Sarasota and Memories

With the sun shining and the winds calm we decided to leave the beach at Englewood to head for Sarasota early in the morning on March 23, 2009. It was going to be a short ride but we wanted to make the most out of the time we were going to be there. Remember when we said the waters were a little shallow on the west coast. Thank goodness the bottom is mud, although we carefully followed the same route out, we touched bottom. The mud didn't really worry Dick, it was the crab pot right next to the boat that popped up,, YIKES! That's the other problem, where ever there is sufficient water for boats, there are the nuisance pots. So, we avoided the pot line and made it out of the mud easily. Our trip to Sarasota was very easy.Upon arrival there was a little drizzle and some wind which made it fun, but sometimes mother nature likes a little chuckle.

Before the fun and exploration it was catch up on clean up. Out came the hose and brushes for the deck, and the inside was also tended with vacuuming and cleaning. So, after lunch, out came the laundry and then the bikes for shopping,, Publix here we come!!!

Marina Jack is a beautiful clean marina right in the heart of town. At the dock there was a restaurant that was quite busy all the time that offered all kinds of dining experiences, from casual bar style to the upstairs more formal dress required. There was music offered 6 nights a week, which we really enjoyed hearing right from our boat as we enjoyed our appetizers and cocktails.

Sarasota is adorned with many statues, Greek gods,art deco, and statues representing times in history. You don't have to go to an art museum to appreciate them.
Sarasota brought back many memories for Dick for his in-laws lived on Lido Key. We took the trolley to St. Armand's circle where we walked and window shopped and ,of course, stopped for an ice cream, YUMMMM!!!! Also did a little walking on Lido beach where Dick shared stories.The next day we again took the trolley to The Ringling Brothers museum and complex. Could have spent the whole day exploring there,VERY FASCINATING. They have a new building where they have a miniature circus grounds set up explaining how and where everything is done. Again Dick related the story of the 1944 circus fire in Hartford, CT where he lived as a boy. The magnificent Ringling mansion can only be described as elaborately detailed as you see in the picture below. The inside was just as exotic. Sarasota will be one of the highlights of this trip, so on again we go. So watch for the next installment.

Looking for Sharks Teeth at Englewood

Our next adventure March 22, 2009 took us to Englewood Beach. It was another wonderful well protected anchorage. Again, one of the things we found was the water along the coast of the GIWW (Gulf Intracoastal Waterway) was shallow. You have to be very careful and follow the channel or else you'll be in mud. Well, we found the anchorage and dropped the hook and headed into shore for more exploration.

Englewood Beach is a small strip of land, maybe two large city blocks wide that divide the Gulf from the Intracoastal. This place reminded us of Key West, many of the cottages were very colorful and decorative. Unfortunately, almost every house had either a 'for rent' or 'for sale' or both signs posted. It was definitely a sign of bad economic times.

A fellow cruiser had told us there were shark teeth to be found all over Englewood beach. So, we headed out with our baggies on a mission. It was kind of cute because we both turned to one another and asked, ' do you know what shark teeth look like?' Neither one of us could find any shark teeth. Well, lo and behold, along comes a man walking on the beach and starts up a conversation which included, 'Did you find any shark teeth?' Upon telling him "no" he produced three of them and said to Elle, "Enjoy" as he slipped them into her hand.

Continuing on the beach we found it was loaded with all kinds of shells. Hopefully Elle will be producing something with the many we gathered.

Back on the Summer Wind we enjoyed the evening and left the next morning for Sarasota which we will continue the next time.

Cayo Costa State Park,Fl Pelican Bay

Our first stop heading north up the west coast of Florida was an anchorage called Pelican Bay right in Cayo Costa State Park. We were really looking forward to this anchorage because it was recommended by many cruisers. One of the really wonderful things about this area, is that as we were travelling up the coast the water became the aqua color, such as what you think when you say Florida. It was amazingly crystal clear, you could see plant life and the fish swimming.

It was a little tricky getting into the anchorage because there is a sand bar that crosses the entrance. Thanks to several MTOA ers with great directions we had no problem finding our spot to anchor. So, after settling in, we took the dinghy down and ventured into shore to explore.

Couldn't believe how many people were on this island for we found that they camp out in both tents and one room cabins. No vehicles are on the island except for the rangers and the only way visitors can get there is by boat. There is a ferry that comes in or as we did on your own boat.

Cayo Costa is about 9 miles long and 1 mile wide. The roads are white sand packed down. No houses except for the ranger station and dense foliage of Oak and Palm and they are replanting a few Australian Pine that were lost during hurricane Charlie.We walked the mile across to the Gulf of Mexico and enjoyed the beach and shelling. Elle is getting quite the collection. There are wild animals which we never saw, and an array of birds, which we did see. No houses except for the ranger stations, and lots of dense foliage. It is nature at its best.

The winds kind of increased making our crossing the Boca Grande Outlet not so nice, so we stayed a few extra nights because we were very well protected. Suffice it to say, we enjoyed our stay there.One morning even Dick put on his chef' hat and made a wonderful breakfast. We made several excursions to shore and would recommend Coya Costa as an excellent anchorage and interesting place to visit.Our next stop is another anchorage and beach which we will tell you about in our next entry.