Gonna See Tennessee

We left St. Petersburg this morning on the first leg of our trip to Tennessee.  Should take around 25 days to get to Chattanooga.  We're anchored out near Tarpon Springs (Anclotte Key). Tarpon Springs is a greek sponge-diving community and we just saw the Sponge-O-Rama (not making this up!) tour boat.

St. Pete is top of the list for our land-based retirement unless Chattanooga or Knoxville ensnare us with their charms.  Stay tuned! 

I say, I say, hold on folks. Sarasota may not be it................

It was a short 4.5-hour cruise up the GICW (Gulf Intracoastal Waterway) to St Petersburg, FL.  Our first stop was to Salt Creek Marina for some preventive maintenance requiring Tide Hiker to be lifted out of the water. So after Tide Hiker was hauled, the bottom was pressure washed and she was blocked, we rented a car and drove over to Apollo Beach to spend the night with our friends, Ron and Charma Owens. It was Wednesday and that means happy hour at Circles Tiki Bar.  We had a great time getting reacquainted with Ron and Charma's friends whom we met last year.

Norm, Vicki, Ron, Charma and friends at Circles Tiki Bar

Charma, Ron and Vicki at Apollo Beach home

The next morning,  Ron, the "much-in-demand-Defever-guru" on the west coast of Florida helped Norm.  More acurately, Norm helped Ron change the seals on the stabilizer fin shafts.  They also replaced all the zinc's attached to metal parts under the water.  (The zincs are sacrificial.  That is, they are there to take the galvanization attacks common in salt water, thereby preventing the galvanization of the more critical parts--propeller shafts, rudders, etc.)  Anyway, they got it all done in 1/2 day.  We then relaunched Tide Hiker and moved her over to the St Pete Municipal Marina.  Ron joined Norm there, and they changed out the engine impellers--more preventative maintenance.  Thanks Ron and Charma for your help, your hospitality and most especially, your friendship.

It was time to explore St Pete--our next possible permanent retirement location. Vicki says St Pete has a good vibe for her.  Norm is more apprehensive at this point, still very much liking Sarasota.  We have been walking our feet off getting to know the city and the bay front. This is WORK!!

Our friend Roger had an interview for a jo---, jo---, jo---, I just can't say it, the next morning.  So he and his wife and our friend, Lisa, drove up from Cape Coral to spend the night with us. I say fortunately, because they were a friendly respite from all the city exploring we have been doing.  So, it was late lunch with martini's.  Vicki and Lisa went for a pedicure and Rog and Norm found the nearest bay-front watering hole and, well, you know....

 More later..................

"Road Trip".........

The cliffhanger from the past blog entry is solved.  Joe never made it to the "Dancing With the Stars" debut.  He had a very ligitimate excuse: "ooops".

With all the formal events behind us, it was time for a "ROAD TRIP"!!  We boarded a plane in Tampa and flew to Washington, DC for Vicki's niece's wedding.  Aimee Cooper and Fish (Brian Fisher) were married on Saturday, March 26.  Vicki's minister-uncle (Aimee's great uncle) performed the ceremony, Norm walked Aimee down the aisle and gave the "Father" of the Bride speech.  He was quite honored to have been asked to do that and he was moved by the event.  It was a great wedding.  How could it not be when the program listed "Congo Line Coordinator".  And, since Aimee grew up with our three girls, they all came to the wedding too with hubby's in tow.  Little JoycE came too.  It was a mini-family reunion. 

The Cheery Blossoms were out in DC

Vicki standing by the Pacific side of the WWII Memorial and the place where she (secretly-not allowed) buried some of her father's ashes.  Cal served in the Navy, escorted the ship where the Japanese surrendered,  and was very proud of his service.

It was chilly there!

Fish is a tour guide when not directing school bands.  He got the tour bus exclusively for family on Thursday night.  Gave any family in town at the time a fantastic historical tour of the monuments.

Aimee was the conductor and flag distributor

Here's where the "elected children" play

Daughters Katie and Chris; and, baby JoycE and Son-in-Law Joel

Korean War Memorial--Spectacular at night

JoycE, Joel and Chris on the tour bus

Rehersal dinner-someone brought mustashes, eyebrows and beards--required attire.

