Florida Adventures from Carabelle to Maderia Beach


As we venture into new places our traveling modes change. Now that we are in Florida where it is warmer and our list of pre-summer places to visit is dwindling, we have been staying about a week at each stop. Our current plan has us stopping in Punta Gorda, FL in mid-April for a cruisers’ rendezvous and then heading back to the Alabama rivers to leave the boat by the end of May. Our boat insurance policy does not allow us to have the boat south of 32 degrees latitude between June 1st and November 1st. We certainly won’t argue with that since the hurricane season in Florida is not something we want to experience.

We have been out of the southern bayous for the last few weeks and have missed seeing some of the mystical sights that they offer like swamps, Spanish moss covered trees, and alligators either dead or alive.

We ended our last posting as we were waiting in Carabelle, FL for a good weather forecast so we could cross the Gulf in relative comfort.

The predicted thirty hours of good weather forecasted for our Gulf crossing on January 26th proved accurate. All five boats waiting to cross left the marina early in the afternoon. Each of the five captains and crew chose a different route to take depending on how far they wanted to travel before stopping. We decided that we would stay in protected waters until late afternoon and then, after we entered the open Gulf, we would travel non-stop until we reached Tarpon Springs. Dolphins greeted us when we got into the protected bay and then many more were waiting near Tarpon Springs. The waves stayed under one foot until after midnight and then they worked their way up to two to three feet, a height that Harbour Reach can comfortably handle. After our 10:00 pm hot fudge brownie sundae, Bill and I took turns steering and sleeping in two-hour shifts. Yes, we really needed that sundae to get our adrenalin going! It took us about twenty-four hours before we were safely docked in Tarpon Springs and ready for a long afternoon nap. It was the first time we have traveled overnight on Harbour Reach and we are already planning our second overnight trip before we leave the boat in Alabama for the summer. Bill plans the necessary boat preparations and Mary plans the decedent late evening treats. What a team!

(Thank you, Fred, for this great dolphin picture. We are still trying to get "the perfect dolphin shot".

Tarpon Springs is an interesting Greek city with a long history of sponge harvesting. The streets are lined with shops displaying sponges for sale and with Greek bakeries and restaurants offering diet-defying delicacies. We sampled way too much delicious Greek food and then had to work it all off with a long bike ride on the scenic Pinellas Trail, a thirty-three mile bike path running from Tarpon Springs to St. Petersburg. The trail is a well-marked paved path constructed for walkers, joggers, wheelchairs, and bikers and closed to any motorized vehicles. It is quite scenic.





This picture shows the local sponge tour boat that takes tourists out to see how sponges are harvested.






Commercial fishing boats and shrimp boats are also common sights in Tarpon Springs.














Tarpon Springs has many historic buildings. The old train station has been made into an interesting train museum and an old hotel now houses an assortment of antique consignment shops. The Unitarian Universalist church was the fortunate recipient of twelve paintings by the very talented and famous painter George Inness. His paintings displaying his mastery of using many hues of green in paintings of natural local scenery and his very realistic representation of some Biblical scenes have greatly enriched the church walls. The church members are proud to have had him as a parishioner.




The church is near Spring Bayou, an area that is surrounded by many historical and elegant homes. The water of Spring Bayou is also the winter home for about nine friendly manatees. People congregate in the area to watch manatees swimming and to enjoy the beautiful homes and gardens.



Many cruisers stop at the municipal marina in Tarpon Springs because it is a convenient stopping place after crossing the Gulf and because Tarpon Springs is definitely a “destination city” in its own right. There were four other “Great Loop” boats docked with us the week we were there. We shared many potluck dinners, visits to Greek and seafood restaurants, walks to nearby shops, and the trials and tribulations of a Super Bowl party. It is amazing how quickly new acquaintances become good friends! In Tarpon Springs there were boaters from New York, Montana, Texas, Indiana, and Rhode Island. While cruising we have met people from nearly every state and from most of the Provinces in Canada. It amazes us just how many other “free spirits” are traveling the waterways.


After nine days in this wonderful Greek city we moved on to what we thought would be a “one night stop” in the nation’s best state park, Florida’s Caladesi State Park.
It has been awarded that distinction two years in a row and its beach has also been chosen the country’s second best beach in 2006. We spent a whole week there shelling, kayaking, hiking, bird watching, dolphin sighting, and visiting with good friends. In fact we were so impressed with Caladesi that we have volunteered to spend the month of March working in the park. The Florida State Park System depends on volunteer labor for 43% of its work. We’re not sure exactly what we’ll be doing, but they mentioned construction projects, computer work, boat repairs, litter pickup, cleaning, and maintenance. Hopefully we’ll be able to provide sufficient help so that we won’t be embarrassed to visit there again next year!

Friends Dick and Cathy Pedone from Massachusetts surprised us with a very welcome visit to Caladesi Island. One morning they called and we convinced them to leave their boat in Sarasota, Florida, drive to Honeymoon Island, take a ferry to Caladesi Island and spend the day and night with us. We walked on the beach and on the nature trail in between lots of eating, talking, and laughing.

After leaving Caladesi Island we headed for Maderia Beach near where Mary had spent five years as a child. The marina is conveniently located near bus lines, grocery stores, post office, restaurants, and beaches. Cody Short from Nashville spent a day with us beach walking, talking, and eating. She brought her boat from Nashville to St. Petersburg with help from friends Dave and Ken. We shared many similar experiences of our boating adventures. We all agreed that the trip from Nashville to St. Petersburg area by boat is vastly different from the same trip by car.

Several days after we arrived in Maderia Beach our Texan friends, Fred and Judy, arrived on their boat Amarse. We enjoyed several evenings eating and socializing with them.




Fishing in Florida seems to be a popular sport and livelihood. This bin of red snapper is just a small part of one commercial fishing boats "haul for the day".






After four days in Maderia Beach we decided to leave the boat and rent a car so we could pick up our truck in Panama City and then later to swim with the manatees in Crystal River.







You can’t imagine what it feels like to snorkel next to a 1000-pound animal and to scratch it under its flippers and chin. They are truly gentle giants! We must have seen at least thirty-five of them, even one nursing its baby. In winters they move up rivers to warmer waters and to hot springs. They aren’t the most attractive animals we’ve ever seen, but they certainly have “cute faces”.

Because they are an endangered species, we are surprised that swimming with them is allowed. I can’t imagine what they must think when they watch thirty or more people jump off a boat and then swim around wearing masks, snorkels, and fins. Who has the strangest sight, humans or manatees? In the next two pictures can you tell which is Bill, which is Mary, and which are manatee? If not, I'm sure we have been away too long and we hope to get "reacquainted with you soon".

This week we moved back to Caladesi Island and started our volunteer job yesterday. We’ll keep you in suspense until the next posting to let you know what we’ll be doing and what it is about this island that made us fall in love with it.