Nice to be in Key West!

You know you are in Key West when you see people walking around with their parrots!
This friendly guy's name is Mango!  He is a yellow-naped Amazon parrot!

1/29/19.                                  Yay!!!    70 degrees and sunshine!!!
     We left Marco Island at 7:30 am.  The weather had finally stopped blowing enough to make a safe crossing to Key West.  Seas were about one foot and winds from the NW, which was great for traveling.  The sky was blue and cloudless.  We were soon in beautiful green water, with the sun’s reflection off the water, sparkling like diamonds! We saw plenty of dolphins and unfortunately loads of crab traps!  Karl had to stay pretty vigilant to avoid them!
     I am always amazed when we go offshore, can’t see land for many hours and then suddenly we spot our destination!  Karl gets it right every time!  First he uses the paper chart to find our longitude and latitude from beginning to the end destination, plotting a course.  Then he will enter the information into the Furunos, which are the 2 GPS plot charters.  We have autopilot which is so helpful.  It is so nice, but he had to keep dodging the crab traps, which meant taking it off the autopilot quite a bit.  We traveled a little over 100 miles, took us about 5 hours.  Our boat can go about 18 knots, which is  a little over 20 mph.  It is always exciting to spot land and trees and buildings up ahead!
     We decided to try something different this time in Key West.  Usually we stay in a marina very close to Duval Street in the heart of Key West.  We have done most all the touristy things to do in Key West. We kept hearing good reviews about Stock Island Marina, which is located on the other side of Key West, out of the crowds and much more dog friendly.  When we first arrived, we were greeted by the sounds of jets flying overhead.  Come to find out, the commercial airport is very close by, and the navy base is close, too!  At first we thought we could not stand the noise, but decided to give it a try.  It really isn’t as bad as we initially thought it would be and the marina is very nice.  A shuttle runs every hour to take you to town, which is only a few miles away.  We plan to go into town.
   

Everglades, Airboat ride and Alligators!

Friendly Alligator

                                                        Take a Ride on the Airboat!!

Airboat ride in the Everglades!

Yikes!

1/26  Saturday
     We rented  a car from Enterprise to explore the island.  We went to Everglades City and took an airboat tour with Jungle Erv's Airboat Tours.  The Everglades is made up of preserved wetlands, mangroves and sawgrass marshes and home to many different species of birds and animals.  We saw great blue herons, anhingas, ospreys, vultures, snowy egrets, a kingfisher and lots of mangroves!  The airboat ride was a great way to see the area!  The weather was very overcast, threatening to rain any minute.  So we were the only ones there!  We got a "private" tour and thankfully the rain held off. Our guide, Dave was excellent.  He took us through canopied mangroves which were very beautiful.  He stopped when we spotted something, he explained all about the Everglade's history and wildlife.  It was educational and fun.  He also gave us a great ride, doing 360's in the open areas!
     We then went to the boardwalk closer to town and saw alligators.  We could get up close and personal with several of the alligators! The alligator man, named Nathan, let us hold them and get photos.  He told us that these gators were brought up in captivity and were very docile. He would rub their necks and pat their bellies just like a dog!  The big one, named Marshmallow, had been raised  by him and is about 4 years old.  Their skin is soft and leathery, but felt very pleasant actually.  It was a little unnerving at first to hold them, but it was a lot of fun! We got lots of pictures!
     It rained the rest of the day.  I got my hair done at a very nice salon and spa, which was located in the shops at the marina.  Convenient and a nice way to spend the rainy afternoon!

Moving on to Marco Island

Golf in South Seas Resort

1/21-1/24
     We enjoyed a few days of chilling out at South Seas before departing to Marco Island.  We ate lunch at the famous Doc Ford’s restaurant, made popular by the author Randy Wayne White.  He wrote a series of books (25 novels!) about this area, Captiva Island. The main character is named Doc Ford in the novels.  Karl read a few of them and liked them.  We got up several times at night to watch the beautiful lunar eclipse.  We played golf on the gorgeous Par 3 course on Monday.  We do not play golf often, I have only played a few times in my life.  I was pretty awful. But, it was a lovely crisp day, plenty of sunshine  and blue sky, with a beautiful view of the ocean. The winds were a little calmer, but the surf was still up.
    1/22  Tuesday.  We got diesel fuel for a good price at $2.67 per gallon and then departed for Marco Island.  The seas were 2-3 feet, a little choppy, winds 10-15 knots.  It was a nice trip of 46 miles to the entrance of Marco.  We have reservations at Esplanade Marina.  We are delighted with this marina!  It is lovely, clean and close to grocery, West Marine, hardware store, and shopping.  Joe, the dock master is very nice and helpful.  It is a private marina, but will take transients when a space is available and the owner of the slip agrees to rent it.
      Karl has studied the weather, using several different apps., including Buoyweather.com, windfinder pro,  and windy pro. Looks like we will be staying here for about one week!   It is a great place to be.

