Florida: Biking in Gulfport and Uber trip to St. Pete

Day 172
No boat travel

We shopped around for dockage in St. Petersburg for tonight and New Year's Eve and came up empty-handed. Full everywhere! Weighing our options, we decided that our best plan of action is to stay here in Gulfport, which is a short Uber ride from St. Petersburg. With that decision made, we got our bicycles out for a trip to the store to pick up some produce and hit the deli.

I had hoped we would be off the boat early for our food shopping to avoid the noon-time heat, but we ended up dealing with banking issues for a couple of hours before we could get going. Dinner last night wiped out the last of my fresh vegetables on board, so we headed to the produce store first.

Clark seems to always have the camera at the ready. As we passed the docks when leaving the marina, he grabbed this very symmetrical shot.

Sailboat Alley

 I slathered sunscreen all over any exposed skin on myself as well as Clark to protect ourselves from sunburn. We biked the mile or so down mostly quiet residential streets including a cobblestone street.

Cobblestone Street near the Gulfport Marina

The produce store was on a busy street. I found most of what I wanted and loaded Clark's backpack up with my fresh veggies. From there we wanted to pick up some deli meat, but when I asked in the produce store, they told me that the only place to get good deli meat is the Publix about 3 miles down the road. The folks in the store recommended that we rode on the sidewalk to avoid being road kill. We followed their suggestion.

I am not sure why the ride back from some unfamiliar place always seems faster than the ride to a new place. That happened today. It seemed like it took forever to get to Publix. At one point I looked at my Google Maps app to see how close we had gotten and was very disappointed to see we were only half-way to the store. It felt like we had been riding long enough to get there and we had the same distance to cover to get there.

Clark was concerned about taking deli meat back to the boat in the heat since the ride would take us about 25 minutes or so. I decided to buy frozen fruit that I could use in fruit smoothies to provide a type of ice pack to keep the meat cool. We took the same basic route back to the boat that we had taken to get to the stores, but it seemed like we were back in no time where no time equals less than 20 minutes.

We rode down Beach Boulevard to get back to the boat and passed an artistic park with many interesting sculptures.

Fountain in Local Park

Chess Queen Statue done in mosaic tile

Chess "Queen's Knight"

"Big Dumb Heart" metal man proposing

"In Dog We Trust" metal sculpture

Fuzzy tree in park

 After returning to the boat and stowing our goodies, I contacted Faith from Third Degree who is docked in St. Petersburg and asked if we could get together for dinner tonight. She said yes, so we used the Uber app to get a ride over to the city. We ate at a restaurant called Rowdie's Den. I had the Den Burger with BBQ sauce, caramelized onions, and cheddar cheese. So Tasty! Probably one of the best burgers ever.

We got to the restaurant at 6:30; we left after 9:00 long after we had finished our meal. When we left the restaurant, we did not have a specific destination in mind, but eventually we decided to head for an ice cream store. It was past 9:30 and the store closed at 10:00. We had to hurry if we wanted a treat. Google maps said the ice cream shop was .3 miles away. It was worth the walk. Besides the ice cream, they had the most amazing display of sweets. They looked almost too pretty to eat.

Gingerbread House at Ice Cream and Pastry Shop

 We strolled the local streets back to the marina where Third Degree is docked and passed some very pretty light displays.

Elaborately decorated restaurant building

 Look at the arms on the soldiers in the next two photos.

Saluting Soldiers 1st pose

Saluting Soldiers 2nd pose

Even some boats are decorated for the season. This is the most decorated boat I have ever seen.

Christmas Boat

With the correct browser, the video that Clark took of the "falling" lights in the park may be seen on the website, i.e. not via email.

After a fun night that zipped by way too fast, we called Uber to get a ride back to the boat. Another fun evening!! St. Petersburg was beautiful and serene. Walking along the water's edge was a contradiction with busy streets on one side of us and calm, quiet water on the other. Despite the city traffic, the scene was very tranquil and peaceful.

