We arrived late this afternoon to Tunderbolt Marina for a three day stay in the Savannah Area. This marina brings it's transients a box of Krispy Kreme donuts along with the daily paper EVERY morning. We really can't stay here too long, its a killer on the diet.We decided to just hang around the boat tonight and attack Savannah tomorrow morning. So, Ross, even though it is his birthday volunteered to make a gourmet lobster dinner for us (left over…
The salt marshes of Georgia play a major role in maintaining the delicate balance of nature so necessary along the coastal estuaries. Created as a result of glacial processes during the ice ages, the salt marsh serves as a primary nursery ground for many economically important fish and shellfish. Were it not for the marsh, juvenile populations of crabs, shrimp, and fish would be greatly reduced.Additionally, the salt marshes act as buffers against offshore storms. Without their dissipating effect, hurricanes and…
Nature still reigns on Cumberland Island offering many wonders from saltwater marshes, canopies of live oak richly covered in silver moss, sandy dunes, beaches and even some remnants of its past human inhabitants. The animal life brings some surprises especially when you come upon one, or a group, of the wild horses that this island is well known for. On his first day of exploring, Ross saw an armadillo. There are also many racoons, great horned owls and peregrine falcons just…
We left Oyster Creek and St. Augustine this morning transiting underneath the Bridge of Lions which has been in construction mode since we ventured by here in 2005. This iconic bridge links the city, founded by Spanish military forces in 1565, with the resort communities of Anastasia Island is getting more than a facelift – it will be rebuilt in its own image, but in a way that will stand the test of time for generations to come.After a long day…
Our son Ross Favors joins us on the boat for a week. We picked him up Monday, while docked for a few days in Palm Coast, and left there Tuesday morning for St. Augustine.This old town of St. Augustine is one of our favorite stops. We loved showing Ross the Oldest Wood Schoolhouse and the Oldest House. We stopped in to sample different hot sauces and Ross let us sip his expresso.From our last trip we remembered the great Cuban…
We like to stay at Oyster Creek Marina when in St. Augustine because it is off all the commotion of the ICW. It is still a short walk into town and it gets us a chance to stretch our legs.
We left our boat in Palm Coast while we rented a car and took a little road trip to the AGLCA Spring Rendezvous in Charleston. We planned to only attend the last day of the event and a AGLCA Advisory meeting the next day. It was fun to meet new Loopers or those planning for the future. We even saw some familiar faces among those in attendance. We ate well and enjoyed a little time off the boat. Now, when…
We arrived at Palm Coast Marina on Wednesday. We are leaving the boat here for a couple of days while we drive to Charleston for the last day of the AGLCA Rendezvous and a meeting the next day. Once here we decided to stay a few more days in this quiet little spot while we wait for our son Ross to join us on Monday.Easter morning we fixed the steering and then went for a long walk through the nature…
We love Free Docks. They are almost always situated right near the heart of a little town. There usually is no electricity or water however, we have been to some that do have these "extras." We have been to this one in New Smyrna before and loved how it is situated.While I was working on the boat Jim went to find a mailbox and came back sporting a new haircut. If you have seen his pics lately it was a…
We got into Cocoa early this morning and tied up to the Free Dock next to the big park downtown.We remember we enjoyed exploring this town on our first Loop and are excited to visit it again. Cocoa is such a cute little town. Lots to see and do. We had to do the usual errands... find a mail box, hardware and grocery store.The park (above), which is right on the water is well maintained and is a fun place,…
On our way up the ICW now with the first stop being in Banana River where Loopers Mike and Bobbie Huck live with their beautiful Grand Banks boats tied up to their dock right in front of their house. We anchored almost in front of them and were so happy that Mike came to visit up in his dinghy to invite us over to catch up on both our cruising adventures. We met Mike and Bobbie on our first Loop…
Hello Florida, we're back enjoying, once again, the amenities we have forsaken while in the Abacos. However, while we are slowly calling and emailing friends and family to announce our return, we miss the pace of the islands and being AWAY. Jim had declared our first night in the Abacos that we should not watch any news the whole time we were there and I agreed. That small decision combined with no phone reception and sporadic internet connections made for…
The divergence of waterway activities from Boca Chita to Fort Lauderdale is remarkable in that the journey started with 15 miles of reef protected open water in the Biscayne Bay to the busy Miami area, up the ICW to Ft Lauderdale (considered one of the boating Mecca’s of the world. The Miami skyline grows larger the closer we get and the closer we get the greater our anxieties grow. For six weeks we’ve been used to the laid back life…
Boca Chita Key, an island located in Biscayne Bay National Park, is a small island approximately 12 miles south of the Cape Florida lighthouse on Key Biscayne. Boca Chita is a quiet oasis for boaters cruising to and from the Keys. Previously the island was privately owned but now is owned and operated by the U.S. National park services. The facilities are well kept up with warm ocean breezes and an amazing sunset view.HAPPY BIRTHDAY JIM!!! Today we met up…
We left Marathon on Monday and were headed north to the Tarpon Basin but were diverted from our goal by a call from our friends Wade and Susie on Miss Happ. They were calling to say that they were in our area, actually we soon realized that we were only ten miles apart. They were headed to their slip in Taviner and we decided to cut our day short so that we could see them. We had been trying to…
We’d only planned on staying one night in Marathon as we make our way up the Keys towards Fort Lauderdale to wait for a good day to cross over to the Abacos, however back to back cold fronts brought high winds and waves making it necessary to stay put for four days, and counting. But it really is all good as it gave us time to pal around with people we love to spend time with.On Thursday, Charlie and Linda…
Bella Luna, C-Life, Sunshine and Wanderin’ L&M, Our Turn, Blue Max, Footloose, Highlander and Shore Thing are all boats that we’ve had the pleasure to travel, dock, anchor, sightsee and laugh with over the last five months. They have become friends and we look forward, with great anticipation, to meeting up with them whenever possible. Because of this we were excited to leave Key West and head for Marathon where all of these boats were docked for a month or…
We thought this houseboat in Marathon had enough lines on it. Don't think it's going anywhere.
