ANNIVERSARY - JUNE 16TH - A VERY SPECIAL DAY......

We are anchored in Sarasota Bay. Last night the winds howled and it rained buckets. Lightening flashed down and the thunder was deafening. Pretty impressive night! Our anchor held as did the dozens of other sailboats anchored in the bay. This morning it is cloudy with occassional rain showers and its almost freezing outside - the temperature is 83 degrees.......

We spent our anniversary at Longboat Key - an early morning swim in the Gulf of Mexico to start the day and then a bottle of champagne to end the day - a full moon shining upon us and then skinny dipping in the moonlight - some manatees close by- dozens of snowy white egrets wading in the shallows. Beautiful day!

And such a contrast to where we are now!!! We anchored here last night so we could pick up a new battery and get some fruit and vegetables. It was extremely hot yesterday - close to 100 degrees and very humid. Luckily we met a guy on shore driving a boat-fix it van and he went and got us a battery. We walked up town during the hottest part of the day and felt quite cranky and miserable as a result. We loitered for about an hour in an airconditioned Starbucks just so we could cool down a bit. No Wallmart anywhere to help us out in our time of need.

It was great to get back to the boat and relax. We are learning that its a very good idea to take it easy during the afternoons - nap, read a book, swim, nap - get into the siesta kind of thing - apparently a few shots of tequila can help a lot too......

Today Jim has gone to (hopefully) retrieve his bank card from the bank ATM he left it at and the upholstery guy will be coming down to measure our cushions and show us some fabric samples. Tomorrow we set sail away from here in search of another quiet and serene location- no more city stuff.

We are having a great time - sailing, laughing, loving