We bought "First Night" tickets for St. Petersburg for tomorrow night. Clark's cousin, Dawn, plans to meet us to enjoy the night's entertainment. Fireworks will be fired at 8:00 and then again at 12:00. Clark loves fireworks. I do not know what time we will get back from our New Year's Eve outing, but I do not expect to post a blog entry tomorrow night.

Florida: From Mangroves to Gulfport

Day 171
NM Today: 28
NM Total: 3496

What a day today has been! We got up early to do a kayak ride before departing Calidesi Island State Park. Our good intentions were not rewarded by the tide however. As we prepared to leave, the park ranger told us that we would not have enough water on the kayak trail until 10:30 as some places are quite shallow. Dawdling around we managed to drag out the time until 10:00 when we decided that we would give it a shot and see how far we could go.

I suffered the normal anxiety and stress over getting into my kayak. I managed it albeit none too gracefully. One of these days I hope to master that kayak! I did not know what I was in for as we headed for the kayak trail. What we found was pretty awesome!

Evelyn paddling through the mangroves

We headed into a narrow channel, sometimes not wide enough to allow free movement of the kayak paddle, with foot-tall and longer roots on either side of us. A few times my kayak paddle whacked a low hanging root over the water. The root refused to budge an inch, so the paddle and my arm vibrated instead.

Using the roots to hold still for a photo

 We stopped along the way for some photo shoots. Fortunately the trees blocked the sun, so we had a cool ride through the shade.

side-by-side in the mangroves

Clark managed to capture a video of an interesting long-billed bird we found busy fishing in the mangroves.

Mangrove Selfie

The kayak trail consisted of two parts - the mangrove / roots portion and then open water back to the docks.  As we traveled through the tree roots, I watched the water depth carefully so as not to run aground. I had no desire to step out of the kayak into unfamiliar waters. After weaving our way through the roots, we exited the mangroves and came out into strong winds.

When we came out into the open, I expected to find deeper water and was severely disappointed. Fortunately kayaks require little water as the depth was probably only three inches in some places. I found myself paddling for all I was worth against the wind with no forward movement whatsoever. I looked at the tree nearest to me and watched as I paddled - indeed I was not moving forward and was lucky I was holding my own and not going backwards. I felt like one of those whirligigs where the limbs go round and round in place.

I decided that since I could not get enough water under the paddle to get movement I would have to use my paddle to "pole" the boat forward. As I dug the paddle into the sandy bottom, I finally could see and feel progress. Meanwhile, of course, Clark was way ahead of me and getting further and further away every minute. Finally I found water that must have been a whole 5 inches deep, and I was able to make progress using the kayaks in the more traditional manner.

As we worked our way out towards deeper water, I looked around to see numerous birds wading in the waters. I was reminded of a boater friend I knew many years ago who talked about "water so shallow you can see the birds ankles". Clearly today's waters lived up to that description.

Wading birds

 I stuck my paddle in when the water finally appeared to be getting "really deep". The depth of the water precisely matched the width of my kayak blade - maybe 7" deep. Wow! As I looked down into the water constantly wondering if I was going to run aground, all I could see was vegetation.

Weedy bottom in shallow water

While I was working my way through the weeds and admiring birds, Clark was still up ahead of me. when we got far enough out into deeper water to turn north, I found that I became a human sail with the change in direction. The wind was now mostly at my back. I had forward movement from wind alone, so I decided to take advantage and stop paddling. All I did was stick my paddle in the water and used it as a rudder to control direction. Weeee!

As I caught up to Clark, I saw that he was intently studying something in the water. I wondered what he found that had him so enthralled. When I asked, he said he was admiring the "decorative" sponges growing in the water.

Sponges growing at the park

When we continued on, we came across some pretty rough terrain on the edges of the channel. I asked Clark if it was hardened lava rock. When I got closer, I could see it was thousands of shells built up over time.

