Clearwater Beach, Florida Sight Seeing by Auto February 21 ~ 23, 2007 We decided to stay at least a week or two in Clearwater Beach, sight-seeing, resting, and to go home for a week or so on Friday. We cleaned the boat, inside and outside, did the wash and rented a car for sight-seeing. Jim decided he had had all the fun he could stand, so he decided to fly home. We took him to the Tampa airport early on Wednesday, February 21st. Phil and I went to a leisurely breakfast and then to the Salvador Dali museum in St. Petersburg. It was very interesting and we were glad we went to see it, but we did decide that Dali is not a favorite of ours. We then drove to Sarasota over some absolutely magnificent bridges The museum houses an outstanding collection of paintings. Some of the artists represented are John Singleton Copley, Gilbert Stuart, Rembrandt, and Vermeer. The circus museum was fascinating. It has the famous clown Emmett Kelly’s costume and make-up, many life-casts of clowns who have been with Ringling Bros and Bailey Circuses. The life-casts were made by a woman from Texas, named Ruth Chaddock. They are actual casts of the clowns’ faces, showing their trademark make-up. The most amazing thing was the miniature circus. The man who made it worked on it for fifty years. It shows the circus set-up as it used to be when they traveled by rail and worked under the “Big Top”. It shows the dining, hospital, laundry, shower, animal, bathroom and dressing room tents. I was amazed at the detail in the miniature circus. He even had little cars from the era parked in the parking lot. Thursday we had a great day we cleaned the boat, washed and stayed around the marina. We saw several dolphins, one of which swam right up to the dock where we were standing, surfaced, looked at us, flipped up out of the water and swam away. He was about six or seven feet long. We were really close! We saw another interesting sight. A floating chapel came into the fuel dock to refuel. It was darling, white with a blue roof and stained glass windows. It had a sign that said Chapel on the Bay. People can be married on it. February 23 ~ Friday ~ We caught an early flight for home. We were both so ready to be home for a little while! Back to Clearwater Beach from Houston, March 2, 2007 The time at home passed all too quickly. We made a one day turn-around to Cleburne to see my aunt, Luella, who is very ill, besides being ninety-three. She is my mother's only surviving sibling and I love her dearly. We were glad to see her and had a good visit with her. At home we visited with the kids, grandkids, petter the cats, worked in the yard and went through the mail. Then it was time to fly back to the boat. We carried an alternator that we had rebuild in Houston back with us on the plane. It was a real experience, getting through security with that! We flew back to Tampa/St. Pete and took a taxi to Clearwater Beach to the marina. It was late when we arrived and the boat looked great to us! We planned to leave for Ft. Myers right away, but the weather was rainy, windy and cold, so we stayed in Clearwater Beach, doing the laundry, reading and visiting with some of the other people in the marina. Phil worked in the engine room, removed the old alternator, changed filters, etc. Then we had the other alternator installed that we brought back from Houston. Clearwater Beach to Sarasota Tuesday, March 6 Finally, we left Clearwater Beach for our journey toward Ft. Myers. We planned to go to Sarasota. The ICW is very narrow after you leave the body of water that was by our marina. It is shallow, also, about 5 or 6 feet, so we had to pay close attention to the channel markings and the chart. This area is called the “Narrows”. Imagine that! The water was beautiful, clear, blue and green. We saw many dolphins and, although, I looked and looked for manatee in all the manatee zones, we saw none. There are many manatee zones in Florida. They hang out in the mangrove trees that grow down into the water. You are required by Florida law to go very slowly through these areas because the manatees are not afraid of the boats nor are they very efficient at avoiding the props on a fast moving boat. There are only 3000 manatees left in the state. Most of them fall victim to injury or death from boats. Above is the Tampa Bay Ship Channel bridge and the other pictures are examples of some of the fine homes along the way between Clearwater Beach, Sarasota, and Fort Meyers. Virginia believes that if any of these homes and their settings could be moved closer to family and friends, she could definitely live in one of them. We crossed Tampa Bay and I tried to find something that looked familiar from previous times on Tampa Bay, but