Hampton Inn Clearwater St Pet

... to work but we discovered that we needed three new batteries as they didn't have a charge today after being charged all day yesterday. Richard and I are giving each other batteries for Christmas! It was neat to hear the noises on the hull of being in the water. We saw, and heard the snorting of, our Cortez Cove Manatee today as well as lots of mullet. Apparently they're migrating up rivers to spawn ...

... fancy new "Masquerade II" graphics on. And today we ordered the wooden plaque that needs to be mounted in the boat to display the official registration number and net tonnage. There is a Manta 42 sailing cat in the yard with us. The couple live in Punta Gorda but are having some work done on their boat bottom here too. Coincidentally they also have a sailing cat in the North Channel so we were able to compare stories about sailing there ...

Woo-hoo - we made it to the boat today and she looks great! Today was warm and sunny with a light breeze -perfect for offloading the U-Haul and trying to find spots for everything on the boat. There was a little mildew inside but the boat smelled good and I’m sure the Bounce sheets and buckets of Damp Rid did the trick in controlling humidity through the summer ...

... of the hotel. We picked up nuts, salsas, relishes and sauces in Georgia taking advantage of Georgia’s bounty - peaches, Vidalia onions, pecans and peanuts. I even saw cotton and cotton plants up close.

The Thanksgiving weekend traffic really slowed us down and reminded us of Hwy 400 at its worst. We were so happy to see the familiar territory around Tampa. As Richard remarked we have now traveled I75 from end to end (Sault Ste Marie - Miami) and everything in between.

Trin-i-tee 5:7 As In T57 Did A New CD!! Call Love, Peace, And Joy At Christmas And It's Excited!! I love The Trin-i-tee Look With There R&B Style And The Soul Look I Love Many Of There Songs Like The Christmas Song And This Christmas Those Are My Favorties.

... you out, and also through the 8 horror houses which we emerged from sweating in fear with blood pressure through the roof and adrenaline pumping (anyone whos been through the chamber live at Madame Tussauds, its like that only 10 times longer and 8 of them, all different!). All the main rollercoasters were in operation too, so we took rides inbetween the horror houses to calm ourselves down! The park closed at 2am and we got massive icecreams to soothe our sore throats on ...

Visited Fort San Marcos.,an old Spanish Fort.The guards have Spanish costumes.
Some of the walls are made of coquina.(shells and lime)
Visited again the Lightner Museum and visited the floor we missed yesterday.
Drove to Sun City,Florida.Ate at Sonny's Barbecue restaurant.
Stayed at Dr T's house in Sun City,Fla.

... behind a boat while attached to a parasail), we had checked out prices but didnt like the guy at the mariner. We eventually found a very good company a bit further along the beach who were actually set up on the beach and ready to go, they offered competitive prices and agreed to price match the mariner guy, a 800ft Parasail with a 20 dollar discount. We booked and waited to go.

An hour later and we hopped onto a rib to be taken over to the ...

... you have to have a safety drill before you can start your vacation. This was the first of many that I would participate in, but it was relatively painless. Other than the fact that I looked like a complete idiot with this life jacket on! Just as soon as the drill was over, the ship was moving. We went to the deck to watch the land fade away and my first cruise had officially begun!

... about three times every mile. On second thought, I don't exactly know if this is the most-populous county or not. I only know that we use more water than any other county in Florida. This isn't surprising, because Florida's very hot and our county is maniacal enough to have a 57-mile bike trail through it to promote sunstroke. I guess the trail exists so people can get in shape. However, no matter how much roller-blading or walking or biking ...