200th DAY.....NEW YEARS EVE

How interesting that I just figured out that today is our 200th day on our adventure!  New Years Eve!  Captain Bob told me yesterday that he saw the advertisement for New Years Eve celebration at the local "club" on the beach here.......party starts at ll:00 and runs till 4:00.  I said "great, we can be home for dinner and Wheel and Fortune" ...  Guess that shows how old we have gotten!  2018 is a big year for one of us.....Medicare...If I can only figure it out with plans A, B, C, D ,E, F etc...drove me to drink yesterday.

We do plan to go to a movie and a snack this afternoon and then come home before all the crazy's come out.  We are STILL here in Panama City  Beach.   I even bought a PCB sweatshirt and we are thinking of claiming residency!  (the sweatshirt is needed for warmth, and we never thought we would still be here into 2018..) but remember, the first rule of looping....NO schedule.  

We just got back from the tundra of Michigan....at least that what it felt like there, with the extremely cold temps.  We had airline tickets in and out of Tampa, FL, assuming that we would have the boat there ......well, we took a rental car to Tampa and flew to Michigan and back and then drove the car back to PC Beach where we WAIT for a window to cross the gulf.  OF COURSE there were at least 2 opportunities while we were gone for Christmas!   We also missed one at Thanksgiving time trip.....but would we have missed the wonderful holidays spent with family...of course not.

So, now that we have NO schedule from here on out (other than plans to be in Key West on Feb 1)....we can wait it out.  Some have asked why you don't just go.....well, it is a 20 hour crossing, mostly done at night and in the dark (no street lights in the ocean) so you have to wait until the perfect, or nearly perfect window of flat water and light winds and preferably good moon light.   We almost left the night we drove back (7 hours) from Tampa, but the drive and flight were pretty tiring, and we would have been alone and starting pretty late....so we passed on that window..... " the sources we depend on for weather advise" are now saying nothing till NEXT weekend.  Guess we will keep the rental car.....a weeks rental has turned into 6 weeks!  By then we can plan to meet up with some buddy boats.  I asked  Bob this morning where he thought we would be next year on New Years Eve.....and then added...."assuming we get out of here!"  haha.  But as previously mentioned, this is not a bad place to be, although, it too has been cold....although NO SNOW.

After 2 weeks spent with 3 of the most active grandsons (and smartest, cutest, etc....) and one beautiful 6 week old granddaughter we can wrap ourselves in the warm memories that we made.....Grandpa Bob and I even had 2 whole days with Josie by ourselves, as mom Molly filled in at her job between the holidays.   Grandpa did especially well with diapers, and Grandma with rocking, but we both were pretty tired by the end of the day....that is why God gives you children while you are still young, and grandchildren later, when you can hand them back and go to bed!  At least the grand boys are old enough to help themselves and even wait on us most of the time. (I love it). We are truly blessed......So we will be thinking of those and all the blessings we have been given, when the clock strikes midnight and a new year begins....(assuming we are awake, if not, we will dream of them)

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL.....SEE YOU IN 2018

Holiday Cheer

A few years ago I thought I would spend the winters in Panama City Beach when we retired......seems that IS what is happening to us!  We are STILL here!  Haven't had a good weather window to cross the gulf since right after Thanksgiving.    Like the "experts" say, you can learn from experience, and it doesn't have to be yours!....so take it from the experts and stay put.   Like the rest of the country we are also experiencing a cold month of December.   Its a little different living on a boat when it is 30's and 40's outside.....just keeping the heat on seems strange.  We have rented a car and continue to extend the rental, so at least we can get "out" and go to the movies, etc....have seen several!  (at SR. citizen rates, of course!) and in the middle of the day....

Our original plans were to be in Tampa/St. Pete by now and we have airline tickets out of Tampa for 2 weeks in Michigan for Christmas....so now we will drive the rental car to the Tampa airport and after Christmas...fly back to Tampa and then drive back here and cross at the first chance we get in the new year.....I guess other than the inconvenience of the drive (8 hours) it's not all that bad.  We have a good rate at this marina, and got to attend their holiday party last weekend....we have even decorated outside the boat, as several here have done also.  The Loopers that are here are "all in the same boat"  so to say...haha.

Some have asked how we make the decision as to when to cross the gulf..... we follow "Eddies Weather Wag"......he relies on several weather fronts and forums and then reports back to us loopers, on almost a daily basis, as to what the conditions are.  He has done this as a courtesy to AGLCA members for years.

This time of year with limited daylight time, it is impossible to make the 220 mile crossing (at 10mph) completely in daylight only, and you don't want to arrive at the western side of Florida too early in the morning, because the sun angle blinds you from seeing the crab points.....which you DO NOT want to hit.  Therefore, leaving at 3pm and cruising overnight allows us to arrive at 1pm.  That means you need and want very good conditions to be boating in the dark (a full moon helps).  Several loopers plan to cross together. I also understand....it is NOT as scary as it sounds....lots of loopers have done it more than once....the secret is, you HAVE TO WAIT for the best weather window you can get.....so here we are.  Depending on the forecast for after Christmas, our friends, Ken and Deb Rogers, from St Pete, might drive back up here with us and make the long boat crossing back with us...that will be a lot of card playing and conversation to keep Capt Bob awake!  Plus their knowledge of boating should be helpful as additional crew.....If timing doesn't work out, then I'll just have to take a few hour shift behind the wheel.  Thus the waves and winds need to be pretty perfect for that.

Capt Bob and Jane at Holiday Marina Party

Our decorations....both inside and outside on LeReve.   The outside lights blink and change colors....Its easier to decorate with no snow around your feet....so even though it is not warm here, at least there is no snow!  But we did use "snow men" to decorate the porch.  MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!...and hopefully the next blog will be from Tampa!

Back Home!

December 3, 2017

Had to sit and think real hard as to what day this is...It is hard to think December when we have spent the last couple days on dinghy rides and beach sitting.   We returned "home" on November 29 after 2 weeks in Michigan cuddling, rocking, spoiling, cooing, drooling, etc...you get the picture, over our beautiful new baby granddaughter, Josie .....or JoJo  as grandma calls her.

Here's a picture of Grandma Jane with Josie, and sister in law, Jan with her grandson John.....3 weeks older than JoJo.  They should grow up to be great cousins and friends, just like their mamas, Molly Jo and Lynn did 30 plus years ago!  (talk about losing track of time!)

So here we are.....back in Panama City Beach at Baypoint Marina.  The weather has been perfect and the sunsets amazing.  We were asked by a "buddy boat" to take off a few days ago with them, for a direct crossing of the gulf to Clearwater.   It would have been perfect timing weather wise, but truthfully, we just weren't ready to leave our old stomping grounds.  We have rented a car and are really enjoying seeing all our old "watering stations", places we owned (in another life), and shopping our favorite stores, (think land of 10,000 bathing suits!! and Alvins Island, the ultimate souvenir shop) and checking out real estate for perhaps a place to land after our "great adventure"...reminds me of the book I read about doing the loop......most places you visit, you say, " I could live here".  This place has something to do with the warmth and the sunshine!   But for the present, we are pretty happy onboard LeReve, and we have a great view of the bay and the city lights at night....however, we must think of moving on, as we have a flight out of Tampa in a few weeks.....back to Michigan for Christmas.....

 I can't imagine what else I want or need than this precious gift!  I am sure she misses her grandma and can't wait for me to get back to rock her!