it all looked different. There are beautiful homes here along the bay, also. Some of them are obviously from the 1940’s or 50’s, some of them are huge, gorgeous and new. There are many boats on the water; all of them pleasure boats of various sizes. Not every boater is a good boater, just as every automobile driver is not a good driver. We remember one boat, in particular, named “Dancin’” from Bradenton, Florida, that we saw in Gasparilla Sound. It was big boat, probably 48 to 52 feet, going the same direction we were going. The guy driving the boat passed us, going much faster than we can go and did not slow down at all. He waked our boat so badly that it threw me across the flybridge and slammed me into a search light. It also knocked our flowers off and spilled dirt everywhere. Fortunately, with a few exceptions, everything inside was all right. All it takes is a little common sense and courtesy, of which, obviously, this guy had none, to make boating safe and pleasurable for everyone. We crossed Sarasota Bay and, again, got to see Ca d'Zan, the Ringling mansion. It was interesting to see it from the water. You can see it for many miles. It is a truly an outstanding house. It is seldom you have the opportunity to see an eighty year old home with its original furnishings, just as the owners left it. Their clothes are even still there! After we crossed the main part of Sarasota Bay, we began looking for a place to tie up. We decided on Marina Jack’s. It is a very nice marina. We called ahead and the dock master said he would be waiting for us by our slip. Our slip was the first one inside the security gate and was right by the beautiful open air marina restaurant which was crowded with people, watching the boats and looking at the water. We made absolutely the worst docking we have ever made! The rudder indicator on the boat, which Phil depends on to help him dock, took the day off and was not working. We finally got the boat where it was supposed to be, but it was not a graceful docking. Usually Phil can parallel park the boat if he needs to do that, but, in front of all those people, it was a fiasco! We wished for a disguise before we went to the restaurant to eat. We did change clothes! The view from the restaurant was gorgeous. The water was so calm and the sunset was lovely. We think no one recognized us… Sarasota ~ Wednesday ~ March 7 We left Marina Jack’s about 7:15 am. The weather was wonderful. Finally, we had sunshine and warmth! We saw many, many dolphins. Eventually, we had our own personal dolphins. Something about our boat must have been intriguing to three of them because they stayed with us for about two or three hours. Two of the dolphins were large, about six or seven feet and one was very small, about three or four feet. The little one was so cute. He (or she) swam all over the other two, doing flips and twisting and rolling over them. We discovered that they were there because we heard this loud popping noise and saw water shooting straight up about five feet in the air behind the boat. We didn’t know what it was until we saw the dolphin leap high into the air and, as they came down, slap the water with their tails to make it splash straight up. Their swimming is amazing. They have many different ways of reentering the water after a leap. Some don’t even make a splash, other ways make a loud slap, and some are belly flops. One of the big dolphins and the little one leaped straight up out of the water at the same time with the little one on the nose of the big one. It was such a show. They had a very good time and so did we. While we were coming across Pine Island Sound, there were so many boats, going both directions. It is primarily a “go slow” zone because of the manatee, which, of course, we did not see. The coast guard boats were there, monitoring everyone’s speed. They had a jet skier stopped and were, apparently giving him some sort of ticket. He was hanging on to their boat, while they were writing the ticket. The water is gorgeous, but, oh, the traffic! We arrived at the City of Ft. Myers Yacht Basin (marina) about 5:40. We needed fuel and they close at 5:30, but they waited on us so we could fuel when we got there. I had an interesting experience. The fuel guy said to do both tanks at the same time. He handed me one nozzle and Phil took the other nozzle. I have never put fuel in the boat before! Rather than be a complete wuss, I acted like I fueled the boat all the time, took the nozzle and filled the tank. It was easy and another “character building” experience! Phil and I never had an opportunity to say anything to each other before we started fueling, but we put almost exactly the same amount of fuel in each tank! It