Christmastime - Florida and Texas Style!

Christmastime!  What a wonderful time of year.  We're so lucky to be here in our new home in Punta Gorda.  We've been enjoying lots of holiday parties with our clubs - The PGIslanders, the Isles Yacht Club, the Punta Gorda Sailing Club, etc. 

Marie sits on Santa's lap

Dec 23 - IYC Eggnog in the afternoon followed by dinner at Sue's house in the evening.

Dec 24 - Constance and Bill for Christmas Eve dinner

Dec 25 - Time to find out what Santa placed under the tree!

Dec 20 - Last night we watched the PGI Boat Parade at Chuck & Trudy's house, one block over from our house as the parade does not come down our canal. Joanne brought turkey soap; Trudy prepared stuffed mushrooms, avocado dip and vegetable pizza. Chuck spiked the hot chocolate with brandy. Pictures     Friday, Rob & Sue drove us around PGI to look at some amazing  lighted decorations. After the land tour, we piled into Chuck's fishing boat on a chilly but clear and almost windless night for canal side viewing of Christmas the lights. What a delight!

Dec 13 - Last weekend we took advantage of a $59 Southwest Airline Flight from Tampa to Hobby Airport in Houston.  Our friends, Betty & Richard, swooped us up at the airport and lent us their car.  We really enjoyed seeing our New Life and Boating friends.  The weekend started with a quick trip to our favorite restaurant, Top Water Grill, in sunny San Leon.  We met Karen & Alan and Kat & Doug for a fun-filled lunch - lots of laughs and great fried shrimp!   Then, we dashed over to Betty & Richard's for a ring-side seat of the Clear Lake Boat Parade.  It's wonderful to see that the parade back with lots of entries and colorful lighted vessels shining on the night water. Pictures Top Water Grill 

Sunday flew on by - our main event was the annual New Life Christmas Party at Barb's.  Lots of fun singing Christmas Carols and playing the Gift Exchange.  Check out our photos by double-clicking our link and then click on "slideshow."  Happy Holidays to everyone!!

Pictures New Life Party 

Marie's 90th Birthday

Marie celebrated her 90th birthday at the Isles Yacht Club with twenty-six children, grandchildren, spouses and friends.

Highlights included a video slideshow of  historical family photos with music.  Good job, to my brother-in-law, Al!   Marie recounted the changes she has witnessed in her life from the horse-drawn ice wagon to space travel. Granddaughter Annie, a competitive Irish stepdancer demonstrated her quick footwork.   Our friend, Sue, gave Marie a beautiful hand-crafted shell wreath.
Over the Thanksgiving holidays, guests also sailed on Charoltte Harbor, toasted themselves in the sun on Englewood Beach, watched lots of football and, of course,  gobbled up lots of  holiday food.

The Driveway, a short film written & directed by Marie's youngest son, also entertained us.  The film drew on Kevin's growing-up days in Bergenfield, New Jersey.  Good job, Kevin!

See my pictures at   Marie's 90th Birthday Party.

Early November, Early Winter

Harry Potter at the IMAX - Nov  19 - Saw the new Harry Potter film with friends at the IMAX in Fort Myers.

Tunnel of Love - Nov13

The  dinghy squeezed through the narrow Tunnel of Love as we jockeyed around sawed-off mangrove branches using our paddles to paddle, pole or fend off.   Once completely covered, the tunnel is now mostly open to the sky.  It leads one from the East side of Cayo Costa Island to a lagoon near the gulf side. See the Google Earth photos on the right.

The tunnel lies WSW of Cabbage Key about two nm South from Pelican Bay where we anchored Eagle's Wings for the weekend. We pushed through on a rising tide with sometimes only a few inches of water under the dinghy's keel.  An osprey flew overhead clutching a fish dinner while ibises watched us from the mangroves.  As we approached the lagoon still hidden by twists and turns of the shallow stream, the sounds of waves washing ashore filled our ears.  We landed on the lagoon shore and walked across the dunes to the beach to walk with pelicans and shore birds about. 

Tunnel of Love from Google Earth

 




Dorrit and Joanne




Longboat Key Bike Ride - Nov 8

Monday's activities included a pleasant seven mile ride along Longboat Key to Joan Durante Community Park and back with the IYC bike group, small talk at the PGIslander's bimonthly social and listening to Team Punta Gorda's annual State of the City address at the Civic Center.   

