We headed south towards Venice and we were planning on anchoring, but another Loop boat we met at the Otter Key Anchorage, Heartbeat, reminded us that there is a courtesy dock in Venice. It is supposed to be for day use only, but we figured we’d attempt to stay overnight and see if anyone asked us to the leave the dock.
We were followed by this Coast Guard boat on and off for about a half hour as soon as we got underway. Everytime he turned away, we breathed a sigh of relief, but he would always circle back and keep following us. Must have just liked the look of our crowded cockpit?!?We passed by some AMAZING houses on this stretch of the ICW!!
When we were all tied up on the dock, we headed right for the beach. The surf was up and there were lots of surfers enjoying the waves. I was glad that our trip on the ICW was smooth and calm after seeing the waves in the Gulf. We walked towards a restaurant on the water for dinner and then settled in for the night.
Lots of surfers out there!!The restaurant gives kids Wikki Stix to play with while they wait for their food. Awesome!!
The next morning, Mike took the big kids to explore a deserted island we discovered last year when we rented a boat in the area and I went for a jog. Later, Grandma Hays brought Tobin back to the boat after having him at her house for a few nights. Once we were all together again, it was time for us to move on, but we were kind of sad about leaving Venice so soon. It seemed like such a fun area with lots to explore. I have a feeling we will be back someday!!
We left Gulfport to head towards Sarasota. This was a big day because we would have to do through Tampa Bay and pass by the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. I have driven over the bridge many, many times in my life, so going past it on our own boat felt amazing.
Heading towards Sarasota, it felt like EVERYONE was going that way!! There were quite a few boats all headed the same direction. Along the way we passed by The Bridgetender Bar and Restaurant on Anna Maria Island. We really thought about stopping in for an overnight anchorage, but it was packed. Instead of stopping there, we took pics and remembered all the special family times we had there.
This one was a bit of a close call, so we waited for it to open.We’ve spent several evenings sitting at the Bridgetender just dreaming of doing something similar to what we’re doing. Funny how things turn full circle.
Pulling in to Sarasota felt like a huge milestone for me. The skyline of Chicago is more impressive, but Sarasota is much more meaningful. I’ve been coming to the Sarasota area annually since I was 7, so watching those familiar buildings grow closer and closer was awesome!
Plus, this guy makes everything awesome, obviously!!
We anchored right by Marina Jacks mooring area and explored a playground right next to the anchorage.
After we tired of that playground we dinghied over to the tikki bar by Marina Jacks and had a beer with our toes in the sand. We remembered our kids playing there when they were very little and other dinner cruises we came to the harbor for in the past. So many great memories here!! Plus, the kids played at another playground that we could see from our picnic table THE WHOLE TIME, so that was like 30 minutes of uninterrupted adult time!! Amazing!!
Stats for December 8, 2018
Origin: Marina Jacks Anchorage
Destination: Hyatt Regency Docks
Distance: 6.7 miles
Speed: 5.3 mph
Time on the Move: 1 hour and 10 minutes
The Zeeffs were staying right around the corner from our anchorage at the Hyatt Regency, so we headed their way the next day to check out their AWESOME pool!! It was a super fun day for kids and adults, the kind that slips away before you realize it.
It didn’t take much convincing for Mike to head back to the boat and bring it over to the dock so we could stay another day enjoying the pool and company.
The next day was not near as nice–it was chilly, rainy, and blustery, so we took the opportunity to decorate the boat for Christmas. It was a fun way to spend the day, and with Mike watching football on TV in the background, it felt like we were back in our house–almost.
We took advantage of an after dinner swim in the amazing pool and were thankful we stayed at this awesome spot!!
Manatees in the water!We got to see the Christmas Light Boat Parade.I love how excited the kids were to dig in to the Christmas decorations we brought from home. Especially the books!!Lots of Christmas crafts, too!!Before bed, Mike creeped everybody out by shaving off most of his facial hair and just leaving a mustache. It immediately sent Hayley into tears, but apparently Colin had a little fun with it. Luckily he shaved the stash off later that night!
Stats for December 10, 2018
Origin: Hyatt Regency Docks
Destination: Otter Key Anchorage
Distance: 18.2 miles
Speed: 7.5 mph
Time on the Move: 2 hours and 40 minutes
We wanted to move to an anchorage close by that we’d heard about from other loopers. It was in a great protected spot and close by the Mote Marine Aquarium that we wanted to get to while we were in town.
Luckily we only had to dinghy under this bridge. No way the big boat would fit!!
Grandma came to pick us up at St. Armand’s Circle to head to the aquarium while Mike borrowed her car to start provisioning for the Bahamas. We figure we will need to stock up quite a bit, so we wanted to start while we had easy access to a car.
I think the manatees were our favorite part!!Lunch with Grandma at the Salty Dog!! It was freezing!! A start to our provisioning. Lots of shelf stable milk!! And some beer, of course!!Beer, wine, milk, and tons of cereal was on the list for the first round of provisioning.Otter Key was a great, protected anchorage with views of some beautiful homes in the area!!
The next day we dinghied over to the beach to do some exploring. We found all kinds of jellyfish and even a blue crab. The kids loved that they could wander on a path just on the other side of some brush so they couldn’t see us. We didn’t mind the break, either!
We got a care package from Grandma and Grandpa Herbon filled with Michigan goodies!!
Exploring in the park!!Look at those waves in the Gulf!!A blue crab that we found washed up on shore.
Once the tide was up, we were headed out to our next destination, so we headed back to the boat to get moving, but we had such a fun morning exploring. If only every day could start with some beach exploration!!