was a long day. We were glad to be there and be in a marina. The dock master sent a man to help us tie up in our slip in the back of the marina. Our docking was perfect. Despite the fact that there was a tour boat sticking out into our slip, Phil backed the boat in the slip without any problem at all. Of, course, tonight there was no restaurant full of people, just the one man to watch our perfect landing! We walked a couple of blocks to the “Historical District”, which was almost deserted, and found an excellent Chinese/Japanese restaurant. The downtown section seems to be in a restoration phase. There were several restaurants and bars, but not many people. Thursday, March 8 – Ft. Myers, Florida We left Ft. Myers and the Gulf coast side of Florida and headed across the state. We were in the Caloosahatchee River. It is a very pretty river, twisting and turning, with shallow areas, but deep enough for comfortable navigation. There are, in some areas, absolutely beautiful homes on the river front. Other areas have not been developed yet. Phil saw our first alligator and we both saw an otter (also our first!). There are a lot of retirement developments in Florida and some on this river. We saw a beautiful RV park near LaBelle, Florida, on the Caloosahatchee. There are many areas where we had to go slow for the manatees or for boats tied up in their boat slips. We went through the Otona Lock without any trauma and the lock master said we locked through with a manatee! You couldn’t prove it by me… He said he was very deep in the water, but that he had surfaced right after the gates were closed. It was very turbulent when he let the water in to raise us. Phil had to use the engines to hold us against the wall of the lock. We were tied to the wall, but the force of the water was really straining the lines. However, the engines pushed the boat right back to the wall and there was no problem. I think it is fascinating to go through the locks and be raised or lowered! There were several bridges that we had the call to have opened for us, usually a quick and easy thing. It was a long day. We decided to stop for the day at Moore Haven Marina, a small marina west of the entrance to Lake Okeechobee. The dock master is a woman named Linda. She came down to greet us and offered a golf cart for us to go to the grocery store. It was almost dark. Because the cart had no lights, the police frowned on your being on the street after dark, obviously. We quickly went to the U-Save, which was just past the police department in Moore Haven. Since we had no lights, we figured we were in stealth mode and hoped they wouldn’t see us! It must have worked because we got back to the marina without being stopped… Friday, March 9 – Moore Haven Marina We left very early this morning. It was extremely foggy. The visibility was less than a quarter of a block. It was very hard to see anything. We wanted to get through the Moore Haven Lock as early as possible. There is a hand operated swing railroad bridge that you have to go through before you get to the lock. The hours are from 6:00 am to 10:00 pm. We arrived at 5:50 am. The bridge keeper was not there. We waited until 6:15 and finally called the Moore Haven Lock master. He said there was no way to talk to the bridge keeper, but gave us the number of the railroad operations manager. We called him twice before the bridge keeper finally drove up in his truck, ambled out to the bridge, smoked a cigarette and then opened the bridge. We were so irritated. I sure hope he enjoyed his donuts and coffee!! When we got to the Moore Haven Lock, it was open, so we did not have to lock through it. It was still very foggy. It was hard to see the banks of the ICW. The sunrise through the mist and fog was beautiful. We were through the lock and into Lake Okeechobee by 8:30 am. The lake is second only to Lake Michigan in size. It was down about three or four feet and was very shallow in places. As we were crossing the lake, Phil got a phone call from his niece. His brother, Scott, passed away Thursday night. He was ill, but you are never ready to get that phone call. He was such a fine man, loved so much by his family. As quickly as we could, we went to Indiantown. We had met a man, Dennis Dodge, when we flew down to Florida to look at a boat several months ago. Dennis also did the survey on our boat in Clearwater for the insurance company. We called him and he said he would have a slip for us and would watch our boat for us while we were in Nebraska. We got through the Port Mayaca Lock without having to lock through it. It was very unusual to have both these locks open. It made it really easy and quick. We arrived in Indiantown about 11:30 am. We got tied