Florida Fauna, Flora and Friends

Mike and Brenda are perplexed.  Cruising from Venice towards Fort Myers on the Gulf of Mexico on a clear calm day, a round "something" was floating atop the water.  Was it a piece of carpet?  What could it be?  As we slowly crept near the object, we discovered with pleasant surprise that it was a turtle.  A large turtle. Just there.  Floating.  Then, as if waking from a slumber, the turtle startled and looked up out of the water and took a gracefully descending dive (like turtles do).  But what kind of turtle was it? (Erica E...HELP!) Brenda remembers how its shapely domed shell was flared out almost like the brim of a hat (OR...was this an illusion created from the water?).  Mike saw the front flippers typical of sea turtles.  Its color was brownish.  Its size was BIG (Mike thinks at least 3 feet).  Was it a loggerhead?  A green sea turtle?  Kemps Ridley?

Boating is a wonderful transportation mode for site-seeing the coast of Florida: white sugar-sand beaches and mangrove line the keys, swooping pelicans forcefully dive into the water for food, stylish and expansive homes (built with hurricanes and termites in mind, I'm sure!), occasional dolphins, and boats and boats of all kinds (pontoons, cruisers, tour boats, sailboats, center-cockpit fishing boats with HUGE outboard motors, and trawlers like Velsignet) with people like us who enjoy the water.

How we've enjoyed getting together with friends along the way!  Sarasota was a great spot.  We followed tradition and dined Italian with Dave and Penny (MV "Southern Cross"), gold loopers now residing at their home port of Twin Dolphins Marina in Bradenton.  We spent a leisurely day with Erica and Mike (Parrish, FL) "dwelling" in the beautiful and expansive natural environment of "Marie Selby Botanical Gardens."  In Venice, Abby and Jerry hosted us for four days: morning walks and nightly Bridge games, exploring and experiencing their friendly and inter-generational neighborhood, peaking around the quaint and historic downtown Venice, and--for Brenda--girl time with Abby while Mike and Jerry cruised Velsignet from Sarasota to Venice.  In Fort Myers Beach, life-long friends Ruth and John hosted us in their Naples home for a relaxing Saturday of "catch-up."  Yesterday we laughed with Long Lake friend Diane and her sister, Kathy, as we dinghied between Fort Myers Beach, Velsignet, and lunch at Dixie's; the laughter continued into the evening (enjoying the panoramic beach-front view from their beautiful, 11th-floor condominium) over competitive games.

This is a view from Velsignet as it was moored in Sarasota Bay.  Should you be interested in purchasing a condo in Sarasota, new ones are being built for a starting price of $3 million!

The koi at the botanical gardens loved Erica! 
And the feeling was mutual; Erica thought she could spend all afternoon next to their pond.

Mike and Mike in blues wearing their hats.

The botanical gardens held a spectacular "Rainforest Masks from Costa Rica" exhibit.  The intricately hand-carved and painted masks from balsa wood were originally crafted hundreds of years ago to scare off the Spanish invaders.

This beautiful banyan tree was part of the Rainforest exhibit at The Marie Selby Botanical Gardens.

This was one of Brenda's favorite shrubs at the botanical gardens.

Velsignet was moored in the Sarasota Bay.  She's the smaller looking blue-hulled to the left.

Walking downtown Sarasota is scenic and colorful.

Mike and Jerry took Velsignet from Sarasota to Venice.  Brenda and Abby dropped them off at the Marine Jack Marina and watched them dinghy to begin their adventure!

From Sharky's Beach at Venice, we each (Abby, Jerry, Brenda and Mike) held our breath watching the sun set.

Abby and Jerry

You already know these people.

Two of Brenda's favorite people!

Because of the calm winds and sunshine, we left Venice to venture out into the Gulf for a day's cruising towards Fort Myers Beach.

We relaxed cruising the Gulf and anchored for the evening off of Cayo Costa State Park.

Last week, while Mike flew to Seattle for work, Brenda flew to Arizona to spend time with her mom and other family.
This is Brenda with her uncles (from left to right) Bob, Dale and Ronald.

Brenda's Dad, Ramon, was a twin and this is Dad's twin brother, Ronald.
Brenda is "velsignet" with kind and loving uncles!

Together, Brenda and her mom, Teddy, played Mahjong, took walks (this photo was taken at the beautiful Anthem Community Park), explored backroads, watched television, and  hosted family with home-made lemon meringue pie.

Diane and Kathy are spending the  month of January at Fort Myers Beach. 
They bring fun where ever they go!

We gave Diane and Kathy a tour of Velsignet before lunch at the nearby Dixie's.

Back at Diane and Kathy's condo, we walked the beach and played games...all the while taking in the beautiful view!