As most everyone knows, it's been a cold and wet Jan. and Feb. in South Florida. A record setting 13.2 inches of rain in January plus cold front after cold front in February. But finally, we are out cruising the beautiful waters of SW Florida.
Heading up to St. Pete for the annual Indy Car Grand Prix race in downtown St Pete.
The view from Mystic Lady as we arrive at Useppa.
Looking across the ICW at Cabbage Key. This little restaurant/bar is a hot spot for tourist and serve up a great "Cheeseburger in Paradise"..
Lots of history on this little Key, if ever down this way hop over and check it out.
Annie and Christine making their way through Historic Venice City Park. A gorgeous walk from the Downtown area to Venice Beach.
Lots of Historical Markers along the way for a great little history lesson.
Had lunch at Marker 4 Grill and the best Chocolate Chip Ice Cream ever at a downtown shop.
Heading back to the boat and off to St. Pete early in the morning.
Beautiful sunset at Venice Inlet Park.....lots of folks come here every day just for the view.
Great place for fishing from the jetty too.
Spring Breakers are out in force...
Smooth cruise up to St. Pete on the outside. The Gulf was calm and the skies clear.
Arrived at St. Pete early to beat the crowd that will be coming in this weekend for the big race.
We were lucky to get a good dockage along a face dock with easy access to everything.
Looking forward to a busy weekend of Indy Car Racing. Click link below for schedule of events.
http://www.gpstpete.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=97&Itemid=226
Wednesday, March 9th
Doing a little sight seeing in Downtown St.Pete while we chill-out before the race weekend.
What a neat city this is....lots to do, lots to see, history, arts, waterfront dining, Grand Prix Racing, etc.
Last time we were here it was a Triathlon on one weekend and "The Taste of Pinellas" the next weekend.
Always a lot going on in St. Pete.
A shot of the Baywalk Area.....
can you believe this is the entrance to a parking garage...
Nothing like this where I come from...
This is what is left of the "Inverted Pyramid" that stood on the pier site since 1973....
The City fathers have been trying to get this replaced since 2005. Probably took this long just to get a permit to tear it down.
We had dinner in one of the restaurants the last time we were here. It was in pretty bad shape but still active four years ago.
The Admiral is heading to the market.....
just a short walk from the marina to shops, markets, restaurants, etc.
Gotta get some Bud Lite cause Uncle David is coming to visit.
Looking forward to having David and Loretta onboard for a day or two while in St. Pete.
It's practice day at the St. Pete Grand Prix race. Lots of activities and vendors, and this is just Friday.
Glad I came today because the General Admission gets you anywhere you want to go today.
Toured the Paddock Area, watched a few laps from the main Grandstand, got up close and personal with some teams, great day....
Pit action during practice..All the big names doing their thing.
The Indy Car Series is not exactly my thing but, Hey....a race is a race.
Well, the day started out calm and quiet but it didn't last long.
Christine was preparing a nice dinner for my sister and brother-in-law who are coming to the boat for a couple days.
She needed an onion and started walking to the grocery....that's when the day took a turn for the worse.
She tripped on a broken sidewalk and landed flat on her face. EMT was called and she was taken to the hospital just an hour before our company arrived.
That changed our plans for the day but it could have been so much worse.
She had a big goose egg on her forehead (under her bangs), cut on her nose, cut under her chin, abrasions on her chin, cut inside her mouth from her tooth, bruised wrist, bruised and cut knee, etc.
She was a mess, the head injury was cause for concern so she would need X-rays and an MRI
Thank goodness David and Loretta were on their way. They would give me a ride to the hospital so I could be with Christine and be able to get back to the boat later.
Strange how things work out. We always tell people you're only one incident for a life change.
The good news, no broken bones. Just lots of sore spots.
Having Annie (her therapy dog) in her arms was enough to raise a smile while we wait for David to bring the van around to take us back to the boat.
We didn't get to do our planned afternoon but a quiet evening and nice dinner on the boat was just what the doctor ordered.
It has been so nice having David and Loretta here for an visit.
Maybe next time we can avoid the drama and take a cruise.
Uncle David just enjoying a peaceful evening on Mystic Lady.
Racing action tomorrow, should be a great day......weather is perfect so far.
The folks here at St. Pete Municipal Marina have been very friendly and helpful. It's always fun to come back to St. Pete.
Time to send the Stamps on their way. Packed up and headed over to Tampa to see Joseph.
Thankfully they were here to help me with Christine.
Hopefully, we can get together again before they head back home. We would like to do a boat cruise for a few days.
Safe travels you two.....
Sure enjoyed having you guys aboard "Mystic Lady".....
See ya again soon.
Sunday, March 13, 2016
It's race day at the St. Pete Grand Prix Indy Car race.
Just waiting for the leaders to come around for the first lap.
Really impressed with the effort the Indy Car Series puts forth to hold this event. You can't imagine the barriers, fences, banners, etc. they have to provide just for this event.
Huge problem though...they go out of their way to block the view for General Admission spectator.
This is about as good as it gets. Not my idea of a spectator friendly race.
I managed to get up on a concrete light pole base just to get this view.
They even hang banners on the fence in the corners so you can't see corner action from ground level.
It's gotta be all about the money. I think they want you to pay the big bucks and buy the Grandstand Ticket.
So in my professional opinion here is the best way to watch an Indy Car Grand Prix.
Go back to your boat and turn on the TV, grab a cold beer (or Jack Daniels) in my case , open the door so you can hear the engines and watch the action as if you were there.
Guess i'm just not comfortable with being on the wrong side of the fence.
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
Extremely foggy return trip to Ft. Myers. Never seen the horizon from the time we left St. Pete until entering Boca Grande Pass.
We had less than 1/8 mile visibility for most of the 10 hour trip.
Lots of instrument flight training paid off today.
The admiral and Annie had trouble staying awake with nothing to see for 10 hours.
Annie just napped but the Admiral just went from one area to another, she finally took a nap and left me to do the chores.
All in all it was an uneventful return trip but very tiring...
How's this for a view for 10 hours.
It wasn't as boring as you might think, dodging crab pots and watching for traffic on the radar kept me busy all day.
We made it safely back to Legacy Marina and started cleaning on Mystic Lady.
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