New Year, new start for the blog. I got behind again, of course, and then bogged down trying to catch up, thinking I should fill in all the blanks. NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION -- start posting the blog every day, if you miss a day skip it and come back later.
SO, start reading now, check back later to see if the blanks have been filled in. And pictures may be in separate posts, I am still having trouble getting them transferred.
It was wonderful to be back on the water today! The weather was beautiful but a little windy when we left Jeanne and Art's place in Clearwater Beach. They had offered use of their dock while we were gone to Georgia. Thanks to AGLCA (Great Loop Association) and their member forum, we connected with them. We worried so much less about leaving the boat, and it was a considerable savings. Which is good, since the car rental to Cordele cost much more than we had planned. AND, we made some good friends and hope to reconnect with them this summer in Canada.
Anyhow, we pulled out about noon and drove back by the municipal marina where we stayed before Christmas and headed toward St. Pete. The houses as we left Clearwater were beautiful, I had to force myself to stop taking pictures. And Clearwater Beach to the west was hotel after tall hotel! The whole route today was solid houses. Where do all these people work? And shop? And how do they get inland in bad weather? There are way too many people and very few bridges!
After being in Georgia for a week, it seemed strange to see everyone in bathing suits! But then it was a beautiful day! And everybody that had a boat was out cruising, I think! This was by far the most boats we have seen in a day. Some of them did not use proper boat etiquette, I even motioned at one big boat to slow down! There were frequent "Slow Speed Minimum Wake" zones, so I guess people thought they needed to gun it in between.
We did not have a destination chosen for tonight, and the cruising guide was pretty confusing due to the side channels. We followed a boat under a bridge, then saw tht it was a Looper boat as it turned sharply to the west. Danny hailed him on the VHF radio and asked if he were going to an anchorage and he said yes, so we turned around and followed him. We wound around on canals through residential areas, and then came to a dead end. There were two Looper boats in the mini bay, so we all tied up together. (Both of them had been at the Rendezvous at Joe Wheeler.) We are next to the main beach road, and traffic has been continuous. Across the road is Don CeSar Hotel (the Pink Place), built in 1928. The houses around us started shooting fireworks after dark. The two other boats fished, but only caught a couple of catfish. We ate our backeyed peas to celebrate New Years. Wonderful evening on The Loop!
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!
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