Mike and Kent(Silver Linings) put in a hard days work today… while the girls spent the day in Madeira Beach shopping and going to the beach.

While at the beach, Ruby and Violet from Silver Linings and Jen made a sand boat. It was the super yacht version of Silver Linings.

After a fun day in Madeira, we headed back to Clearwater and had dinner. After dinner we went over to Silver Linings from key lime pie and a tour of their boat. Afterwards they came over to our boat for a tour and to play with the dogs. The dogs loved playing with the kids, they were super excited to have new friends.

We walked at got coffee and headed to Avis to pick up our rental car. We were only going to rent it to drive home to Texas for Christmas but the cost to rent a car for a month was cheaper than renting it one way to drive to Texas and get a different rental to come back to Florida. So we have it for a full month, which is great because we can explore Clearwater and the surrounding towns much easier.

After picking up the rental car we went to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium. The Clearwater Marine Aquarium is where the movie Dolphin Tale was filmed, which is one of Jen’s favorite movies. Unfortunately the dolphin the movie is about died a few weeks prior to our visit, so we were unable to see Winter. But, we did get to see Hope and a few of the other animals in the movie which was very cool. They have a beautiful facility and the staff were very friendly and knowledgeable.

For dinner we went to Cristions Coal Oven Pizza… highly recommend!

Jen took more sunset pictures, and we finished off the night watching boating videos on YouTube.

Today we took the Jolley Trolley with our friends from Silver Linings and their friends from Michigan to Dunedin and Tarpon Springs today. The Jolley Trolley is the public transportation in Clearwater. It was lot of fun and we enjoyed getting to see the town. Especially driving past the Church of Scientology, which we have so many questions… The building is so huge and takes up multiple city blocks. When we would drive by we would joke about stopping in for a Q&A session.

We went to Dunedin first. Such a cute town! Tons of shopping and restaurants. We got coffee and lemonade, and walked around the Farmers Market. Mike got the biggest radishes we have ever seen! We got blueberry banana bread and shared a yummy savory crepe. Mike was happy as we found a place for him to get some ice cream as well.

After Dunedin we got back on the Jolley Trolley and headed to Tarpon Springs. Downtown Tarpon Springs is full of Greek restaurants, bakeries, and the sponge docks. We met up with our friends on In Custody for lunch.

After lunch we walked around and did a little shopping. Mike went with the kids on Silver Linings to the candy store, he was able to find all sorts of fun candies. We stumbled upon a greek bakery, got some fresh bread that was very yummy. Sitting outside was a Tarpon Springs local who insisted on taking us to one of the local bars so we could have a ‘fix’ which is a Greek beer.

As the sun was setting the whole town gathered for the annual tree lighting ceremony, the mayor and police chief were there and gave a speech. It was super cute.

After walking around Tarpon Springs we got back on the Jolley Trolley and headed back to Clearwater and had dinner at Tequilas Mexican Grill and Cantina. They had 2 for 1 margaritas, and the food was good. It was the first time we had Mexican food since leaving Texas, it reminded us of home… lol

After the overnight crossing, we were all happy to get some sleep. Mike was up early as he had to work. The girls slept in and were up around 10am.

It was a pretty uneventful day. Dogs slept most of the day, Harley especially. He’s an old man, and the puppies and the crossing wore him out.

Jen took pretty sunset pictures, and we all went to bed early.

The day is here! The Gulf Crossing has arrived.

In preparation for the crossing Mike took Wednesday and Thursday off. He spent the morning checking over the engines, cleaning the strainers, verifying the route and trying to not be nervous about crossing the Gulf of Mexico in complete darkness. Jen made white chili with chicken for us to eat during the crossing (which by the way was delicious). After making chili Jen spent time gathering and making trivia questions, to help keep us and our buddy boats awake during the night.

Around 3:30pm we took the boat and got fueled up and pumped out. Around 4:15pm we headed out. On our way out of the channel, our buddy boats pulled out of their slips and followed us out. We had previously agreed upon meeting in front of Dog Island and doing a radio check to start us off. We had everyone and were ready to go! Kent on Silver Linings said a prayer over the radio for us asking God to protect us on this evenings journey that we were all in our own way slightly anxious about, but it was all about the journey and the experience, which we all accepted.

As we headed out to sea, the seas were calm and the sun was setting. Wishes previous 2 owners had a rule that she wasn’t out past dark… looks like tonight we were breaking that rule.

