Banana Bay in Marathon

It is almost a week that we are here in Banana Bay, we have been to the pool and hot tub only once, because..........you guessed it, the weather turned cool. I know you feel real bad for us, not to worry, we have allot of maintenance items to take care of, so the cooler temps are just fine. I also have a correction, I was told our view is of Florida Bay, in the Gulf. Not called the Gulf right here. 

 Our friends Ted & Nancy on "Aloha Friday"  drove up from Key West on Tuesday, it was great to see them again. They have spent allot of winters in Key West, so we are planning on taking the bus from Marathon to KW on Monday for a personal tour.  The bus ride should be a real adventure, just another thing to experience on this trip.

On Wed. another looper boat came into the marina, Fred & Linda on "Young America" they finished their loop trip as they came into Banana Bay.  So of course there was a "celebration" party on the dock today at 5:00.  They have been living aboard for 2 years,  and will stay here until March.

Just a few pictures of our marina, stay warm and keep smiling.

Everglades City to Marathon

Everglades City was interesting, we stayed at a luxury motor coach resort and marina.  They just opened last year and only had about 5 RVs there.  There were only  4 boats in the marina, a bit strange, but it was a nice place.  We went on a air boat ride through the everglades and mangroves, too cold to see any alligators.

We left the Everglades on Saturday to head to our winter destination, Banana Bay in Marathon.  Our ride over was perfect, the Gulf was as flat as can be, the temps were in the 70's and it was partly sunny.  It took about 5 hours, which brought us into the marina around 2:45 on Saturday. Plenty of time to get settled and meet some people.

The pictures show the Gulf as we were crossing on Saturday, the water seems to run into the clouds.  The other two pictures show the marina, Banana Bay,  our home for the next 5 weeks, and the view we will be looking at. There is also a in ground pool and hot tub here.  It should be a very relaxing 5 weeks.

Cape Coral to Naples

The gulf was beautiful on our trip from Cape Coral to Naples, the dolphins were out in full force and I am getting better at my timing with the camera. Here are a few of my better shots.

This one was quite the performer.  I did miss a shot of him jumping pretty high out of the water. Next time!

We had great weather this past week in Cape Coral.  It finally warmed up to the high 60's, low 70's.  The sun was out, along with many people.  It was so nice to be out of hibernation, and talking to everyone. While in Cape Coral we got together with Andy & Terry Horrick, they came to the Marina and took us out to dinner, Thanks Terry & Andy! Then they twisted our arm to go to the wine store so we could replenish our stock. We had a great evening with them.  Cape Coral is a pretty nice place, we stayed at Tarpon Point marina.  Next to the marina they just completed a hotel with restaurant this past November.  There are numerous shops in the process of opening, it should be a pretty busy place once everything opens.  The pictures show the hotel & restaurant, and the captain walking down the dock.

We headed to Naples on Monday morning, another gorgeous day for travelling in the Gulf.

The water just gets clearer an clearer and aqua in color. We broke the bikes out of storage and went for a ride for the first time in months.  On Monday evening we got together with some friends that use to live in Ohio, Jerry and Carol Papesh.  They came up to the marina and we had dinner at the restaurant by the marina.  Their treat, Thank you Carol & Jerry, we had a great time.  I shot some pictures of some houses along the inlet to Naples City Docks, unbelievably huge. 

The weather is suppose to turn windy, so we may stay in Naples for a few more days. I think our next stop will be an anchorage in "Little shark river" then we will head to Marathon Key, where we will stay for the next month or so.

Sarasota to Gasparilla

Tuesday morning we left Clearwater for Sarasota.  It was about 62 miles south, the weather was still chilly, but it was sunny, and the water was calm. Sarasota is a beautiful area, we did not stay long enough to explore, another city to go back to. 

We left Sarasota Thursday and came to Gasparilla, the temps today were in the low 60's and the sun was bright, we actually feel like we are in Florida .  There were allot of dolphins in the ICW today, but they were not coming up.  I took a few pictures, but am still trying for that "great "  dolphin pix, in the mean time this is what I got.

Tomorrow we head for the Ft Meyers/Cape Coral area, we will try to catch up with our friends Andy and Terri, and see the area.

Lisa, it was good to hear from you, say hi to Tom for us. Hopefully we will get together with you guys before we go to your kids weddings!

Cold, Cold, Clearwater

I can't believe how cold it is here in Clearwater.  Last night it was in the high 20's and today it only reached 36.  We were able to catch up with our friends, Maureen & Douglas, and their family.  They had us over for dinner and Maureen's Dad, Don, joined us. It was great to see him.  On Friday night we had dinner at Frenchy's Cafe, and then to Natalie's soccer game on Saturday morning.  Outdoor soccer, did I mention the temp was only 36, with a stiff breeze. Those poor kids.

It is suppose to warm up this coming week, we are hoping! In the mean time, stay warm.

Clearwater in January

It was wonderful visiting our family and friends over the holidays, and good old Ohio weather did not let us down, we got to see our share of the white stuff. The plane was delayed 40 minutes  but at least it wasn't cancelled, and now we are back in sunny Florida, but the sun can be deceiving, it is averaging 42 degrees during the day, and about 36 at night.  Not what I expected, the locals tell us this is unusually cold, and great news, another arctic cold front is coming thru tomorrow.  But I know it's nothing close to what you Ohioans are going thru and as they say, you don't have to "shovel " cold.

We will be here in Clearwater until the 14th, then we will head further south, in search for warmth. I know it's out there. Here's some pictures from Clearwater marina.