We arrived Tampa Bay after a 70 mile long day run from Boca Grande north to Bradenton. The last two days have been rolling due to the west waves from the storm but we motor sailed both to make the 100 plus miles to Bradenton. It will be as far north as we go, staying a week to visit with old friends.
Now the rant... I am convinced that every inch of sea off the Florida west coast is strewn with crab pots. We have to keep a continual eye out for them, weave the boat through them, even "think" we see them but end up with a mirage. We see them even in our sleep...... so Diana came up with a non-sailor's analogy for the crab pot dilemma. Imagine driving down the highway, for hundreds of miles, the highway is different colors, and there are 1,000 men, each with a bag of nails. Now these are not ordinary nails, they are all different colors, some match the color of the road, some don't. The men distribute their bag of nails wherever they want over the length and width of the road, there is no rhyme nor reason, no pattern, and you have to stay on the road without getting a flat tire ! Drives you crazy, right?
So we arrive in Tampa Bay, an exciting place because the Bay is huge as we enter from the Gulf, and the famous "Sunshine SkyBridge" is in the distance in front of us. It's late so instead of proceeding up the Manatee River where we have a marina reservation, we anchor at the mouth of the river to proceed in the morning. NOW, we begin to wonder why we have come NORTH again, it's cold here ! Break out the winter clothes, the comforter for the bed and sweaters and jackets. In the morning we move up the river to Twin Dolphins Marina where we have reserved a slip for a week. Over the next week we will visit with old friends, and enjoy the benefits of the marina and all the surrounding activities including a visit to the Salvadore Dali Museum in St. Petersburg.
Twin Dolphins is a very nice marina with a great staff and excellent facilities. We have been in contact with old friends, some going back to High School, and both Diana and I are looking forward to the reunions. Joan and Alan, friends of Diana's since High School, winter here on Anna Maria Island. They pick us up and take us to their home for a lovely dinner. A group of old friends from Surrattsville High come to the boat for a visit. It was wonderful seeing Chooch and Phil Foster and Sandy, and we spent an entire afternoon at Pier22 laughing and telling stories. John and Renee from Pamlico Plantation now live here, Diana spend one day with Renee and we all went to dinner at Brick's in the historic Old Main Street area of Bradenton.
The week has flown by, and we are getting ready to again depart and head south, back to Ft Meyers for another week, then on to Key West. We have enjoyed it, especially seeing old friends that we have lost track of.
One other thing I have to include...we are having a wonderful time discovering small out of the way "hole in the wall" restaurants! We both love Peruvian food, and in each port we look for one nearby. Tonight it was El Warike, a small bay in a local strip center. In Miami it was El Rancito. These are the kind of places you might look at and think twice about going in, but we are discovering a hidden treasure. The proprietor's are wonderful, usually family operated with the owner also the cook (they would never think of it as the chef) the ambiance very ethic, simply stated, but the food has been magnificent. Peruvian ceviche is one of our favorite dishes, maybe when we get enough of these accumulated we can write a guide book to all the wonderful ceviche dishes we have found in Florida !