After three grueling days in the boat yard, we arrived at our most southern destination for our winter 2012 boating season, Key West; well, Stock Island actually, one island up from KW. We’ll be docked for a month at Key West Harbour. Stock Island is close enough to Key West…

I am truly in the swing of things on day two in the boat yard. The good news is the On & Off product helped de-wax the hull, one of the steps needed to properly prepare the hull for bottom paint. Next, and it was probably overkill, I applied acetone…

The 2012, Third Annual Looper “Sunset Celebration” was a huge success with over 120 in attendance. It was a little windy (not a problem for Loopers) – lots of good food was shared along with a chance to reacquaint ourselves with old friends. Thanks Patricia & George Hospodar for organizing the…

Amazing as it seems, Jim and I have never tried stone crab claws, so, off we go for the well known happy hour at Keys Fisheries Restaurant in Marathon. This is a good way to try this seafood special at a great price and we love the atmosphere. We’ve been…

Dinner in the marina tonight with friends Scott and Cyndi Perkins, on Chip Ahoy. It’s always a pleasure to bump into this couple whom we met on our first Great Loop boat trip in 2006. Also from Michigan, Scott and Cyndi sail down Florida’s West Coast to the Keys every…

Another fun party in Marathon. Ken Chumley, on Mosey, organized the 2012 MTOA Gathering on the docks of Sombrero Dockside Marina (same spot as our Tuesday night pot luck a few days ago). It was a good time with lots of food and conversation. Lorenzo (Little David), Lisa, Ellen and…

We arrived back at Goodland yesterday afternoon and anchored in the basin next to the marina and hauled the boat out early this morning and tried to clean the bottom up a little. We’re hoping to get to Marathon early enough to relaunch and get settled at the marina.  …

Our mission today was to leave our anchorage in Russell Pass somewhat early in the morning and head over to Everglades City (located along the Barron River on the boundary of Everglades National Park), about a seven mile run. We’ve been hearing about the Rod and Gun Club since our…

We’ve been through the Everglades twice in the past six years but we’ve never made it to Everglade City. Today that will change as we are headed there to have lunch at the infamous Rod and Gun Club. A beautiful day to cruise in the Everglades, calm water and clouds…

Not many women get an opportunity to enjoy a romantic Valentine’s Day dinner with their sweetie in a remote setting like our anchorage tonight in Russell Pass – Everglades National Park. It might not appeal to some but I have to tell you I’m lovin’ it. We’re anchored tonight with…

We’ve completed almost two Great Loop boat trips (a circumnavigation of the Eastern United States from the Heartland Rivers to the North Atlantic Seaboard, Canada and the Great Lakes) and both times we bypassed a few stops we wished we had had time to include in our schedule while in…

In true boater tradition, Ranger Tug owners still at the rendezvous, Carol, Jess, Cheryll, and myself got up early to hit the Farmer’s Market about two blocks away from the marina under the San Carlos Blvd. Bridge. It was a small affair but we all found something we needed.

The Historic Village of Boca Grande, on the island of Gasparilla, is located at the southern tip of the Cape Haze Peninsula on Florida’s Southwest Coast midway between Sarasota and Ft. Myers. Nature has blessed this lush barrier island with seven miles of powdery white beaches stretching the entire Gulf…

… well the Kadey Krogen kind anyways. This trawler’s name was also Manatee. She sure looked good on the water today with the bright colors and her manatee sail catching the wind as she made her way by us on the  GICW. We stopped to exchange greetings and to see…

On our way to a Nokomis and a little restaurant we’ve passed a few times when traveling through this area. Today we decided to make Pop’s a lunch stop and to meet up with fellow MTOA members, Fred and Lorraine Ford-Smith. Fred and Lorraine met us on the dock and…

Established in 1948, the Ringling Circus Museum celebrates the American circus. located just north of Sarasota the museum is a must see for visitors to the Sarasota area.The museum was the first in the country to document the rich history of the circus. More recently the world’s largest miniature circus…

When we’ve been anchoring out a lot we look forward to getting into a big city marina and we can’t think of a better place along this beautiful Gulf Coast than Sarasota. It has everything here to satisfy a cruising boater. Nice marina facilities (Marina Jack), restaurants right on the…

On our way to Gulfport today. Great cruising weather, calm as could be, not too many boat wakes to contend with and we were happy about that. We’ve heard lots of good reports from other boaters about this little community near St. Petersburg. We made arrangements to stay one-night at the…

Anchoring in Florida is a real treat. Lots of options available, we decide to try a few new spots (new to us anyways). Instead of anchoring in St. Pete Beach, which we’ve done a couple of times before, we stopped a little earlier and tried this spot off Redington Beach….

Before leaving Tarpon Springs we needed to top off the fuel tank, we found the F & Y fuel dock close to the Sponge Docks and we were surprised at all the help we got. Captain Gregg and his little dog Monster greeted us along with the fuel guy and…