April/May 2012 Cruise to St. Petersburg, Fl

             First day out we anchor in a private cove off Punta Blanca Island, beautiful day...

                     Another awesome Florida sunset at our private little anchorage

          Day 2 we run in the Gulf up to Venice and this shot is entering Venice Inlet from the Gulf

             Cruising up the ICW near Venice, some of the prettiest waters on the West Coast

       After anchoring overnight in Sarasota, day 3 finds us entering Tampa Bay from the ICW

             My navigator says she can take us under the Sunshine Skyway Bridge into the Bay...

   
                          The Sunshine Skyway is a spectacular sight whether by boat or car

   Good job Admiral, she put us right on course...I wonder if she would have done it with a cruise ship
    or tanker in the shipping channel?

                Pulling into St. Pete on day 3, looks interesting, wonder what we will find here?

   Well, we didn't expect to see a float plane in our mooring field. He taxied around us and took off
     out the Vinoy Basin entrance. That's what you call speeding in a no wake zone.

               Here he goes again the next day. Greg, you need one of these. It's a cool two seater..

                 A beautiful evening in Vinoy Basin, downtown St. Pete has a lot to offer

    We picked a great weekend to visit St. Pete. Here we are at a Farmers Market Street Fair.
    Great music by a local band, girl is demonstrating hula-hoop tricks. Food everywhere. Lots
     of fun and walking distance from the boat.

       Forgot to mention, this was the weekend of the St. Anthony's Triathlon. Shot is from the site
       of the bicycle course (after the street was re-opened) with "Happy Ours" in the Basin. Three            
      thousand participated in the event.

     As we return in the dingy the little float plane is at it again. He was taking off right next to our boat.
      Great weekend, lots to do here. Many museums, parks, food, shops, etc. Ranks #1 on our list
        of places we visit by boat.

      Took the Trolley over to Pass-A-Grille Beach just south of St. Pete Beach.....great surf, clear water,
       and  live music at this beach side bar.  It was actually hot this day but Christine never leaves home
         without her long sleeves. The Trolley ride was freezing....

St. Pete has several museums within walking distance of the Marina....This was in the History Museum,
along with exhibits from the creation of St. Petersburg. The current theme at this time was how St. Pete
contributed to World War II. This replica is of the first scheduled air flight in the USA. It was from St. Pete to Tampa in 1914.

             Later in the day Christine caught me hanging out with the locals in downtown St. Pete.

.                       Back to the Marina for a drink on "Happy Ours" and watch the sunset, just another
                        day in Paradise......

         Now we head off to the Annual Children's Hospital Charity Event called " The Taste of Pinellas"
Tonight it's "Joe Nichols" and "Big and Rich" in concert. Christine is cruising thru all the food vendors.
Tomorrow night is more food and Sheryl Crow in concert..This town has it going on.....

    Today we moved back to the Mooring Field for a better view of the Spectacular Fireworks Show
      every night of the Taste of Pinellas. This is a sunrise over Tampa Bay....

          Christine having her morning coffee and watch the sunrise....She loves her boat.....

  A shot from the boat........ watching the moon rise over the Vinoy Marina
Sorry, no pictures of the Spectacular Fireworks. I forgot my camera and all pictures from this trip
were taken with a cell phone or an I-Pad....Terrible night shots, oh well.....

    "Happy Ours" as she sits in front of the Vinoy Renaissance Hotel, if you're ever in St. Pete you
         have to take a tour of this Hotel....and read the History....

   Christine snapped this sunrise over Tampa Bay as we were pulling out of the Harbor to head back
         to Ft. Myers. A fabulous trip, great weather, and a very memorable Birthday for my wife.......




 

2012 Cruise around Florida

    Heading East across the Caloosahatchie River. Next stop Palm City on the East Coast. Nice Day....

      The Admiral giving me a break on the long trip across Florida..John and Kathy soaking sunshine...

   Kathy helping with the Lock-thru at one of the locks.....

Christine holding on at a lock thru at Lake Okeechobee.....

Arrived at Joe and Mirka's Wednesday afternoon and decided to stay an extra day...great place, great      friends, heading south tomorrow......

Heading south on the ICW after leaving the fuel docks in Stuart, Fl......John and Kathy checking out the beautiful homes along the way. storms moving in, got into some showers later....no problem...

The lighthouse at Jupiter Inlet as seen from the water. Beautiful point of interest right on the ICW.
Water here is crystal clear and boats a plenty...Smooth trip so far.

