Saint Petersburg to Caladesi Island – February 24 – March 1, 2016

February 24, 2016

The wind was quiet last night, but there was a lot of swell coming into the mooring field causing us to roll quite a bit…I didn’t sleep well.  Rain / thunderstorms this morning as predicted, but it turned out to be a very nice afternoon.  After lunch, we went to the boater’s lounge for wifi and showers which took us until 3:00.  We took the trolly several blocks down Central Avenue then walked back, browsing the restaurants and shops.  Stopped at The $5 Drinkery for beers and nachos.  We have been wanting to go out to eat but haven’t found anywhere we liked that was a reasonable price so after our happy hour, we walked to Publix for bread and dessert then back to Dubhe for supper on board.  I was exhausted especially since I didn’t sleep well the night before, so early to bed.  

I haven't said much about bridges, but this part of Florida seems to have more drawbridges than anywhere except Fort Lauderdale to Lake Worth, and they all seem to have clearance of 22' to 26'.  Dubhe needs 27'.  Fortunately, many do not have restrictions and most of the ones that do, will open every 20 minutes.

February 25, 2016

The wind picked up from the northwest (as predicted) but because of the direction, the mooring field was flat.  I slept very well, waking up refreshed to a cool, clear morning.  We dingyed/walked over to the marina office for our mail before breakfast.  Because of the layout, a walk to the marina office is not trivial, probably ½ mile, but it was a very nice walk.  Spent the morning sorting our mail, paying bills, and balancing my checkbook.  Just before lunch we made a visit to the Saint Petersburg History Museum which turned out to be a waste of time and money ($30).  There really wasn’t much there and what was, was not organized well.  The largest display was thousands baseballs signed by almost any person you could think of.  How interesting is rooms full of baseballs?  Nancy found out that at 5:00 on Thursdays, admittance to the Salvador Dali Museum is only $10, so we went.  

Dali Museum - the building is art too.

This painting over 8 feet tall.

What a deal. This was one of the best things we have done on this trip.  The collection is huge, and well displayed.  Dali was quite a guy and I like his off the wall art.  Fantastic.  The only downside to going at 5:00 is that there is not much time, since the museum closes at 7:30.  We left, drained and feet hurting but were hungry so we went to Crowley’s Irish Pub on Central Avenue for great beer and supper.  Tomorrow, we head north.

Skull sodomizes piano

Don't remember the official name, but Lincoln is there.

February 26, 2016

Woke this morning and Nancy said “Why don’t we stay here another day” which surprised me since yesterday, I wanted to stay but Nancy insisted that we move on.  Oh well, it’s fine since the wind is blowing more today than originally predicted.  Dingyed over to the boaters lounge for wifi in the morning.  The only thing I do not like about this mooring field is that I cannot get wifi on the boat.   After lunch we took showers and decided to explore around town until happy hour (which we would partake on Central Ave. again).  But something quite rare for us happened.  Nancy wanted to go by a downtown, indoor shopping area so I of course I went too (reluctantly).  Low and behold, this area was mostly a large movie complex with 20 theaters; not something you see in the inner city very often.  I have been wanting to see Star Wars, The Force Awakens, so that’s what we did!  I don’t remember the last time we went to a movie, but it was a blast.  It was almost dark when we got out so we went back to Dubhe for drinks and spaghetti for dinner.  A very good day!

February 27, 2016

A little rolly in the mooring field last night and cool this morning.  We had heard about the farmer’s market in town near the marina so we decided to do that before leaving.  It was great.  We bought some tomatoes, fresh bread, and fresh eggs.  We slipped the mooring at 9:45, and made our way south then west around the Pinellas Peninsula.  It was quite windy with a moderate sea until we turned west, then anchored in a canal at Pass-a-Grille, (Saint Pete Beach) about 12:30.  We wanted to get on land, but it was too cool and windy to go outside comfortably, so we hung out on Dubhe.  

So long Saint Pete

Hello Pass-a-Grille

Urban anchorage

February 28, 2016  

The wind died during the night, so we slept well.  I had the fresh (farmers market) eggs for breakfast, fried over easy and they were the best I have had in a long time.  The yolks were a deep yellow and they had much more flavor than grocery store eggs.  (You would not appreciate it unless you are a runny yellow egg eater).  We took a long dingy ride exploring the neighborhood this morning then after lunch, we tied up at a wall and walked into the small town; an old beach town, not like the more common high rise Florida landscapes.  An absolutely beautiful day, (especially after yesterday) warm, not a cloud in the sky, and light wind.  We dingyed to the “downtown” area for happy hour at “Sea Critters Café” where we had drinks and our best seafood dinner yet.  This is what cruising is about (being worthless lazy).  Several times during the day, I thought about doing some work like varnishing but it passed quickly.  Just completing this blog has become a lot of work!  Tomorrow to Caladesi Island.

Dingy up bars and restaurants.

It's just too much fun.

February 29, 2016

We brought the anchor aboard about 7:00 and headed north.  Winds are light and temperature mild; the looks of a great day.  As we don’t have a car, land transportation for provisions is always a challenge.  We read that, a few miles along the way, there is a dingy day dock at a McDonalds which is also next door to a Publix.  This would normally require anchoring nearby, putting the motor on the dingy, going to the dingy dock then reverse the process before continuing on.  When we arrived near the dingy dock, we saw a sailboat going in and realized that we could tie Dubhe up there, eliminating the anchoring step.  We made a purchase at McDonalds, primarily so Nancy could get orange juice, then groceries at Publix.  In about half an hour, we were underway again to Caladesi Island, arriving at about 12:30.  This is a state park with floating docks.  In fact, there are about 100 slips on floating docks, but they are small and there were only two other boats here.  The slips are only 12 feet wide and Dubhe is 10 ½ feet wide.  There are no showers, pumpout, or wifi here, but the good news is that it is only $1 per foot.  Most people come here by ferries that are quite busy, but by 5:00 everyone is gone and we have it to ourselves.  Also there is so much beach that it does not feel crowded.  Nancy got some beach time which is her primary objective.  A really nice place.  This is the first time Dubhe has been tied to a dock since February 9.  We watched one of our thrift store movies (Trading Places), a somewhat mindless but entertaining movie from the 80’s.

Uncrowded state park "marina"

  

Nancy worshiping the sun.

March 1, 2016

A nice morning, a little cool but not uncomfortable.  After breakfast, we took the nature trail walk of 2½ miles and walked the beach quite a bit.  After lunch, Nancy spent most of the afternoon lying on the beach while I did some housekeeping aboard Dubhe, filled the water tanks, and started my third book by Randy Wayne White (Doc Ford series) “Everglades”.   A major difference between the west coast of Florida and the east coast is that the sun sets in the ocean, except here it is actually the Gulf of Mexico.  So we reconvened happy hour on the beach with a bottle of wine to watch the sun sink into the water.

Beach Happy Hour

Into the Gulf of Mexico

Our cruise this year is quite different than last year, primarily because last year, we stayed in Marathon for a month.  This year, we are moving much more, but staying 3-4 days in some places, and the places are generally more “urban”.  With a few exceptions (like Caladesi) we are in built up areas.  While I would like some more remote areas, this kind of cruising is kind of interesting and has its own advantages, such as a lot more places to eat and drink!  Another difference is that once we crossed Tampa Bay, we have encountered far fewer other cruisers.  This also has plusses and minuses like fewer people to meet and interact with, but less competition for anchorages.