After a super late night getting back to the boat around 2 am we were absolutely exhausted the next day. I was up at 7 to pick up my mom so I could return her car, and I almost felt sick I was so tired. Mike felt the same way and I’m sure the kids were worn out as well. Moving the boat seemed like a huge task when all we wanted was to rest and relax, so we were extremely thankful when the Zeeffs told us we should join them in Gulfport. They had moved just down the ICW about 10 miles while we were in Disney. We were thrilled to have someone give us a destination, tell us the weather was good for traveling, and have children that would entertain our children when we got there. We took care of necessary boat chores and sent Grandma on her way in her car before pushing back from the dock heading for Gulfport.
The trip was short and was fairly uneventful. We anchored in a bay just outside from the marina and made a quick lunch. We wanted to meet the Zeeffs at a deserted island about a mile away to let the kids explore. The Zeeffs stopped by on their dinghy on their way to the island while we were eating lunch. Then about 5 minutes later, when we were still eating lunch, they stopped back by and said they had an emergency with a patch on their dinghy because it suddenly became unglued and so they were headed back to dry land. That was a big bummer because it meant they wouldn’t be joining us at the island, but it was good that they realized they had a problem before they got too far from land. So after lunch we set out for the island solo.
It was a nice dinghy ride, but unfortunately we approached the island from a very shallow area and ended up having to walk about 100 yards through ankle deep water, pulling the dinghy behind us. Turns out if we would have approached from a different angle, we would have been in deep water the whole time. Who knew?!
The boys loved the island!! Right away they found spiders in the woods that had pointy yellow corners and a smiley face on their backs. Then they found multiple tree forts to climb up into and explore. They found a long stick and a rope and a coconut and sea slugs. The entertainment for them was endless. Hayley didn’t seem to enjoy the island quite so much. She wasn’t in to the spiders, didn’t appreciate the unknowns of the tree forts, and definitely hated the sea slugs. So basically, she hung close to mom.
Tobin plays the drums!!1st horseshoe crab!!Tree forts are always so magical!!
We walked around the edges of the island and enjoyed the warm sunshine. Soon enough, though, the island excitement wore out for mom and dad and we were pulling the boys out of tree forts to get them back on the dinghy. We rode over to the town of Gulfport next and explored along their main strip. It looked like a fun place with several shops and restaurants right along the beach. There was a free dock for day boaters and dinghys to tie up temporarily. After walking around town we headed back to the boat for dinner and bed. We were still recovering from the Disney trip and we were thankful for a low key day to ease back into boating.
Thanks for reading and following along!!
2 Nights in Disney World and 1 more exhausted night in St Pete Beach
After leaving brunch with my mom and aunts, Mike and I told the kids we were running to the grocery store. And we did. We let the kids buy tons of treats and bought a few items to make some easy meals. Then, just when the kids thought we were heading back to the boat, we were actually heading to Disney World.
We decided Disney would be a great Christmas present experience for us since we can’t add a lot more toys to the boat. Plus Tobin has never been there, and it was time to introduce him to the magic that is Disney (Colin and Hayley went 2 years ago when Colin turned 6, but Tobs was too small so he stayed home). We didn’t tell the kids a thing about Disney and just drove right to our hotel.
As we got closer, Hayley started to notice the Disney world signs and started catching on slowly. Tobin wanted to know when we could go to Disney World. Colin worked on reading a book. It wasn’t until Hayley actually figured it out that we confirmed her suspicions that we WERE in fact GOING TO DISNEY WORLD.
It was so funny to see their reactions, especially because they are all so different. Hayley was just so over the top excited. Colin doubted that we were really taking them to Disney (until he put his bookmark in, as his former teacher noticed, and then he started to believe). Tobin just sat there and took it all in, mostly with a big grin on his face. What a great surprise!!
We planned to stay at Fort Wilderness Lodge in a cabin for 2 nights. The kids were thrilled with the cabin–it had bunk beds, 2 tvs, another big bed, and tons of space (at least about the same amount as our boat). On that first night we headed straight for the pool. The kids loved the waterslide and we even saw an alligator as we walked toward the pool. After swimming we hoped to see fireworks, but it started pouring rain, so we had a relaxing night lounging in our beds with big fluffy pillows, watching Disney Junior. It was amazing.
The next morning we were up and at em right away, heading to Epcot. Everything was magical and we started off the day seeing Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy. Tobin was especially excited to see the characters. We took time walking through the country areas, meeting characters when it was convenient, and then we started searching for rides. The highlight of the day was our last ride, the one where you design a car and drive it on a test track. It was great to see Colin and Hayley work together to design their car and everyone was thrilled with the ride.
Straight to the characters!! Tobin’s #1 request!!Minnie was in LOVE with Hayley!! She made a big fuss over Hay’s Minnie ears, shirt, and homemade skirt by Grandma Hays. Hayley felt so special!!Christmas decorations everywhere!!We were so lucky we got to see Santa and Mrs. Claus!! The teamwork these 2 showed at Test Track was amazing!! Hayley kept saying how much she loved their car that they built!
We ended up returning to the hotel earlier than we’d planned, but we were exhausted and knew we wanted to stay up late for fireworks the next night, so we decided not to push it and stay out too late. Another night of falling asleep to cartoons in bed. Life at Disney is sure sweet.
On our last morning I was up and at em around 5:00 getting lunches made, packing up all of our stuff, and getting everyone ready to go. We were headed to the Magic Kingdom and so excited for all of the fun. It was great to see how excited the kids were for the rides, the characters, the parade, and the fireworks. Tobin kept asking what Colin and Hayley did on their last visit because he wanted to do the exact same stuff, and the older kids were so excited to tell him about everything they remembered.