Nov 7th - MLLW -  We are still afloat at low tide after North winds blew the water away for the first time since we moved to Lido Drive .  We expect periodic bouts of low water and chilly below 70 F weather till next spring. 

Nov 6th - Venice Art Festival 

We drove 20+ miles up to the Crows Nest Marina Friday to sleep overnight on Rob & Sue's catamaran, Catalyst.  How people with no money can buy fine art, I don't know but we did.  We now have three metal pieces from Garner Metal Art hanging in our foyer.

Paper Castings
John Galbo Impressionistic Photography
Red Bird Photo

AndrewBoromPhotography

Touch of the Islands

Twilight Spoobill Twilight Flamingo

Squirrely Wood

Dimensional Copper



















Fall Leaves

With great anticipation to visit our dear friends, Betty & Richard, we traveled across the states of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina to Asheville. As we rounded the state border of North Carolina, the mountains appeared in their Fall glory of deep golds, oranges, pink and rose hues!

It's been more years that we can count that we've gazed upon this wonderful sight and felt the crunch of the leaves under our feet.  Check out our pictures below by clicking once under the underlined word - Photos and then click Slideshow. 

Blue Ridge Parkway

From Fall Leaves

Asheville

Arboretum

Dupont State Forest

Transylvania

Blue Ridge Parkway

The Sight

Photos

From Fall Leaves

South Seas

October 15th - North Wind, Sailing South!  Today, we actually tacked down Charlotte Harbor on broad reaches to round Marker 5 and head for the ICW. Although the light wind allowed us only 4 - 5 kts, we enjoyed some time on the water sans motor.   South Seas  lies on the north end of Captiva Island.  This was  Boater Appreciation Weekend;  the rate for slips, normally $3.50/ft for a sailboat like ours was only $1.50/ ft. Saturday evening the marina manager hosted a free dinner of hamburgers, hot dogs and grilled chicken. Free always gets our attention and we enjoyed the spread.  The marina was packed with boaters, especially from Punta Gorda.  Our clubs were well represented and we had fun talking about our sailing adventures.

Before Saturday's sunrise, I walked out to Redfish Pass.  See my pictures at Sunrise at South Seas. 

North to Sarasota

Friday, October 8th - A light notherly breeze floods Charoltte Harbor with cool air. Too light to sail, we motor to Cape Haze to anchor with Caprice & Sabrina for the night.  Joanne & I rode our dinghy over to Don Pedro to walk the beach and swim in the Gulf water.  A Saturday of motoring up the ICW landed us at the historic Field Club.  It's on the national register of historic places; click here for history.  We walked around the beautiful grounds and out to US 41 before dinner at the club.  After breafast, motoring again, we moved to the Sarasota Yacht Club.

The SYC's brand new building sparkles.  In it we found a couple of  Lipton Cup trophys from the 1930s. The Lipton Cup races are held in Southern California so someone went a long way to race.  We walked a  short way to St Armand's Circle to wander through the art gallerys.    

Monday morning,  the crews of Caprice and Eagle's Wings decided to transit Big Sarasota Pass, a  pass of shifting shoals and misfortune for those not armed with local knowledge. One local told us to head 275 M; another prescribed 240 M. Both courses would have run us onto the shoals, clearly visible to us once in the pass..  Information on the SYC website (a 210 M course) proved to be accurate.  Out in the Gulf, we motor sailed under clear skys south to Boca Grande.   Just awesome sailing!

To save about an hour, Caprice suggested we take the swash channel rather than the deep & safe water Boca Grande Pass.  As we rounded Boca Gande in seven feet of water, it seemed like we could almost shake hands with the folks wading off the beach. To starboard, water looked like the rapids on a river.  

We anchored in Pelican Bay for the night and motored home the next day.   All in all, another great adventure aboard Eagle's Wings!

French Picnic



TMCA French Picnic 2006



Warm sunlight filters through the trees surrounding tables filled with French cuisine. Light and shadow play over a champagne fountain. Imagine stepping into an Impressionist painting; you are on the banks of Double Bayou at the French Picnic! Over one hundred people, many sporting berets, were in attendance for the French Picnic the weekend following Thanksgiving. Something like fifty-five boats nuzzled up to the bank of the East Fork; some had arrived earlier in the week to celebrate Thanksgiving but most arrived Friday. Some folks arrived by dinghy from Marker Seventeen...

