December 11 – January 24

It's been a while since my last update, so first, we're still alive and cruising!

The last posting ended at Palafax Marina in Pensacola. From there, we spent a night at Panama City Marina, and then went to Port St. Joe, a nice town on the “forgotten coast.” We had planned on being further south by the time we got there, but since we weren't, we rented a car and drove to Sarasota with Darrel and Sue (Present Moment). Julie and Sophie were flying to Tampa on December 20^th, and Darrel and Sue were flying from Tampa to Detroit on the 21^st, so we drove south, and stayed at Susie and Bill's (friends of Darrel and Sue's) condo on Longboat Key for 10 days, while Julie and Sophie visited. We went to Mote Aquarium, Sarasota Jungle Gardens, Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, St. Armond Circle, and many good restaurants. Although the weather was chilly, we often walked on the beach, searching for shells, and looked forward to the beautiful sunsets. After they left, Rob and I visited the John Ringling Circus Museum, enjoyed dinner at Mike and Nadia Ritter's house; met Greg Perry and his friend, Jerry, for lunch at Marina Jack's; and met Dan, Donna, Olivia and Layla Gilbert for dinner at the Salty Dog. When talking with Nadia, Riviera Swim Club came up, and I found out that she was my counselor, and she grew up across from my grandparents' house on Berkeley. It's really a small world!

Ice on the Bow – Panama City

Panama City Marina

Julie and I at Phillipe Creek Restaurant

Julie and Sophie at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens

Marie Selby Botanical Gardens

Julie at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens

Sophie and Julie, Sunset on Longboat Key

Julie at Sarasota Jungle Gardens

Sarasota Jungle Gardens

Rob at Sarasota Jungle Gardens

Julie at Sarasota Jungle Gardens

Sarasota Jungle Gardens

Deb, Rob, Sophie and Julie at dinner in Sarasota

Julie, Longboat Key Beach

Sophie, Longboat Key Beach

Julie, Longboat Key Beach

Rob, Julie and Sophie at St. Armand Circle

Sophie and Julie, Longboat Key

Sophie, me and Julie, Longboat Key

Sunset, Longboat Key

Jerry, Rob and Greg – Sarasaota

Donna, Olivia, Dan and Layla Gilbert – Dinner in Sarasota

Siesta Key - Sue and Darrel's Condo

Siesta Key - Sue and Darrel's Condo

When Sue and Darrel got back from Detroit, we drove back to Port St. Joe, where we celebrated new year's eve. We had Darrel and Sue on Lady Royal for appetizers, then had dinner on Present Moment. After dinner, Carl and Ricki (Quest) and Skip and Barb (Moor $tuff) joined us for cocktails and dessert. Just before midnight, we had the dropping of the orange fender, to officially welcome 2011. At that point, all of us decided to go celebrate across the street at the Haughty Heron, only to find out that everything closed at midnight. Our option was to go to Mexico Beach, 20 minutes west, to once again celebrate the new year since it was an hour earlier. As inviting as the option sounded, we opted out.

Sunset, Port St. Joe

Sunset, Port St. Joe

Darrel, Sue, Deb and Rob – Settled in at Port St. Joe

Darrel, Sue, Carl, Ricki, Skip, Barb and Rob – New Year's Eve

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1-Happy New Year!

Our next stop was Carabelle, which was our last stop before crossing the gulf. While traveling the loop, there are two ways to get from Carabelle (or Apalachicola) to Tarpon Springs (or Clearwater). The northern part of the inner coastal ends at Carabelle, and you travel in open waters until Tarpon Springs, so boaters either cut across the gulf, or travel around the “big bend.” When traveling across, it takes about 21 hours at our cruising speed of 8 knots. When traveling around the bend, it could take days, depending on the weather windows. We chose to cut across, and did so with Darrel and Sue, our fearless leaders. Sue had been watching the weather forecasts for months, waiting for the perfect day to cross. Our thanks go to her, because the weather couldn't have been better. It was REALLY dark out there! Well, for Sue and Darrel, it was REALLY dark. We had the view of their stern light, which we followed throughout the night. We saw the shore at dawn, but couldn't get too close to shore until it was light, because there are hundreds of crab pots that you have to dodge as you get closer to shore. Since our ambitious speed of 8 knots got us there earlier than expected, we cruised south for an hour, right into the sunrise, and then changed our course, heading into Clearwater. We made it! OK, we almost made it. The Clearwater Yacht Club was in sight – but the next thing we knew, we had both run aground, and had to wait about a half hour until the tide rose to finally approach the marina. Ahh, tied up at last! We registered, and walked to Frenchie's, where we had lunch and sangria. Clearwater beaches are beautiful, although the weather wasn't warm enough to spend too much time there.

