Getting the boat ready with some fun in Florida

We returned back to Florida in our truck to get the boat ready for our return trip up the East coast and some more relaxing in the Keys.

We stopped at Crystal River and stayed with my father-in-laws cousin, Barb.  We were so lucky she invited us to stay at her lovely home.  Erwin had booked a scuba trip (yes it is his new passion) at the Crystal River and she lives very close by.  We were able to have a great visit with her and we even made friends with her dog, Sammy.  It was great.

Here are a couple of pictures of the dive trip that Erwin took.  There were several divers and one person snorkling.  They floated the river and as you can see the water was so clear it was amazing.  He had a great time and Barb and I rode in the boat and got to watch them play!

After our visit at Crystal River, we joined our friends Dorothy and Larry at Punta Gorda.  They invited us to stay at their home which is quite close to the boat yard where the boat is stored.  We so very much appreciated the home cooking and nice room that they provided us.

It was a very busy time as we first worked on the boat.  Here is a picture of it in the yard.

It looks much bigger out of the water, at least to me.  We were very pleased that the many tips that Dorothy and Larry gave us last spring worked very well.  The inside of the boat had very few little creatures as the roach tablets warded off all of those creepy guys.  The 9x13 pans of kitty litter kept the entire boat dry as a bone even in the rainy, humid, summer weather.  It was wonderful to get those inside tips from them. 

The entire truck was loaded in the back with our summer clothes, canned goods, dry goods, reading material, dvds, etc.  So Erwin and Larry hoisted all those tubs of stuff into the boat (boy was I lucky that they were so helpful).  I got busy organizing the inside of the boat and determining what had to be done when we return in January.  Erwin and Larry got busy getting the bottom of the boat and the outside ready.  We got the dinghy off the deck and on the back of the boat.  We all went about getting the other things done and before Erwin even realized it, Larry had put the motor back on the dinghy!  Here is a picture of both of them sanding the bottom of the boat.  We had to be sure to keep the tarp under the boat and to hook up the vacuums to keep all the dust contained.

I was so grateful as was Erwin that Larry volunteered to help us.  They put these white coveralls on and went to work.  Larry has done this on his own boat and he was very aware what a crappy job it is, but he still was a trooper and I was one lucky girl that he helped.

I could not believe it, they sanded the entire boat in one day and then they also put the new coat of bottom paint on as well!  Doesn't she look beautiful?

We are so lucky to have such wonderful friends as Dorothy and Larry.  Well after that we spent a couple of days do other things to get the boat ready.  We also helped Dorothy and Larry put up a ham radio tower at their house.  It seems as though when they visited us this summer, Erwin hooked them on ham radio and they both got their ham radio licenses so Erwin helped them get up and running.  I however, did not do much.

We returned back to Michigan and were surprised that our children from Anacortes, Washington came to visit early in December.  Here is a picture of all of our children and grandchildren with us celebrating Christmas.  It was only a long weekend, but so memorable.  We loved every minute of it.

More family fun

We were excited about our grandson, Jordan coming to stay with us on the boat.  The plan was for him to stay with us or as I like to call it "we take possession" for a few days.  He arrived in the middle of the night because his flight was delayed due to some thunderstorms.

We gave him a little time to sleep in then we took him to see the beach at Ft. Meyers.  Since he is from the northwest, he loved the sun and warm temperatures.  The beach was full as their are many schools and colleges on spring break.  Here is the typical tourist picture along the sidewalk.  Isn't he cute?

We also had won a free paddle board lesson at one of the local gatherings.  Well neither of us wanted to have that kind of adventure so we saved it for Jordan.

This is at the beginning of the lesson.

This was two hours later with no falls whatsoever as he is crossing the bay back over to the canal he started out in.














We also took in a local event called the sand bash which featured international sand sculptors from as far away as Italy and Latvia.  It was a great afternoon adventure.

Amazing detail.  Here is a picture of the mouse on the side of the castle.

We were at the beach a day before the official judging so some of the artists were still working on their creations, it was very fun to watch.

Gramma and the boy.

After a few days Jordan's parents Mike and Lynette joined us on the boat.  We had a great visit and got caught up on each other's lives.  Here is one of the beach days where we went looking for shells and sea creatures.

Grampa and Jordan

Mike and Lynette

Jordan and his mom checking out the sea treasures.


We also took a side trip to Cayo Costa State Park and one of our favorite anchorages in Englewood.  It was great to show our children and grandchildren our winter retreat area.

