Cape Haze Florida to Cayo Costa Island FL - Feb 2, 2017

Jan 31^st – It was a warm and sunny day today.  We got up early to do our final shopping before we returned the rental car to the rental agency.  Don picked us up from the rental agency and gave us one final tour.  Afterwards Maria did some laundry while I washed the boat and washed and lubricated the bikes and loaded them back on the boat.  And we put the dingy up on the davit.  The only thing left to do is fill the boat with water and fuel.  After a busy day we hit the hot tub for one final time with a few boaters and then we went out to dinner since it was too late to cook.

Feb 1^st – It was a warm and sunny day today.  We’re on the road again!  We waited for the tide to be high enough to leave the marina and ensure we would have enough water under our keel for our trip from Cape Haze FL to our Pelican Bay anchorage at Cayo Costa Island FL.  We said good bye to all of the boaters that we met in Palm Island marina and then we left the dock.  We stopped by Cape Haze marina since they have the cheapest diesel fuel in Florida - $2.03 per gallon.  During our travels we had a number of dolphins surfing our wake … Maria actually was successful with the camera this time.  We rafted with Rob and Brenda (Over Ice) and Mike and Cathy (Trawler Life) plus there was another Looper, Gerald and Barb (Hard Dock Café), anchored close by.  We had a couple cocktails and BBQed dinner and just relaxed for the evening.

Feb 2^nd – It was a warm and sunny day.  It’s been a while since we’ve been on anchor thus we’re getting back into the travelling routine including the use of the windless for anchoring, monitoring the anchor position, the use of the generator for power & charging, the solar for charging and budgeting power and water.  It feels great to be travelling again!  We went for a dingy ride to the Cayo Costa State Park and took the shuttle to the beach.  We sat on the beach and looked for shells and shark teeth.  We walked all the way to Boca Pass and back and then we returned back to the boat to clean up a bit before we took the dingy to Cabbage Key for an early dinner.  The Cabbage Key restaurant walls are covered in $1 bills and we all had our Cheeseburger in paradise.  We then returned to the boats before dark.  We’re going to take advantage of the light winds tomorrow and head farther south.

A picture of the group that attended the Looper Reunion in Gulfport FL

Amanda sent us this picture of the three of us

Amanda and Maria

Dolphins following us to Cayo Costa Island

The Shuttle at Cayo Costa Island State Park

The beach on Cayo Costa Island

A lonely crab that was stuck on the beach ... we threw it back in the water

The beach crew ... a couple others decided to go fishing

An interesting creature

Rob and Brenda on Over Ice in the dingy

Cabbage Key ... Do you need a few $'s???

Early dinner at Cabbage Key