Hard and Sharp - shells upon shells!

The predicted time to complete the kayak trail is about one hour. We came close to that though I did not check my watch for the precise time involved. I was more concerned with how the heck I was going to get out of my kayak. For anyone watching it may be humorous as I fight my way out of the kayak.

I watched Clark scramble out of the kayak like a little kid. He makes it look so easy. I saw that he used a metal post for leverage to help pull himself out, so I thought I would try that approach, but when I rounded the corner, I saw that his kayak was still occupying that spot. I got him to move his kayak to make way for me. Although the metal post was useful for getting out, it did not help me get my weight over my feet first. While I struggled to shift my weight, Clark pointed out to me that my weight was not yet over my feet. Well, duh! So helpful! Ultimately I got my body in position and exited the kayak. Yay!!

Later, while we were preparing the big boat for departure, I watched a couple in a two-seat kayak come up to the kayak dock to dismount. The wife climbed out first. She stepped out of the kayak and got her right leg on the dock; but then she pushed the kayak away from the dock with her left leg as she attempted to step fully onto the dock. From there she did a slow-motion split and full dip in the water. I found it interesting that she, as I do when the kayak inevitably moves in an unwanted direction, immediately blamed her husband for moving it on her.

We left the island at noon and headed to our next port - Gulfport, Florida. Before we pulled out of our slip Clark asked the ferry captain advise on finding deep water to get us into the Gulf ICW. He said, "Look for Mickey Mouse. I know it sounds weird, but you'll know what I mean when you see it. Just look for Mickey." What an interesting navigation aid!?

Turn right at Mickey Mouse! Do you see him?

I was in the boat cabin as we approached the spot where we should see "Mickey Mouse". I peaked out the front window a few times looking for him. Unfortunately I saw several versions of Mickey Mouse - granted some were pretty scrawny renditions. I wondered how Clark was doing up top, and just then he called me on the boat intercom and said he needed my help navigating. When I got up top, he handed me the binoculars and said, "Do you see Mickey Mouse? They all look like Mickey Mouse to me."

I did see Mickey, but better yet, I saw the red marker "14" near him so I knew he was the real Mickey! From this point onward we followed the Gulf Intra-Coastal Waterway (GICW) into Gulfport.

"City of Treasure Island" Bridge (zoom in to see the pirate)

As we passed through Reddington Beach, we looked for the area where we visited Clark's cousin, Dawn, for Christmas. As we went by her street, I waved even though she did not see me.

It took longer to get to Gulfport than we hoped as we had several bouts of slow speed zones. We arrived just around 4:00, so we did not have much time for sightseeing. We planned on walking but then realized how much territory we had to cover and grabbed our bikes.

"Welcome to Gulfport"

"Beach Boulevard"

Fancy mural on stage

Ice Cream Stop - Working Cow Ice Cream

In tea store where we bought ice cream

We had our ice cream (and I had a cookie too) and headed towards shore before going back to the boat.

Obligatory Sunset Picture 1

Obligatory Sunset Picture 2

What an amazing day! I was disappointed when it became dark, and we had to call an end to our bike ride. I enjoyed the kayak ride in the morning and the bike ride in the evening - so different from each other. I did not want the day to end.

Florida: Swimming in the Gulf of Mexico at Calidesi State Park

  

 Day 170

NM Today: 14

NM Total: 3468

Before we could leave Tarpon Springs, we had a number of annoying errands that had to be completed and required a weekday when businesses are open. Our first stop was the post office and that was quick; however, our next stops were anything but quick. After mailing our letters, we drove to the tax collector’s office.

Since we plan on staying in Florida for more than 90 days, Florida requires a “Sojourner’s Permit”.  As far as I can tell this permit is a temporary boat registration designed to raise income for the state of Florida. When we arrived at the tax collector’s office, we were given a number and told we would have a 20 minute wait. Given the number of people sitting there waiting for their numbers to be called, 20 minutes sounded optimistic to me. The tax collector’s office was a misnomer as people were there for all sorts of services. I saw at least two people working through the process of getting a driver’s license.

