Happy New Year - Day 90 - Sarasota Florida

"Red at night, sailor's delight."

The sun setting behind the fountain at Marina Jack seems like a fitting symbol for the end of a spectacular year and a harbinger of good things for the new year to come.

Best Wishes for a happy, healthy and properous 2011!!!!

Regards

Les and Diana.

Sarasota adventures - Days 86 to 89 - Sarasota, FL

Monday (12/27), we visited to the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art.  We had heard that entry to the museum was free on the day after Christmas and never one to pass up a bargain we decided to take advantage of their generosity.  So did 3,000 other people, which we discovered upon our arrival.

Line to get into the Ringling Museum

We had decided to visit the museum with Brittany & Scott's family and fortunately for all we arrived about 20 minutes before they did compliments Marina Jack's courtesy van.  They were able to join us in line and thus bypassed most of their 30 minute wait. 

Turns out only the Art Museum is free and all of us opted for the standard entry fee so that we could visit all of the exhibits.  This proved to be a wise choice as the museum was rich in circus history and artifacts.

We spent the afternoon visiting the Circus Museum, the Ringling Mansion and the Tibbals Learning Center.  Each was fascinating and our only regret was not being able to spend more time in each place.

Ringling's decision to move the circus's winter quarters to Sarasota and later to open them to the public had a profound impact on area.  They then acquired property on Sarasota Bay and built their palatial home.

Ringling's palatial mansion

The center of the mansion as viewed from Sarasota Bay



The mansion's impressive living room ceiling



Diana and Susan on the veranda.  It was cold

The star of the Circus Museum's exhibits is the Wisconsin, the private railroad car that John and Mable had build in 1905.  I learned from the docent that it was sold after a New York City ordinance prohibited a wooden train car from entering their tunnel.  The car went on to have a life of its own and finally wound up being used as a fish camp by one of its several railroad company owners.  The car is in the process of being fully restored.  That said, they seem to be at the tail and the restoration is spectacular.

The Wisconsin

View from the salon overlooking the observation platform

The Circus Museum houses numerous beautifully restored artifacts.  Below are just a few photos.  Click here for their website to see more.

Calliope

Diana and Susan behind the calliope



Zacchini Circus Cannon in foreground

The hit of the "show" was our visit to the Tibbals Learning Center where we saw a scale model of the Ringling Brothers Circus that took 50 years to get to this point.  Howard Tibbals, the mater builder is still adding to the exhibit, which contains 50,000 scale models.

Part of the miniature exhibit viewed from above

The detail is incredible



A partial view of the "Big Top"

Besides spectacular costumes, the Tibbals Learning Center houses a wall detailing the history of the circus.  What made this exhibit unique was its three part time line that showed the circus history in relation to major US and world events along with who was Presidents of the United States at that time.  I Diana and I spent considerable time here.  It was fascinating.

Noteworthy is that John and Mable Ringling lost control of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus right after the 1929 crash.

The other noteworthy event was Jim's son Eric teaching me how to use several of the features of my Cannon camera.  I'm now motivated to take a photography course.

Tuesday, we spend a relaxed day.  A 6 mile walk and a visit to Whole Foods were the major events.

Wednesday, Ron Markovits took me for a cruise on his Tiara 3900 Sovran.

Ron readying Majestic for our cruise

We started from the Sarasota Yacht Club and went out to the Gulf via the Big Sarasota Pass.  This was an eye opening event because while the pass is big in terms of area, the channel is very narrow and tricky with missing buoys that show on the chart and buoys that do not.  Local knowledge is absolutely essential to negotiating this channel.

Leaving the beautiful Sarasota Yacht Club

Once into the Gulf we were on smooth water.  From our viewpoint, this 900 by 500 miles body of water was a mere pond.  Ron said this was a rare event for the winter.  Readers may recall our 180 mile crossing from Apalachicola to Tarpon Springs which to say the least was exciting and we had a "good" weather window (2 to 4's with an occasional rogue 5 decreasing to 2s as we got withing three hours of Tarpon Springs).

