Wow! Since we last reported, we had some pretty challenging wind. We were proceeding up the intercoastal waterway. We approached the Skyway (?) bridge into Tampa Bay when the winds picked up. They were howling at 30-35. This caused us to seek anchorage in the lee and wait another day before proceeding.

We arrived in Clearwater on Thursday, the 20th. The weather window Friday closed on us. The winds would have hit 20-25 with 7 foot seas the last few hours before we entered the bay at Panama City, so we decided against leaving then. We are anxious to get home, but we are not foolish with the weather. It appears our next weather window is Tuesday afternoon. Will keep the blog updated.

For Clare (and any other bird people), we saw hundreds of the Great Egrets in their breeding plummage. It was spectacular. Large numbers perch in the Mangroves with the wispy feathers spreading across the branches. I also saw my first American Oystercracker. The orange beak is every bit as bright orange as the pictures I've seen. The intercoastal is slower, but at times absolutely beautiful!!

We also need to get back to Tiger Country because Clearwater, Florida aired the Arkansas/Indiana basketball game and only 30 seconds of the University of Memphis game. Thanks to Jimmy, we watched the second half on the internet.

Starting to rain! Laundry postponed for a little while.