Aimee and Fish

Norm and Aimee

Norm giving the "father"-of-the-bride toast.  He had to wear socks for this event, folks.

The bride and groom having a tender moment on the dance floor

Daughter Katie and Vicki

Daughter Colleen, (with grand-miracle #4) and Norm on the dance floor.

Four Generations:  Vicki's Mom (Avie), Vicki, Chris and JoycE

It was time to depart Washington DC, unfortunately at the beginning of the Cherry Blossom Festival.  We rented a car and drove to some Virginia towns we have never been to.  First stop was Charlottesville, VA,  home to Jefferson's University of VA and Monticello, Jefferson's home.  We really enjoyed this stop and learned a lot about Jefferson.

Jefferson's beloved Monticello.  His grave is in the family plot a short

distance down the hill from the mansion

Then it was on to Lynchburg, VA.  Interesting town built on the side of a mountain.  Lots of Confederate memorials here.  And, Jerry Falwells Liberty University is here.  Very impressive campus and most important (to Norm anyway) a ski hill with no snow.  That's right, it was some other material that is kept wet.  Watch this:

Check out this ski hill with no snow.  Cooooool!!

The road trip continued to Roanoke, VA.  Both Lynchburg and Roanoke are in the midst of urban renewal.  They have real promise but now lots of closed up shops and scars of urban decay.   Actually, we were very excited about these towns as possible retirement locations.  But, really not our mojo there.

It was on to Raleigh, NC next.  We stopped by Rick and Lynnie's home in Cary (suburb of Raleigh) for a couple of nights.  You devoted blog readers will remember our good friends Rick and Lynnie and their Defever "Rickshaw".  They buddy-boated with us for a few years.  They are land-dwellers now and sold their beloved Defever.  We had a great time.  Vicki and Lynnie got a pedicure.  Norm helped Rick with a house project.  After all that, it was play-time.  It was a wonderful visit.  It was sad to say goodbye when they put us on an Amtrack train for our journey back to Sarasota. We didn't get much sleep on the train and 1 hour outside of Tampa, the train hit a truck that tried to beat the gate--but didn't, by a hair.  No one was injured but the authorities had to investigate and fill out reports and do interviews, etc.  We were delayed by an hour.  The last leg of this journey was on an Amtrack bus to Sarasota from Tampa.  We arrived home safe, but exhausted. We've been relaxing since them.

Vicki, Norm, Lynnie and Rick at the University Chapel

Rick and Lynnie took us on a tour of Durham, Raleigh, and these gardens.  Where's Wal__, ooops, I mean Vicki?

Lynnie and Rick at the gardens

One night while playing canasta, Vicki tried to do the mind-meld with Rick.  But he wasn't having any of it and protected himself with this mind-meld barrier.  He won!

This truck tried to beat the RR gate--and lost!  No injuries and only minor damage, luckily. 

No long rest for the weary, though.  Vicki took off today for Columbus, Ohio for Colleen's two baby showers this weekend.  So Norm is "batching it" on the boat tonight.  Tomorrow, our friend Roger will pick Norm up for a drive down to Cape Coral to see their new home.  And, maybe a toddy or two.

More later............

Maybe. Just maybe, this might be it...............

Hello to all our blog readers.  As you might know, we have been exploring permanent retirement locations for when we decide to "move ashore".  We have been doing this for a long time.  While that date is still far off, we have come to like Sarasota very much.  Norm's mom and dad retired here many years ago, so we would visit from time to time.  But they lived south of Sarasota and that did not give us much of an opportunity to explore the urban areas.  On this trip, we took the time to rediscover the city we have been to a number of times. We still have a few more towns to check out including St Pete and some in the Smokey Mountains; but, Sarasota is looking good!!  We'll keep you up to date on our progress from time to time.