First ride of the day–Aladdin’s magic carpet ride!Splash Mountain! We rode it twice because there was NO line (probably because it was freezing out!) Colin was such a good sport going on several rides by himself when they wouldn’t let us put 3 in a car. He LOVED driving by himself!! Time flies!Writing in their autograph books to pass the time waiting on princesses. I was so glad I planned (FAR!) ahead and brought autograph books and goodies because the kids always expect some “Disney magic” to appear. We were SO EXHUASTED!!Tobin crashed on our walk out of the park. I can’t even imagine all that walking on those little legs. Good thing his nickname is Muscles!!
Even though the park was extremely busy and it was a lot of waiting at times, we had a great time. All the stress melts away as a parent when you see your kids having so much fun. That sparkle in their eye is just priceless. The trip ended late at night. After the fireworks we let each child choose 1 more ride to go on before heading back to the car. Then we had a 2 hour car ride back to the boat which was still parked at The Rowes’. It was a long day and we were exhausted on the car ride back, but at least the kiddos slept the whole way.
It was nice to get back to the boat, though I wouldn’t have minded a few more days of a big fridge, cable tv, endless hot water in what seemed like a huge shower, and that fluffy pillow.
INNTW was just waiting for us at the Rowe House!
Thanks for reading along and following our adventures!!
This was such a beautiful day at the beach, it was difficult to think about leaving. So instead we packed up and headed for the beach…again. We tried hard to talk ourselves into staying just one more day, but we knew we needed to move on.
Our next stop was at the home of Mike and Leann Rowe, former loopers who live right along the route and welcome loopers to their dock as they pass through town. The Rowes were heading out of town the next day and we knew we wanted to meet with them and visit before they left.
Again, the trip down the ICW was filled with bridges that we wondered if we could fit under. Luckily we did fit under all of them. We found some cool spots, tucked away, that made us think “hmmm we should stop there and check it out” but we kept moving on.
Boat all decorated for Christmas!Looks pretty low, but we made it!!
The Rowes have a great set up for coming in to their dock. They send explicit directions on how to arrive safely and avoid shoaling, complete with a map, and then when you are almost there, you call them on the vhf radio and they talk you all the way in. They have a great set up with lines that move automatically according to the tide, so you don’t have to worry about watching your lines. They also have green lights at the end of their dock so you can watch the birds fish off the dock all evening long instead of working on blog posts like you know you should. We saw lots of fish swimming around down there and it was too cool to watch the birds fish.
As soon as we were tied up, The Rowes invited us in to check out their home and have a “we made it” cocktail. They even let the kids inside!! It is clear our kids have forgotten how to behave in a house, and that was a bit troubling for Mike and I, but after they touched every Christmas ornament and jumped on every couch cushion a few times, they finally settled in and watched some cartoons while the adults talked.
The Rowes looped in 2016-2017 and had infinite amount of wisdom and tips to offer us about the loop and boating in general. We now know where to stay that includes beer with slip rental, that catfish really do have barbs they will stick you with when you fish, and how to catch fish as we cross over to the Bahamas. After chatting for a few hours, it was time to put our kiddos to bed, so we quick fed them and tucked them in. And then I promptly started bird watching from my favorite seat on the sundeck while I should have been blogging. It was hard to go to sleep with all that entertainment right there outside our windows. And it was so peaceful. What an amazing location with a beautiful view. Many thanks to the Rowes for being such amazing hosts and offering their dock to loopers.
We had this amazing view from our sundeck off the Rowe dock!I loved watching these birds fish!!Look at all those fish!!
The next morning we headed off to check out St Pete Beach. Ironically, one of Mike’s college roommates, Paul, lives in Tampa and happened to be staying in St Pete Beach right down the road from us with his wife, Elaine, for the weekend while they cheered on friends and family in a Crossfit competition. We wanted to catch up and the fact that they were staying at a hotel with a pool and a beach bar was an added bonus. We haven’t seen Paul and Elaine for almost 4 years when they joined us for “kids’ day” at our family cousin camp vacation week. It was great to catch up and talk about life with Paul and our kids loved the awesome pool. Plus, with the competition going on, there was a lot of entertainment on the beach including a few bounce houses for the kids. Our kiddos made fast friends with some of the others and played for most of the day. After a few hours on the pool deck and watching the bounce house bounce around in the sand, we had pizza dinner and walked back to the boat at The Rowes’ house.
Getting in a little reading before the fun begins.Postcard Inn–so much fun!!Mike is always such a good sport!!It was great to see Paul and catch up!!Exploring the beach and rock hopping!!
We enjoyed ourselves at Postcard Inn so much that we went right back the next day. Despite the fact that the big Crossfit beach competition wasn’t going on anymore, there was still quite a crowd around the pool and at the beach bar. What a cool spot. Colin and Hayley played pool for a few hours (yes! that long!) so Mike and I enjoyed swimming with Tobin and he was even treated to a kiddie pina colada on one of our trips to the beach bar.
This kid LOVES creatures! Can’t you just feel the excitement?!Tobin’s first time being the photographer!
In the mid-afternoon we were joined by the Zeeffs who brought Living theDream to The Rowes’ house to tie up next to our boat. It was lots of fun for kids and adults to all hang at the Postcard Inn. After dinner out we headed back to the boats and put the sleepy swimmers to bed while the adults watched the birds fish off the dock.
Thanks, Rowes!!
The next day my mom showed up mid morning with my Aunt Lynn and Aunt Marti who were visiting her in Ellenton. It was great to see my aunts because it has been quite a while and they are excellent company. It was also fun to see all the Brown family sisters together. We gave the ladies a tour of the boat and then went out to eat. Afterwards Mom let us borrow her car to run some errands and she went home with the aunts. It was so nice to spend some time with my aunts and have them hang with my kiddos for a bit. I only wish it could have been longer, but we had lots of errands to run, so off we went…
After not loving Tarpon Springs the day before, we woke up uncertain of what to do the next morning. It just seemed like there were SO MANY options!! Marinas and anchorages near and far. It was overwhelming. After thinking it over for a few hours that morning, I came to the conclusion that I didn’t want to stay in Tarpon Springs and I must need a BEACH to get back on track. When mama ain’t happy, take her to the beach!!