Eventually our number was called. The clerk who worked our request seemed to have no clue how to process a sojourner’s permit. Besides taking forever to complete the online form she needed to fill out, she kept getting up and walking up to the door as well as talking to other clerks about other customers. I think we were there at least an hour before we got our registration sticker for the boat and left for our next stop – Enterprise.

Our last stop, returning the rental car was quick and painless; however, we needed a ride back to the boat as Google predicted it would take over an hour to walk back. Enterprise was busy with pickups and drop-offs, and their driver was AWOL. Apparently he had dropped his cell phone in his pool recently, so they had no way to contact him to determine an ETA. I thought it quite convenient that the Enterprise office got me to say that I was ‘completely satisfied’ with my Enterprise experience before they made me wait 45 minutes for a ride back to the marina.

By the time we finally pulled in our lines and got underway, it was already noon. Fortunately we did not have far to go today as the captain had picked something nearby as our destination – Calidesi State Park. I asked Clark how he decided on that destination. He said he heard about it through the AGLCA forum, and that it sounded like a pretty and quiet site.

Back on the open water - following the causeway to the park!

Welcome to Calidesi Island State Park

Calidesi Island State Park, Florida

When we came into the marina at the park, the wind was gusty and docking was a bit challenging. Since the docking is first come, first serve, we did not have a reservation. We tied up to a T-dock (the end of a floating dock) temporarily so Clark could go check in and find out a slip assignment. While he was gone, I pulled up the Calidesi State Park website so I could learn what the park had to offer. I happened to notice the rate schedule which stated that slips cost $1 per foot, but the T-dock space costs $2 per foot.

When Clark came back, he told me that we could stay right where we were, we did not have to move. Well that was good news until I asked him the fee charged. They charged him the $2 per foot rate. I asked him why we were paying twice as much as we needed to and he said the folks in the office told him the slips had an issue. I decided to challenge the office – why charge us twice as much if it is their problem?

When I spoke to the man at the desk, he said he let us stay on the T-dock for “our convenience”. I pointed out that Clark had been told it was due to the slips having problems, so then he said he let us stay there for safety reasons due to the winds. I continued to push for either a slip assignment or a cheaper rate at the T-dock. Finally he said we could move to a slip and gave me half my money back. Hurray! Success! When we moved the boat, Clark backed the boat into the slip neat as anything – so much for high winds.

By the time we got the boat tied up for the second time, both Clark and I were hot and sticky. Clark suggested we take a walk to the beach. I was not sure what that entailed but decided to change into my swimsuit in case it meant getting wet. As we walked across the white sands to check out the waves in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, Clark and I noticed one very amazing thing. Even though the sun was out in full force and shining directly onto the beach, the sand was cool to our toes. We both expected hot, scorching sand.

I went swimming in the Gulf of Mexico! After two false starts, I made it into the water. The first time I walked to the shoreline, I had my hat, shirt and sunglasses on. I stuck my feet in the water to see how it compared to the pool. Definitely colder than the pool. While I was exploring the water temperature, Clark was already in the water and playing in the waves. That motivated me to give it a try. I walked back to dump my stuff and came back again.

I took about five steps in and quickly got back out again. Whereas the beach was soft and friendly to my feet, the area under the waves had sharp objects that I could not see to avoid them. Back out of the water I went and found my water shoes and then finally I was able to go in and play in the waves with Clark. As I paddled around, Clark pointed out that the waters of the Gulf were definitely warmer than the pool. No way!

It was not until I got out of the water that I noticed the purple warning flag with a yellow warning flag. A purple flag says that dangerous water creatures are in the area. That turned out to be stingrays. The yellow flag indicated rough surf and potentially dangerous waters for swimming. Perfect!