Majestic's wake reveals calm waters on the Gulf

Ron at Majestic's helm

Ten miles later we arrived at the Venice Inlet, which was entirely straight forward.  No local knowledge needed here.  In fact it was very similar to the channel inlets on Lake Michigan.

Entering Venice Inlet

We then returned to the Sarasota Yacht Club via the Intracostal Waterway, where Ron shared with me more of the local knowledge needed to operate in these waters.  I also got to view the scenery and take lots of photos, which is not the case when I'm at the help of guided Discovery.

Ron's boat could not get under this low swing bridge

We called and they opened the bridge

We had a late lunch in the yacht club's main dining room, which provided good food it a beautiful setting.  Note: The recently spent 14 million dollars on a new facility.

The Pool

The Lobby

Thursday, was warm for a refreshing change and we spent another leisurely day.  Unfortunately, Thursday's biggest event was moving the boat from a floating slip to a fixed dock, which means having to deal again with tides.  Turns out Marina Jack was booked solid and we had to vacate our very comfortable slip.  Our newly assigned slip turned out to be a bit of a challenge for the furry kid (aka Kodi) due to the nature of the cement pilings (see photo) that caused the boat to be further from the dock than usual.  Several discussions with the dockmaster about our need for an accommodation, even just for overnight, produced no assistance despite the fact that there were several open floating slips and lots of room at the gas dock.  With the help of Keith, one of the dock hands, we figured out a partial solution.  Still, we were forced to manhandle Kodi for her late evening walk.  Note: She did, however, jump down onto the boat on her own when the evening walk ended.

Note the cement piers with 2 by 4s in the foreground

The day ended pleasantly with an outdoor evening meal at a Cafe Americana with a lovely city view (and where Kodi could sit with us).

Written by Les.

Christmas Reunion - Day 85 - Sarasota, FL

85 days and 1792 miles for us and 91 days and 2,600 miles for Scott and Brittany, we reunited Christmas Day at the Stephen's house on Anna Maria Island.    Wonderful!   Fabulous!  Fantastic! hardly describes it.   Scott and Brittany and her parents Jim and Susan are our boat neighbors at Belmont Harbor in Chicago.

All summer Scott and Brittany have been getting the mighty Rasmus (a 35' Hallberg Rassy) ready for a cruising adventure that will take them around the world.   Meanwhile, we were preparing for doing the Loop.   We got together many (many) evenings talking "boat" and sharing good wine (Mount Veeder 2005 Cabernet Savignon).  What was until then a concept, a dream, then became the moment of reality when they left 9/28 and we left 10/3.    Before leaving we made a plan to meet 3 months later on Christmas Day.

Brittany waving as Rasmus departs her Belmont Harbor slip for a worldwide cruise on September 28

Guided Discovery departing Belmont Harbor on October 3

Well, much water has passed under our keels and many experiences have passed since then and here we were -- all of us and our boats intact.   Isn't it nice when a plan comes together!   We were thrilled to see everybody.

Loop travelers on the left, world travelers on the right

Jim and Sue Stephen are such wonderful hosts -- along with their children Chelsea, Kevin, Eric and their family members.     We laughed, ate and spontaneously stayed overnight so we could talk some more the next morning.    Today (Sunday) it turned out to be COLD (with gale force winds).. no walking on the sandy beach today.  So beyond having lunch with Scott and Brit at Marina Jack we mostly stayed warm and inside.


Eric, Jim, Chelsea, Kevin, Skylar, Susan, Brit, Kodi, Faith, Scott, Les & Diana

Little Kodi, by the way, had the best time ever.   So many people to pay attention to her -- so many turkey and sweet potato handouts -- so many new sofas and chairs to sleep on -- and there was even another little dog friend.

We hope to see Brittany and Scott and Jim and Sue again before we leave, but hope that 2011 brings them and all of you exciting and fun new adventures.

Written by Diana and Les.
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Post Script:   I spelled Les' good friend Ron Markovits' name wrong.   Sorry Ron!

