December 25, 2016: Christmas Memories - We have been truly blessed!

We always enjoyed Christmas and the season. Here are just a few pictures that brought back some pleasant memories for us.



Playing in the snow was always fun! Wendy was an accomplished snow disc rider.

Playing in the snow was my job, not that I minded. This was a giant igloo we made during a major snowstorm.




Mom and Dad Franko holding Wendy after her baptism.










Mom and Dad Drouhard at one of many Christmas Eve gatherings.





Christmas stocking were always filled with fun stuff.
















The famous or infamous cactus John gave Scott. We stopped exchanging gifts very shortly after that ......




Matt and I making Aunt Josie's coveted butter creams - a gift to be hoarded by anyone lucky enough to be the recipient of a box!

Seems like we always managed to squeeze in a lobster dinner during the Christmas holidays. This was taken in our kitchen in Cleveland - Steve, Rebecca, Linda, Wendy and Matt.
















Nice to have Matt for the heavy work. He has the shovel at the end of the driveway while I am snow blowing.








Not sure why I wanted this branch but was happy to have Matt to help.

Had to decorate the fish!

Not quite Christmas but a great picture of Mom Drouhard and Tom.

Linda is holding the saw but Becky did all the work.

Wendy used her artistic talents when decorating.

I always wanted a big Christmas tree.  When we moved to
Cleveland with a family room with a high ceiling, I
 jumped at the opportunity!

One of Linda's favorite Christmas presents, Minions 
and a Big Bang Theory Glass.

Grandma Drouhard never wanted to miss
 anything, even if it was freezing!

This little cactus guy brings back great Christmas memories.  We sent one to my brother and bought a second one just like it for Mom Drouhard.  She loved it and set it on the kitchen counter.  It's sound activated so he started singing at every little noise. Un-named people started sneaking in and turning him off! Grandma wasn't so dumb - she turned him right back on. We brought hers on the boat and he has been singing every Christmas for over ten years.  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Linda and Steve

December 24, 2016: Christmas Eve, Hard to Believe we're officially in Winter

The work on our Keys Cruiser has been deemed complete.  There are some brush marks but the body is now all black, no more oxidized paint, and the rust is all covered. The interior received a thorough cleaning and looks pretty good.  The car looks especially good in the shade under the pretty tree.










Linda was looking on the web for a used hub cap to replace the one that was missing and discovered she could order new plastic "knock off" hub caps for $18.00 for four. They'll arrive next week. Even out in the open our little Toyota passes the 10 foot rule, looks okay if you don't get any closer than 10 feet.

One boat maintenance issue was taken care of. There is a doughnut shaped zinc on the stainless steel shaft that protects the shaft from corrosion. The zinc gets eaten away by electrolysis instead of the shaft.

Obviously, the propeller shaft is under the water so it was time to dig out the scuba tank. The old zinc was pretty well gone so it was good to get it replaced, you can see the remnant of it on the swim platform and I am holding the new one.

I was also able to inspect the bottom and was very pleased to find little growth.  I usually need to clean the bottom about once a month but because we have been travelling and left the boat in fresh water when we went north it will be okay for a while. The water was 78 degrees, no wet suit needed!

The marina is slowly filling with the winter boaters. One of our boating couples arrived from New Jersey last night, Pat and George on Reflection.  We happened to see them on the Intracoastal as we were making our way south.  They, like us, went north for the holiday visit and like us welcomed the return to warm and sunny Banana Bay. Several couples have yet to arrive but they are on their way.

Its always fun to get the group back together again. We're especially anxious for Randy and Cindy to arrive with the cutest dogs ever, Gigit and Cricket. Cricket in the picture, only weighs 4 lbs and gets cold easily, even here in Florida, hence the Brown's blanket.

Somehow Christmas decorations are just not the same in the Keys as in the north where the lights reflect off the snow. We have to make do with what we have.  One of our favorite breakfast places, Porky's, did a good job of adapting with their Santa hat clad pigs.  Unfortunately it was very windy when I took the picture so one is a little on tilt but still cute.

I decided we needed a few Christmas pictures for a Christmas blog. I became sucked into looking at a lot of pictures from the archives. It took so long looking at old pictures and trying to choose that I decided to make it a true Christmas blog and post it tomorrow.

Merry Christmas Eve to all, and to all a good night!

December 21: Settling In

We are enjoying being back at Banana bay.  This is the view of our boat looking northeast. The weather has been very comfortable.













In addition, the sunset was beautiful although we can't see it actually set over the water this time of year.













We are sort of relaxing but also having fun fixing up our Keys cruiser. I sanded some of the worst spots and then Linda and I primed the areas to be painted.

The project moved along nicely with minimal effort. We'll see how the final outcome looks but we're sure it will be an improvement.  We'll be ready for the final coat soon. More pictures will follow.



We joined the local gym today.  Figured it was important to get into shape after all of our cruising.  Now the goal is to actually go to the gym and work out.  Hopefully some pictures of us doing so will appear soon.


