Clearwater to Tampa Bay and St. Petersburg via the Gulf of Mexico

December 7, 2001

December 7, 2001 - Clearwater to Tampa Bay and St. Petersburg via the Gulf of Mexico

We left Clearwater mid morning today headed for St. Petersburg, only about 31 miles away. Because the ICW is so shallow and the weather is so beautiful, we decided to go out into the Gulf for this trip. They are having a lighted boat parade in St. Pete this weekend, so it was a challenge to find a marina that had room for us, but we did, and are on our way. It's so pretty out here on the Gulf today - clear water, blue sky, and warm. It is a little more relaxing and a bit like cruising on Lake Michigan 2 or 3 miles off shore. We are in 15 to 19 feet of water rather than 6 feet or so at low tide on the ICW. However, if we were in Michigan and out that far, we would be in 100 or so foot of water. On either route, we would have to dodge hundreds of crab pots along the way. We arrived in Tampa Bay about 12:30, but had an hour and a half of searching the Bay for the markers leading us to the Harborage Marina. After getting settled, we rented a car for the weekend. We wanted to go to Indian Rocks to pick up a notebook from Chapter Two that we had left on the dock in Tarpon, and try to do a little shopping. It sure doesn't seem much like Christmas with this 80 degree weather, but I guess it is. Later we went to the St. Pete Pier to look around the shops and have a bite of dinner at a 5th floor outdoor restaurant and watch the lighted boat parade. We got a table with a great view for seeing the parade, and all of a sudden, a couple named Fern and Pete showed up and asked if they could join us. Of course, we said yes, so they sat down. Interesting people - we know all about them now. The parade was great.

Sunday the 9th we went to the Salvador Dali Museum and took the tour. Very interesting. This museum is right next to our marina. He was a very complicated man with a lot of talent.

Tomorrow, the 10th, we are going to go to Sarasota and spend a day or so, and then head down to Fort Myers by the weekend, where we will spend the winter and relax. Our port to port adventures are drawing to a close on this leg of the trip, but I'll keep you posted on our side trips with Amy and Jim and Baby James, and Catherine and Mike and David and Pam and Madelyn and Daniel. If any of you are going to be in the area, please let us know, as we would love to have you visit us. We've always got a berth available.

Stay tuned, as one never knows where the Rendezvous might venture and who might show up.

Our E-Mail is rahndezvous@earthlink.net and our cell number is 303-882-0776. I hope to get a real phone in Fort Myers and I'll let you know what that number is and our mailing address. We love hearing from you, so please keep up the e-mail. We love to hear your news, and we miss and love you.