After our dip in the Gulf, we changed out of our swimsuits and went for a hike along the nature trail. Multiple signs advised us to stay on the trail – some to protect the environment, and some to protect us. I saw several signs that warned that rattlesnakes populate the island.

The nature trail

Sabal Palm Trees and Mangroves

The state park prides itself on preserving the natural beauty of Florida. Where so many other areas in Florida have been taken over by buildings and roads, the park has preserved its beauty by providing designated walking paths to protect the natural flora and fauna.

Most of what we saw consisted of Sabal Palm trees aka “Cabbage Palm”. We walked far enough along the trail to get a feel for what the area looked like but then turned back. Clark wanted to get sunset pictures. The length of the trail if we completed the walk would preclude seeing the sunset since we were surrounded by vegetation. We made an abrupt about face and headed for the beach.

We got there in time to get a few good sunset pictures!

Sunset on Calidesi Island

Florida: Tarpon Springs wrap up

Days 167, 168, 169
No Boat Travel

I decided to take a blog break on Christmas Day as we went to visit Clark's cousin in Reddington Beach, Florida for Christmas dinner. Besides visiting Clark's cousin Dawn and her husband Sammi, we had the opportunity to meet Dawn's two friends Karen and Debbie. Since keeping food hot for the hour-long drive to their home was problematic, Clark and I said we would bring dessert. Before heading out in our car, we walked to Hella's Bakery to pick up the Greek Fruit Tarts that we had ordered on Wednesday. We also included a pumpkin pie in our meal contribution  as a more traditional offering and were almost all set. Clark decided that we needed ice cream to go with the pie, but even Walmart is closed on Christmas Day. Where to go for ice cream??

We took Alt Rte 19 along the coast through Dunedin, Clearwater, and Largo. As we passed any remotely viable open store, Clark pointed out the place and name as a possibility. I had a basic problem in that the air temperature was around 82 degrees. I did not want to deliver creamy "soup" instead of ice cream to our host and hostess. I told Clark we needed to wait until we got closer before buying the ice cream. However, as we drove through Clearwater, I noticed an open food market and decided that I could put us both out of our agony if I went in to buy some ice cream and just got it over with.

As we pulled into the parking lot of the market, we noticed that the area looked a little "sketchy". Clark asked me if I wanted him to come in with me, but I declined the offer. I am not sure what he was thinking, but I thought it better that he stay with the car than accompany me inside the store. Fortunately the store did have pint-sized containers of Breyer's ice cream. After some thought about flavors, I bought two vanilla. Since pie a la mode is normally served with vanilla, I went with normal. I was the only white person and only woman in the somewhat busy store. All of the men in the store were very courteous and allowed me to check out first. Seems everyone else was buying lottery tickets or cigarettes as far as I could tell.

I was somewhat amazed at the amount of traffic on the road between 1:00 and 2:00 p.m. on Christmas Day. We were scheduled to arrive at Dawn's home at 2:00, but between ice cream shopping and traffic, we arrived at 2:30. Dinner was not served until later so the tardiness did not appear to be problematic. We quick gave Dawn the desserts and asked her to put them in the fridge / freezer.

Dinner consisted of a lot of great home-cooked food including home-baked sourdough bread, roast beef, roasted red potatoes, squash, green beans, and a Brussels sprouts casserole "to die for". I need to get the Brussels Sprouts recipe. They tasted just like candy as they were baked with craisins, yams, toasted pecans and maple syrup. Even Clark, who does not normally eat any of the listed ingredients, said they were "tasty", which is his way of saying he liked them. How can that be??

Enjoying Christmas Dinner at Dawn & Sammi's House

The gracious host and hostess!