We heard how amazing Clearwater Beach Marina was from several other loopers who crossed right to Clearwater. It had good proximity to the beach, so we called them up and reserved the last slip that would fit a boat our size for the next 2 days. WOO HOO.
The crew seemed happy to move on down to the beach. It was a sunny afternoon, great for a boat ride. The short trip, however, was a bit of an eye opener to what travel in this area of Florida would be like. There were boats EVERYWHERE, some going very fast (and it was only a Wednesday?! Who are these people and why aren’t they at work?!). There was an emergency call on the VHF about a capsized kayaker who was missing, so there were emergency boats and a helicopter searching one area of our route. The person was found, so that was good, but it was a bit of an eye-opener.
Happy to be on the water on this beautiful, sunny day!!If you are lucky enough to be serenaded by Tobin, you are lucky enough!!
Also, there were several bridges we needed to pass under. I tried to follow along in the guidebook to see what the vertical clearance of the bridges was ahead of us actually arriving, but that is easier said than done. Quite often I’m making food underway, directing schoolwork, or otherwise entertaining and catering to my crew. On this trip we learned how fast those bridges can sneak up on us. Then we have to quick name the bridge, look up vertical clearance, check the tide level, recalculate vertical clearance, and if it is too low for comfort (we’re not actually sure what our air draft is at this moment, so put that on the to-do list) we have to determine if they open on demand or on a schedule, look up the schedule or call for an opening, and avoid ramming the bridge despite the efforts of the current and the winds. It is BUSY!!
But the trip was worth it!! Clearwater Beach Marina was amazing at first glance!! We sterned in (easier than Tarpon Springs but not without troubles), chatted with some new-to-us loopers on the dock, and then headed for the beach. Colin said he felt like we were finally actually in Florida because of all the high rise condos everywhere.
Yay! So happy we made it to the beach!! Lots of high fives between us today!Sand castle time!!These turtles are all over Clearwater Beach and of course we have to take pictures with every single one.
We had a great visit from our friends who summer in Hubbard Lake, Michigan, Jonathan, Terri, and Fred. They live nearby in Florida the rest of the year and saw we were nearing their home, so they called to see if they could come visit. Of course!! It was great to see a friend from home and all the kids were thrilled with the play time and dinner out. Thanks for the Christmas presents, too!!
Thanks for the visit, Jonathan!!
Thanksgiving morning started with more of the same. Beach fun for the kiddos and mom and boat work for Mike. He wanted to get the oil changed on the engines (ahem, watch football) for our 2nd time on the loop (we anticipate 4 or 5 total oil changes). The rest of us wanted to go to the beach. It was a nice sunny morning–it was amazing how many people were on the beach on Thanksgiving.
Feeling THANKFUL to be at the beach!!The kids traced each other in the sand and then filled in their own bodies. Tobin is so proud of his work!!Hayley joined me on a beach run and somehow we got sidetracked by beach foam.
By the time we went back to the boat for lunch and got Mike out to the beach, it was overcast, windy, and chilly. We toughed it out for a while and then headed back to the boat.
Colin is getting pretty good at using his skim board!Tobin loves playing the bongos for us, and he usually walks around and asks for tips every few minutes.
Somehow the kids watched “Captain Underpants” while I threw together a quick Thanksgiving dinner. We had ham with sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, rolls, and apple strudel. It was surprisingly easy for me to throw it together last minute and everyone loved *most* of it. I call that a win, even though ham was a little strange to have for Thanksgiving. (You might remember I was unable to find a small turkey before we made the crossing out of the panhandle, and I haven’t been to a grocery store since). I heard a statistic that most people spend at least 8 hours preparing Thanksgiving dinner and it takes 12 minutes for most people to finish eating. I was pretty happy with my choice to go the beach instead of cooking all day!!
After dinner, we went for a walk at sunset and came back to watch “Dolphin Tale.” If you don’t have an elementary, middle schooler, or high schooler who has introduced you to the story, “Dolphin Tale” is about a dolphin who was sent to Clearwater Beach Animal Hospital when she was found washed up on shore, tangled in fishing nets. Spoiler alert: she ends up having part of her tail amputated and learns to swim with a prosthetic tale. She has since become a champion for amputees and tweens who love her story. It was a surprisingly good movie with lots of well-known actors. Mike, however, spent the movie working on clearing our freezer of ice build up with a hammer and screwdriver. At one point there was a very loud hissing noise, and we realized quickly that using a hammer and screwdriver to defrost the fridge probably wasn’t the best choice.
Now that we needed to shop for a new fridge, it looked like we were going to be staying in Clearwater Beach a bit longer. It was an easy decision at that point, because doing the fridge shuffle would only be possible at a marina, and really we were trying to talk ourselves into staying longer anyway. I teased Mike that he stabbed the fridge just so we would stay for another week. Our friend Ben even called him a fridge slayer. Hilarious.
This is what our salon looks like with a fridge in it. Not much room for activities. Notice the cooler off to the left there–necessary equipment for a few days!!Giant hole where fridge used to be…Getting that fridge out took some work!! Mike had to take the door off and then take it up to the sundeck and out through one of the side panels. All by himself. Sure stinks to break a perfectly good fridge…
The rest of our time at Clearwater Beach was spent fishing, getting sandy, eating in delicious restaurants, and, of course getting a new fridge (that sounds much easier than it actually was).