The Christmas lights are finished and we are enjoying the festive lights, despite the lack of snow and cold.  Its tough but we are managing to enjoy the season in the warm, sunny Florida Keys!

December 21: Great to be Back to Banana Bay - New Job for Steve, The Blog

After 7 years, I (Steve) am assuming responsibility for writing the blog. Time for a break for Linda.  I am certain her "input" will be very forthcoming!

It has been a long time since last March when we left Banana Bay. Usually we start getting a little restless by March and feel its time to get cruising again.  Last year was no exception and we happily cruised the Great Loop again with wonderful weather.

We had forgotten, however, how much work and far it is to go from Marathon, FL, up the East Coast and the Hudson River, continuing west on the Erie Canal to Lake Ontario, across to Canada, up to the North Channel, south on Lake Michigan from Mackinac Island to Chicago, down the Illinois River to the Mississippi, across the Ohio River to the Tenness River, and Tennessee Tom Bigbee waterway, then south to the Gulf of Mexico.

After crossing the Gulf of Mexico along the panhandle, we finished the trip by cruising down the west coast of Florida to Marathon Key and Banana Bay - a bit over 6000 miles at 8 miles an hour. I'm certain you get the idea, we are very happy to stay put for a while. Fun to see the large lobster and fish in the nice clear water under the dock.


Also spotted in our marina is something of interest for son-in-law Matt, our paddle board enthusiast. Note the actual outboard engine attached. Looks like a whole new level for you Matt! Unfortunately for the owner, the ducks love to sit on it, hence the messy appearance.

We know we'll be travelling up to the mainland quite a bit this winter. First we'll join The John Franko Family gathering in Naples, FL December 29th. Terri, Scott, Matt and Wendy will also be joining us, we're looking forward to it.

We'll also need to drive north of Miami a number of times to the Cleveland Clinic Florida. Linda is scheduled for hand surgery February 14th at the Cleveland Clinic Florida near Miami. The surgeon will replace the knuckles in her right hand which are pretty bad due to arthritis. She already has two "bionic" knees so why not bionic knuckles?  We are very fortunate to have a Cleveland Clinic branch close by. We made one trip already and several more will be necessary.

Then there is a ride to the Ft. Lauderdale airport and back for a trip to Phoenix in February to watch Matt run a marathon and to celebrate our Christmas with Wendy, Matt, Rebecca and Linda's brother Tom. Tom lives in Flagstaff so it is easy for him to join us and we're excited he's coming.  He always gives great presents!  (A little late for Christmas but you can never have too many Christmas celebrations!)


Given all these road trips,one of our first projects was to find a car.  Rental cars are very expensive in Marathon so we started looking for a "Keys Cruiser". That's boater talk for an old, cheap "beater"car that runs and can be used for the winter in the Keys.

First we rented a car and drove two hours to Miami to look at a couple that were advertised on Craig's List. They were totally misrepresented and a mess mechanically. Since we already had the rental car we came back, drove an hour and a half past Marathon and went to Key West to see a different car we were considering, a 2003 Toyota Corolla.

Pictures showed that cosmetically it was hurting as the owner had said, but he also swore it ran well, had good tires, had a nice interior, the AC worked well and it was dependable transportation. $1,500.  Sounded like what we were looking for. It was dark when we finally were able to meet the seller and we were very tired and anxious to get home to the boat.  We took a quick look and because it was a Toyota, known for dependability, we decided to buy it. Drove it home with no problems.



 One surprise the next morning was when Linda thought to see if we had a spare tire and jack. Imagine her surprise when she lifted up the trunk carpet and there was a big hole where the spare tire should have been!

Glad we didn't see that because we might not have bought it and after the trip to Miami we're happy with the way it runs. I'll just cover the hole with plywood. The seller was correct that it was very rough cosmetically. The first project is to paint the roof, hood and trunk with Rust-ol-eum.  We figure it can't look much worse. More pictures to follow during the restoration.



Of course we had to decorate the boat for Christmas.  I purchased four strings of lights but found that was enough to do only the fly bridge. Off to Home Depot to add four more strings to do the lower railing. After all, if you're going to do something do it right! Will take the complete decoration pictures tonight when it is dark.







There are numerous boat projects for us to work on but so far I am afraid to make a list. We are going to relax and just enjoy being back in Paradise for a while.

December 17: Family Visits then Back to our Winter Paradise, Banana Bay

We left the nice warm Florida weather to head out for family visits.  First stop was California to see Rebecca and her new home.

 Although she had not yet moved in, she and her wonderful realtor made arrangements for us to see it. We loved it.  It is a Spanish design, is located on a hill with a great view and even has a wood burning fire place. Pictures will follow after our next visit.


We spent a total of 10 days, some playing and some working to help her get ready for the move. Playing included Thanksgiving dinner.

We even squeezed in finding her a new to her Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited. A highlight of the trip was getting to see Fantastic Beasts at  the TCL Chinese theater, formerly known as Grauman's Chinese Theater. The theater was renovated and now has IMAX capability.  For more info on this really cool theater click here.