The whole crew sans Debbie who is taking the picture

After our yummy dinner and decadent desserts, we decided to play cards. Dawn suggested we play a game known as Phase 10. Since Clark had never played that game, and I have not played it in many years, it was quite new to both of us. I thought Dawn's head would explode trying to explain the game rules to Clark as every phase in Phase 10 is different than the last. Finally we played the first round with the cards showing, so we could get the general idea a bit easier.

After a few rounds of Phase 10, Dawn and Clark decided it was time for a second round of dessert, so more fruit tarts and pie a la mode were consumed.  We had such fun and the time flew by. Before we knew it, it was going on for 7:30 and time to head back to the boat. When we left to drive home, Dawn gave us two containers of leftovers to take with us.

On Saturday, the day after Christmas, I had one goal and that was to work on a sewing project to cover the seat cushions on our boat sofa. My side is near the side door and occasionally gets hit with salt water on rough seas if the door is not closed. The fabric has faded and  is worn through along the door-facing edge. Additionally, Clark has been complaining for a while that the seat on his side has a "whole" in the cushioning, so he sinks into that hole when he sits on the sofa. Again, the sofa is just showing its age. I decided that I could correct both issues at once if I put new cushion covers over the old ones and added some seat padding at the same time.

Before Christmas, Clark and I made a trip to Walmart to buy fabric, binding material, and thread. All I needed was a chunk of time in which to do my sewing. Since matching the green plaid fabric seemed an impossible task, we opted for a solid, complimentary color.  Working on my project took the majority of the day. I had to hop between my sewing machine and the floor. I used the floor as my workbench for measuring and cutting, and I used the sewing machine for its expected purpose.

Boat Salon Converted into a Sewing Room
note my new, baby sewing machine

By 6:30 at night I still had possession of the table we use to eat on for my sewing, so I suggested we go out for pizza for dinner. I did some research and found a pizzeria in Tarpon Springs with great reviews - Jimmy's Neighborhood Restaurant. The reviews were correct. The food was great. We had house salad, sauteed fresh vegetables, and shared a chopped beef / eggplant pizza. Both of us were very surprised to find eggplant pizza as a standard menu item. It is our favorite combo that we order at home, but we never see this option on any restaurant menus. Clark said it was the best eggplant pizza he had ever eaten, and we have eaten quite a few!

After dinner, we had to do some shopping. We needed a few groceries and we needed hardware to complete the upholstery work. Getting the upholstery hardware turned into an unexpected challenge as we headed north on Rte 19, we found the road closed and all traffic detoured. It was a mess!  I told Clark to abort the trip to The Home Depot and head to Publix instead. We did that and manged to buy our groceries. Expecting to find the road cleared after our time at the food store, we headed back up rte 19 only to find it still blocked and we got detoured and forced to make a U-turn. After practically begging him, I got Clark to go to Walmart to buy the upholstery nails we needed.

However, Clark is like a "dog with a bone" and just will not let things bgo once he has it in his head to do something. So, even though we bought upholstery nails at Walmart, he still wanted to go to Home Depot to see what options they offered. I refused to tackle rte 19 or 19-alt to try to get there, so he found a way out-of-the-way route to take us there. In the end we did buy staples at Home Depot as a backup plan to the upholstery nails.

By the time we had eaten and forced our way to The Home Depot, it was almost 10:00 and much later than I had hoped. When we did finally get back to the boat, I jumped right back into the sewing to continue on my project. Finally at 1:00 a.m. I decided that my neck muscles were too painful to continue. I also decided that bending over a computer to write up a blog entry would not help my neck pain. I took two Motrin and headed to bed. I had managed to complete all the sewing portion of new covers before retiring for the night. The only part remaining was the installation.

When I woke this morning, Sunday, I had a few items on my to-do list -- finish cushion covers, defrost the fridge, and do the laundry. As soon as we finished breakfast, I started the cushion project again. One of the items I bought at the grocery store was Scotch Guard as I wanted to protect my new seats from stains. I took the cushions off the boat to the dock to spray them and let them dry. Since we had a hot, dry day today with a pleasant breeze, the covers dried quickly and I was able to get going on the next step.