 

That's how I described the French Picnic in a Galveston Bay Texas boating magazine, Telltales, in the year of 2006. Such memories spurred Joanne to bring thisTMCA tradition to our new home here on Charlotte Harbor.   And so she did. 
The French Picnic planned on Cayo Costa for the first October weekend fortuitously coincided with fall's first cool front. Blessed with low humidity and a pleasant breeze, crews aboard four sailboats, Sabrena,Gioia Sul Mare, Caprice and Eagle's Wings and four powerboats, Egret, Mystic Blue, Rare Indigo and Summer Thunder anchored in Pelican Bay. Stars filled the clear night time sky as water lapped along the sides of our boats. We played with the Goggle Sky Map App on Joanne's Droid X phone - very cool.  Saturday morning,  Joanne & I meandered along the beach  selecting a few sea shells along the way. Of course, we got wet too!   Oh what a awesome weekend!





Look South



Look North



Look West



French Picnic on Cayo Costa



Here are the picnic highlights. Shortly after arrival on Friday, Claudia and Jim Morrow hosted a superb Happy Hour on Egret. Wine flowed and conversation filled the bay.

 

On Saturday afternoon, the friendly park ranger provided taxi service to the picnic site on the Gulf side of Cayo Costa. The picnic tables were set with lace tablecloths and elegant shell centerpieces. The crews brought their French specialties. We uncorked our bottles of wine and sampled the delicious fare. We voted for the best dishes and prizes were awarded.

Our 3rd runner up was Igor Kapuscinski with his two delectable walnut pattees. In second place was Constance Robison with her yummy Beef Bourgeone. The grand prize winner was Jackie Whitaker with her scrumptious chocolate cake.



TMCA French Picnic  





The Ranger let us on the island anyway!

Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole

Marie & Barbara joined us Saturday as we followed along with Soren & the Guardians as they defeated the Pure Ones in spectacular 3D IMAX format - not as good as Alice in Wonderland but an A for amination for sure.  

Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole  

Movies on Today Review

Barbara, Three Dog Owner

Barbara found an appropraite tee-shirt for herself while shopping at Fisherman's Village. 

Burger Monger



Jake with cousin Joanne & Aunt Marie



September 21 -  Marie, Joanne's Mom, and Barbara, a friend from the Clear Lake area are  here at our new house for a visit.  Afterpicking up Marie at her New Port Richey home and Barbara at the Tampa aitport we detoured to the BurgerMonger before heading to Punta Gorda.  Joanne's cousin, Jake, owns and operates the BurgerMonger. 



Marie, Barbara & Joanne



Bathroom Addition for Sherwood

Building a box to house Sherwood's kitty litter pan kept me busy the week prior to moving in our new house.  His bathroom now resides in our garage with access from the utility room through a cat door.  Lexan windows in the top and front let light in.  A 12 volt fan on a timer sweeps air out of the box into the garage each morning.  The top opens for servicing the box.  A front door drops down to accomodate easy removal of the Litter Maid litter box if required.

One would think Sherwood would appreciate all my hard work.  No such luck.    We tried reasoning with him to no avail. We repeatdly pushed him through the cat door into the box. He quickly learned to make the return trip on his own but refused to enter the box without a push.

We moved the kitty litter pan inside and tried putting his food in the outside box.  Sherwood looks foward to his meals so we thought this approach held promise. Almost. Sherwood was just plain obstinate.

Finally, we removed the swinging plastic door that is part of the Staywell Pet Door. Success. Sherwood just didn't like that swinging door.

Dirt Dwellers

One of our Texas friends, John Allison,  gave up a long term liveaboard life for a for a mortgaged house on the bay a few years ago.  He refers to anyone, including himself, not living on a boat as a dirt dweller.  

Any exceptions?  How about someone who lived on an airplane or a blimp?  Could suxh a person be  an air head rarther than a dirt dweller? 

Anyway, ownership of a lawn mower certainly confirms true dirt dweller status. Here I am with my new mower, a dam dirt dweller if there ever was one.

Dirt Dweller's Dictionary

September Update - Out of Money!

