Still in Punta Gorda

You might be wondering what has happened to us...after such diligent daily updates, we have gone silent.  We're fine, and Edee is recovering nicely from her surgery.  She's pretty much back to her normal self, and she will have the sutures removed tomorrow.

We have been filling in the time enjoying Punta Gorda and doing some minor maintenance chores.  Michael went back to Canada for a few days to take care of some business, and got out just before the cold snap hit!!  The weather here has cooled from 85 degrees to 72 during the day, but I don't want to rub it in.

Between the twin bridges there sits a tiki bar, perfectly situated for sunset watching while sipping on happy hour offerings of $3 margaritas, $2 draft beer, or a complementary Sundowner shot - vodka and lemonade.

We were treated to dinner and a cruise around Punta Gorda Isles by Harris & Ginta Bowers, fellow Trojan owners (our Ontario boat is a Trojan).

I love the name of their boat.....

....and their dog Sammy loves the boat, too.

Some of the bends in the canals are so sharp they put up mirrors to help you see what's coming, just like in a parking garage.

Our plans, which have always been quite fluid, have changed yet again.  Michael's daughter Sam is coming to visit in February, so we will be staying in the Fort Myers area and exploring the barrier islands with her before we head across to the east coast and eventually the Bahamas.  As we look at calendars, and calculate our necessary return to Ontario in April, it's hard to accept that we will soon have to leave the sunny south.  At the same time, we are looking forward to summer in Ontario, and perhaps being able to share our knowledge of Georgian Bay with some of the loopers we have met on this southern leg.

Dolphins at play

So we've been in Punta Gorda for a couple of days now, and I have been very lax in keeping you all up to date on our whereabouts.  I'll have to back up a bit...

We left Cape Haze in a very thick 'white' haze, or fog as some might call it.  We knew we didn't have far to travel to reach Punta Gorda, and our local contact said that there wasn't any fog up at the top of the bay.  It wasn't long before we came upon the swing bridge at Boca Grande, and had to wait about 10 minutes for it to open.  Once through the bridge, we were quickly joined by a pair of dolphins who spent a long time playing and jumping in our wake.  You will notice that one of them is missing a dorsal fin, but that doesn't seem to slow it down at all.

Charlotte Harbor was foggy about half way up, but as we came out of the fog we were treated to a beautiful sunny afternoon.  When we got to the marina and were directed to our slip, who should be right next to us but Larry and Mary Hatton on M/T Pockets - friends from Goose Pond in Alabama!!  They've been here for a month already, so were able to give us all the scoop on where to go, where to shop, and where to eat.  It was so nice to see some familiar faces.

Sunday's miles:  32

Total miles:  1310

We are now at Laishley Park Municipal Marina in Punta Gorda.  The marina has bicycles available to borrow, so we've been 'doing the town' that way during daylight hours, and by foot after dark.  

This little green heron seems to live close by, as we see him regularly.

We have arranged to stay here for a month.  Michael has to head home to Canada to take care of some business, and Edee and I will stay here while he's gone.  It's a lovely little town, with lots to offer, and I am looking forward to exploring some of the galleries and artisans workshops without Michael getting bored and trying to hurry me along!

Poor Edee needs surgery again - she has another lump that needs to be removed, so we'll have it done here where we are planning to stay put for a while and she will have time to recover.  The vet we visited yesterday seems to be very thorough, and we believe she'll be in good hands.  

Don Pedro Island State Park

I realized today that, no matter how much I have enjoyed the towns we have visited on our journey, I have more fun exploring the out-of-the-way places that only a dinghy or small boat can get to.

Don Pedro Island State Park is one of those places. The entrance lies between markers 33 & 35 on the ICW (Intra Coastal Waterway) and winds along a narrow canal between mangrove stands.  

There is a small day use dock, and a voluntary $2.00 user fee paid by putting your money in an envelope and dropping it into  a box.  The park ranger arrived just as we were filling our envelope, and we had a nice chat about the park and his job there.  

We started down one of the trails, towards an eagle's nest according to the ranger, but we never found it.  We did see this osprey having a meal. You can actually see the fish clutched in his foot.

 After a while, we cut across the scrub and sea oats and cactus to get onto the beach, which was beautiful - long and white and empty, with gentle waves rolling ashore from a very calm gulf.

Pelicans present an endless source of amusement for us.  They're big, and ungainly, and kind of ugly, and they splash noisily into the water as they hunt for fish.  But we have never really watched them fish before today, when they put on an aerial show for us.  There were two, flying and diving often in unison. Who knew that when they dive they roll onto their backs and actually enter the water upside down??

As we left the park, we spotted this egret, and a loon beside it entangled in fishing line, and trying desperately to get out of the water.  There wasn't anything we could directly do to help it, so we turned around and went back to the park to find the friendly ranger.  It turned out he already had a call into the Florida Fish and Wildlife folks to come to the rescue.  We can only hope it didn't take them too long to respond.

