Aquamarina Palm Harbour Marina in Cape Haze, Florida

Day #150: Up at 6:00 A.M. for coffee, grapefruit and sweet treats. At 8:00 A.M. Bruce, Bev, Mike and I headed to Englewood Beach for shark tooth and shell hunting. We all had a great time. I found the largest shark tooth that I've ever found since coming to Englewood. At 11:00 A.M. all four of us headed back to the boats. Mike and I walked to the post office and hardware store for a total of 3.0 miles. After returning back to the boat both we headed to the pool for the afternoon. Bruce and Bev arrived at the pool as well. There was another couple that was at the pool who joined Bev in the hot tube. As I listened to Bev talk to these people I realized right away that Mike and I had met them in Sturgeon Bay, WI in 2017.  Scott and Linda from "Ramble On" looped last year and are now gold loopers. They both remembered Mike and I as they knew that we were suppose to be at Aquamarina Palm Harbour last winter. Scott, Linda, Bruce, Bev, Mike and I had a great time talking about the loop. At 5:00 P.M.  we all headed back to our boats. Roast beef sandwiches onboard "Parrot Bay". Just about the time the sandwiches were done there was a knock on the hull which lead to Mike now having two de-naming and re-naming ceremonies on Saturday, the first one at 2:30 P.M. and the other at 4:00 P.M. Time for a quiet evening of reading and blogging.

Mike and Patty shark tooth hunting (thanks Bev!).

This is the largest shark tooth that Patty has ever found here in Englewood.

This boat is at Aquamarina. This boat will travel to Venice, FL to compete in the Venice Christmas Boat Parade of Lights on Saturday, December 1, 2018. The owner uses generator power to light up the boat. 

Pontoon from the brokerage here at Aquamarina all decorated for Christmas.

 

Aquamarina Palm Harbour Marina in Cape Haze, Florida

Day #149: Up at 6:30 A.M. for coffee, grapefruit and sweet treats. At 10:00 A.M. Bruce, Bev, Mike and I headed shopping. The two of us had shops that they wanted to share with Bruce and Bev that are fun stops while in the area, Christmas shopping and both couples had errand stops that we wanted to accomplish. Bruce, Bev, Mike and  stopped at the following places: Swim Mart, Office Depot, Bealls, Shell Shop, West Marine, Burger King (lunch), Auto Parts Store, Beach Road Boutique and Pirates Dream (WHEW that is a lot of shopping!!!!). We returned to the boat at 3:30 P.M. after a successful day of shopping. Talked to Mark our son about some dates for our children and spouses to come to Florida to visit. Bruce and Bev came over to "Parrot Bay" for happy hour. Talked to Amanda our daughter about dates in January for a visit. Mike and I participated in the December condo association meeting at 6:30 P.M. via speaker phone Time for quiet time for the evening.

I shared one of my favorite stores in Englewood with Bev. This is a great store for swim wear.

                                                                                 

                 Another one of Mike and my favorite stores here in Florida. Bev got to experience                                   Bealls Bucks! Yup we will be going back to spend our Bealls Bucks.

                                                                                

              Shell Shop a fun store that has improved over the years it is now bright and cheery with                                                                            lots of sea crafts.

One of my favorite stores on the way to Manasota Key. They have the coolest jewelry. 

I'm having fun at Pirates Dream.

Bruce having fun at Pirates Dream. 

Pirates Dream is a store like no other it is jammed with all types of knickknacks that you can hardly walk the isles. The store is located a few miles from the marina. It is more about the experience of going into the store than it is about buying. 