Post Post Script: You can experience Scott and Brittany's journey and exceptional writing at their blog.  http://www.windtraveler.blogspot.com/

Christmas on "The Loop" - Day 83 - Sarasota, FL

It's a beautiful, sunny day in Sarasota -- the water is sparkling like diamonds.   While Floridians seem to think this 60'ish degree weather is cold -- well, for Chicagoans it's lovely.   The marina staff leaves a newspaper next to each boat (like in a hotel), which I think is a really nice touch.   So we are sitting here reading the paper, having lunch and enjoying the moment.  

Marina Jack's fountain

It is different being away from home for the holidays, and would be wonderful to see friends.   However, we are on this adventure to complete the Loop and find that people are very welcoming.   Last night Ron and Linda Markovitz invited us to their yacht club (Sarasota Yacht Club), which is absolutely gorgeous!  It has a heated outdoor lap pool, fitness center, restaurant(s), lounge(s), fireplace(s), etc.  A real "Wow!"     Tonight Ron and Linda graciously invited us to their house for dinner.

Tomorrow, Saturday and Christmas Day, Brittany and Scott (who left Chicago/Belmont Harbor on Sept. 27th on their 35' sailboat and have traveled 2,900 miles going the eastern route to Florida) are picking us up to go to spend Christmas with them and Brittany's family (Jim and Sue Steven are also our boat neighbors in Belmont).  How lucky is that!   We can't wait.

Today we had a remarkable experience.   A few blocks from the marina on Pineapple St. (many of the streets are named Pineapple or Coconut or Palm, etc) there is a store with a sign "come in and hug a puppy".   Well, how could I resist!    It is, in fact, the Southeastern Guide Dog group that breed, raise and train dogs for the blind.    Today was our 2nd visit to "hug a puppy".    We bring Kodi with us of course.    Talking to coordinator, Marjorie Singer, about the program we realize that bringing a dog from birth to becoming a trained guide dog is a big investment in labor and love.    Majorie has also extended an invitation to her home to let Kodi play with her two labs in her large, fenced yard on Bird Key.   She realizes that being a doggy "Looper" rarely gives Kodi the opportunity for an all out run with other dogs. 

Not that she doesn/t get enough exercise

We are thinking of all of our friends in Chicago, and making some new ones along the way.    This Looping thing is getting better!    I may even recommend it by the time I get back!!  

 

Meanwhile, we want to wish all of you a Merry Christmas.    We hope you continue to join us on our journey (and for anyone so inclined, we love visitors!)   Your support has truly been wonderful.

Written by Diana (edited by Les).

A perfect day for a cruise - Day 80 - St Petersburg to Sarasota, FL

Wednesday, we awoke to another beautiful day; sunny skies, 50 degrees and light winds.  As planned, my friend, Ron Markovits, who had decided to co-captain with me on the trip to Sarasota, arrived at 10:00 AM.  The plan for today involved Diana driving Ron's car back to Sarasota while Ron, Kodi and I piloted the boat to Sarasota.

Historical Note: Ron and I retired on the March 31, 2010 from The Warranty Group.  We were the Company's first retirees under its present ownership status, which resulted when Aon sold the company to Onyx corporation (a Canadian investment banking firm).  Ron retired as Chief Legal Officer.  His career spanned 38 years, the same as my own.

Ron gave Diana a quick orientation on the route and how to use the GPS and off she went.  We walked back to the boat and by 10:30 we were on our way.

Tampa Bay was essentially flat allowing us to travel at 28 MPH and very quickly we crossed under the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. 

From there we intersected with the intracoastal waterway and traversed Anna Maria Sound and Sarasota Bay arriving at Marina Jack at 12:25 PM.

Historical Note: David Cole, CEO of The Warranty Group and I flew down to Sarasota in August 2008 to inspect a 2007 48 Sundancer that he was considering.  The 48 was located at Marina Jack.  David and I took the boat for a sea trial on Sarasota Bay following which David contracted to buy it.  We were sitting in the bar at the Marina Jack restaurant when he negotiated the deal.

Marina Jack as views from the harbor entrance

We topped off the tanks taking on 110.8 gallons at $3.15 per gallon (plus tax).  Ron departed and we adjourned to the outdoor restaurant at the marina for a lunch. 