Deb, Rob, Darrel and Sue – Ready for the Crossing!

Cruising in Daylight

Sunset

Night Cruising (Scary!)

Sunrise

Sunrise (Present Moment)

Sunrise (Present Moment)

Crab Pots

Clearwater

Deb, Rob, Darrel and Sue at Frenchie's

From Clearwater, we flew to Cleveland to surprise Darcy for her 50^th birthday, and spend time with family and friends. It's always good to go home, and the time always goes by too quickly. We also drove to Columbus to see Brian's new apartment. After a week-long visit, we flew back to Clearwater, and headed to Tierra Verde, where we went aground for the second time! OOPS... we were out of the channel, and the water gets really shallow outside the channel. OK, the first thing to do when going aground is stay calm. The second thing is to know where the phone number is for Boat US, the service that every boater should have. The third thing is to be nice to the Coast Guard sheriffs who pass by before Boat US arrives. We were successful at all three, and the sheriffs kindly pulled us back into the channel. The fourth thing to remember is to capture the memory of the sheriffs towing us, which I forgot to do. Oh well, three out of four isn't bad! We continued on our journey, and just before reaching Tierra Verda, received a radio transmission from Ray (Summertime) who we had met in Charlevoix, Michigan. He heard one of our transmissions to a bridge tender, and radioed back to us. It was great hearing from him, and that night, we had dinner with Ray and Linda at St. Pete Beach.

The next day, we went to Twin Dolphin Marina in Bradenton, just north of Sarasota. This is a great marina, that is protected and really boater friendly. The restaurant, Mattison's, has live music every Wednesday through Sunday, a great happy hour, and a great menu. The facility has a laundry room, clean showers, a heated pool and whirlpool, and a small town nearby. There are many people living on their boats, and there is always activity on the docks. We were glad to have Mike and Nadia Ritter and Cary and Ava Hodous on Lady Royal for cocktails and appetizers, before going to dinner at Mattison's. The weather even warmed up, and we took advantage of the warmer climate by going with Darrel and Sue to their condo, spending the day at Siesta Key, having a cook out, and spending the night there. After spending a week in Bradenton, we headed to Venice, FL and stayed at the Crow's nest. Sue and Darrel's friends, Ted and Tom, were traveling with them, and once we were docked, Ted and Sue went fishing and caught three catfish, which were all thrown back in. The bait tip? The smellier the shrimp, the better. From Venice, we came to Burnt Store Marina, just south of Punta Gorda, Pam and Bob's (Mint Julep) home port. We met Rhonda and Joey (Rhojo), and Jerry and Carolyn (Sassy), and all went to dinner together. We hadn't seen Pam and Bob since Chicago, and it was great seeing them again. Once the weather clears, we'll head south.

Dinner at Mattison's
(sitting) Mike and Nadia;
(standing) Sue, Rob, Deb, Cary, Ava and Darrel

Dolphins Swimming next to Lady Royal on the Way to Venice.

Dolphins!

Still Playing!

Too Cool!

Tom and Ted on Present Moment

You Go Girl!

The Big Catch!

Present Moment Going Under One of Many Bridges

Sarasota

Sarasota

Sunken Houseboat!

Tom, Ted, Sue and Darrel

Rob and Deb

November 22 - December 10

November 22 – December 10

We enjoyed our time and company in Mobile, AL before leaving for Thanksgiving. 

Cheers! Another successful day

I went to Cleveland – thanks, Dan and Ellen for being such wonderful hosts for Thanksgiving; and  thanks, mom and dad for letting me stay at your house! It was great seeing everyone. Thumbs up to Brian for deciding to go back to school; and we look forward to seeing Julie and Sophie in Sarasota in a few weeks. It's always good to come back home.

Rob went to New Orleans to visit Alan Smason who, after losing his home in Hurricane Katrina, came to Cleveland and worked at the CJN. Rob had never been to New Orleans, and Alan was a great host, having a lot of knowledge about the City.

Here's some information from Alan's blog:

I got an alert just before Thanksgiving that my old boss at the Cleveland Jewish News, Rob Certner, was considering coming to visit New Orleans. Since August Rob and his lady friend Debby have been traveling by a 43-foot trawler from out of Cleveland past Lake Michigan and down through the Illinois, Ohio, Mississippi, Ohio, Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers as well as the Tombigbee Waterway. While Debby was winging her way to have Thanksgiving dinner with Cleveland relatives, Rob had opted to rent a car and take the two-hour trip to the Crescent City. I offered him a place to stay, but more than that a deep immersion into the city of my birth. The first day we visited Domilise's, a po-boy restaurant noted for its fried seafood sandwiches and he was amazed. Later, after taking a tour of most of the parts of the city, Rob was then instructed in the making of and the drinking of the official New Orleans cocktail, the Sazerac. Finally, we enjoyed a meal at Galatoire's Restaurant on Bourbon Street, a favorite of locals for decades. Rob and I enjoyed the latter part of the night sipping absinthe under the stars.