Here's our cruise from Ft Myers to Sarasota.  We made a stopover in Englewood, FL (we never heard of it before either) and docked at the Cape Haze Marina.  OK for one night but not more.  Remember, just click on the following link and use the + and - buttons to zoom in or out.  Ft Myers to Sarasota, FL

Our cruise up from Ft Myers was delightful.  The weather was superb, the views outstanding and the seas in the waterway were calm.  We arrived Sarasota on Sunday, March 13 and will remain here for a month.  Our first job was to walk to town and "check-it-out".  We were very impressed to see great restaurants, bars, parks, clean streets and sidewalks.  There are lots of high and low rise condos, single family homes, churches and all the county government buildings.  Not satisfied with just walking, we took a guided tour of the cultural areas--on a Segway.  This was a "yet-to-be-claimed" Christmas present Vicki gave to Norm last December.  The tour was a hoot.  We were like a row of little ducklings following the leader through Sarasota's cultural district.  We learned about the opera house, all the theater houses and a good bit of Sarasota's history.  And, the segway's were easy to ride and control and a nice break for tired legs.  Only one little problem.  Norm got a bit frustrated with the speed of the tour.  After his orientation and after gaining good control, he wanted to "put the pedal to the metal", but the tour guide would not allow it and he had to be scolded a couple times.

Vicki and Norm on their Segway Tour in Sarasota

We received a very special treat a day or so later.  Our very dear friends from our old hometown and church in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin were in town and visited with us for a day.  Tom and Pat Schildt and Terry and Cathy Andrus and we took a walking tour of downtown Sarasota, ate lunch al fresco and relaxed on Tide Hiker for a while.  Then, we all toured Beverly's (Cathy's mom) home on Long boat Key.   Of course we were hungry again--its the American way, you know.  So, off to dinner to a great Italian restaurant. 

Tom, Pat, Norm, Vicki, Cathy and Terry at lunch al fresco in downtown Sarasota

Tom, who had never been on Tide Hiker before, and being a retired tradesman, had lots of questions.  So, a detailed tour of the engine room was in order.

It was a fantastic day with fantastic friends.  If we settle in these parts, we'll be able to see them more often--giving Sarasota another edge in our thinking.

The next big event was St Patrick's Day.  And, Sarasota celebrates it in style.  A couple streets were closed off and the downtown bars were jumping till wee hours. Our friends Bob and Stephanie aboard September Song, Joe and Julia aboard Sea Pearl and Todd and Brenda aboard Life's 2 Short arrived early (like us) to rest up for the big day. And, Doug and Tammy, "the professionals" aboard Gypsies in the Palace drove over from Cape Canaveral. So, we now had a quorum and were able to celebrate St Pat's.  Here's a few shots that we know will make the blog albums.

Norm and Vicki started early

Tammy and Doug displaying their mobile coozies.  They keep them on their person 24/7,

like professionals do.

Todd loves the Irish

Bob, Brenda, Stephanie, Julia, Vicki and Norm posing for Todd

Another important reason for stopping in Sarasota was the Defever Cruisers 2011 Rendezvous.  One hundred twenty five members and about 25 Defever boats descended on Marina  Jack Marina.  We had two days of seminars covering important boating issues, raffles, banquets, open boat tours and partying, including dancing, till the wee hours.  All in all, it was a very successful event.  Vicki was the registrar and got lots of well-deserved accolades for her hard work.  We're waiting for some pics of this event.  We'll add them later.

Well, tonight starts the one millionth season of the TV program "Dancing with the Stars" as Norm likes to point out. Vicki says that this is a reason to keep the party going.  So, Steve and Di aboard Aurora and Joe and Julia were invited for dinner and a "movie" tonight.  Di and Vicki are humongous fans and never miss an airing.  Unfortunately, Joe and Julia have other dinner plans but said that they will be by for the "movie".  Do you suppose Joe or Julia will become fans like Vicki and Di?  Stay tuned to an upcoming post for an answer to this cliffhanger.

Who'd-A-Thunk!