It was so calm and quiet, the stars in the sky were as bright as LED lights. We set the autopilot and ate some chili. Mike got out his fishing poles, and let a few lines out with hopes to catch a tuna. Safety is very important to us, so while Mike got his fishing gear ready and lines in the water, Jen was on look out to make sure she had eyes on him at all times. We had discussed a MOB (man over board) plan ahead of time, and the requirement of lifejackets and a spotter at all times when any one went on deck outside.

At 10:15pm trivia began. Jen was our host on channel 78. Mike and Kelly on Wishes, Kent and Katie on Silver Linings, and Steve and Terrie on In Custody all played. After 6 intense rounds of trivia which consisted of 4 questions per team per hour…Sports, Geography, History, Entertainment, and Boat related questions the winner was In Custody by 1 point over Silver Linings. It was so much fun, and it really did help pass the time and keep us awake and our minds moving.

As the sun began to rise, Mike caught a fish!! Jen announced on the radio “Fish On!” and our friends on Silver Linings slowed down and waited for Mike to reel it in. It was very exciting, he caught a tuna.

As we got closer and closer to Clearwater, FL it was about 11:00am, and we saw our first crab pot! Leading up to the crossing we had learned that the timing of the arrival was very important when it comes to navigating the crab pots. If you arrive too early the sun hasn’t rose enough and you cant see, and if you arrive too late the sun is beginning to set and you can’t see either. Arriving around 11:00am was the perfect time, we had great visibility and were able to dodge the crab pots with ease.

We pulled into Clearwater Marina at 12:30pm, and after a long night we were ready to dock and take a nap. But the wind and current had a different plan in mind… Needless to say docking at the marina deemed to be a challenge. With the help of the dock attendant and Wishes crew, we were finally able to get the boat backed into the slip for our month long stay, and the beautiful view we had from the stern of our boat.

Today, we focused on preparing for the Gulf crossing. We chose the direct route to Clearwater.  It is 170 miles and 18 hours overnight. We leave at 5 pm and arrive at our destination in the morning with sunlight to avoid crab pots snagging our props. 

At lunch, Mike rode his bike to the bait shop in preparation of a chance to catch a fish while crossing.  On the way, he stopped to take a selfie of the world’s smallest police station (see picture below). 

Jen and Kelly took the wagon to the grocery store for new provisions. The store is just across the street but actually a 10 min hilly walk due to our boat slip location. It is very strange shopping with a wagon vs. a grocery cart. Funny, no one looked twice at us.At 5pm, we met up with fellow loopers to discuss the crossing. We divided into groups based on 1. Day crossing, 2. Evening crossing and 3. The “elbow” route which is hugging the shore and stopping in 3 towns (Steinhatche, Cedar Key and Tarpon Springs).  Jen brought name tags and Kelly brought a list of things to consider for safety and logistics. Our group agreed to meet at Dog Island at 5pm and use channel 68 for communication. We agreed to do an hourly check-in at the top of the hour.  In total, our night crossing group totaled 9 boats – Wishes, In Custody, Silver Linings, CJ’s, North Star, Tug Lee Loo, Patriot, Northern Lights and Great Escapes.

After the meeting, all the loopers coincidentally gathered at the only restaurant in walking distance – The Fisherman’s Wife. We sat with our new friends, In Custody and Silver Linings. Funny, we all grew up in Michigan. We had a great night bonding over Michigan hot spots like Alpine Valley Ski Resort, Kensington Park, Lipsticks, St. Andrews Hall and Charlevoix. We also bonded on Michigan food favorites such as Sanders Bumpy cake, Coney Island hot dogs and Vernors soda. It was great time visiting memory lane. Dinner was very good. Mike has been rating key lime pies since we’ve been in Florida.  The Fisherman’s Wife is now #2. Dewey Destins at Destin is still #1!

At midday, we were sad to say goodbye to Apalachicola but it was time to look ahead to Carrabelle. It was a beautiful day with clear skies and low winds. The journey was a winding ICW with few houses and a lot of trees. Jen did all of the driving. We had to go under a bridge and there was some tricky current and Jen did great adjusting the power distribution on the engines to over come the current and stay on course. She did a great job.

Just before sunset, we arrived at The Mooring of Carrabelle. It was a tricky boat slip. There was a lot of under-current pushing the boat making it difficult to dock. After several tries, we aimed our boat directly at the boat next to our slip and as we approached 6 feet away, the current pushed us towards our slip, and we turned in. Whew!! It was a little scary.