Next stop was Loudonville, OH.  We had a great lasagna dinner with the Drouhard relatives and were even able to catch up with our niece Amanda who was in town for deer hunting season. Amanda as usual was the most successful of the hunters bagging a very nice buck. Its cold in Ohio so we kept our visit moving! On to Olmsted Falls to see Terri and Scott in their new home (which is right next door to daughter Stephanie). Had a great lunch with Stephanie, Terri, Scott, Julie and Jim. Then it was on to Cleveland.  I had a very bad cold/flu so we stayed in a motel trying not to spread the disease. After a couple doctor's appointments for Linda it was on to Washington D.C. to visit with Matt and Wendy. Linda ended up coming down with the virus so vowing to never fly in the winter again we headed back to warm and sunny Florida.


We were never so happy to see our boat again. We did take the opportunity to visit the Manatee center while we were waiting for good weather. The park was small but fun and very enjoyable.

After several days recuperating and waiting for calm winds we were finally ready to leave for the final leg of the journey to Banana Bay. The weather could not have been any better. The first day we picked up fuel in Fort Myers and then spent a quiet night on a mooring ball at Fort Myers Beach. We woke up to a little fog but the good news is fog means no wind.

We need to travel on the unprotected waters of the Gulf for this part of the trip so the lack of wind was very appreciated.  The fog soon cleared and we had a very pleasant day cruising to Marco Island. We anchored fairly far out from shore because the weather was perfect, including a beautiful sunset and almost full moon.  We listened to the dolphins breathing as they circled our boat!

The next day was again calm and wonderful.  We traveled in open water with the boat barely rocking. It was so nice we would have liked to go all the way to Banana Bay but we didn't have enough daylight.  We again anchored in open water as we knew the weather would continue to be calm.  We woke up at sunrise and headed the last 44 miles to Banana Bay.  Home at last!  Back to paradise.  We are truly fortunate.

November 7: Home For A While - Sweetwater Landing!

Quick overview: For the last week have made another 180 miles toward the completion of our second journey around the Eastern half of the US - known as the "Loop".

It's only a couple of hundred more miles back to Banana Bay - the place we began March 28.

But for now it's time for a break! We'll be here, California, Ohio and Washington, DC, over the next month.

In the meantime, our stops included St. Petersburg, Cortez, Englewood, Cayo Casta State Park and finally here in Fort Myers.




Again we are so grateful for the weather - it continues to be almost perfect.

The day we left Caladisa State Park was no exception.

Tides continue to control the times we travel as the route in/out of Caladisi is 4.5 feet at low tide and we really like a little more cushion than 1 foot under the keel - even when the bottom is soft :-)

On the way this day we PASSED a McDonalds ON THE WATER -WITH a dock!!! Sadly the timing wasn't good so I waved and on we went :-(  One of these days!

Pulling into St. Petersburg on Saturday was different - something was missing!

Turns out is that the pier that was there last time is now gone! Just a few posts standing in the water.

But there are plans for building another one. Looking forward to seeing the new one on our next visit!










There was a folk festival going on that included food and entertainment from many countries. Mmm ... maybe more places we don't need to go :-)

We found a great place for breakfast - the Wooden Rooster. Amazing crepes.

And we had to go to our favorite Thai place. Maybe there will be a road trip or two while we're in the area :-)


One of the coolest places Steve rode to was the Sunken Gardens.  Birds, cool vegetation and tortoises.

For some history of the gardens, click here.

When I read the Growing Stone I wondered what would happen if I spend the whole day sitting on it.

Somehow I've never been able to get anything to grow maybe there would be something to this - we'll see!




The morning we left, the sunrise was once again beautiful. And the water was much calmer than when we came in 4 days ago.










It was a short 3 hour day South on a very calm Tampa Bay until we arrived at the Seafood Shack near Terri and Scott's home in Bradenton. Sadly they are still in Ohio - maybe next time ...


This is one of our regular stops but this time there was a sunken sailboat that we were docked right next to. Yikes!! Apparently it has sunk three times in the last 2 months and was scheduled to be refloated and moved to St. Petersburg next week.























The dolphins are very active in this part of the ICW and the white pelicans are always fun to see.

White pelicans along the waterway.

Cayo Casta was our next stop.This is another Florida State Park on a barrier island.It's much like Caladisi with access only by boat. Natural beach as well - no raked beaches here!

We tied to the state dock (a bargain at $10 a night). This gives us access to shore without having to use the dinghy - especially if we want to use the bikes.



Steve was looking to repeat his catch of a Sheepshead but he had to settle for a mangrove snapper which was still good :-)


Kayaks came out but there weren't many fish to see in the shallows except for the jumping mullets which were seemingly everywhere – it was kind of crazy!



The sun rises were gorgeous and the bike trails nicely shaded for at least part of the way on the ride to the beach.


We stayed a couple of nights and then yesterday came the final 50 miles to Sweetwater Landing Marina at Fort Myers.

Next - some travels over the next month!