Aquamarina Palm Harbour Marina in Cape Haze, Florida

Day #148: Up at 6:15 A.M. for coffee, grapefruit and sweet treats. Mike changed the oil in the "Parrot Bay" in 2 hours and 15 minutes. After a quick lunch aboard "Parrot Bay" Mike took me to my hair appointment at "All About You Salon" I had a relaxing afternoon of pampering having a color/cut and eyebrow waxing. The two than headed to Beall's for a few quick items. As Mike and I got back to the marina Ken and Karen from "Island Girl" arrived at Aquamarina. Ken, Karen, Bev, Bruce, Mike and I had happy hour on "Parrot Bay". During happy hour Chuck and Peggy from "Paradise" stopped by to see Mike and myself. We had not seen Chuck and Peggy since we were at Grand Harbor Marina in Counce, TN and it was great seeing them again.  It is fun and interesting how friends come and go in and out of our lives during this trip.  At 5:00 P.M. Ken, Karen, Bruce, Bev, Mike and I headed to dinner at The New Faull Inn. We had heard great things about the restaurant so we decided to try it out. The restaurant had a very large menu with something for everyone. Mike and I both had popcorn shrimp baskets that were delicious. We said goodbye to Ken and Karen for the evening promising that we would see each other again before Christmas. Bruce, Bev, Mike and myself headed back to Aquamarina. Time for some quiet time of reading and blogging. The heater was turned on as it is suppose to be only 44 degrees tonight.

Tight quarters in the engine room of the "Parrot Bay" for changing the oil. Where is Mike?
 

He is on top of the starboard engine.

Great Job Mike changing the oil.

Awesome restaurant in Englewood Florida.

Aquamarina Palm Harbour Marina in Cape Haze, Florida

Day #147: Up at 6:00 A.M. for coffee, grapefruit and sweet treats (cinnamon sticky buns and lemon poppy seed muffins). At 8:00 A.M. Bruce, Bev, Mike and I headed to Stump Pass State Park for a beach walk, shelling and shark teeth hunting. After the beach we headed to the West Marine in Venice, FL for a few items. Mike and I worked on boat jobs: new foam mattress pad for the bed, laundry, YETI cooler cleaned out and washed down the anchor rope and chain. We walked to the ACE Hardware for bug spray as we are still trying to fight the no-see-ums. I'm very much enjoying my Prednisone and Benadryl. As the afternoon progressed the temperatures here in Cape Haze started to drop and the winds became very strong leading to RIP current warnings and lows tonight of 48 degrees. We made personal pan pizzas aboard the boat for dinner. Very different being in Florida and having it dark at 5:45 P.M. Time for a quiet evening of cribbage, reading and rest.

Bruce and Bev shark tooth hunting. 

Jeff Chandonait, is our dock mate at Aquamarina.

My shark tooth that I found today. 

Aquamarina Palm Harbour Marina in Cape Haze, Florida

Day #146: Up at 6:00 A.M. after a very restless night bothered by no-see-um bites I worked on getting a ride via Lyft to get to an urgent care. Mike talked to Terry the Harbormaster he told him about Millennium Health LLL that was only a short ride from the marina. Jay from Lyft picked us up taking us to Millennium. Jay was very nice telling us about restaurants and shopping in the area. I was seen by a Nurse Practitioner who confirmed that I had been bitten by no-see-ums. The Nurse Practitioner offered me that I could start with oral medications today or have an injection followed by oral medication. I said "give me the shot" followed by the oral mediation starting on Tuesday, The Nurse Practitioner did look at my left thigh she confirmed that I most likely torn part of the hamstring but not to the point that it needed surgical repair. Jay picked us up at Millennium taking us back to the boat. At noon Enterprise picked up Bruce, Bev, Mike and myself up at the marina taking us to Enterprise to pick up our rental car. Bruce and Bev stopped at a road side Chicago Hot Dog stand. We headed to Walmart and Publix. After putting all of supplies away we got ready for dinner. At 3:30 P.M. Bruce, Bev, Mike and I headed to Manasota Key to have dinner at the White Elephant Restaurant. The White Elephant is where Mike and I always have dinner on our arrival in Florida. We took a ride down to Stump Pass Park but the park was going to be closing as it was almost dusk. We headed to a very cute beach store on Manasota Key called Barefoot Traders. We headed back to the boat for some quiet time and blogging.

Bruce and Bev at a hot dog stand for lunch.

One of Mike and Patty's favorite places to eat on Manasota Key.

Bev, Bruce, Mike and I at dinner at the White Elephant.

Cool rug at the White Elephant (thanks Bev).