September 19 - Boxes are unpacked, contents sorted, stored, trashed or given away. We can get both cars in the garage!  Pictures hung.  Punch list complete. Fifty amp dock power supplied.  Lights backordered have been installed including a dock light.  All of our new funiture has arrived.  All that's left is a carpet for the office and blinds for the office windows on order.  Any more additions will have to wait becuase we are offically out of money!  The credit card needs to be fed and it is very hungry.  Property taxes await.  On the other-hand we now have accumulated a massive amount of air miles.

I have added a few more photos of  our house more or less at the completed staged to our web album. Check them out. I will try to add pictures of all the rooms over the next week or so.

Although I found and fixed an antifreeze leak, our boat remains out of commisson due to a overheating problem that I am still working on. 

Guess who now has a Droid X?   

Moving In

August 30 - Moving Day - 2   We met Mat, our construction superintendent for a no surprises "walk through" of the house and reviewed the short punch list of items still to be completed.  Joanne & I were more than ready to move-in! We now have the keys!!!

August 31 - Moving Day -1  I used a free Remax truck to move half a garage of boxes from our storage locker to the house. 

We also closed with builder and transferred the electricity and city utilities to our name.

September 1 - Moving Day.  The Moving truck showed up right on time, 8 AM.  By noon , our funiture was in our new house.  We picked up Michele at the airport about 11 PM. First night to sleep in our new house.

September 2 - Moving Day +1  New bedroom funiture arrived.  Of course, we are still unpacking and sorting things out.

September 3 - Moviing Day +2 Constance stopped by to provide much appreciated assistance.  

September 6 - Still moving in but making progress! Can get one car in the garage!

Caspersen Beach

It's been a sultry summer and when our Floridian friends Marilyn & John wanted to go to the beach, we jumped at the chance to experience one of their favorite spots - Caspersen Beach in south Venice.  They eagerly prepared for our maiden trip by purchasing a "wheelie" beach cart and a special beach tent to shade us from those August Florida rays.  The cart has balloon-type tires perfect for negotiating the sand loaded with tons of necessary "stuff" like coolers, chairs, kites, water frizbees, etc .  The tent was perfect with its 70-proof sunscreen fabric and screens to let the cooling breezes flow through! 

We frolicked in the water like kids and seached for ancient sharks' teeth to add to Marilyn's collection.  After a few hours, we packed up and headed over to Sharkey's for a great lunch.  Wow, retirement never looked so good and we agreed to do it again soon!

Click for more photos.

Caspersen Beach 
Sharky's
Venice Beaches

Peace River Cruise

Sunday, August 15 - Chuck & Trudy invited Joanne & I along with Sue and Rob to accompany them for a powerboat trip up the scenic Peace river to the Nav-A-Gator.  Jim Morris played; we had a great time. See the photos at Nav-A-Gator Cruise Photos.  Link to PG Islander's cruise report and photos coming someday.

Our Boat Name - Eagle's Wings

Windward Passage, Wind Dancer, Morning Light and Dream Catcher evoke feelings of romance, beauty and adventure. That's the kind of name we wanted for our boat - a meaningful name that transmits succinctly and clearly over the VHF. What Don't You Understand, What Don't You Understand, What Don't You Understand, this is Dazed & Confused – I don't think so. Fish N Chicks, Fish N Chicks, Fish N Chicks, this is Full Blown Insanity – not for us. One can find thousands of clever and not so clever boat names on the Internet. We didn't. We borrowed our boat's name from one of our favorite songs, On Eagle's Wings:

                          And He will raise you up on eagle's wings,
                          Bear you on the breath of dawn,
                          Make you to shine like the sun,
                          And hold you in the palm of His Hand.
 

On Eagle's Wings Lyrics,  On Eagle's Wings History , Name That Boat
 
Listen to On Eagle's Wings on YouTube:  francislimsj's ,  AmayaLinura

August Update

Last weekend we cruised to Palm Island Marina on the ICW.  We waited out a thunderstorm that passed south of Punta Gorda but we couldn't wait out the heat.  Check out the cruise report and pictures on the PG Islanders website by clicking their link on the left.  

While we were on the water, grass was added to our backyard along with the sprinkler system.  Also, the ground anchors were screwed in.  

This week saw installation of the pool liner, all the plumbing (I think), and some of the lights and switches and painting of the foyer.   Tentative completion date is August 20!!!

House is almost done - just one more month!