Guided Discovery in view while we had lunch

We opted to stay for 7 days and got a weekly rate of $540 or $77.14 per day.  A good deal, especially at a top knotch facility in haute saison.  Top knotch includes concrete floating docks, a first class restaurant and a beautiful park for Kodi.  Added to that is its perfect location just outside of the business district, which is loaded with shops, restaurants, theatres, an opera and a Whole Foods (hurrah).

Main Street

Main Street

Sarasota Opera House

Bijou Cafe

I ended the day with a 7 mile bike ride south into the high rent district.  The houses, many located on the water, were spectacular.  The photo below does not capture the full story.  This house had a tennis court just to the right and a coach house.  Also not pictured are the two AMG Mercedes; a E55 and a M55.

Ron's recommendation of Barnacle Bill for dinner was spot on and a fitting end for another spectacular day.

Written by Les.

Maintenance Adventures - Day 79 to 80 - St Petersburg, FL

We set Monday (12/20) aside for some serious engine maintenance.  Sean from Cummins arrived at 8:00 AM and spent the entire day performing the 250 hour maintenance service.  Sean changed oil, oil filters, fuel filters, Raycor filters, impellers and zincs in the engines and generator; oil and filters in the transmissions; and cleaned the air seps on both engines and all sea strainers.   Sean also discovered a water leak in the port engine raw water pump ($1,300 for the part) and I opted to have it replaced.  He also pointed out oil leaks (actually weeps and seeps) in the front seal, oil pan and ____________.  These will have to be dealt with at some point and probably involve a day and a half of labor.  Total cost for today's services were $3,900.

Tuesday (12/21), the first day of winter, the weather was perfect for the waxing the boat (sunny and 50+ degrees).  Brian and Jack from SCI Marine arrived at 8:00 AM and began the task, which involved washing the boat and then waxing the hull, the topsides and the stainless steel railings.  They completed the task at 3:30 PM.  Total cost $575, which was very fair considering I pay $700 for the same service in Chicago.

The photo cannot do the wax job justice

During the afternoon we visited the Dali Museum, which is located on the waterfront a mile and a half from the boat.  The museum houses 96 original Dali paintings collected by A. Reynolds and Eleanor Morse over a 30 years span.  The Morse's bought their first Dali and 1943 for $1,200 (and then spent 1,800 to get it framed).  The Morse's ultimately became close friends with Dali.

What's particularly interesting is how this collection wound up in St Petersburg.  The short story involves estate taxes.  When the collection was appraised, the Morse's realized that they could not pass the collection to their sun intact (i.e., some of the paintings would have to sold to pay estate taxes).  The Morse's then decided to donate the collection to a major art museum.  However, no museum would take the collection intact.  All wanted to cherry pick it and sell off the rest.  The Morse's (of Cleveland) wanted to keep it intact.  Turns out the city fathers of St Petersburg saw an opportunity and as a result this fantastic collection resides here.  Note: In 20 days they open a new facility, which will be able to display the entire collection.

As is our custom, we took advantage of the Guided Tour, which proved to be helpful in understanding Dali's work.  Unfortunately, they do not allow photos.  I offer one example, Slave Market with Disappearing Bust of Voltaire (1940) to show Dali's genius.  Click on the link and see if you can see the double image.

The Dali Museum

Marina adjacent to the Dali Museum

Tomorrow we move on Sarastoa to visit with our friends Ron and Linda Markovits.  Ron and I worked together at The Warranty Group and retired on the same day (March 31, 2010).  We will miss St Petersburg.

Our view from the cockpit

Written by Les.

Adventures in St Petersburg - 75 to 78 - St Petersburg, FL

We have been enjoying St Petersburg for the past seven days and plan to stay until Wednesday.  Our dockage at the Municipal Marina puts us within 5 minutes of the heart of this exciting city.  Our section of the marina, which is one of four, is on the road to The Pier, which is the home of their Aquarium

Guided Discovery in St Petersburg

The Pier, home of the aquarium

St Petersburg, like Chicago, is a city with great resources, just on a slightly smaller scale (except the yacht club).  Within walking distance of the marina are The Pier, the History Museum, The Museum of Modern Art, The Chihuly Collection, the aquarium, The Salvadore Dali Museum, The Florida Holocaust Museum, many fabulous restaurants, a 20 screen movie theater, the yacht club and a downtown airport.

