Rack'em and Stack'em Dec 07, 2014 High of 69◦C

 It was a cool and drizzly day today and we really did not do much of anything other than shopping and making bread for the pot luck we had tonight. Another group of loopers came in yesterday and since we appreciated Jeff and Susan's dinner so much we thought they would too.

Those of us here went shopping for the groceries while the new loopers, Tom & Patsy, Ken & Terrie and Andy & Kathy got some much deserved rest.

Anyway since I don't have any pictures and nothing much happened, I thought you'd be interested in the rack'em and stack'em system that this marina has. They have many slips here, but they also have 2 large buildings and an outside yard where they store boats in racks. It is essentially a valet system for the boaters. They call up and say, I want my boat in the water by 9am Saturday morning and the crew get this boat down from the racks and into the water. If they need it fueled they do that as well. 

When they are done playing, the boater comes back and the crane brings the boat back in, washes it down and stores it again. Pretty neat system. It allows them to house many more boats than any other marina I have ever seen!

Anyway that's my story for tonight . Tomorrow we are going to visit Cathy and Gary in St Petersburg. We are really looking forward to seeing them both.  Y'all have a good night now.  

Christmas parade; December 6th, High 79◦F

Today was the Christmas parade day. This particular activity is much different in Florida. Instead of using floats, they use boats and there were lots of them! A total of 26 boats from our marina participated. All decked out and lots of lights. The only problem was that they were starting the procession at low tide. One of the boats got stuck in the mud and it took him about 6 tries before he actually got the boat out into the procession.

The effect of lights on the boats was spectacular and we really appreciated all the hard work these folks did to provide us with such a show. The marina also hosted a BBQ for all of us today. Burgers and hot dogs, salads and beans. It was delicious and free. We all like free!

I wish you all as nice a parade as we had although I am certain those of you in Canada will not be attending in short!.

Night all 

Bike ride to Dunedin High 80F

My thighs are burning after our 11 mile bike ride today. Jim and I set out to Dunedin's Downtown core. There are beautiful bike trails all over the place here. All the trails are paved and marked.  One side of the trail leads to Dunedin downtown core and the other side leads to Tarpon Springs which is 7 miles down the trail.

Today we did the Dunedin trail which is only 2 miles, but we then went around the block, up to the highway and back down again. 

Dunedin is a nice little town and the Chamber of commerce was very welcoming. They have a market on Fridays Saturdays and Sundays, so we went to check it out today. Lots of fresh produce and arts and crafts stuff.

Tomorrow there is a Christmas parade and the lighting of the tree. So we plan on heading down there for this event as well.  For now, I have to go ice my thighs and get them ready for the next bike ride. 

Good night all. 

Boat show trip December 4, 2014 High (forgot to check but it was hot)

There is a boat show going on in St-Petersburg so we decided to go partake.

 We went with 3 other couples and has a wonderful time looking at boats and deciding on our next step. Jim and I have decided to take this trip as a trial run for a circumnavigation. Today we found the boat we want to do the circumnavigation in. It is a 44 foot sailing cat called the Helias.

It was a lot of fun going through all the boats and we saw a few that are just awe inspiring. This one had a dinghy that most people have as their only boat.

For those of you who like the comedian Jeff Dunham, you will be familiar with his skit about the powder blue Prius. As we arrived at the show, Jeff Heron was holding Susan's purse, coming out of the powder blue Prius and I could not resist a picture .....your gay! Not really but it sure was funny at the time.

Tomorrow we will head out to the downtown Dunedin on a bike ride. Jeff and Susan are going back to St-Pete's for some fun and frolic. Good night all

Golf from morning to night :High 80◦F

Today was golf day. We started out our morning with breakfast at a restaurant with 4 other couples. The restaurant we went to had 1 waitress and 1 cook. So with 10 of us at the table, it took about 1hr before the waitress even took our order. Oh well, we were in no hurry. After breakfast, Jeff and Susan loaded up their car with our clubs and drove to the golf course. Jim & Connie and Jim and I rode our bikes to the golf course because there was not enough room for all of us in the powder blue Prius. 

We had a lovely golf game. The girls played best ball while the boys where more serious about the game. Although Connie did tell Jim to read between the lines at least once 

 We played until 2pm and then we all came back here for a sit down by the pool. Once that daunting task was done we had a pot luck dinner at the covered deck. I think we were about 20 for that.

Finally we ended our night with a card game called "golf". I really don't know how we can keep up this pace, but we will keep trying.  :) 

Tomorrow Mary & Roger and Connie and Jim will be taking their leave from this marina. Too bad, but I am certain they will enjoy the next step of their voyage. We are staying here until we fly home for Christmas on the 23rd, so we will start exploring the territory a bit more.  There are lots of Bike trails and many amenities nearby, so it should not be too hard to find things to do for the next 20 days. People are getting in the holiday mood here and one boa in particular has decorated his boat rather nicely for the Christmas season. Next Saturday they are having a Christmas parade. Jim ordered Christmas lights for our boat, so hopefully they come in before then. 

Good night all. 

December 02, 2014 High 77◦F

Another lovely day in Florida. Jim went and played with the boys this morning. Jeff, Mark, Roger and Jim went on a shopping trip while Susan and I did chores. They returned at 1pm and we then went out to the driving range to shoot a few basket of balls. Well the other three shot some balls. I mostly bounced them off the plastic molded dividers! The boys liked that though because they got to reuse all the balls that I swung at. ... Stop laughing Carole, it's not funny!  

We returned just in time for happy hour and  then went out as a group to a restaurant called Frenchie's for dinner.  We spent our evening playing cards under the gazebo with Connie & Jim and Jeff & Susan. A wonderful day all and all.

I did get a few shots of the Marina today.

 The early sunset view from the back of our boat was really nice.

Hope all is well with everyone reading this. Rachelle you better be home next time I call!

Night all. 

Dunedin relax time High 80◦F

We have had a wonderful 1^st day in Dunedin. We slept like babies last night and were up at our usual 6am this morning. Jim and I took a lovely bike ride to the grocery store to pick up a few items. When we returned we did a few chores until lunch and then got in our dinghy and went for a ride to a little island nearby. Jeff and Susan joined us as did Mary and Roger. We spent a lovely afternoon walking the beach and shelling then returned in time for happy hour or Docktail hour with a few other loopers.

I would love to show you pictures, but unfortunately I forgot to put the memory card into the camcorder so nothing to show.  Perhaps tomorrow I will not be so silly.

Good night all. 

Another shot of dog island

Ta ta and Serenity on the gulf