Day 222 – 228; 12/27/2023 – 1/2/2024: Wednesday, 12/27 it was finally time for us to bid farewell to Clearwater Beach after a great visit with Michael and Steve & Carolyn. Our next stop was an anchorage off of John’s Pass – about a 3 hour run down the ICW, just north of Treasure Island. We ended up nixing our first idea for an anchorage right near all the restaurants and nightlife because the spot was just too small; not enough room for a tidal shift and the boat to swing on its anchor, so we backtracked to a larger anchorage near Madeira Beach and called it a night. We could have dinghied into town for dinner, but nixed that idea as well in favor of leftovers and a movie…. just what we needed!
Thursday, 12/28 we were up and out in the morning around 10:00 am headed to St. Petersburg, arriving around 1:00 pm. We again enjoyed dolphins along the way including one that gave us a few big acrobatic jumps (see below). We stayed at St. Petersburg Municipal Marina which was a perfect location downtown, right in the center of restaurants, shopping and museums. St. Petersburg was a very friendly city with a free trolley that ran a couple mile circuit you could hop on and hop off. We headed to town to provision in anticipation of Rick and Heidi’s arrival, and it was super easy. We will definitely return to St. Pete to spend more time and take in the sights. Rick and Heidi arrived around 6 pm after a long day of travel. Of course we celebrated their safe arrival with a Vierstra favorite – the G&T! Then we were off to dinner downtown, but didn’t stay out too late!
Friday, 12/29 we were off in the morning after Gary made a wonderful breakfast, headed to Egmont Key National Wildlife Refuge/State Park then onto Anna Maria Island. We passed under the beautiful Sunshine Skyway bridge, but as we got closer to the park, conditions were a bit windy and rough, so we anchored further south than we would have liked, seeking some protection from the wind. We launched the dinghy and headed into shore for what we hoped would be a walk to the northern tip of the island and the Egmont Key Lighthouse and forts. Unfortunately, we found the beach restricted walking north. We could only get to the lighthouse and fort if we anchored further north, which would have been unsafe launching the dinghy. We cut our walk short and returned to the boat to head to Anna Maria Island and find our marina for the night – Galati Boat Sales.
It was an odd situation where a boat sales company also offers transient slips, but they weren’t very responsive…… so we decided to just pull in, tie up and find a real person we could talk to! It all worked out, we got a slip (at a discount since they felt bad they were so unresponsive) and we walked to the Waterfront Restaurant that Rick and Heidi knew from a previous trip, had a fabulous dinner and returned to the boat to catch the Baltimore Blast vs. Harrisburg Heat game with the hopes of Rick and Heidi seeing Michael play. The Blast did win, but Michael didn’t play, so we were all a bit disappointed, but glad they won. Too bad Michael wouldn’t approve of this ‘Goalie Mom’ giving that coach a good talking to as to who his starter should be!
Saturday, 12/30 we ventured east to Bradenton, FL, only about an hours run, where we stayed at Twin Dolphin’s Marina within walking distance of all we needed. There we enjoyed the Bishop Museum of Science and Nature which was a very eclectic collection of exhibits ranging from a manatee rehabilitation habitat to a Planetarium to fossils and skeletal reproductions of Florida’s earliest animal inhabitants to a Model-T Ford to a timeline with key events from the discovery of America to Kennedy’s presidency and lots of varied and interesting stuff in between… WWI and WWII memorabilia, antique medical equipment and devices, seashells, dishes & china, clocks, statues, cameras, fire arms and antique boats and boat engines…….very eclectic and as they advertised, “something for everyone!” We had our fill of the oddities then ventured to a coffee shop with a dessert offering to satisfy our sweet tooths. There, we made some reservations for kayaking in the morning. We headed back to the boat since it was five o’clock and time for Heidi to teach us how to make Manhattans! Had a very nice steak dinner on the boat and retired at Looper Midnight (around 9pm) to get up and out early for kayaking.
On New Years Eve Day, our checkout time should have been 10:00 am. Since another boat wasn’t coming into our slip, the marina was happy to let us stay until as late as 2:00 pm, allowing us to get a kayak trip in. Hooray!! We were off first thing in the morning to Robinson Preserve, west of Bradenton, where we all enjoyed the preserve and its mangrove trees, oyster beds and variety of local birds.
By 1:30 pm, we were back on the boat on our way to Longboat Key, backtracking east, then turning south at Anna Maria Island and traversing Sarasota Bay to Longboat Key Moorings Marina. Within 15 minutes of our departure, we were joined by a pod of dolphins and at one point had them on both sides of us as well as the bow. This was the largest group we had ride along with us, counting atleast 6 or 7 jumping and playing on either side and 9 or 10 on the bow. This went on for at least 30 minutes! Check out the videos below.
When we arrived in Longboat Key, Rick and Heidi headed out to get a rental car while Gary and Carol got dinner started – it was to be an enchilada night with Heidi’s key lime pie as dessert and then the Green Bay Packers game on TV (Rick and Heidi are from Wisconsin, so we were happy to root for their team!) The Packers pulled off a big win against the Vikings, keeping their playoff hopes alive. Of course none of us made it til midnight, nor did we want to, since we planned to be up and out early on 1/1 headed to see Univ of Wisconsin in the ReliaQuest Bowl in Tampa.
Not sure what the weather would be, we hoped for the best and planned for the worst, but it was a beautiful sunny day at Raymond James Stadium where the Tampa Bay Buccaneers play. LSU was favored to win, but UW lead the entire game until the 4th quarter. UW ultimately lost 35-31, but played extremely well. It was a great game! The evening of 1/1 took us back toward Longboat to Tide Tables Restaurant in Bradenton, just at the base of the Cortez Bridge. Having brought warm coats paid off as we sat outside to eat. Food was fabulous and highly recommend the fish tacos or combination basket of shrimp, scallops and mani-mahi!
We topped off the night with the last of Heidi’s key lime pie on the boat, then said our good-byes to Heidi and Rick as they left us for to a few more days here in FL (hopefully to relax in some warmer weather) before heading home. We will take a day to relax ourselves, then continue our adventure south.
We are thankful for a fabulous visit with Rich and Heidi!
Happy New Year everyone! Wishing you a blessed, healthy and prosperous New Year!
Janet Klinck
So familiar with many of the spots you visited – of course for me – on land. Love arises Tabke and the Waterfront! Videos and pics of kayaking and the dolphins are great!