At the round-about in the middle of Manasota Key.

One of our favorite beach stores on Manasota Key, Barefoot Traders.

 

Aquamarina Palm Harbour Marina in Cape Haze, Florida

Day #145: Up at 6:00 A.M for coffee, grapefruit and lemon poppy seed muffins. Mike and I walked to the ACE Hardware that is 1.5 miles and Publix which is 2 miles from the marina. We ran into Bruce and Bev as they were walking as well. The two of us headed to the pool where we saw a dolphin in the marina basin near our boat chasing fish. Bruce and Bev joined Mike and I at the pool. I headed back to the boat about 1:00 P.M. as my no-see-um bites were coming out in full force. No-see-ums are Certatopogonidae which is a family of flies. I had started taking Benadryl and using Itch-X. Today they have gotten worse so I continued on my Benadryl and using cider vinegar as well to help with the itch. Mike, Bruce and Bev stayed at the pool visiting with some of people who live onboard their boats here at the marina. Time for phone calls and a quiet evening.

Cape Haze Post Office

Saw this while we were walking. 

Mike and I were watching this little guy hunting for food.

Aquamarina Palm Harbour Marina in Cape Haze, Florida

Day #144: Up at 6:00 A.M. for coffee and cinnamon coffee cake. Mike worked on boat jobs such as putting up the mast that we had laid down to be able to get under the bridges. Mike and I walked 2.68 miles. We watched Michigan get beat by Ohio State 39-62. Mike and I walked 1.02 miles before hooking up with Bruce and Bev deciding on a time to meet for the potluck. We got ready for the Aquamarina Palm Harbour Live-Aboard Thanksgiving Potluck. What an awesome meal, turkey and ham with all of the fixing. Mike got asked to officiate a de-naming and re-naming ceremony for a couple that he met in the hot tub yesterday, Ron and Linda, next Saturday at 4 P.M. Bruce reserved a rental car for the four of us for next week, we will get picked up by Enterprise on Monday at noon. Mike and I love being here at Aquamarina the only issue is that our boat (dinghy) hangs out into the fairway so we are continuing to monitor the situation. For now we are monitoring what needs to be done to make sure that our dinghy and boat are safe. We love the dock that we are in as it is close to the pool, laundry, bathrooms. Time for quiet time on the boat watching college football.

Beautiful sunrise over Aquamarina.

Geico 

"Parrot Bay" in her slip at Aquamarina Palm Harbour.

Marina Jack in Sarasota, Florida to Aquamarina Palm Harbour Marina in Cape Haze, Florida

Day #143: Up at 6:15 A.M it was partly cloudy, warm and breezy. We prepared for departure. Engines were on at 7:30 A.M. At 7:50 A.M. "Bay Tripper" and "Parrot Bay" were both underway from Marina Jack. At 9:15 A.M. we hailed the Blackburn Swing Bridge and were clear at 9:20 A.M. At 9:55 A.M. we hailed the Albee Lift Bridge (only 14 feet clearance) and were clear of the bridge at 10:00 A.M. We were in Venice at 10:20 A.M. We passed under the Manasota Bridge/Lemon Bay at 11:05 A.M. We were at the fuel dock at Aquamarina Palm Harbour for fuel and pump out at 12:30.  We were helped by Sandy and Mitch. I had a small accident (Yup again!) I tripped over an open hatch cover falling backwards on my butt and hit my head. We were secure at slip C-5 at 1:25 P.M. after traveling 37.1 miles today. We had Thanksgiving leftovers on "Bay Tripper" at 2:00 P.M. Bruce/Bev and Mike/I went to check in at the marina office where we were helped by Terry the harbormaster and Sandy. We checked out the laundry, showers and bathrooms. After checking out the facilities we stopped at the pool where we sat down where the weather was beautiful. Mike put on his swimsuit soaking in the hot tube. Bruce, Bev and Patty relaxed poolside. At 6:00 P.M. Mike repositioned our anchor he pinched his finger (OUCH!). We are now taking a break blogging and making phone calls. We are so excited to be here at Aquamarine as we will be here for 4 months and 8 days.