As soon as we got tied up Jim had to rinse off the boat as it felt and looked like someone had sprinkled kosher salt all over it. Apparently this manatee liked all the fresh water around our boat.On the way to lunch one day we saw this big turtle right next to our dinghy.
That's how fast our time went in Key West. We enjoyed the city, sights and sounds but most important... the people, so, we'll be back.Prior to departure for the days cruise to Marathon I checked the weather and the waves inside the reef were forecasted for two-footers with a light chop close to shore. WRONG, more like four to five-footers on the beam with no light chop in sight. Forty-five miles of rocking and rolling and Lisa, who often gets…
Our first day here we met the Foster family. Dave, Vickie and kids Gunnar, Maxwell, Trey and Christopher. They welcomed us to the marina with a big plate of homemade cookies. During our stay they have provided local knowledge, given us directions, lent us their bike, shared a movie on the history of Key West with us and had us over for dinner on their 58' Gulfstar sailboat. This is an adventurous young family who intend to do some traveling…
Last summer before we left our homeport of Charlevoix, Michigan we made plans with a few of our friends to meet in Key West near the mid to end of January. Last time we did the Loop we all planned to meet in the Abacos and it was so much fun we had to plan to meet again this year. We were pretty busy our last week in Key West while our friends from home flew in within days of…
We’ve been in Key West long enough (three weeks) now and we’re beginning to recognize some of the locals. I’m not sure if this is a good thing or not!I (Jim) visited Floyd’s Barber shop last week. This little shop has been in operation for over fifty years and my barber’s family is a fourth generation family having been here 110 years. The only reason I mention this is to let everyone know that the locals are not 5-year transplants.Key…
Key West has so many colorful restaurants and bars. As we said before we like to visit places that are off the beaten track. The more local the better. The Seafood and Cuban restaurants have been tops on our list and we just can’t get enough.Jim and I both wish this ENTRANCE sign (left) was real.We went to dinner with Rick and Elene last week to try Hogfish Bar and Grille, a local place definitely off the beaten path on…
Our friends Rick and Elene just arrived yesterday in Key West for the winter. We have looked forward to spending some time with them before we leave for the Abacos at the end of the month. So, after lending us their car the night before, we met them for breakfast downtown at Pepe’s Cafe the next morning. Pepe’s, which is open every day, is the oldest restaurant in town. Opened in 1909 it is celebrating its hundredth anniversary this year.…
This afternoon we hopped on a bus to go down to Bayview Park for the fourth annual Key West Seafood Festival. Lots of choices for some good seafood at low prices along with a great local band, Mr Nice Guy. Lisa got to satisfy her sweet tooth with a huge cone of cotton candy.There was a petting tank provided by the Florida Keys Marine Sanctuary, Fish & Wildlife. The salt water tank was staffed with real live scientists who can…
More cemetery photos. Flowers, tombstones and statues. Well worth a visit while in Key West.We loved the sign on the fence of the cemetery.