The little bay we are anchored in has a channel leading off it, running between two rows of houses, all of which have docks and boat lifts on the canal.  We puttered up to see what we could see, and again - birds, birds, birds.   

There was a red tide here over Christmas - a toxic algae that comes periodically and kills many fish, and can affect people with respiratory issues too.  There are a lot of dead fish still floating around, and even the gulls won't eat them.

All this low speed travel is thirsty work, so we went back to the mother ship for a cold beer and something to eat, followed by a lazy afternoon on the aft deck, enjoying the warm temperatures (80-ish) and bright Florida sunshine.

Cape Haze

Yesterday was spent in Venice.  Michael's brother and his wife were staying with friends in Sarasota, so arranged to come and meet us for lunch.  Of course, Paul needed to take a picture of us to show Mum at home, and Michael took a picture of him, taking his picture of us.........

We all went to Sharky's on the beach, and had a wonderful meal sitting on the patio.  This was the view from our table.

Afterwards, we took full advantage of their kindness, and went to Walmart for a major re-provisioning exercise.

Today was mostly dull and overcast, but we set off anyway, and eventually made our way to Cape Haze, which is about 7 miles from the entrance to Charlotte Harbor.  

On our way here, we passed a car ferry, which loads them up for a trip of about 75 yards across the channel.

When Michael's daughter saw our location on Google Earth, she texted "it looks like a cul-de-sac made of water".  And she's right.  Click on 'Location' below to see the map.  

It's a lovely little bay, surrounded by very nice homes and filled with birds.  We have watched several ospreys hunting, and I'm sure I saw a young bald eagle which hadn't grown into its adult plumage yet.  We heard the loons calling, which reminded us very much of Georgian Bay, and as the sun went down we could hear an owl somewhere in the trees.  

If it's a nice day tomorrow, we will launch the dinghy and visit the Don Pedro Island State Park, which is home to manatees, more birds, and who knows what else.  If not, tomorrow will see us in Punta Gorda.  

Today's miles:  24

Total miles:  1278

Afloat again...and no harm done

After a couple of hours, the tide had risen enough to float us off the sandbar.  We cancelled the call to Boat US and continued our planned journey.

This is manatee country, so lots of the areas we traveled today were slow zones.  We passed more beautiful homes, some of which are for sale.  We couldn't help but wonder what the price tag would be for this one.

There are also lots of low bridges on this part of the route, and we had to wait for a couple of them to open for us.

So with our late start, slow zones and bridges, we fell well short of our planned distance, and have stopped in Venice - a lovely little town.  When my parents had their winter home in Port Charlotte, this was one of their favourite destinations for a visit, and I was here several times with them over the years.  The marina is right inside the pass to the Gulf, and the beach is right there in front of us.

The sun was shining brightly when we arrived, and it finally feels like warm Florida weather, so I took the opportunity to wash off all the salt from the decks and windows.  We got power and water hooked up, and decided it was past time for a beer!  We had no sooner settled down to enjoy the view and the sun, when thick fog started rolling in from the Gulf very quickly.  There was a steady stream of boats coming back in to safety as visibility reduced to only about 75 feet.  I'm glad we were tied up already, and not still trying to find our way to our next stop!

How many Pelicans can you see?

The Fog has begun to roll in from the bay... small fishing boats without radar were being towed in during the night by Tow boats and even the coast guard boat had one strapped to it's side!

You know you are in Florida when you hear these coming up on you!!

Sarasota downtown...

Ever present wildlife

Scenery down here is quite different to Georgian Bay :)

Today's miles:  18

Total miles"  1254

Grounded!

A mistake of just a few feet too far to the south, and we're stuck on a sandbar leaving our anchorage.

Michael went off in the dinghy to see if he could rectify the situation, but to no avail.  So we wait for the tide to rise, and for the Boat US guys to come pull us off.

It did, however, provide for some good bird watching.  This osprey spend quite a while hunting around us.

Happy New Year!!

We went to bed early last night, as promised, and were both deep asleep when rolling waves of explosions brought us both awake with heart stopping effect.  We leapt out of bed and rushed onto the deck, to discover fireworks ushering in the New Year.  Once our hearts had settled down, and the cat too, we sat comfortably on the aft deck to enjoy the show.  So we got to see the New Year in after all!

Today was a travel day, with a plan to cross both Tampa Bay and Sarasota Bay before settling down at Otter Key.  The sun was shining, and it was finally warm enough for us to travel with the curtains open on the bridge, and not need sweaters or jackets.

There were many dolphin sightings, usually in the distance.  But then, there was a strange splashing sound beside us.  As we looked for the source, we saw this...

Finally, they came to play.  And play they did.  It looked like mom and baby, frolicking in our wake.  What a great way to start the year!

The Sunshine Bridge at the entrance to Tampa Bay proper is quite a sight from the water.4

We dropped anchor between Lido Key and Otter Key, with lovely homes on one side, and thick brush on the other.  It was a beautiful evening, and we dined on the bridge for the first time in several months.

 Today's miles:  66

Total miles:  1236