Total Miles Traveled for the Trip: 2488
Total Travel Days: 44

Full moon over Sarasota, FL.

"The Kiss" this is at Marina Jack Marina (thanks Bev).

Albee Lift Bridge (thanks Bev!)

Venice water tower. 

Art work in Venice as we passed by in the canal. 

Tom Adams Bridge that leads to Manasota Key. 

Stump Pass Marina

Stump Pass this is one of Mike and Patty's favorite places on earth.

Trip from Sarasota, FL to Cape Haze, FL

Aquamarine Palm Harbor from the fuel dock. 

Bev and Bruce relaxing poolside. 

Sunset over Palm Island.

Sarasota, Florida

Day #142: Happy Thanksgiving. Up at 6:30 A.M. for coffee and sweet treats. My ankle is good but thinking that a muscle was pulled in the back of her left thigh making it difficult to sit. Lots of Motrin. We got ready for our Thanksgiving celebration. Mike worked on boat jobs in preparation for our boat trip on Friday to Aquamarine Palm Harbor. At noon Ken came to pick Bruce, Bev, Mike and me up for Thanksgiving celebration. We had a great time at Ken and Karen's condo in Sarasota. We started with hors d'oeuvres. We had turkey dinner with all of the fixings at 3:30 P.M. We had great conversation and lots of laughs. We had pumpkin pie and pecan bars. We celebrated Ken and Karen's Gold Looper status with 2 bottles of champagne and one bottle to celebrate them becoming grandparents in July of triplets. Ken drove us home at 7:00 P.M. we completed getting ready for tomorrows boat trip.

Patty, Mike, Ken, Bev, Bruce and Karen in Sarasota for Thanksgiving dinner with friends. 

Clearwater Beach Marina to Marina Jack in Sarasota, Florida

Day #141: Up at 5:45 A.M. clear and beautiful morning. Engines on at 6:50 A.M. "Parrot Bay" and "Bay Tripper" underway. At 10:30 A.M. a pod of dolphins in Boca Ciega Bay. We approached the Sunshine Skyway bridge at 10:45 A.M. At 11:00 A.M. we were at green "1-A" buoy in the middle of Tampa Bay 1-2 footers on the stern. We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day to cross Tampa Bay. At 1:50 P.M. we were secure at Marina Jack in Sarasota. We traveled 57.5 miles today (total 2451 miles for the trip). At 3:30 P.M. we had happy hour on the "Parrot Bay" with Bruce and Bev. Mike got the stroller ready to head to the Publix. We walked to the Publix buying our provisions for Thanksgiving dinner at Ken and Karen's. We stopped at Taco Bell for dinner. We started our walk back to the boat. Patty stepped in a man hole cover twisting her ankle and pulled a thigh muscle, she hobbled all the way back to the boat. Patty took lots of Motrin and headed for bed.

                                                                                    

                                                           Pre-sunrise over Clearwater.

Ken from "Island Girl" told us that we would see all different "no wake" signs on the ICW to beware of what they say.

This complex decorated with wreaths for Christmas.

We saw numerous tour boats that were similar to the ones that we saw running in Clearwater in this location. This was a weird one.

Painting on the bridge to Treasure Island.

As we crossed under this bridge all that we could see was this guys legs dangling.

                                                                                      

                                             The Legendary Pink Palace of St. Pete Beach.

Again, we saw numerus crab pots. Today we saw this gentleman with the actual crab pots on his boat.

Multiple dolphins again today. This guy was on our port side. 

This dolphin surfed our wake for miles. The dolphin would turn sometimes being upside down.
 

Same dolphin with a injured fin. You can see that part of the fin is lying down.

Sunshine Skyway Bridge. Mike and I travel on this bridge every time we come to Florida. Today we got to see it from the water.

Sarasota from the water.

Clearwater Beach Marina in Clearwater, FL to Marina Jack in Sarasota, FL

Entrance/Exit from Marina Jack.

Publix was two stories, so we had to go up the escalator. Mike with our shopping cart.

Mable Ringling Memorial Fountain.