Clark and I worked together to complete the upholstery job. I held the fabric in place and told him where I needed a nail, and he hammered one in. Working together, we got the job done relatively quickly. I was pleased with the end result. I added lots of padding to the old seats and now it feels quite comfy to sit upon.

New, navy blue upholstered seat cushions on our old green plaid couch

While we ate lunch, I had the refrigerator empty and defrosting itself in the heat of the cabin. With a fan blowing into the fridge, the job did not take long. I felt pretty good about my progress through my list.

I convinced Clark to head over to the pool area with me, so I could get my laundry done while going for a swim. Surprisingly, he was not convinced he wanted to swim. Normally I am the one that requires convincing. When we got over to the laundry / pool area, I found that I had forgotten to bring my detergent. Clark kindly went back to the boat to get it for me. When we finally got the machines going, I went out and went straight into the pool.

Although the water still took my breath away when I submerged myself, the water temp felt slightly warmer than it had on Christmas Eve. Since Clark had opted to read instead of joining me, I decided to do water aerobics in the pool. I remembered some of the various moves I learned at the YMCA class and practiced them until it was time to get out of the pool and put the wash in the dryer.

Clark eventually joined me for a brief dip in the pool but quickly decided he liked the hot tub better. As I had the other day, I tried the hot tub and got out pretty shortly after getting in and went back in the pool. I see no point to getting sweaty in a hot tub when my intent in going to the pool is to get cool.

After swimming, we sat by the pool to wait for the dryer to finish. As I sat there reading or playing some Alphabetty on my phone, I noticed a little, curious lizard running around near my feet. He is no more than four or five inches long.

The Geico Gecko?

He turned his back on me after a while as he lost interest in me.

Around 4:30, I found I was starving, but I managed to hang in there until 5:30 when we headed back to the boat with the clean laundry in tow. Fortunately we had the leftovers from Christmas dinner, so I could get a meal on the table quickly. With my task list completed, I am ready to head out tomorrow for a new venue.

We return our rental car tomorrow and will be on the move again with the boat. We had a dry run on going out with the boat when we ran it before the oil change on Christmas Eve. When we are on the move, the boat needs to have items securely positioned so that nothing falls or breaks if we get hit by waves fdue to wind or wake. Since the boat has been sitting at dock for most of the past month, we had a bit of work to do to secure it for potentially rocky seas. I am definitely ready to do more exploring!

SEAS-ONS GREETINGS from Tarpon Springs

Day 166
No Travel

Today has been a most unusual Christmas Eve. Being in Florida certainly has its advantages. We packed an odd assortment of tasks into the day.

Before we retired to bed last night we agreed that we would change the oil in the engines first thing. We did not know how long it might take to complete the nasty, messy job, so we wanted to get started early. To change the oil, the engines should be warmed up to help the oil flow more easily. We have an oil Xchanger system so removing the used oil from the engines is not too bad, but removing the used oil filters is terribly messy!

Although overcast it was the perfect day to take the boat for a run. We dropped the lines and left them on the dock so that when we returned, the boat would be tied in the same configuration as before we left. In this way we did not have to rethink distances to the walkway or tidal influences and such. Since there are docks and boats everywhere as well as manatees in the area, we had to work our way out to a non-"no wake" zone so we could rev up the engine and get it good and warm for the oil change.

We left the dock at 10:15 and puttered along at the strictly enforced "idle" speed for almost an hour before we could push the throttle up to get some speed. Clark even took it up to get on plane for a couple of minutes. Since the run was only to heat up the oil, we quickly turned around, hitting our own wake in the process, to head back to the dock to begin work as soon as the temp registered 180 degrees.

Clark seemed to be enjoying himself immensely at the helm and said, "Boating on Christmas Eve! How cool is that!" Since Clark was otherwise occupied and not doing his photographer job, I grabbed the camera to take some shots before we got back to the dock.