up and Dennis said he would be back in an hour to take us to West Palm Beach. We quickly got the boat in shape, packed and were ready to go when he returned. We spent the night in West Palm Beach and flew to Omaha the next day, met Phil’s nieces and the four of us drove to Beatrice, Nebraska. Friday, March 16 – Indiantown We got back to West Palm Beach late Wednesday night. Dennis came to pick us up early Thursday morning and we spent the day at the boat doing laundry, washing the boat, working on our navigational system. We left Indiantown Marina at 8:00 am on Friday. We had planned to get to Sebastian, Florida or, at least, Vero Beach. However, the weather did not co- operate. The day started out beautifully. The water in Indiantown is not very pretty or clean looking. As we neared the east coast, the water cleared up and was very pretty again. Our navigational routes on the charts that we needed for the day were not drawn correctly, so we used the sailing line, which is usually shown in red on the charts. It worked out fine and the channels were marked clearly, which, unfortunately, is not always the case. By the time we got to Stuart, on the east coast of Florida, the wind had gotten stronger. We had to call to get the bridge master to open the Roosevelt Bridge for us. He informed us that the railroad bridge just beyond his bridge was closed for a train and when it opened, he would raise the Roosevelt. We cooled our heels in a choppy, windy bay while we waited for the train. Phil turned the bow of the boat into the wind, so it was not bad. By the time the train finally came, there were three other boats, waiting to go through with us. A couple of miles after we went through the bridges, we saw paddle-wheeler. It was a very cute sight-seeing boat. We continued northbound on the ICW. It is very wide here and carries a lot of traffic, mostly pleasure boats. The clouds were getting darker in the distance and the wind was very strong. It felt like it was going to tear the bimini off the boat. We decided we best get tied up at the closest marina, so we called Ft. Pierce City Marina. They directed us in and just before we got to the slip, the rain started. Phil, once again, backed the boat in and we got tied up with the help of the dock master. It was not an easy job in the wind and rain, but we were in and tied up quickly with no problem. The storm had some thunder and a lot of wind and rain. We were glad that we had stopped. Saturday, March 17 – St. Patrick’s Day - Ft. Pierce We had such a fun day! I guess I have never been in a place that celebrated St. Patrick’s Day like Ft. Pierce. There was a Farmer’s Market over several blocks with little booths, selling beautiful produce, jewelry, clothing, food, etc. It was a big deal. Downtown the streets were blocked off, the restaurants were selling green beer in long quart glasses, people were eating corned beef and cabbage, the bagpipers were piping and everyone was wearing green of some kind! I had a corn beef sandwich and Phil had an Irish beer (not green) with his lunch. I have never seen so many men in kilts. In Florida, it is not illegal to walk around with an alcoholic beverage and there was plenty of that. The police were very visible in town and around the marina. A huge stage had been built about a block from the marina. Jefferson Starship performed that night at 8:00. We could hear them from the boat, but the music at the Tiki Bar on our dock almost drowned them out. We walked down and listened to them. They were really good. People of all ages were dancing and moving to the beat of the music. We saw a lot of people drinking, but no one seemed drunk. We were also surprised to see how clean the grounds around the concert stayed, even in the midst of the partying. There were no cups on the ground, no broken glass and no trash. Everyone had a wonderful time and the town was not a huge mess that required a lot of clean up. We really liked this marina. The dock master and his crew were very helpful. We fueled the boat in our slip, did not even have to move it. The shower facility was very clean and nice. There was a restaurant, Tiki Bar and Grill, on our dock and others within a block or so from the boat. The water was so clean and pretty. The marina is protected, so we did not get much wake from passing boats, except for a few that came into the marina too fast. We decided to stay another day, Sunday, to watch March Madness. Kansas and Texas both played that day, one more successfully than the other! Kansas got into the Sweet Sixteen and Texas did not. It was very windy and we were glad to be in a marina and not on the ICW. |
Our Travel Log
Travel Log
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