Grateful in Dunedin

So thrilled to have our brother-in-law and sister join us in our Dunedin playground.

Their RV Park is within walking distance to our marina!

The Pinellas Trail offers lots of fun bike rides!  Our first bike ride was to Tarpon Springs.

It is impossible to visit Tarpon Springs without treating yourself to a bakery indulgence...or four!

Our next bike ride was to Honeymoon Beach where we took this selfie after our picnic.

Honeymoon Beach has an amazing nature trail where we saw eagles, ospreys, owls, tortoise, and even snakes! 

The four of us joined cousin Julie, goddaughters Elizabeth & Sarah and their pups for Thanksgiving day on Tampa Bay!

And, yes, that motivated us to walk 27,393 steps the next day to the Dunedin Farmer's Market complete with live music!!

A beautiful day to ride our bikes to Clearwater Beach . . . .  

. . . . . dance in the sand . . . .

. . . . and play Jenga at the Tiki Bar!!

Eddy and Fraser are in heaven as they indulge in the best ever Eli's Bar-B-Que!

And guess what washes down Bar-B-Que quite nicely??

What an honor to celebrate the 85th birthday of Jo Mogle, one of the charter Wet Hens!

In true Hen spirit, we sang Jo a custom-written song that was unrehearsed but full of love!

The birthday celebration included a boat ride through the Punta Gorda canals to see the beautiful Christmas lights!

We can't get enough of the amazing bike trails around Dunedin!

And the "bike maintenance stations" along the Pinellas Trail are so useful!

Positively YES ... the Dairy Queen can locate all the ice cream shops along the Pinellas Trail!

The crews of Spiritus, Sanctuary, Last Call, and Lazy Suzan gathered for a fun evening of food, fellowship, and Looper stories!  

The boys grilled a delicious dinner as we watched another beautiful sunset from Spiritus' flybridge.

Port St Joe to Dunedin

Before leaving Port St Joe, Linda made a big pot of yummy Fiesta Chili for the Gulf crossing.

Maurice & Renee, aboard Marie-Sophie, followed us from Port St Joe for the 7 hour trip to East Pass.

Soon after crossing Lake Wimico, we spotted these eagles in the trees along the shore.

Two more Looper boats were waiting to join us as we passed by Apalachicola;

Bar-B and Seven-Tenths. 

Looking back at our four-ship armada as we head east across Apalachicola Bay. 

Spiritus leading the armada across the bay.

Cormorant meeting at Marker 8!

The Captain takes a Scotcharoo break!

As we approach East Pass, more Loopers come out from Carrabelle and Dog Island in order to make the 3:30 rendezvous time at marker R2.    A total of 17 boats crossed the Gulf with us this night.

Not too many boaters get to have an unobstructed view of the sun setting "into" the Gulf.

And not too many get to see an unobstructed view of the sun rising "out" of the Gulf!

Thirty miles from Anclote Key's marker R4, our friends come to greet us.

The Honeymoon Island bridge is a welcomed landmark after our 28 hour journey.

Through the bridge, a hard turn to port, and 200 yards to our winter "home" at Marker 1 Marina in Dunedin, Florida. 

I never said filling the fuel tanks was pretty!

This green heron decided to make our port bow line his perch about 2 minutes after we tied up!
As long as he's not pooping on the deck of Spiritus, I don't care where he sits!

Time to take a breather after getting Spiritus safely settled in her slip at Marker 1 Marina.

I guess we can live with this same old flybridge view of the sunset for the rest of 2016!

Ft Walton Beach to Port St Joe

Enjoying a stunning sunset from Spiritus' flybridge the evening before our departure from Ft Walton Beach.

This friendly heron bids us "Bon Voyage" as we toss our dock lines.

Linda gets the lines ready to dock Spiritus at Bluewater Bay Marina in Niceville.

We are delighted to gather at LJ Schooners for Happy Hour with Loopers Patty, Richard, and Jill. 

We are entertained by dozens of playful dolphin as we cross Choctawhatchee Bay!

"The Grand Canyon" is a peaceful, easy cruise between Choctaw Bay and West Bay.

And the view astern is as beautiful as the view ahead!

Upon arrival at St. Andrew's Marina in Panama City, Captain Eddy washes down the decks with attitude.

Can't believe we were blessed with a surprise visit from Dale & Gloria Bible.

We have been friends since our assignment together in England in 1983!

These carved pelicans add an artistic touch to our marina.

The fresh oysters were a bonus on Eddy's birthday as we cheered the Auburn Tigers to victory against the Vanderbilt Commodores at the friendly, character-filled Salty Dawg.

Historic downtown St Andrews borders our marina and so does this beautiful park.

Have you ever seen a 4-headed palm tree?  Probably not because this is one-of-a-kind!

Can the birthday boy be over-celebrated? Captain Jack and Jane are guilty as they treat him to yet ANOTHER birthday dinner!

The 7 hour cruise from our anchorage at Pearl Bayou to Port St. Joe requires liquid aloha.

We arrived at Port St. Joe Marina and were welcomed by the friendly staff & 6 other Looper couples.

One of the many perks of this area is the lovely bike/walking trails.

Yes, Linda made sure we got our steps in and I assured her 7 miles was enough.

We never pass up an opportunity to gather with fellow Loopers for docktails.
These fine folks plan to do the Gulf of Mexico crossing with us so we're planning our strategy.