There was this funky little bait & tackle shop/restaurant bar right next to our marina. Kind of a crazy combo, but it had a super cool atmosphere and a great view from their patio!! Here we just stocked up on bait and were headed to the fishing pier.Hanging out with the pelicans right next to the boat was super cool. These guys are always entertaining!!Coffee on the sundeck with this view was my favorite part of the day!!We fished right from the bow of the boat.They caught a bunch of catfish. Mike learned the hard way that catfish actually have barbs that will cut you and stick into your skin like a sliver when you try to hold them, hence the gloves. Fishing is so fun!!We walked past the charter fishing fleet every time we went to the beach. If they were ever cleaning fish, there were plenty of birds around the gobble up the leftovers!!There is a sunset festival every night at the pier and they have street performers like this father and son duo. These guys did all kinds of tricks like juggling dangerous items ( I was chosen to hand him a machete, a taser, and some other torture device) and escaping from straight jackets.
Beware of the pirates at sunset!!We went to the Clearwater Beach Marine Aquarium to meet Winter and Hope in real life!! Before this stop, my kids had never heard of this movie. Then so many of you recommended we check it out, Colin remembered that we have a “Dolphin Tale” book on board. After watching both movies and both readers reading the book, here we are seeing them at their home! The kids loved this stop, but seeing the movies first made it extra special!!Holding Winter’s prosthetic tail.Grandma Hays spent a few days with us on the boat and she took a turn to take Hayley back to her house for a while. It was great having her here with us and great having her take Hay, lol. Eliminating 1 kid from the boat makes our lives so much easier, it’s amazing!! Enjoying some rum punch on the sundeck during a beach break. If only every day could be so amazing!!Grandma helped the kids make sock monkeys. I couldn’t believe they whipped these babies up so fast!!Playing checkers with Colin’s new gameboard!! Thanks, Aunt Sherry!
After our 20 hour trip across the Gulf we arrived in Tarpon Springs around noon. You probably remember what a great overnight we had, followed by a hard time getting tied up in the marina. After a long night with little rest and an arrival like that, we didn’t even get a break because we had 3 kids on board who slept GREAT all night and were FILLED with energy. The life of looping parents!!
We were anxious to get off the boat and explore, but first we were hungry. It always seems like we want to get off the boat right when everyone is hungry, so that delays us a little bit (this is true just about every day).
The kids had sandwiches for lunch and were happy to be in Tarpon Springs.We almost lost the captain , but he rallied after 10 minutes of quiet time or so. No rest for the weary on INNTW!!
We met some helpful loopers who welcomed us to Tarpon Springs and watched Miss Daisy get tied up just a few slips down (their landing wasn’t easy, either, but maybe better than ours.) Special thanks to Herb, Harbor Host of Tarpon Springs who came down to our slip to personally welcome us and congratulate us on our crossing. He even came with maps and cinnamon rolls. What a treat!!
Such a cute tourist!!
Tarpon Springs is best known for it’s sponge docks, so we learned a lot about sponges and saw some cool working boats that collect them.
The kids were excited to see this sign of Christmas!!
We ended up walking along the sponge docks and finding a place to eat ice cream!! Surprise surprise!!
After ice cream we found a playground and tried to make a good plan for our exhausted crew for the rest of the night. We weren’t thrilled with Tarpon Springs and part of it was probably because we were tired. There were people haggling us everywhere trying to sell us boat rides and dolphin cruises, and some of them were quite rude when we politely declined. Other than that, there were a million souvenir shops ad lots of restaurants. After pulling the kids out of the souvenir shops, I didn’t really feel like any of us had the patience for dinner out which is unfortunate because we hear they have some great Greek food. So we headed back to the boat for an easy dinner and a movie for the kids while mom and dad relaxed and decompressed.
Thanks for keeping track of our adventures!! This was not one of our favorite stops, but ya just never know!!
The marina offered free breakfast (FREE!! 2nd time on the loop we’ve had FREE breakfast at a marina!) so we headed there as soon as the whole crew was up (which doesn’t take long in a boat–once one of us is up, we’re pretty much all up!!). Just as we were finishing up, the crews of Miss Daisy and The Blessing showed up for breakfast, so we had a planning meeting for our crossing. We decided on the exact path we would take (directly from Dog Island to Anclote Key by Tarpon Springs), we decided on a departure time (5:30 from the Dog Island Inlet), we decided on an order (INNTW would lead the way with AIS, radar, and autopilot, followed by Miss Daisy and then The Blessing), we would not do hourly radio checks but instead check in as needed (we weren’t anticipating needing to check in regarding anything pressing), and we would travel between 8-10 miles per hour.
Planning meeting with our buddy boats and also Branch Office and Paradise.
Walking back to our boat, we toured around the marina to assess the storm damage from Hurricane Michael. The Moorings says they are just starting to get back on their feet and making a priority list of what clean up to tackle first. The pictures they shared on their FB page and I put on our FB page from right after the storm are stunning.
Broken up docks in need of repair.Lots of debris piles around the marina.
After having the plan set for the day and our tummies filled with breakfast, we headed back to the boat for some last minute chores. Mike washed the boat (good to get the salt off, but funny because we would just get covered again later that evening–it is a never-ending task!!). He secured everything in the cockpit–fishing poles, giant net, 34973947293 buckets, shovels, pool noodles, etc. He double checked that the dinghy was secure in the davits. Mike double checked that the bikes, paddle boards, and lily pad on the front were secure, but then decided to take his bike off for a bike ride to burn off some nervous energy. He intended to ride for about 15 miles, but somehow ended up on this 2 track that he thought was a loop, but it didn’t loop, so he ended up riding 23 miles and was exhausted when he got back to the boat. Not exactly what he planned, but he was glad he went, and definitely glad that his tire didn’t go flat until just AFTER he got back to INNTW. Whew!