So we stopped to get some fuel and this fishing boat was parked at the dock but was unattended.  The bait bucket was full and these two thieves thought it was lunch time.  The bird on the right was bigger and of course he kept the smaller bird at a distance until his tummy was full.

Too Funny!

We also took a trip into Fort Meyers and toured the Edison and Ford winter estates.  These were the homes in the winter for Thomas Edison and Henry Ford.  There is a museum and many acres of unique plants and flowers.  This tree behind the Beemer/Brower group is a banyan tree which covers a large area.

Well to all of our faithful followers, we will not be posting for a while as we are pulling the boat and putting it into storage (away hopefully from the hurricanes) and then we will begin our adventures again the beginning of 2012 as we continue our loop.  Thanks for sharing our trip with us.

Ft Meyers Fun and family

Well we had a wonderful time with Erwin's little sister Bonnie and her husband, Bill.  They are visiting Florida and drove to Ft. Meyers to spend some time with us.  It was great fun to catch up with them for a couple of days.  It was a first for both of them sleeping on the boat, but they are campers so it was not a hard transition for them.  Here is a picture of Solitude on the mooring at Ft. Meyers.

Here is her Big Brother taking us in the dinghy which of course, is our main transportation.

One of the things we did was check the crab pots and we were very successful.  Here is the picture of Uncle Bill and Erwin.

We took a hike on the beach the pier at Ft. Meyers Beach.

Here are the shrimp boats which are on the one of the shores off the mooring field.

Here is a picture of the mooring field one of the evenings on board.

We took Solitude out and up the Caloosahatchee River for a day trip with Bonnie and Bill.  It was a great day for a cruise.  We did not realize it would be a nature cruise though.  We spotted a couple of manatee and we also had a couple of dolphin that cruised for over 15 minutes on the bow wake of the boat.  Aunt Bonnie got some great video and both her and Bill were hanging over the edge of the bow watching them swim very effortlessly.  It was great fun.  We also spotted a sea turtle back in the mooring field!



Here is a picture of the light house as we cruised by Sanibel Island.

It looks like they enjoyed the trip!

Parade at Ft. Meyers Beach

Well we left Marathon and made it to Ft. Meyers and we are now at the mooring field there. We have been busy getting the boat cleaned and spiffed up for company but mostly to put it in storage next month as we head back home.

We did a considerable amount of work and I did not take pictures of that. We did take in the local Shrimp Festival and Parade which was right on the street next to Ft. Meyers Beach. Hope that all of you enjoy the typical parade pictures.  We were there early by a couple of hours and the parade was over 2 hours long.  Here are the highlights.

Goodbye Marathon, crossing Gulf, again

Before we left for Ft. Meyers, we took another trip to Key West.  As you recall, we forgot our camera the last time and we remembered it this time.  We met Frank and Bonnie.  We traveled with Frank on his brothers boat (Woody and Judy) when we took our side trip up the Black Warrior river.  They were so nice and took us to several places in Key West that we might have missed.  Here is a picture of Frank and Bonnie with Erwin.  We were taking in the arts and crafts of the area.

Here is one of the boats in the harbor at Key West.

We also went to a nice restaurant for lunch right on the water, very nice.  We took in a local art exhibit at a beautiful location.  Here is a picture of a little gecko and an iguana on top of a very prickly cactus.  It appears the only predator he needs to worry about would be from the sky and he is watching carefully.

Here is all four of us enjoying the day!

They took us to one of the highest points in Key West.  Here are a couple of the pictures that we took on the roof of the hotel. 

This is a picture of a Norwegian cruise ship that was in the harbor for the day.

We had taken the bus to Key West but Frank was gracious enough to provide a ride back to Marathon which is 50 miles away.  It was a very enjoyable drive and he stopped at Big Pine Key to show us the key deer.  Many of the residents of the island feed the deer and they are very tame.  As you can see they were right next to our car, we did not have a telephoto lens on the camera.





It was a great time in Marathon but all good things must come to an end.  We had a wonderful time and met a number of great folks.  We will return next year as we take our boat down and then up the east coast of Florida.



We had another successful crossing on the Gulf of Mexico as we proceed north from the Keys toward the Port Charlotte area so we can store our boat.  We are going to hang out in Ft. Meyers as we have several family members coming to visit us.

This is a picture of the shore along the gulf and the city of Naples as a view from the Gulf.

This is an example of the some of the very expensive homes along this area.

These are along the Gordon Pass on the Gulf.

Pretty amazing.  I can not imagine trying to keep up with the cleaning and the yard work, and I would think you would have many more friends to visit you if you lived here.