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

                 

Daytona Beach Bike Week 2012

           David and I meeting up with Buddy and Jim at the Daytona 200 Motorcycle Club Campground

                        Didn't take David and Buddy long to check in and chill out in tent city.

                           A long time tradition at Bike Week......Cruising Main Street

               You can find some strange looking people down on Main Street.....Hi Uncle D. !!!!

            More strange sights.....Beagle Hounds in a school bus being towed with a motorcycle

                            And there's always the girls...This shot is for you "Fat Boy"

          Got some good parking spots so we decided to stay awhile and watch the crazy's....

              Back at the Club House for another day of cruising and telling stories around the fire..

                Cruised down to the Lighthouse for a beer...The bar's mascot joined us for a drink

Jim and I cruised through the Iron Horse Saloon, Buddy and David went straight to camp after dinner...
         

          And the band was good too...Jim in foreground with funky hat....Iron Horse was hopping..

    Loading up for the ride home....great ride with great friends....another Bike Week for the books..

Four amigos....L to R......Buddy Groves, David Stamps, Jim Martin, and Jerry Chafton....The skies were clear, the beer was cold, the girls were pretty and  the campfire was hot....it don't get any better than this.....

Feb. 24 Chuck Visits RiverBend

            My old friend and Crew Chief from the Stock Car Racing Days stopped by to visit while
                            in the Fort Myers area.

          Chuck with his friends Bob and Janie enjoyed lunch at the River Club House patio
                     overlooking the Caloosahatchie River

        Chuck just couldn't stand it, he had to see some racing action while at RiverBend. Although, far
        from our old days of racing, everyone got a kick out of watching the Remote Control Race Cars
        battling it out at RiverBend International Raceway.

                                   More racing action at RiverBend International Raceway
           It was great having Chuck and friends spend the day with us at our Winter Paradise.

Feb. 9-14..Deliver Connie & Paula's Sundancer

                  Daytona Beach Boat Works dropped her in the water Thursday afternoon and we
                     spent the night onboard getting familiar with the systems before leaving out
                        Friday morning..

            Hey Jerry, what's this thing do? Looks like the "what-cha-ma-call-it)" that makes the gizmo
                work....looks hi-tech to me. Better ask Christine, she's the tech guru.

          Yes dear, I got the hang of now. Off we go...RiverBend, here we come.

          Stopped off in Stuart to visit Connie and Paula's friends...They were out on their boat but
          returned shortly so we spent the night...Joe and Mirka are awesome hosts.

     

             View from poolside, looking toward Stuart Mooring Field..Snowy likes her digs..(the dog).

       Mirka giving the girls a tour of her fabulous home. She made all the drapes and decorations. She
        is a very talented lady.

    View out the front door, property is surrounded on three sides by water with a very secluded
       driveway. Even secluded enough for a motorhome in a gated community. How rare....

             View of the pool and St. Lucie River from the kitchen. Sundancer in the background tied to
                    multiple deep water slips. It don't get any better than this.

Well, maybe it does get better. How about drinks and a hot tub to top off our first evening with Joe, Mirka and friends.

They say two of the happiest days are when you buy a boat and when you sell a boat. I think we just 
captured one of those happiest days for Connie and Paula.

Hospitality and Accommodations were first class thanks to our host and hostess.
Thank you Joe and Mirka..

Looking back at the living area from the hot tub..

And to cap off the last evening with our hosts, it's dinner at Sailor's Return. I think I could get used to this Captain thing.

After waiting for the strong winds to lay down it's time to get back on the water and cross Lake Okeechobee. 
Where else would you want to wait out the weather than Joe's Place...

Take a break guys, me and the Admiral have everything under control

Lake "O" dead ahead. Great trip, great friends, great hosts, and the Sea Ray ran perfect.

Feb. 7th..Off-Roading the Everglades National Park

Is this all there is to it, piece of cake....Would love to have a dirt bike about now

Now it's getting interesting....here gator, gator....

                                            OOPS......

                            Don't worry Dave.... We'll getcha outa here.

          Let's get out of here before the rain gets worse....A big thanks to Dave and Frankie for a great day in the Everglades...