Jan.25-Feb.7 Reunion Time along Florida’s West Coast...our old stompin’ ground

Our cruise from St. Petersburg to Ft. Myers involved re-connecting with friends... long-time and more recent. We started in Sarasota with Judi and Alain on their Novi boat “Ramha”. We first met this sweet English/Canadian couple 3 years ago when we were both bouncing around on mooring balls at Marina Jacks. (This time was just as bouncy.) In late June 2016, we docked next to them at the Inner Harbor of Kingston, Ontario, their summer home. Then, as now, we had Looper stories to share and they had travel stories of their own. Wherever we meet, we seem to be able to pick up right where we left off! 

Next stop....Venice. Yes, Florida. Long-time friends Dale and Paula have a home in nearby Englewood in the winter and a cabin on Bottle Lake in the summer. We’ve been friends since the mid-’80’s when Paula joined us on Deer Isle to work with students. On Dec. 2015 we joined them at their time-share condo in Belize for a week.  So many stories... so much fun. To make that Venice stop even more lively, Tricia and Rob on “Linda Jean” docked behind us and we three Maine couples dined together and had a great time swapping stories. We met Tricia and Rob at The City of Fort Myers Yacht Basin last Feb. and again at Morehead City, N.C. late in April as we Looped up the East Coast. We “clicked” right away and have been keeping in touch ever since. In fact, they will be on a dock near us at The Yacht Basin for the month of February.

Moving down the coast we checked out the Burnt Store Marina with its condo community in Charlotte Harbor. Lots happening at The Patio of the Cass Cay Restaurant...live musical entertainment on Sunday night and Monday Night Bingo. Lovely paths meander around the complex for biking and walking...fast paced or strolling. The dog walkers had lots of company.

As we announced our intentions to begin The Great Loop on March 1, 2016, we also reserved a slip on C Dock at The Yacht Basin in Fort Myers to return to in February 2017 anticipating when we would cross our wake. After nearly a year, it’s time to claim that reservation. It is no surprise that between C-40 and C-35 there are four  boats proudly flying their Gold Looper burgees. We have indeed arrived “Home”.

The ArtFest Fort Myers is in full swing. Thousands of people have flocked here for this event this 1st weekend in February. 900 artists applied for the 2017 festival; through a “jury process”, 208 have been invited to participate.  Just 23%!` 46 states are represented. The canopied event is set up right off the stern of “Summertime” and continues down the Harborside and along the Caloosahatchee Riverfront Park. Wow!

Art Fest from our boat

Sidewalk chalk painting 

Debbie and Debbie our fast friend lunch mates

Wally with Marlow Gates his broom making instructor from John C Campbell Folk School days

This weaver was weaving his own curtains!

Super Bowl Docktails will be the attraction to bring the local boaters tonight from 4-6pm. Then we’ll settle in to cheer on our favorite team. Super Bowl 51 promises to be an exciting game.

A feast at Super Bowl docktails

Billy and Marion have been family friends for 30+ years. Hailing from Nova Scotia, they escaped to the warmth of Florida for a get-away even before they retired. When we visited Wally’s folks at the condo in Largo, Billy and Marion were always dropping by. They paid us a quick visit up in Gulfport, Florida close by Largo. Now that the condo has just sold, they did us the ultimate favor... they made good on their offer to deliver our Mazda, parked under the condo carport since last March, to Fort Myers.  Once their car and ours were both safely parked, we sauntered together through the cafe district of Historic Downtown and ate at Ford’s Garage. Yum!   Thank you dear friends, for going above and beyond the call of duty!

  Created By Darcy O Campbell

Jan. 20-24, 2017 St. Petersburg, FL is our home for nearly a week.

Mid-winter weather in Florida has a history of being unsettled. It was the reason for us to wait 11 days to make the crossing of Florida’s Big Bend and it’s keeping us in the St. Petersburg Municipal Marina for close to a week. “The Blow” came through Sunday afternoon. Just north of us were tornado swirls and just south of us were water spouts. We got off much easier. The thunder rolled and lightning flashed, revealing cloud layers scuttling by at 50-60 mph. We kept an eye on the lines of the nearby unattended boats, prepared to make them more secure, but it was not necessary. We all rode out the storm without incident.

On Saturday, the day before the storm, the Demens Landing Park next to our dock was the gathering site for the Women’s March for Social Justice... a reaction to Donald Trump becoming the 45th president. 20,000 participants represented females of all ages and a goodly number of supportive males of all ages. Their handmade signs covered every topic imaginable that concern women of today.  Wally and I visited the Farmer’s Market across the street early in the day. We selected freshly picked strawberries, corn in the husk, string beans, baby potatoes and home-baked bread. After stowing our purchasing in the boat, we returned to the park. As observers of the march preparations, we were very impressed by how enthusiastic, empowered, yet orderly the marchers were. The evening news reported that groups like this one had demonstrated their hopes for a better future all over the country and even world-wide. Amazing! 

Not since we first purchased SUMMERTIME on Punta Gorda Isles 3 years ago have any of our family members been on board our boat. That changed yesterday when Wally’s cousin Vesta and her husband Steve came for a tour. A downpour caught us all unawares as we were strolling down the dock together, so we had to put my clothes dryer to work as soon as they came aboard. Back in dry clothes, we walked to a nearby bistro and enjoyed a delicious lunch together. What a nice visit! Vesta and Steve are Maine folks spending their second winter as renters in the Largo condo complex that Wally’s mother and step-father had been in for 30+ years. The Florida lifestyle suits these newcomers just fine, too.

Our Kadey-Krogen Manatee attracts the attention of passers-by wherever we go. Last week in Gulfport, FL it was a delightful man who had been on the design team for this boat back in the late ’70’s and early ’80’s. This week it was another trawler owner. After asking a series of questions about our satisfaction with SUMMERTIME, he moved on, but returned with his father. Both were eager to accept the offer of a tour that I had made earlier. What a sweet father-son duo they were. He is now on the search for a Manatee of his own!

It has been a pleasant addition to our stay in St. Petersburg to have the Albert Whitted Airport with it’s Control Tower just 500 yards off our stern. Using our smart phone to pick up the controller’s and pilot’s transmissions, Wally, a pilot for many years, sits up on our upper deck and watches the various planes and helicoptors take off and land. As the wind picked up on Saturday, we both watched a banner-towing plane make 4 passes of the field before his hooks grasped the tow lines and hauled a huge banner into the blue. That’s tricky business. We also enjoyed a tasty lunch at The Hangar Restaurant on the upper deck of the airport terminal building. Of course, viewing air traffic while eating was the most popular pasttime for the dining crowd.

Oh, yes,  downtown St. Petersburg is “Artists Central”... the famous and the up-and-coming hob-nob together. Reminders that creative spirits are at work bloom everywhere!  

Created by Darcy O Campbell