Alan and Annette Smason with Rob at Galatoire's

Is there any more an iconic New Orleans image other than Jackson Square with the imposing structures of St. Louis Cathedral flanked by the historic Cabildo and Presbytere on its left and right, respectively? In the picture at the top, Rob and I enjoy a spectacular view of the river with Jackson Square behind us. The twin Pontalba Buildings on the left and right sides of Jackson Square, which are the oldest apartment buildings in America, are mostly obscured by trees (at left) and out of view on the right. Then we made our way next door to historic Café du Monde to eat beignets and enjoy coffee with chicory. Rob had his coffee black and I had the more popular café au lait.

Thanksgiving at Commander's Palace

The piéce de résistance was the traditional Thanksgiving meal at world famous Commander's Palace Restaurant in the Garden District. The famous offerings include turtle soup and all manner of fresh Louisiana seafood. Rob and I had the turkey, while my mom enjoyed the redfish. Above we all enjoyed different desserts. Rob had the strawberry shortcake. My mom had the caramel cup custard, while I had the decadent white chocolate bread pudding souflé. All in all we had a magnificent meal to cap off Rob's visit. Rob and Debby will soon be off to visit more of the Gulf Coast, but I have good reason to believe he will be back soon.

Our plan was to meet back in Mobile Bay Monday, and travel to Pensacola Tuesday and Wednesday to catch flights to NYC to visit Rob's kids, Rachel, Brian, Becky and John. The plan was too aggressive. When boating, you only move when the weather cooperates, and the two days planned for travel definitely weren't boating days. So it's good to always have a Plan B! Since our flight was out of Pensacola, we rented a car and spent a few days in Rosemary Beach. Thanks, David and Ivy! We really appreciate your generosity for letting us stay in your penthouse suite. Rosemary Beach is a beautiful area, although quite a ghost town at this time of year. Although the beaches were deserted, we bundled up and enjoyed walking on them. We looked forward to having cocktails on the decks and watching the sun set, but in 30 degree weather, that didn't happen. It was a relaxing time, we appreciated the vacation from our adventure, and look forward to going back when it's warmer.

Sunset in Rosemary

Rosemary, 1st day was warmer

Beautiful Beach!

Calm before the storm

Our next journey was to New York to visit Rachel, Brian, Becky and John (Rob's kids). We enjoyed our Chanukah dinner and spent time in the city, which is beautiful during the holidays. We also ventured out to Claverack to spend time at Rachel and Brian's country home, shopped and had lunch with Brett (Deb's nephew). 

Lunch at Caracas Arepa (quite good!)

Rockefeller Center

Rockefeller Center

Daddy with his girls (Becky and Rachel)

Tidbit: When we came back down to Mobile we were told by Meredith (Andiamo) that it is pronounced by the people down south as MoBeeeel, with the emphasis on the second syllable!

Again, weather was rough so we stayed put at Dog River Marina in Mobile Bay. Our thanks go to Bill and Meredith for inviting us to their home on Dauphin Island for some home-town gumbo. The next night we went to a BBQ restaurant with Bill, Meredith, Darrel and Sue.

Bill and Meredith... Home Sweet Home

At Bill and Meredith's

Sunset on Mississippi Sound

View from Bill and Meredith's Dock

Cruising time again! For the past two days we've been cruising with Sue and Darrel on Present Moment. Great fun! Just before entering Perdida Bay in Alabama we saw dolphins!!! So of course, I was on the decks for quite a while trying to capture photos, a feat not easily accomplished.

Since leaving Mobile, we stayed at Homeport Marina and had dinner at LuLu's, a popular restaurant on that is owned by Jimmy Buffet's sister. It's cute, but the food isn't that great. The next night, we stayed at  Palafox Pier Yacht Club, a new club in Pensacola, and had a great dinner at Jaco's.

AHHHH.... Almost in Florida!

LuLu's Restaurant at Homeport Marina

Sue and Darrel - Life is grand!

Sunset at Palafox

More Sunset

Somewhere along the way!

Palm trees! It must be getting warm!

So that brings us up to date. We're cruising across Santa Rosa Sound on the GICW (Gulf Intra-Coastal Waterway), heading toward Apalachicola or Carabelle to cross the gulf, which will be an adventure in itself. If you want to get a humorous rendition of Jeff and Dorene's crossing, Check out their blog at 30belowlog.blogspot.com. I think the post is dated November 26.

Have a great week... thanks for following... and look for more, soon! xoxo

Happy holidays to all.