Here's the latest picture of our house - approximately one more month until "CO" day!  CO means "Certificate of Occupancy" that is issued by the town stating the house meets local codes - complete to move in!  On Monday, they installed the front door and pavers on the lanai.  There is still a "Punch List" (builder term) of things to be done, but the builders are working to complete it.  We expect the counter tops in the kitchen to be installed this week and some of the sprinker system and sod in back.  Very exciting - we can't wait!

Hot, Hot, Hot

Southwest Florida's summer is hot, hot, hot.  We sailed down Charlotte Harbor with wind 15 kt SE yesterday all the way to Burnt Store - Nice on the water but drenched in sweat at the dock.  While we were on the water, the roofers placed tiles and the solar panel on the roof.  Back on the ground, graders moved dirt around. Concrete will be poured this week to support the paver driveway. Inside, work continued on the molding, interior door and kitchen cabinets.  See pictures.  Maybe will add more each day as construction progresses.

Notice, I have added link to The Blog That Ate Manhattan.  Somebody at Google picks a few blogs every day or so as Blogs of Note. So I have been checking them out. That's how I found the Manhattan blog. Another well done blog is the Crow Hill Almanac. Want to snoop on the inner and outer workings of a twenty something South Beach girl?  If you answer Yes, Google search for Red Means Go Blog.  Interested in sailing stuff? Click the Punta Gorda Sailing Club link on the left and scroll through the long, long webpage. New stuff shows up frequently.

So Well, So Well, So Well

 The time honored response, So Well, So Well, So Well  belted out by the crowd shook the IYC dining room walls.  The usually sadate club members were wired alive as Jim Morris performed solo for three hours without a break last Saturday night.  

They surprised me, these IYC folks. I never would have guessed so many not only knew the classic Up Against The Wall Redneck Mother lyrics, but also knew how to participate.  We did because Jerry Jeff Walker always includes this song in his annual performance at the Galveston Grand Opera House.  Joanne & I were fortunate enough to attend twice. What's the Redneck Mother doing down here? Don't know?  Review the  Redneck Mother Lyrics  so you can join right in next time you get a chance.  If you are interested in a little history, click UAW/MF.

Back to Jim Morris.  Some of his songs are about drinking; some are a little risque; and some - well just beautiful! Jim really knows the local Charlotte Harbor waters.  (Joanne rated the event an A+.)  We are looking to acquire some of his CDs and maybe head out to the Nav-A-Gator where Jim plays on a regular basis.    

SlideMoors & Update on Building Our House

This week Eagle's Wings moved to our new dock so that Ron Parr
Marine could install SlideMoors.

 
What the heck are SlideMoors?  Our stern cleat ties tight to a slide mounted on an aluminum track secured to the piling.  A second slidemoor system keeps the bow tight against another piling. To add a SlideMoor for the bow, Ron had to move a piling away from the dock.  

As the tide comes and goes, the boat remains tight against the pilings as it moves up and down. Click  SlideMoors if you want to learn more.  The SlideMoor system is popular here in Punta Gorda.  In Hurricane Charley, boats secured with the system fared better than those secured in other ways.

Of course, Charley didn't generate much of a storm surge and people here steadfastly believe that a storm surge as high as Ike's surge can't happen here.  As one who has looked out on the vast expanse of  Galveston Bay and then up at Ike's high water mark on old Jimmy Walkers pilings, I am not convinced.
So we will take additional measures to secure Eagle's Wings as we move along through the hot, hot summer.  Mainly, we keep our insurance paid up!

 Our house number plaque ordered over the Internet by Joanne arrived this week. We hope to have it mounted on our new house early September when we move in.  This week cabinets arrived. The outside was painted. The floor was prepped for tile. Some of the crown moulding was installed. The sewer was connected. a landscaper proposed a plan for plants and trees.  The A/C should be running next week.  Click the Building Our House link on the left and scroll down to see the latest photos.  Stay tuned for progress!

Walking the Boston Freedom Trail and Visiting Harvard

We've always wanted to see some of Boston's historical landmarks and what better way than to partake of the Freedom Trail.  It was a drizzly day with temps in the 50's as we walked 3 miles to visit such sites as the Cradle of Liberty, Faneuil Hall (circa 1742), where Sam Adams, James Otis and others spoke encouraging independence from England.  We also were thrilled to walk the bridge over the Charles River to Bunker Hill and visit the Old North Church and the old graveyard where Paul Revere and other patriots are buried. 

