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