Captiva Island

One of our favorite  houses on the ICW

Anhinga drying out in the sun.

Bald Headed Eagle

1/18-1/20
    We departed Marina Jacks in Sarasota on Friday and traveled to South Seas Island Resort in Captiva Island.  We went for about 19 miles on the ICW.  I am always amazed to see all the huge homes on the ICW! I never get tired of looking at them.  We also saw lots of dolphins, bald eagles and ospreys.  We went out the inlet at Venice into the Gulf to continue our trip to Captiva.  The Seas were calm and smooth. We went a total of 61 miles and it was so pleasant.  Lots of sunshine and pretty weather!
     We arrived in time to enjoy the beautiful beach.  The resort is one of our favorite stops on the west coast!  We spent some time at the pool, too. There is pretty good running and walking here, around the golf course and down the road to the southern part of the island.
     It rained very hard early Sunday morning and it got very windy and chilly.  The waves are high today, seems that most of the boats here are staying through until tomorrow, which is Martin Luther King Day.  We will decide if we want to leave tomorrow, based on the weather report.
   

Poster Art and Botanical Gardens

                                                                       Poster Art

Masks created by artist from Costa Rica 

Embracing Our Differences

1/16-1/17. Sarasota
     We took Salty on a walk in the nearby park and happened upon an outdoor art exhibit called Embracing Our Differences.  It had 45 large billboard sized works of art, each accompanied by an inspirational quote.  Students from schools all over the world submitted their artwork and quotations to the juried exhibit.  The art celebrates cultural diversity.  It was very inspiring to see what the kids came up with, matching the quotes with the art work.  If you want to see the art, the website is EmbracingOurDifferences.org. We really enjoyed walking around viewing each one.
     The park has been full of friendly people walking their dogs and consequently Salty developed kennel cough.  She has been vaccinated, but still managed to contract it.  We called our vet, who helpfully explained what to do.  She coughed quite a bit for several days, but got over it, thankfully.
     The next day we biked to the Shelby Botanical Gardens and enjoyed the afternoon looking at all the orchids, trees and plants.  It was beautiful and peaceful.  They also had a display of rainforest masks, made by artist from Costa Rica.  Each mask was carved from a single log of balsa and then painted.  They were so alive with color!
     Karl worked quite a bit on the boat, replacing the search light and he washed and waxed the roof. It seems there is always something to do or fix on the boat.
Every evening there has been live music in the outdoor bar.  We were close so we heard it! We are ready to move on!
 

Nice Days To Run!

John and Mabel Ringling’s  winter home in Sarasota 

Circus Performers were actually shot out of a cannon

1/13-1/15
     Karl got interested in running shortly after we moved to Tallahassee in 1977.  It is a great way to stay in shape and a good way to make new friends! Running and exercise have been an important part of our lives ever since then! For Karl, it is a way to manage stress and problem solve.  Throughout the years, he has enjoyed competing in races and setting goals, meeting up with friends for interval training and longer runs. I have enjoyed running for many years with my best friend!  After she moved away, I now enjoy walking and listening to books on my phone and going to the gym.
     Boating is similar in some ways, in that we meet people who have common interests and goals.  When we arrive at a new place, Karl loves to take off on a run to explore the new environment.  It is a great way to see a new city!  I usually walk around the town, looking for the nearest shopping and places of interest to visit.  We usually always end up talking to people in the marinas. They are very friendly and are happy to talk about their boating experiences!  We have met so many friends already and are looking forward to meeting more along our trip.  We have been told that people make lifetime friendships while traveling the Loop.
     We spent all day Monday at the Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota.  It was built in 1925 by John Ringling, one of the famous brothers who created the Ringling Brothers Circus.  He became one of the richest men in the world at the time and developed an interest in European art, along with his wife.  He left his collection to the state of Florida as his legacy and memorial to his wife.  It is so impressive.
     There is also a museum dedicated to the circus, highlighting the various circus acts, exotic animals and performers.  The history of the circus was documented with displays of the train cars and various memorabilia pertaining to the circus era. It was all fascinating.
     There is an entire miniature circus model on display at the Tibbals Learning Center, which is administered by Florida State University.  It took Howard Tibbals more than 50 years to handcraft nearly 1 million pieces to make up his miniature circus, including 1500 performers, 152 wagons, 7000 folding chairs, 500 circus animals,  tiny pots and pans, circus tents, and train cars. He was inspired to create this, after he watched the circus come to his town during his childhood.  The model takes up almost half of an entire building and it was truly amazing to see!