In the afternoon, we visited Harvard University and took a student-guided tour to learn about life as an undergraduate and were lucky enough to participate in the "quintessential" experience of dining at the perfect pizza restaurant, Pinocchio's.   We were told that this place has the best pasta in the Boston area and we had to agree.  The next day we boarded our flight to Punta Gorda.  Great vacation!

Double click on Photos to view our Photos

Visiting Amy & George at Faith Valley Farm, Jefferson, NH

After attending the wonderful Cape Cod Wedding, we drove approx 4-1/2 hours north to Jefferson, New Hampshire to visit our dear friends, Amy & George.  What gorgeous countryside!


They purchased a 160 acre farm near the White Mountains (only about 45 miles from the Canadian border) with Amy's daughter, Claudia, and son-in-law, Bob.  They told us that it was done as "an act of faith" that they could afford the place and the renovations needed to make it a working income-producing farm - hence, the name "Faith Valley Farm."  They hope to make hay a "cash crop" and Amy is also doing organic vegetable farming and hopes to sell her produce  with the help of a local farm co-op.


We had a wonderful time touring the local area and checked out the historic Cog Railroad and drove the scenic "Kanc" highway.  Amy is quite the cook - she treated us to wonderful homecooked meals and her yummy pancakes were just exceptional - probably the best we've ever eaten!


Hope you enjoy the photos below.  Just double click the underlined word Photos below and then click "slideshow".  We'd love to read your comments!


Photos

Summer Wedding on Naushon Island

Joanne's brother's son, Brian married Zoe,  member of  a Forbes family that traces its roots back to sixth century Scotland.  The family trust owns Naushon Island, the wedding site, near Woods Hole.  We were invited!

Years ago,  Joanne, known as the Squid Lady then, worked at the Marine Biomedical Institute, UTMB, for Roger Hanlon.  They were young, spirited and hard working. Roger moved on to Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Joanne moved on to management positions at UTMB. We saw Roger on CNN and also noted an article he authored in National Geographic in the last few years - but had not visited since he left Galveston. So we arranged to visit Roger during our trip.

Roger has come a long way since he and his family inhabited Fish Village on Galveston Island!  He treated us to dinner at an "off the beaten path" restaurant down Sippewisset Road.  (I love these Indian place names - here is another one: Mashpee), and tours of his house and lab.   Click these links to learn about Roger's research and view a Cuttle fish video.

We rode the private ferry from Woods Hole to attend a barbeque on Friday aftenoon on Naushon Island.
The island is all woodlands and pastures surrounded stone and wood rail fences.  The ferry docks in
Hadley Harbor.  I learned that the moorings are free when not in use by a family member and that the harbor is filled with a hundred or so boats in the summer. I guess June is not yet summer in New England! 

The McDermott clan rented a house on the water in East Falmouth, another beautiful location for our stay.

The wedding happened on the grounds of the Stone House on Naushon Island on Saturday afternoon. After dinner and dancing we all, including Marie, walked down the rural road with Al leading the way with a lantern for the ferry ride back to Woods Hole.

Please view our Photo Album.

Chartering a Catamaran in BELIZE

Double click this link  Belize Photos


Richard and I were lucky enough to charter a catamaran with our Texas Boating Buddies of TMCA (Texas Mariner's Cruising Association) to the beautiful Central American country of BELIZE.  Check out our photos by double-clicking "Belize Photos" just above this post.


It was a quick 2 hour flight direct from Houston and before we knew it, we landed in Belize City to catch a tiny little plane north to San Pedro (only 15 minute flight!)  We chartered with TMM charters and took possession of a large catamaran.  John Allison was the expert captain and he brought along his son, Chris, because his wife, Peggy, was recouperating from chemo.  The rest of the crew were Patrice & Lee (who accompanied us to Croatia just a few years ago) and Jack Odam.  There were 4 more TMCA couples on another catamaran, who sailed with us.  We had a great bunch of people and traveled together to wonderful anchorages. 


We enjoyed snorkeling especially at Tobacco Key and saw hundreds of gorgeous colored fish and eagle rays.  Jack cooked us great meals aboard and we also enjoyed some of the local cuisine - curry shrimp and grilled fish with lots of mashed potatoes and cabbage (cole slaw like) veggies. Yum!


Towards the end of the week, the weather turned rainy - but the week flew by and before we knew, we were saying our goodbyes.  All in all, another terrific charter with good friends and great times.