I felt the need to do dishes (imagine that!), vacuum, wash the plexi windows (again silly because the salt spray would come right back and the trip would be mostly in the dark, so it’s not like we needed to see out the back doors anyway), and empty the garbages. I moved our life jackets to the flybridge so they would be handy in case of an emergency. I sent the float plan to our families and some other looper friends (near and far) so everyone would know our exact route, destination, and timing along with a map and recent picture of our boat. If we weren’t heard from by early afternoon, they were to contact the Coast Guard (just in case). I checked, double checked, and triple checked the weather to make sure nothing in the forecast had changed. Hayley and I walked over to the grocery store and stocked up on a few necessary items for the trip and potentially for Thanksgiving, 3 days later.
Dishes pile up fast in these little sinks!!Just one of our weather sources–Marv’s Weather Service. These are bouy reports for areas just south of Carrabelle and north of Clearwater. The top illustration is wind speed, gusts, and direction. The bottom illustration is average wave height, max wave height, period, and direction. This is 1 of about 5 sources we used to choose our weather window. Some essentials for crossing and arrival in Tarpon Springs. My Aunt Marti is an avid boater and always has Oreos around for stressful situations, so I figured I should carry on the tradition. Other items purchased were Red Bull, sunflower seeds, and a ham. Unfortunately the grocery store didn’t have a turkey, but we all love ham.
Shortly after Mike got back from his bike ride we were ready to head out of the marina to Dog Island to burn off some energy on the beach for a while. Coming into Carrabelle yesterday, we saw some awesome houses way up on stilts on the beach on Dog Island. I don’t think I would ever get tired of that view!! We dropped anchor right next to the island so the kids could kayak over. Mike dropped me off at the island in the dinghy, but he wanted to check the oil, check the nav lights, clean the strainers, and mess around with a bunch of other stuff before heading out, so he went back to the boat.
Tobin enjoyed our dolphin escort out of Carrabelle!Such a cool location right along the Gulf!!Kayak parking!!
Dog Island was similar to Shell Island in that it was pretty remote, but there were a few houses and power lines along Dog Island. Hayley was equal parts terrified and excited to find REAL LIVE starfish as she was landing her kayak. That got their exploring off to an exciting start. They found half a dozen starfish on the bay side of the island before they got tired of watching starfish sit and be stars, and they decided to keep exploring. We decided that Shell Island has more dogs (at least 2 that we saw) and Dog Island has more shells (millions–everywhere). This was an interesting observation. The kids built shell houses again. Tobin insisted on making sand angels. They waded out into the water a bit. We found lots of old rusty wire running down into the water, almost like a tieback for something. I did a lot of anxious walking up and down the beach, checking weather and communicating with some other loopers who headed out a bit before us headed to Clearwater.
Loopers headed out just a few hours before us, heading to Clearwater.
Before long The Blessing and Miss Daisy showed up near Dog Island and just floated around and enjoyed the beautiful afternoon. Mike came to pick us up around 4:30 or so. After we got back to the boat, Mike had to put the dinghy on the swim platform and make sure it was secured down for the overnight trip (again). Then he put the kids’ kayaks on top of the dinghy and secured everything (again). I also secured things inside the boat and wrangled 3 kids into dry clothes. Most of our set up is travel-ready, but just in case things got rougher than intended, I put the items from the kitchen counter into the sink, flushed the toilets and shut the lids (I’m always paranoid stuff is going to fall into the toilet!!). I tried to make sure everything was picked up for easy walking around the boat in the dark.
Around 5:30 we headed out of our anchorage to join our buddy boats who were already floating around in the Gulf getting some great pictures of the sunset. We couldn’t have asked for a better evening to cross. The water was almost like glass and the sun was setting into hazy clouds that turned into beautiful blue and pink shapes. There was an air of excitement and anticipation on our boat and on the radio as the boats all communicated a bit to get comfortable with the route, speed, and position. But outside the boat is was almost magical, and dolphins even came out to send us off.
Hayley watching the beautiful sunset.View from The Blessing looking ahead at Miss Daisy and INNTW as we head out.
The quiet, peace outside the boat was quite different from the celebration that was happening inside our boat. After the radio communication died down between the boats, we turned the music up and had a dance party to some of the kids’ favorites. We made frozen pizza for dinner, ate snacks, and watched a movie. The kids knew that they could stay up as long as they wanted to, as long as they followed directions.
Colin at the helm!! Mike was too busy setting up a playlist!
The sun set quickly and darkness fell around us. The moon was visible, but it was partially covered by clouds, so it didn’t do much to add light for us. Soon the excitement of the journey wore off and the kids started getting tired. Hayley and Tobin went to bed around 9:30. Colin and I hung out long enough to see a single dolphin swimming along with us in the pitch dark. We couldn’t see much, but we watched it pop up a few times before swimming away. I thought it was the coolest thing to have a dolphin next to our boat in the complete darkness as we headed out into the Gulf. Colin and I got sleepy around 10:30, so I made a plan with Mike that I would get up at 2 and come back up so he could take a turn to rest. Colin did not want to miss the trip, so he ended up moving his blanket and pillow up to the flybridge and he slept the whole night on the cushions up there. I was supposed to wake him up when I got up at 2:00, but I couldn’t rouse him and he was so upset later that he slept through the whole night. I had a little trouble falling asleep, as I was still excited and the engines are pretty loud in our bedroom. Eventually, though, it was 12:15 and I was awake again. I tried to go back to sleep, but by 1:00 I was heading up to the flybridge.
