Cabbage Key - 6/16-19/2014

Monday, 6/16--Thursday, 6/19
Cabbage Key

We pulled anchors on Monday morning, stopped in at Uncle Henry's on Gaspirilla to top off with fuel and water. It is only about a 10 mile run.

We get to Cabbage Key around 4 pm.  Dropped anchor and was just settling in to watch the dolphins play when our generator died!  The intake valves had sucked up a lot of the floating grass and "gunk" that was floating in the area. (Which might be why it was named Cabbage Key! Haha!  It kinda smells!)

It took a while for Hoppy to get it clear and then do the same for both our air conditioners. Then it would not run!  It was over 100 degrees in the engine room, which, when hatches were opened, so was the boat. This procedure of cleaning out hoses and filters continued until after dark.  Finally, around 10:00 pm the generator started and stayed going...until midnight. Once again, plugged. After another hour, it started again, cooled down enough for us to get some sleep before stopping again at 5:30 am.  Not a fun time!

So, no coffee!  No breakfast!  No A/C!  Had to keep refrigerator closed!  No ice!  Let's just say "no fun!"

We spent most of the morning trying to get it going again.  Then we decided to pull up our anchor and move closer to Journey, thinking maybe there was less grass. That did not help either. Barney came over and they played with it for a while, got it going and we thought things were better.  We dropped the dinghy in and took a ride to explore a bit while the A/C cooled things down.

Before getting in the dinghy, we noticed two manatees playing around it.  They were curious and kept coming up and checking out the outboard motor on the dinghy. They moved on and we followed them, taking pictures. Then went on our way to check out the two islands, Uspeppa (private island) and Cabbage Key.

When we returned, the manatees were waiting!  They played around us and kept coming up beside the boat where the water from the A/C comes out the side. Until it plugged again and everything stopped again!

Another sunset missed as we were trying to get things going again. Finally started, cooled down, had a sandwich and went to bed. It ran all night!  Yea!  But that was all...

Wednesday morning we just left it all off.  Got showers and went in to Cabbage Key to have the famous cheeseburger and enjoy the cool air at the Inn and walked around the island.

Once back on the boat, Hoppy started back to trying to figure what was going on. He and Barney decided to change out the water pump, that did not work.  Then they just changed the impeller in the old pump and that helped.  But by now, we are ready to get away from here. To quote Hoppy, "Cabbage Key is not my happy place!"  If we do go back, maybe it will be better!

Thursday morning...headed to Ft. Myers!

Sunday, June 15, 2014

Sarasota to Gasparilla

Well, I guess I have a lot of catching up to do!

We left Sarasota on Monday, June 9, headed for Boca Grand/Gasparilla Island. We passed through a lot of beach towns along the way and had great weather.  We dropped anchors just off the east side of Gasparilla near Uncle Henry's Marina.  It was so nice to be anchored out and enjoying the quiet...except for a few fishing boats, we had the place to ourselves.

We tried exploring on the dinghy but the currents were so strong and the water was very low that we could not make it to to the beach. But we did find a small island, Hoagans Key, and enjoyed a lazy afternoon.

We planned to check out the island but several mornings we had rain. Just enough to mess up our plans. But finally, on Friday, we took the dinghy in, rented a golf cart for the day, and headed out.  Plan was to start with lunch so we stopped at the Pink Elephant. A ham and cheese sandwich was $14 so we passed and went to the Loose Caboose.  Much better!

After lunch, we walked around and visited some of the shops. Then we headed to the south end of the island to check out the lighthouse and beach.  The beach here was pretty but lots of shells. You need shoes to walk the beach...unlike the sugary sand in Orange Beach!  We picked up a few shells and I collected some sand for my bottle.  Then back to town to check out the old Gasparilla Inn.  Wow!  We were really out of place, but enjoyed the tour.

Father's Day was a relaxing day.  We all talked to our kids and Dad's. We had dinner aboard Journey and Monday we pulled anchors, fuel up and head south to Cabbage Key.

Hoagans Key

Gasparilla Inn

Gasparilla lighthouse

Downtown golf cart tour

Saturday, June 7, 2014

It has been a slow week.  Sunday, we pulled anchor around noon and headed to the Manatee River/Bradenton area. We crossed Tampa Bay and saw some big ships in the ship channel headed out. We felt pretty small!  Once across the bay we headed up the Manatee River and anchored just outside the DeSoto Memorial Park. An afternoon storm was brewing, so we closed everything up and waited for the rain.

Monday morning was cloudy and looked like rain most of the day. The winds were picking up and we rocked and rolled most of the day. I actually pulled out my sewing machine and worked on some quilt squares. It has been a while since I have done any sewing other than my hand work hexies!

Tuesday was a much better day.  We dropped the dingy in and went exploring. There were two parks. One had several pavilions along the beach and the other side was the DeSoto park. We went ashore and walked the trails.  I spotted a really big turtle up in the bushes, but by the time everyone else spotted it he turned and hid under some heavy brush. So, no pictures.  We did get some shots of a couple of rabbits and a bird or two.   Even got dolphin pictures on the dingy ride back.

Wednesday we headed to Sarasota. We made reservations for mooring balls outside of Marina Jack's in downtown Sarasota. I had been worried about picking up the mooring ball because I had heard stories about how hard it was, but I got it on the first pass!  May not happen that easy the next time, but I was pretty pumped!!

Once settled, we dropped the dingy in and headed to the marina to check out the live music we could hear. They have live bands every afternoon and a piano bar inside. The patio area looked like a bus from the assisted living apartments had unloaded and the dancing lessons were on!  Those guys really knew how to dance and were having a great time. We enjoyed the "floor show" and had dinner before heading back to the boats.

Thursday, we called a cab and headed for the Ringling Bros. Museum and home. It is a huge area/park like setting on the water. The museum was interesting with a huge miniature circus display. It was amazing how they could set up, put on the show and head out to the next town so quickly.  Today you'd need permits, animal rights and union groups and so much red tape they would be lucky to have one show a month. I guess that is why the Big Top in a thing if the past!

Friday, we went exploring around the park by dingy.  Kids were playing in the fountains, lots of bikers and people walking. At the far end, we found a Tiki Bar with a dingy dock. Stopped in and listened to some live music (which we found is everywhere, every afternoon).

This morning we walked about 1/2 mile to the Farmers Market. Several blocks of fresh veggies, seafood, plants and other homemade goodies. Picked up some tomatoes, fruit and some homemade pasta and pesto and garlic bread. Then we walked around the park, stopped for iced coffee and dropped our purchases back at the boat. Then we headed for Publix (another mile each way) for a few supplies. Can I say it was HOT walking back?  Wow!  After unloading our groceries we were whipped and still planned to wash clothes later.

Well...that's just a typical week on the water...still loving it!  Here are a few pictures.