Day#84-Lido & Otter Bay

 

Stayed another day here in our bird sanctuary. It's been fun to watch the Osprey protecting their nest. We had to anchor again because we noticed some dragging and sure enough, we had another cement block attached to our anchor. We took the dinghy to drop off our trash again and explored through a little canal that took us to St. Armands Circle that had a small shopping district that included Kilwin's. We also saw some manatees when we tied up to someone's dock so I could get off to dump our trash in the recepticles on the street. Cooled off quite a bit today, but sunny. We hope to venture off tomorrow for another anchorage.

Day#83-Lido & Otter Key

Well, we're still here weathering out the cold front with some rain and cooler temps. I miss the sunshine already!  Its truly amazing how time is used up on the boat these days. Scot has been in the "man cave" once again to draw up a design for the part we need. He has contacted two companies and scanned his drawing to them, hoping to hear some good news. One company might be able  to rebuild the part.....let's keep our fingers crossed.
Might be staying here for another day due to the weather. It is still raining and has been since 10:00 am.


Wow....nice house!

Thank goodness that we have some great music to listen to on Scot's iPod...thanks to Ryan for downloading all of our favorite tunes.

Day#82-Lido & Otter Key

Took off around 8;00am and tried to get back into the Intercoastal Waterway, but sure enough, we ran aground. Luckily, Scot could back us of the shallow area. Another power boat came by and asked us which way are we trying to go. We said south, and he told us to follow him out into the channel. It's  amazing how shallow the waters can be and it probably was low tide too!!! 
Went to an anchorage right on the other side of Sarasota but it looked too shallow. Some guy was standing in the water and it was only knee deep. We said "No-way are we going in there!" So we went with Plan B and found a beautiful anchorage on the other side of Sarasota and there are some gorgeous homes around here.
Another cold front is coming through, so we might be here for a couple of days. Today should be the last warm day for another week. Right now it is sunny and 82 degrees. The southeast winds have died down considerably. We were bucking into it on the way down here with some white caps on Sarasota Bay.

Took a dinghy ride to a nearby beach to drop off trash in the dumpsters provided and to check out the area. The water must be in the 70's and it felt refreshing.

Day#81-Longbeach Key, FL

Busy anchorage

Stayed another day to venture to town, Santa Maria Island. We finally caught the "free" trolley after walking about 45min.Went shopping @ Publix and then took the "free" trolley back to the beach and transferred to another trolley and for .60 took us back the route, 45min that we walked earlier. Another sunny day and temps in the high 70's. Still a busy anchorage, but we will take off tomorrow morning to find another "new" home for the night. We were able to watch Univ. of  MI beat Ohio State today and waiting to watch ND/Stanford tonight. I love my college football on Saturdays!

Day#80-Longboat Key, FL.

Nothing like working on the boat all day long!!!! 

 

 

Scot performed some needed minor repairs until we can get some  parts. Hope to take off to another anchorage on our way to Sarasota, FL. Kind of cool and winds out of the SE gusting up to 18 knots. This anchorage is getting pretty busy with sailboats because of the weekend and we saw an ultralight plane land and take off !

Day#79-Longboat Key

Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.  We had a very nice meal with Scot's college buddy and who was in our wedding,  Mike Archer, and ate fish! 
When in Florida......eat fish...not turkey.

 

 

Working on an oil leak problem....wish us luck....we might need it!

Day#78-Anna Maria Island

Well here we are all safe and sound, but a little wet. Left Bradenton around 10:15 and cruised down here, Longboat Key, until about 1:00pm. Of course, I had to set the anchor in the rain, but it was a nice warm rain. We did notice that the sky behind us was getting kind of dark, but the weatherman said that there was a 30% chance of rain around 3-4:00pm for the area north of Tampa. We knew that the cold front was coming through today and it has dropped about 10 degrees already. We are anchored near a restaurant called "Moorings" and they specialize in stone crabs. Maybe that will be our Thanksgiving Dinner tomorrow. We have no turkey to bake in our tiny oven. We hope to meet Mike Archer, a college friend of Scot's who lives in Bradenton, for lunch tomorrow. It will be fun to catch up after all these years!