Fishing Boats - Tarpon Springs

We passed by numerous boats of all shapes and sizes, and as we came through the fishing boat docks, we found scores of pelicans. I thought the ones hanging out in the bushes were particularly interesting. We also saw many pelicans sitting on the poles along the dock - one pelican per pole with all spaces taken.

Pelicans "grow on trees" around here!

 As we passed by the marina, we saw one of the boats up on a lift being moved to its storage slot. I wonder how anyone gets the confidence to pick these boats up, drive them around at what seems like a relatively high speed, and raise them up high overhead to slip onto a shelf.

Racking and stacking a boat in the marina.

We docked around 12:30. The fun part of the boat job done, we had to settle in for the oil change, messy portion of the task. No matter how hard he tries, Clark ends up wearing some of the used oil, and today was no exception. We are not sure how it happened, but he got quite a bit of oil on his shorts, which soaked through to his underwear and even got the edge of his t-shirt that was tucked into his pants. Fortunately he was wearing his "ratty" pants that have oil on them from the last oil change. Unfortunately his other clothes were not in the same sad state of disrepair but now must be thrown in the junk category.

The oil change took almost three hours. Even though the sun was not out, it was a hot humid 80-something degrees today. By the time we finished the job it was definitely time to head for the showers. Clark suggested that we go for a swim in the marina pool first. I was so hot and sticky that I actually thought that sounded like a good idea! Hey why not - boating on Christmas Eve ... swimming on Christmas Eve! Might as well go crazy, right!? So, here's the proof!

The pool is not heated, but there is a hot tub that is heated nearby. Some other folks were at the pool when we got there, but they were focused on using the hot tub only. Too bad for them that the hot tub is not kept in the "on" mode, so they had to turn it on themselves. After half an hour the water was warm; by the time they were ready to leave about 45 minutes after that, the hot tub was up to its full 104 degree temp.

We guessed that the pool water was somewhere around the 68 degrees mark. After a spell in the pool Clark decided to try the hot tub. I followed him over there, but after only a few minutes I climbed out and got back in the pool. Swimming (or sitting) in warm water in the heat makes no sense to me whatsoever. I was happier in the cool pool.

While we were frolicking in the pool, I had the washing machine going to clean our sheets and some towels. About the time I decided that I had had enough pool time, the timer on my phone notified me that it was time to start the dryer going. I chucked the items in the dryer and headed in for my shower. My shower took less time than the dryer to do its job, so while we waited for the dryer to finish, Clark and I hung out by the side of the pool for a while longer before packing up and heading back to the boat.

The dip in the pool and the laundry were kind of "spur of the moment". I had hoped to get the sheets washed today. I had no clue we would jump in a pool. While poolside, we were busy watching the clock towards the end because we did have an activity planned for this evening called "Light up the Bayou". After we got back to the boat from our swim, we changed our clothes and walked over to Craig Park to see the "Light up the Bayou" event. We did not quite know what we were going to see but thought it would be an interesting thing to check out.

Winding through the park, at the water's edge, we saw 3500 Lambatha bags containing candles. Each bag was adorned with a message - either a tribute to someone's memory or a holiday greeting. As we strolled down the path next to the rows of lighted bags, we overheard some conversations. Each bag it would seem cost $2. I did the math in my head and thought "someone made out well on this enterprise." According to the website, the event was started in 1986 by a local PTA.

Light up the Bayou!

Spring Bayou lit up with Lambatha bags for Christmas Eve

As I close out tonight's blog entry, we are preparing to leave to head to the local Methodist Church for their 11:00 candlelight service.  Tomorrow we are driving to see one of Clark's cousins that lives here in Florida for Christmas dinner. We are bringing sweet treats from Hella's for dessert!

I wish all my blog followers / readers a very MERRY CHRISTMAS! Thank you for following us on our great adventure!