This has been a wonderful cruise up the west coast of Florida.  Especially because we have been able to reconnect with good friends.  While in Marco Island, we had a couple of great evenings with Ted and Peggy Reese.  Ted and Norm worked together as captains delivering Sea Ray yachts on the Chesapeake.  Ted still does this, but only in the summer.  In the winters, he and Peggy are relaxing in their winter home in Marco.  We had two dinners together, one on Tide Hiker and the other at Ted and Peggys home.  While there, we met Ted's sister and her husband.  We had a great evening.

Ted and Peggy Reese and Norm

Who'd-A-Thunk (The old gang from Summit North Marina in Delaware)

After a day in Naples, we cruised on up to Ft Myers, FL.  There, we hooked up with our friends Roger and Lisa Cicconi and Mike and Fran Kumbier.  The Cicconi's and the Kumbier's were dock neighbors back in Delaware.  One and a half years ago, we would never have thought that we three couples would be meeting up again in Florida. 

When she can, Vicki has been practicing Yoga.  Here she is demonstrating a Pair Yoga move with Lisa.  Needless, to say, a fun time for all.  We got caught up with Mike and Fran's lives since they moved to Ft Myers and.....Roger and Lisa will be moving here too.  It'll  was old home week!!

Speaking of fun, lunch alfresco downtown, a walking tour of downtown drinking establishments and dinner (way too late) at Joe's Crab Shack in Ft Myers was a blast.  Here, Rog and Lisa are trying to avoid a bad night. They survived!!

Here's our cruise route from Marco Island.  Just click on the following link: 

Marco Island to Naples to Ft Myers, FL

Movin North.........

Northern Florida, that is.  We know what's going on way, way up Nort. Ouch!! Burrr! My back hurts just thinking about all that snow shoveling.  Nope, we'll just stay down here for a while.  But, we are back in cruising mode.  Here's our first couple of cruise days:

Marathon, FL to Marco Island (Via Little Shark River anchorage)  Remember, just click on this site to see our cruise map.

The Keys are known for the wonderful sunsets.  This was no exception. 

Last weekend, our friends from Delaware, Roger and Lisa, visited us.  We took the dinghy out to the entrance to the harbor and toasted the sunset with champagne and hors d'oeuvres.

Tuesday's cruise from Marathon to Little Shark River was great.  The weather was settled, the seas were calm and Tide Hiker performed like she never docked for 3-months.  (OK, OK, the truth is we did a shake out cruise for 2 hours the week before and worked out all the little gremlins that accumulate after 3-months at dock).  We actually were not due to leave until Wednesday, but strong winds were forecasted for later in the week.  So, we jumped on the good weather and headed out.  Little Shark River is in the Everglades.  It's has a very nice, well-marked, easy inlet.  A couple of years ago we were here, but followed September Song way up river.  Since we were only here for one night, we anchored closer to the inlet.  We were alone for about an hour before 5 other boats arrived.  We're told that it can get really crowded at this anchorage--it's well known.  Norm grilled some chicken and Vicki made some apps and sides and we feasted with a nice Shiraz until bed time.

Wednesday's cruise from Little Shark to Marco Island was different.  The winds picked up a bit sooner and we had to travel a good distance west into the Gulf of Mexico to navigate around the Cape Romano Shoals.  We lost the protection we could  have gotten from being closer to shore and alee.  So, the winds and the 2-4 footers (and occasional 5's) were either abeam or on our nose.  We lost a bottle of wine that was in the galley.  Vicki found it empty and turned over.  Later, Norm, not knowing about the wine was doing one of his engine room checks and discovered a red substance in the engine room bilge.  He smelled the fluid and wondered "vinegar?"  It looked like hydraulic fluid, but smelled like vinegar.  He decided to keep an eye on it since everything was running well.  Later, Vicki told Norm and he stopped worrying about the bilge.   So, while we were always safe, the ride was a bit "snotty" at times.  Another great meal and a bottle of hydraulic fluid settled our nerves.  More later......

Warning! Emergency! Caution! Important!

We're back on the water and we will have lots of great info to report in our next blog update.  Our next updates will include: Romance, Adventure, Suspence, Intrigue,  Mystery and, well, just fun stuff!
Stay tuned.................