pattern here?) at Moore's Stone Crab Restaurant on Longboat Key, where we ate....catfish and rock lobster. Here's Sea Angel at the dock with Jewfish Key anchorage behind.

Peter, the early riser, took this pre-dawn photo at the anchorage before the day's first ripple. Note the anchor light reflections.

The Okeechobee Waterway

The OWW crosses south-central Florida from St. Lucie on the east coast to Ft. Myers on the west. Our first night westbound we enjoyed visiting friends in Stuart - Bob Kassel and Bill & Barbara Vermiglio - who got us a free dock. We always appreciate that! Next morning we headed west, up the St. Lucie River to a long canal with two locks leading to Lake Okeechobee. That evening we tied up to dolphins at Port Mayaca Lock, on the eastern edge of the lake. It amazes me how patient those creatures are; who'd have thought dolphins could be trained to hold your dock lines all night? (Just kidding....here are the dolphins.)

After a quiet night we had a bumpy crossing of Lake Okeechobee. The wind had been up for a week; even though it was only blowing about 12 when we crossed, there was a leftover two foot chop on the beam. That sounds harmless, but it's enough to swing the boat through a 20 degree arc. After we cleaned up the spilled coffee, Nancy went back to bed.

Parts of the OWW are boring, other parts quite beautiful. Here are some scenes along the way.

Blue Angels

We wended our way through the Georgia low country, with a layover at Savannah to visit Larry and Martha, play some golf (Peter) and do some quilting (Nancy). Crossing into Florida we were treated to a Blue Angels air show near Jacksonville Beach.

That evening we anchored at Pine Island in the wild and beautiful Tolomato River, north of St. Augustine.Barry and Barbara Kipnis provided a free dock and lots of hospitality at Palm Coast.

We left the boat in their custody while we drove to Key Largo for Nancy's visit to the orthodontist.

We anchored in a stiff breeze and a chop for an hour at Titusville waiting for repairs to the swing bridge. Here's some of the chaos that ensued when the bridge finally opened. No one got hurt.

When the Yankees Came to Southport

Yankee businesses have invaded Southport in recent years. Some of the newcomers made derogatory comments about an alleged lack of worldliness among the local populace, giving rise to considerable resentment and proliferation of the bumper sticker shown below. Now the old-timers are proud to be identified as "USL's."