When asked "what's been the biggest surprise so far?" We found it was a difficult question to answer, we're always surprised by what Mother Nature dishes up to us. Like the beautiful FL sunrises and sunsets, no two ever looking the same, or wildlife that you happen to spot and we never tire of the … Continue reading Surprise!
City of Palms
We arrived at Ft. Myers Yacht Basin, the municipal marina right in the heart of downtown, and got everyone off to the airport and back home to MN safely. The marina is located on the Caloosahatchee River, and is it the link to the Okeechobee waterway. The Caloosahatchee is actually brackish water and we could … Continue reading City of Palms
A Week to remember
Start of a big week in that we have the family flying in to gather and celebrate Pat Reimann's 90th Birthday. We have the grand plan of flying Pat, escorted by our daughter Lisa, down to visit her Applewood friend for a few days and then cruise to Captiva Island later in the week to … Continue reading A Week to remember
Boat maintenance, barnacles & bays
We tucked the boat away in Gulfport as we prepared to leave to go back to the tundra in Minnesota for Christmas. But before we flew out, we did some boat maintenance. Ron used his new hose-end wand to actually do a thorough cleanse and rinse out our holding tank which was a really crappy … Continue reading Boat maintenance, barnacles & bays
Christmas in the city
We spent a week downtown in St. Petersburg and were equally "wowed" by the city as we were by the beach. One of the fastest growing cities in the US with an average age of the downtown resident being 35. Only 7 original homes left here, as the land is too valuable for just a … Continue reading Christmas in the city
Our home on the Bayou
So Nancy found and took a chance on this out of the way dock, not at all on the normal radar for loopers. We both decided we were a bit crazy to try getting in here, without really knowing what the place was like. But it ended up being my favorite stop of the entire … Continue reading Our home on the Bayou
Florida Follies
Thanksgiving and my birthday have come and gone, and so has my son Brad who flew down to join us for a few days. He was there when we left the dock at Afton on September 15th and now he joined us 2300 miles later. Lisa participated in the traditional Thanksgiving back home, where everyone … Continue reading Florida Follies
Clearwater hang time
After the run across the Florida panhandle and the Crossing, it was great to spend a week at a newer marina with concrete floating docks and some time to explore. Our home for a week at Clearwater Harbor Marina A big surprise was when a bunch of our St croix yacht club friends were in … Continue reading Clearwater hang time
Video from our gulf crossing
If you want to get a sense for what it was like heading out on the gulf for a 176 mile open water trip, here are a few casual video clips we recorded to remember the experience, mostly chronological. https://videopress.com/v/KOjYOQ0q?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata A cup of hot coffee and off we go at 6am. 6am departure in the … Continue reading Video from our gulf crossing
Rough Gulf Crossing
This is made out to be a big deal, and it is a pretty big deal. It's just a corner of the Gulf of Mexico, but typically it takes about 20 hours to get a cross this path so most loopers leave in the afternoon, travel all night in the dark, and arrive the next … Continue reading Rough Gulf Crossing