Museum of Modern Art

Impressive St Petersburg Yacht Club

Note: Chicago once had a downtown airport called Meigs Field, which was destroyed by the single most significant act of vandalism in the history of Chicago when Mayor Richard M. Daley illegally and unannounced destroyed the airfield's runway while planes we still legally on the tarmac.

Albert Whitted Airport, still viable

Thursday, the weather was beautiful and we spent a relaxed day, part of which involved exploring the downtown.  I also contracted to with a local maintenance company to detail the boat and with Cummins for our 250 hour engine and generator maintenance.

We had dinner at a restaurant called 400 Beach, which is just across from the historic Vinoy Hotel.

Dinner at 400 Beach

On the way home we passed Shapiro's. We tried to tell the proprietor that this was our store.  He politely did not agree.

Then we stopped at a brasserie called Cassis, got four fabulous deserts, which we shared along with a bottle of 2005 Mount Veeder Cabernet Savignon with our friends Tom and Brady.

Friday, the weather was perfect and the boat got washed from stem to stern.  We found a local boat maintenance company based on a recommendation from our fiends Tom ands Brady.  Phil, from SCI Marine, came down on Thursday to discuss the scope of the project, which included washing the topsides, hull, dingy, bridge and cockpit including the camper canvas' plastic glass windows and cleaning the cockpit carpets.  Phil wanted $425 for the project. We compromised at $275, which may seem like a lot of money but is in fact fair.  Two guys spend four hours to complete the project.  Note: It took me five hours just to wash the hull and topsides only.

The good news is that they did a spectacular job.  Guided Discovery has been restored to her post loop pristine condition.

We again had an enjoyable dinner with Tom and Brady at another neat Italian restaurant some distance from the marina.

Saturday, it rained in the morning but then cleared up with temperatures in the 60s.  I took a 10 mile bike ride and looked at the fabulous waterfront homes to the north while Diana and Kodi explored the downtown shops.  We also caught a movie, Fair Game, at Baywalk 20 theatre, where they serve beer and wine (how civilized) in the "adult" section of the theatre.  The movie, which deals with the Bush administration's outing of Valerie Plame and attempt to discredit Joe Wilson (who you may recall busted their Niger yellowcake bubble), was 4 stars.

An unusual and strange thing happened Saturday night when I took Kodi out for her evening walk.  It was 11:00 PM and we were waiting to cross 2nd Street on our way back to the marina entrance when a car coming from The Pier drove by and threw an egg at me.  The egg hit my left arm breaking the skin in several places and leaving a slight bruise.  Unfortunately, the assault happened so fast that I was unable to get the license number or even a description of the car.  I called 911 to alert the police to the act.

In retrospect, I feel fortunate that the "damage" was as light as it was.  I can't imagine what would have happened if the egg hit me in the eye.  That said, I have trouble understanding the point of such an impersonal act of violence.  What's the point?

Sunday, the weather was not perfect with fog and mist in the morning and overcast skies in the afternoon.  Still, low 60s is better than Chicago's 18 degrees. We had brunch at a Al Fresco, which is located steps from our boat, visited the Florida Holocaust Museum and played Frisbee with our furry kid (aka Kodi).  We spent the afternoon at the Holocaust Museum, which we found very engaging and well structured.  Although not as in-depth as the holocaust museums in Washington DC and Jerusalem (Yad Vashem), the museum does a great job of telling the story and tying it into present day prejudice.  Unfortunately, they did not allow photos.

Al Fresco

We had a great play session with Kodi who reliably retrieved the Frisbee for almost a half hour.  The word "reliably" refers to the fact that she stayed focused and brought the Frisbee to us every time.  It's taken three years to get to this point.  Kodi responds to the following commands during this activity: ready, get it, bring it and put it in my hand.

Kodi retrieving the Frisbee

The furry kid

Written by Les.