                           Kathy taking in the sights as we pass through Boca Raton...

Did a little sight seeing from the bow as we pass through West Palm Beach...Lots of huge boats......

   Made it to Pompano Beach on day three, stayed at Lighthouse Point Marina....Don't know what these
    two girls are discussing on the docks....must have been the days journey.....nice place to spend the
    night. Live music, bar, and food but Kathy whipped us some delicious stir fry for our group......

         Kathy taking pictures of Paula and Connie's "Just Right" while we wait for a bridge opening
         somewhere near Ft.. Lauderdale.

       Just one of many beautiful homes and mega yachts we seen along the way in the Ft. Lauderdale
       area. The money is so plentiful on the East Coast you expect to see it floating down the waterway..

     Passing by the Bahia Mar Marina in Ft. Lauderdale......Yachting capitol of the world..

                              One of the cruise ships docked at Port Everglades...

.                     Approaching Miami, probably in the Hollywood Beach area.

                        Five Cruise Ships lined up along Government Cut in Miami..

          Sitting at our slip at Bayfront Marina looking at the Miami skyline....awesome sight.......

        Me and the Admiral ended the Fourth Day with a walk into downtown, a ride through the city on
        the Metro Mover, and a stroll thru Bayfront Park....Interesting to say the least....Came back to
        "Happy Ours" for a drink with Kathy, John, and the crew from "Just Right" parked alongside......

     Day Five...we take a water taxi from Bayfront Marina in downtown Miami to Miami Beach

                        Passing by a few of the homes on the way to Miami Beach

           Arriving back at Bayfront Marina after a day of walking through South Beach, along Ocean Blvd,
           and all around the Lincoln Drive area. It did us all some good to get off the boat and stretch our
           legs. We probably walked 4-5 miles. Pulling out tomorrow for Key Largo.

    Departing Miami.....leaving Bayfront Marina headed to Biscayne Bay.....weather is perfect..

                   Passed a couple nice condos on the way out of Miami

      Lot's of walking in Miami Beach must have worn the Admiral down ..she napped when we got to the
               marina in Key Largo....grilled some steaks and had dinner on "Just Right" and went to the
                       hot tub and pool after dinner....great day.

                             View of the anchorage from our slip at the marina at Key Largo

       View of the Tiki Bar across the channel from the marina at Key Largo...on to Marathon tomorrow..
           weather is forecast to be even better tomorrow so we will go outside and run Hawks Channel.

           Leaving the marina at Key Largo...heading toward Marathon.....nice water

                       Some parts of cruising the Keys looks more like the Everglades

            Went to the outside (Hawks Channel) for the rest of the cruise down to Marathon.....The
                  water is beautiful and the weather was perfect (almost) ....the winds picked up
                        and we were unable to stop off at Sombrero Key for snorkeling...

       Docked at Marathon Marina...place was packed with boats..new owners had done several
         upgrades since we were last here...They added a small RV Park....added a beautiful pool
            and spruced up the entire marina. Best fuel prices of the trip...only $4.34 per gallon..get
               that...ONLY $4.34...

       We unloaded the dingy and went for an early morning "little boat" cruise around the area....

      Found some Iguana's playing in the mangroves and running around on peoples docks...

         Checked out the City Marina and Mooring Field...The largest Mooring in the country...Nice
             facilities, we will stay here next time we come down...

            Another sunset in the Keys....pulling out tomorrow for Naples...long day on the water...

          We're up and out early, leaving Marathon at sunrise for the long open water trip to Naples....

                         Early morning shot of Connie and Paula as we leave the marina

                   "Just Right" following close behind as we make our way across the Gulf

     At this point we are about 20 miles offshore....nothing out here but water, water, and more water..

                  Hanging out at the Naples Marina, girls getting ready to make dinner

        The girls are solving the world's problems...Kathy (center) came down from Cape Coral to stay the
            night with us on the boat....

     Christine doing some heavy duty shopping on 5th Avenue in Naples...spent the day in Naples just
          hanging out and taking in the downtown sights....Dinner at the Dock...

      Should have went fishing.....watched a charter boat come in with a good catch of grouper..this
          one weighed in at 15 pounds...

                           Cleaning the days catch on the docks at Naples Marina

Boating sure has changed, all three crew and our guest Kathy all on I-Stuff..I-Pads and I-Phones...I remember when boating was about viewing your surroundings.....

   Crew of "Happy Ours"...top to bottom, Christine, Jerry, Kathy, and John..ending a great day in Naples