Life aboard Done Dreamin': 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!