Mike said there was some radio chatter with the boats heading to Clearwater because there were 2 of them and they were separated by some distance, so they couldn’t even communicate with each other. We could barely see their lights on the horizon. Eventually they caught up to each other and headed a bit further south than our path. Other than that communication, Mike said there was pretty much nothing going on. It was so dark out that you couldn’t see much at all. Our forward navigation light is right under the windshield and the bright white light illuminated the front of our boat, but it made it hard to see beyond, to the water. All of our instrument lights on the panel were turned down as far as they would go, but they still had a slight glare on the inside of the isenglass up top. We relied on radar and AIS to “see” for the most part.
The moon shining on the water.Sometimes it was covered by clouds.The night was very dark, so you can’t see much in this picture out our side wing door. You can see how the front nav light lit up the front of our boat quite a bit.
Mike slept from about 2:00 until 5:00. During that time I read lots of reveiws for marinas and anchorages in Florida on Active Captain. It was pretty much all I could do since we didn’t have data coverage that far out. As he was heading to bed, the water seemed pretty choppy with waves coming on the beam so we rocked back and forth. It wasn’t uncomfortable but it was definitely choppier than before and I hoped it wouldn’t get worse. By the time he woke up, though, the water had calmed down again. Every few minutes I would look around and look at the radar screen. Every 15 minutes or so I would get up and walk around to get a better look out the windows and zoom out on the radar to see if there was anything 6-8 miles away showing up. I never saw a thing and never talked to anyone else. Thank goodness for Red Bull and XM radio!!
After Mike got up I went back to bed for an hour or so. When I woke up, the sky was brighter but overcast. It wasn’t the beautiful sunrise we had hoped for, but with a sunrise like we had the night before, we couldn’t complain.
The waves got a bit choppier as we got within 30 miles of Tarpon Springs, but they were behind us so we didn’t feel them too much. We started to see lots of crab pots that we had to dodge. The floats look like this little round ball and they are dropped in a long line, so you usually have to spot 2 of them and go in between. If you run one over, the line could get tangled in your prop and cause issues, so we always had 2 sets of eyes searching for them.
Crab pot!!View of Miss Daisy off to the left and The Blessing to the right, following behind us all night.Breakfast on the sundeck.
We arrived in Tarpon Springs around noon. There were lots of no wake areas coming into the channel, so it took a while to get back to our marina, but we were thankful to be THERE. At one point a man yelled at us for going too fast, but we were going as slow as our boat can go. It wasn’t a great welcome to the city. Then the dock master wouldn’t answer his radio and seemed very grouchy when we finally got him on the telephone. The docks were super short so we had to stern in, which we’ve been practicing, but there was quite a bit of wind and current at this location and that didn’t help. There was a point where I had to stand on the bow and loop a rope around a pile with our long boat hook while also being in the back of the boat, helping Mike know how close our swim platform was from the piles. It wasn’t easy to be in two places at once and it led to me not doing a good job at either task. After a few tries we finally got it, but looping that pole sure was a task for me. By the time we were tied up I was bruised and shaking, but we were set. Not our best showing at the end there, but we couldn’t have asked for a better crossing!!
Time to explore Tarpon Springs!! No rest with 3 energetic kids on board!!
Feel free to ask questions in the comments! While I covered A LOT, I feel like I probably left some stuff out. Thanks for reading and following along!!
Destination: The Moorings Marina, Carrabelle, Florida
Distance: 94.2 miles
Speed: 8.9 mph
Time on the Move: 10 hours and 35 minutes
We got up and moving at first light in order to make it to Carrabelle before sunset. Traveling long distances this time of year is kind of tricky with so few hours of daylight.
Within a short time, we started to see signs of Hurricane Michael that devastated the Panama City, Port St Joe, and Mexico Beach areas of Florida. We knew we would see after effects of the hurricane today, but seeing them in person was startling. We first noticed rows and rows of houses with blue tarps on their roofs, lots of trees down in yards, and washed out docks.
We saw lots of dolphins through this area and it almost seemed like they were welcoming us and thanking us for visiting the area. It made us wonder what the hurricane was like for the dolphins. As we continued on, we saw more and more devastation. We were amazed at how many trees were just snapped in half and how so many trees had no leaves left. This went on for miles and miles and miles.
We traveled the ICW from Panama City to Appalachicola. which was a pretty narrow stretch, like a long canal.It doesn’t look like all the boats fared too well in this hurricane hole.Home owners were just recently allowed back to their homes, so there were lots of people cleaning up.
Mike grilled hamburgers underway for lunch and the kids played legos FOREVER. Mike and I saw 2 gators along the way, but we weren’t fast enough to get pictures of either of them, and I don’t think the kids ever actually saw them. We spent some time thinking about things we needed to do and double check before we left for the crossing. Luckily, most things were already done, but we gathered emergency phone numbers, double checked how to use the EPIRB, and made a list of last minute things. The weather still looks good so the crossing is still on schedule.
In the afternoon we passed Appalachicola and entered into the large Appalachicola Bay and St George Sound. It is funny how the geography is so different along the way. In the morning we were in a big bay, we spent most of the day in a narrow canal, and then ended our day in another big bay. It helps to keep things interesting, and luckily we had perfectly calm water in the big bays today.
Fishing boats in Appalachicola.Fishing boat!
We were treated to our best dolphin show yet in the middle of St George Sound. Dolphins came from all around and swam right under our bow. We all took turns going out and watching them. We’ve read that dolphins are very social and will often “perform” more when there is more noise and excitement. I’m sure we encouraged their show quite a bit!!
We made it in to The Moorings Marina, filled up with diesel (didn’t quite fill our tanks the other day when we ran that other fuel dock dry), and got tied up on the dock just before dark. Perfect timing!! I would not want to travel that channel in the dark!! The Moorings was hit pretty hard by the hurricane, but they were recovering as quickly as possible. They had 1 fuel dock running and another one still getting repaired, no wifi infrastructure, and no cable. Lots of their docks were in disrepair, but they did their best to accommodate all the loopers coming through. I shared The Moorings’ post-hurricane info on our INNTWadventures Facebook page, too, so check it out there if you didn’t see it yet.