After we tied up, got our bumpers in place and hooked up to shore power, we met up with fellow loopers for a meet and greet. Carrabelle is a great place to meet loopers because everyone gathers here to wait for good weather to do the gulf crossing. We also took a group photo below.

Girls started the day doing some yoga and working out. While Mike washed the boat, it was a little salty.

We loved Apalachicola so much, we decided to stay an extra day. But the marina didn’t have any space so we moved our boat to the city dock wall. It was a nice 3 minute trip and had no issues docking.

We had brunch at The Owl. Kelly and Jen had Prime Rib Eggs Benedict, it was nice to have steak after eating a lot of seafood over the last few weeks. Mike had a chicken warp.

After lunch we went back to the boat and took Harley around town. He loves getting to go with Jen, he’s such a mamma’s boy. We took him to Oyster City Brewery. He loved all the attention and being with him mommy. Afterwards we walked around town some more and walked towards one of the other marinas. We met a group of loopers who were all planning on doing the crossing as well. We dropped Harley off at the boat and went to dinner with our new boat friends.

We went to dinner at The Franklin. The boats at dinner were, Silver Linings and In Custody. Kent and Katie, and their daughters Ruby and Violet on Silver Linings started their journey from Michigan. Steve and Terri on In Custody started their journey from Tennessee. We loved hearing their loop stories, and bonding with them as both families were from Michigan.

After dinner we parted ways with plans to meet in Carrabelle to further discus crossing together.

Started our morning by going to the Farmers Market. Harley being older and wiser, he got to go with. Unfortunately Bonnie and Teddy, are just not ready for some of our outings and get left back at the boat.

While walking around the Farmers Market, we bought Authentic Tupelo Honey from Buddy Nachtsheim. The honey was sweet, and perfect. Buddy, was very nice and shared stories about his time as a barge captain and all the adventures he has been on.

On our way back from the Farmers Market we met some fellow loopers, Mark and Mary on the boat M2W. They had their dog River with them, she was so very sweet and Harley loved getting to play with her as we chatted about our plans for the crossing.

We dropped Harley off at the boat, and walked towards town. Apalachicola is such a darling town, everything was in walking distance and the people were so friendly.

We walked around and went to some of the stores in town. Jen got a new sweater. Kelly got Michael a Christmas present. It was fun walking around town, the weather was perfect.

We went to Oyster City Brewery. Mike and Jen had a few beers. Mill Pond Dirty Blonde was Jen’s favorite so she got a sticker to add to her collection. Jen has been getting stickers from all the places we have gone. While having a beer we ran into Buddy again, we chatted with him for a while and swapped life stories. He wrote two books, and was kind enough to sign a copy of them for us. We plan to read them in route on our travels.

After that, we walked to The Tin Shed. It is a nautical antique shop. They had a lot of really cool items from old boats. Mike and Kelly picked out a lantern, and Jen got an old crab pot buoy.

Dinner tonight was at tiny place in town, Hole in the Wall… OMG YUM! Which the name is an extremely accurate description, it’s a hole in the wall place. That is the best oysters we have ever eaten by far! The shrimp was perfect, and so were the crab claws. We loved this place, and highly recommend it to anyone who goes to Apalachicola.

We pulled away from the docks at Treasure Island around 9am. We made the mistake of exiting the marina before the crewmates could help Mike, the captain, navigate. Jen and Kelly were still pulling in bumpers and tying up ropes and Mike got a little confused about which way to turn. He turned wrong and ran aground. Luckily, we were going slow and it wasn’t serious. Mike was able to back it out. A tour boat drove by and pointed us in the right direction. It probably won’t be the last time it happens. Markers aren’t always easy to understand and sometimes it takes more than one person to figure them out.

The rest of the trip was a really nice. The winding inter-coastal waterway was beautiful. It is mostly trees and very few homes. The sun was shining and it was peaceful. Jen and Kelly drove most of the time.

As we arrived in Apalachicola, we saw a long line of people at the park to get their picture taken with Santa Claus. It was that moment, we knew we were going to love it here.

We docked our boat in front of “Hey Jo” with no problem. The couple on “Hey Jo” gave us a key to the free laundry room and told us about the Farmers Market the next day. They were very nice. They said they bought a boat planning to travel and loved Apalachicola so much, they decide to stay. They’ve been there for 4 years.

Mike and Jen made a pork pot roast for dinner and Kelly did laundry.