A few days ago, Lisa and I ventured out in our dinghy to the protected Sand Key reef area in the Atlantic Ocean side of Key West to go snorkeling. The day had all the characteristics of the perfect day, clear blue sky, calm waters and no wind. On the way to our destination we saw a good sized turtle, feeder sharks, crabs, flower pot sponges and lots of fish from the dinghy in only 4-5 foot water depths. Our…
Steve and Pat are from Omaha, Nebraska, we had the pleasure of meeting up with them in Key West. They boat in Lake of the Ozarks and have an interest in doing the Great Loop and thought we might be able to answer their Looping questions. We had a fun lunch at Hog's Breath, downtown and we think they'll be venturing out some day in the near future on the Loop route.For us, boating has been a way of making…
We dinghied into town on Thursday to visit our boating friends Charlie and Linda, on Freedom’s Turn, at their slip in one of the downtown marinas. We were with them last at Tarpon Springs in December before they flew home for the holidays. Today we decided to do a walking tour with Charlie and Linda to the historic Key West Cemetery only five blocks away from their marina. The cemetery is located on the highest point on the island and…
Our marina is teaming with fish. There are at least a dozen Tarpon, some over three feet. They swim near the harbor office with lots of smaller fish, today I saw two stingrays. I think they hang out in this spot waiting to get fed, along with the friendly pelicans, by the returning fishermen who clean their fish on the dock. Lisa bought me a fishing pole so I’m sure we’ll be having some fishing photos soon. I have been…
It’s a good thing we’re spending a month in Key West as there’s so much to see and do. We are looking forward to getting “Key’s Disease.”We decided to spend Skyler’s last day with us by going downtown mid afternoon to relax some more and explore a little. We found this great little bar, B. O.s Fish Wagon, that is more like having a drink in a treehouse.We headed downtown for our first, of many while here, Key West sunset.We…
Yesterday we took a long dinghy ride all the way around the Key West Island. It was a little choppy on the outside and we got a little wet but we enjoyed seeing the Portuguese Man of War Jellyfish float by us using their gas filled bladders to catch the wind. Today, we took the boat out to Sand Key (sorry, Lisa lost all the photos on the card today) to go snorkeling, however the water was a little too…
Our son Skyler Nelles, a graphic and web designer in northern Michigan - http://www.skyboxdesign.net, had never been to Key West before so we hopped on a bus from the marina and headed downtown. The downtown area was buzzing with lots of tourists filling the streets. We picked Hog’s Breath Saloon for lunch because it looked like a fun place. Funky decor and quality entertainment. After lunch we walked around some more and then went to the southernmost point in the United…
We made the short trip from Marathon down to our slip in Key West today (Wednesday, December 30th). We went on the ocean side then went around the end of Key West over to the Gulf side, to Stock Island and to Sunset Marina where we will be staying for the month of January.New years day we thoroughly cleaned the boat from top to bottom, inside out. Our son Skyler will be joining us New Years day for a week…
We crossed under the bridge at Marathon mid-day after another great weather day. Calm waters, light breeze and sunny skies. We tied up on a mooring ball in Boot Key and took the dinghy onto shore to get an early dinner at a restaurant where, according to the harbormaster, the locals eat. We had lobster reubens while sitting by the water. After we dinghyed around the harbor until sunset. No bugs tonight. Life is good.Tomorrow we head to our slip…
Night One - Russell Pass Anchorage We took the inside route through Marco Island today to Russell Pass in the Everglades National Park. We have always wanted to do this route to the Keys, so this is new territory for us. Our first Loop took us through Lake Ockeechobee to get to Fort Lauderdale so that we could cross over to the Abacos. We just did not have time to do the Abacos and the Keys in 2006. This time we…
One more night with Bart as part of our crew. We cruised outside to get to Naples and the weather and water could not have been better. We are sure that our anchorage tonight is one of those "Million Dollar Views" but for us it was free.We too the dinghy into the small town and found that they were having an art fair. We walked around the fair then found a hardware store with the idea of procuring a fishing…
We started the day with beignets and coffee as we headed for our dock at Fort Myers Beach. It's a little hard getting used to the idea of it being Christmas when the temperature is in the eighties but we managed. So today we just relaxed, tried to stay cool, went to the beach, cooked a big Christmas dinner, watched the sun set and walked around the little beach town after we ate.Friday we did some work in the morning…
Christmas Eve finds us anchored in Pelican Bay just across from Useppa Island.After lunch on Cabbage Key we checked on the boat and then dinghied over to the Cayo Costa State Park to walk across the island to the beach. Bart went swimming and we tried to take a nap on the beach but the flies wouldn’t leave us alone.It was amazing how many boats were anchored out here for the night. We saw lots of Christmas lights. We had…
We decided to linger on Useppa Island as long as we could in the morning. We got up and walked to the pool again which is a little hike across the island. We stayed until check-out time and then it was a very quick hop over to anchor at Pelican Bay. Just after we got settled at anchor we hopped in the dinghy for what turned out to be a very wet ride over to Cabbage Key to get the famous…
We are often asked what is/was your favorite place. That is so hard to answer and I usually say that wherever we are at the moment because it is all good. Well now I will have to say that Useppa Island is very special and at the top of this list I don’t have. This lush tropical island is loaded with exotic plants and the quaint architecture reminded us so much of the Bahamas. We'll let the photos speak for…