Fishing boats in Carrabelle.We went out to eat at “The Fisherman’s Wife” restaurant where literally the fisherman brings his catch in and his wife cooks it up in her restaurant. I had the quesadillas because I’m boring. Obviously, the town was thankful to have their power back on after the hurricane.INNTW tied up on the dock at the Moorings. We’re hoping for a great night of sleep because we won’t sleep much tomorrow night!
Our plan is to meet with The Blessing and Miss Daisy in the morning to solidify plans for an overnight crossing tomorrow night. We feel pretty much set and ready with just a few last minute things to do. The goal for this night was to get a good night sleep and rest up as much as possible, but that’s hard to do when you’re anticipating something!!
While looking up the stats above, I noticed that this was our 63rd day of travel since we left Harrison Township, MI on July 19th. Wow!! That means 63 amazing places we’ve explored and 63 blog posts!! I’m pretty sure it is also day #121 of our trip. Still lots of adventures to come!!
Waking up in Fort Walton Beach it was COLD!! Now I get that Michigan already has snow on the ground, so I really shouldn’t complain, but this is just not what we expected for weather in Florida so early in the season. Just a sign that we need to keep on moving south!!
Brrrr!! And yes, for some reason Mike was up at 5:14 am. Not sure why…
We enjoyed the bright sunshine all day. Lucky for us (on days like today) our black bimini top and full enclosure on the flybridge heat the sundeck and the bridge up quickly! Tobin looked out the window for a while and then wanted to ask Siri how many sparkles are on the ocean water. Great question, sweet Tobin. I’m not sure Siri knows, but it sure made me smile.
After traveling through the sparkling bay for a while, we moved through a long skinny channel. We looked for gators, but no luck…Then finally back to wide open St Andrews Bay heading towards Shell Island.
We had a pretty long travel day to get here, but our hearts were set on getting our toes in the sand before sunset. Shell Island did not disappoint–it was exactly what we were hoping for!!
A super short dinghy ride to the beach and here we are!We couldn’t believe how white and powdery the sand was. And it squeaked with every step.
It was so great to dip our toes in and let the kiddos run free.Colin collected giant shells and made “shell houses” for tiny creatures the whole time we were there. He even got the other kids on board and they used great teamwork building lots of houses!This sailboat was blown up on shore, so we had to check it out. It didn’t seem in too bad of shape and we were surprised the owners didn’t come back for it yet. The companionway was wide open, so Mike closed it up to help keep critters and rain out. It’s name was Serenity, a very popular boat name. I can only imagine that serenity does not describe the way she got up there (I’m guessing during Hurricane Michael).Exploring and loving the peace and tranquility. There were about 4 other people on 2 other boats we saw, but that’s it.
I think the kids were just as happy as us to get their toes in the sand and go exploring.One happy crew tonight!!
Piles from a washed out dock.We met up with The Blessing again right before sunset, as they had the same beach plan that we did for the day. INNTW is on the right
We were watching a forecasted weather window for a few days that would give us a calm period allowing us to cross the Gulf of Mexico to Tarpon Springs. As each day to the window drew closer, the weather was more accurate and it appeared we would have a chance to cross on Sunday or Monday night (2 days later). We still needed to cover over 80 miles to get to our preferred jumping off point, but we also loved exploring Shell Island the night before and didn’t want to leave so soon. After all, we worked really hard to get to this beautiful beach, so we wanted to enjoy it. In a game time decision (which has become quite the norm) we decided to stay put another day to enjoy and have a long travel day the next day. I’m so glad we did! This full day on Shell Island was wonderful!
A little morning story time with Dad before breakfast. Moments like these are one of our favorite parts of this adventure. We have the time to sit and read a book and have a leisurely breakfast together on a Friday morning.You can’t beat breakfast on the sundeck!!The kids were thrilled to get out the kayaks again!! Mike and I joined in the dinghy after we finished packing up all the necessities for a day at the beach. Notice the piles for the dock on the right in the picture. I can only assume Hurricane Michael washed away the dock boards just over a month ago.I got to go on a solo run on the beach and I came across this boardwalk to the other side of the island. It was filled with sand and debris from the storm surge after the hurricane. You would be surprised how many flip flops were in that pile of garbage. Signs of a fire where a house once stood.This shell was a little more complete and was still surprisingly sturdy. All that was left was some wiring and a bathroom sink hanging down through the floor joists.I came across these giant footprints. I’m guessing a Blue Heron??I also found these tracks. Raccoons?? We found whole sand dollars everywhere!! That was probably Hayley’s favorite part of the island!!
These boys are always digging holes!!He could do this forever. “I’m at water level!!”Brave enough to go for a swim.So many great treasures to find here!We had the most amazing sunset after returning to the boat. The boat in the picture anchored overnight there.
We had an amazing day on Shell Island! We saw about 6 people, 2 dogs, 4 passing boats, and a few passing planes all day. We talked with one lady who was working on rebuilding a structure on the island. She said the hurricane wiped it right down to the foundation, and they suspect that the entire island was covered with water during/after the storm. She said in the summer it is quite the party island, so they have a pretty basic “pole barn” style building that they can lock up completely when they aren’t there.
This was such a great stop for us. When I came back from my run I told Mike I found my new favorite place. I’ve checked out the price of lots, but unfortunately you aren’t really supposed to build on the island. I wonder how many places along the way I will find that I want to move to or visit again? This is definitely on that list!! We need to keep moving on to be able to make our weather window, so we’re off. Thanks for reading and following our adventure!!
