Cruising Florida Gulf Coast

We are having a great time. Bruce has been posting pics almost everyday from his camera so I thought I would add some narritive.

We took 2 days to drive to Sarasota and then we checked out the boat and unpacked all our things. Then we went to the grocery store and got stuff for lunches and snacks. We had dinner at Chart House Thursday night in Sarasota and honestly it wasn't that great, we all usually like chart houses but food wasn't fantastic here. We spent the night on the boat and then we were untied and off at 7:00 a.m. Friday. We went down the intercoastal for a couple of hours. I picked out several houses along the way I;m sure we could all enjoy and then we were out in the gulf. There were at least 2-3' waves so there was a lot of motion but it was great. We all sat up on the top and enjoyed the sights and read books and just relaxed. We even saw dolphins swimming and playing along side us two different times. That was fun to watch.

Friday night we stayed at Burnt Store Marina. There was a nice restaurant right at the Marina so had dinner there. We left early in the morning again and then cruised to Fisherman Village Marina. That was a short water day and got there in time for lunch. That area was nice had about 4 restaunts to choose from right at the marina and also a big shopping area on the water. Dad bought a shirt there, we bought a picture and I got a handmade crystal and bead bracelet and earrings. We were talking to the shop owner, she makes all the jewelry herself and she asked where we were from and found out she had graduated from MU several years ago and then came to Florida when her husband retired from the military. Jason and Susan we even found a christmas present for the two of you.

Sunday we left for Sanibel Island. This was the only place we stayed for 2 nights. Deck hand there when we came into our slip was a royal jerk, everyone else had been so nice. There was a restaurant litterally at the back of our slip where we had 2 dinners and one lunch. We took a walk around the area and saw some nice houses and landscapes. The rest of time we just relaxed and read books. Papa has read about 6 books now (if not more)

This morning we left about 9 for Ft. Meyers. We had generator trouble and can't get it going so didn't have AC while we were running, so just opened the windows and got fresh air in. It wasn't bad at all. We were all up on the fly bridge anyone while we were driving here. wE use shore power at every marina so all is well.
We walked into town for lunch today and then back to the boat. We found where we will eat tonight, so we will walk in for dinner a little later.

The boat is really nice. A nice bedroom 3 steps down at the back of the boat. A Queen size bed and a bath and a shower and storage space for clothes and stuff, plus also a desk area for the computer. The front of the boat has the sleeping area that Dad and Bruce are using. They have a bath and shower too. There bed is basically 2 twin size beds that met at the feet for a wider area. They also have a closet for their clothes. The inside of the boat has a kitchen area w/ stove top, oven and microwave and small refrigerator and also a seperate icemake. There is a lot of storage and came stocked w/ pans and dishes and glasses etc. A full coffee pot and toaster. Then there is a drop leaf table, we keep it fully open w/ 2 chairs and then a full size couch on one side that wraps around to more couch for seating at the end of the table. Across from that is a loveseat size coach and next to that in the cornier is a 15" tv/dvd player. there is a bose radio w/ it. So really nice. Up on the fly bridge is where there is a another steering area. Arthur uses it instead of the sterring in the main area. There are 2 back to back sitting areas there, making about 4 love seat size seats. Then two big covered "boxes" to lay on, they are where there is more refrigeration, so that is where we are keeping all the extra food and drinks, plus have it handy since we all sit up there most of the time anyway.

Ok, that was probably boring, but at least I wrote something. :)