Parked in Bradenton Beach Fl. for the winter & maintenance.

Heading home for the holidays!!

Foggy morning sailors.

Tampa Bay Bridge before coming into Bradenton Beach.

So much for snorkeling tonight!

Nephew Brady chill'n with us in Clearwater Beach.

Christmas time at Magic Kingdom with the family.

Ahhhh I love Space Mountain....

My sister Laurie on "It's a small world" ride;

(I am still humming that dang song)?!?!

Yeah Disney really puts on an amazing show for the holidays.

Ahoy everyone!!

Hope everyone is doing well and getting excited for the upcoming holidays! After eating some of the most delicious seafood dishes that the coast has to offer I am ready for some turkey and stuffing; bring it!!! Our family had a spectacular time in Orlando at the time-share that my sister Laurie and brother-in-law Carlo graciously let us enjoy. I also enjoyed time with my nephew Brady. He has such a busy school and sports schedule, I do not get much one-on-one time with him. Even though he cut me off on a turn while driving go-carts and put me into the wall; I got even at the water park convincing him that the straight down water plunge wasn't so bad "WeeeeDoggie"!!!...as Grandpa would say. We all enjoyed the Magic Kingdom for the day and the decoration of the park for the Christmas season is something to see on Main Street. As you can see from the picture, the grand illumination of the castle for the holidays is quite spectacular. For those wondering what the weather is like this time of year, 80 degrees each day with a slight breeze. I would highly recommend this time of the year to see all Disney has to offer (and of course the rates are better being off season). Do not be fooled into thinking that there are any less kids at the Magic Kingdom than in the summer months though hahaha!

We said good-by to family and continued our journey on Saturday the 12th from Clearwater. It was a gorgeous day to travel as we idoled down the Intercoastal Waterway. Due to multi-million dollar residential homes within almost a stones throw from either side of the boat, we did not put many miles on that day only going at idol speed. We then enjoyed the thrill of being on open water again navigating through Tampa Bay with all the beautiful sailboats getting in their last hours of weekend enjoyment before O'le Monday morning work week started once again.

Upon exiting Tampa Bay at Anna Maria Island, we noticed the starboard engine acting up (right side engine). Due to it not sounding quite right, we pulled into Bradenton Beach Marina for that days evening ancorage to check out the engine. Upon inspection, it looks like there will be some engine maintenance to be done. Coupled with a weather front coming in, we will be delayed continuing our travels and we will not be able to reach our projected destination of Jacksonville Fl. before Thanksgiving. We will dock the boat here in Bradenton Beach for the required maintenance to be done and rent a car to head home back to Huntersville NC as soon as we can for the holidays. Tentatively we will pick up our adventure in the spring months before Florida gets stifling hot for the summer season. So in the spring we will be back to plan "A"; which was the original destination, Grand Dunes SC. I will of course send out a blog shout out when we plan to continue on our journey in 2012.

It has been a pleasure writing this blog for all of our followers thus far!! Thank you so much for being part of the first phase of this trip and we love all the compliments and good laughs from friends and family outside of the blog!! A special thanks to Mom and family for their support or we wound not even be able to "live the dream" as Dad would put it. My father and I have had an amazing time doing this trip together so far and there were countless times I wished that all my friends and family could have been on board with us but it only sleeps six hahaha! So for now, we bid farewell to the seemingly endless winding rivers, exciting trips across the bays with the sea spray in our face, the dolphins and porpoise swimming along side us and playing in our wake, the friendly people of all the marinas that we frequented, and of course the vessel S.S. Lin II for keeping us safe during her long hard days and sometimes rough seas. Enjoy your holidays and family everyone! We will be back on board soon and catch up then....Live, Laugh, Love!!!

Navigator (and galley chef) Bradd and Capt'n Steve

Heading into Port Clearwater Fl.

Clearwater Beach Fl.

Dad's next boat...Capt. Steve Pirate Cruises

Had and angel on my shoulder for Halloween!

The "Palm Pavilion Beachside Grill & Bar"!!

"Ummm...do ya mind? Kind of in my personal space!"

Hello everyone!!

Ummm...Wow! Clearwater Florida is a little bit surreal with its white sands, 80 degree days IN NOVEMBER, resorts, and beach side Bar & grills. Captain Steve and I have definitely enjoyed our Clearwater Beach port. This will definitely be a beach I come back to for vacations in the future. Speaking of beachside restaurants, I have to give a huge shout out to Kimberlee, Lisa, and Ken Hamilton at the Palm Pavilion Beachside Grill & Bar! We so appreciate the hospitality that was given to us while we enjoyed our stay in Clearwater. The food is amazing and your staff falls right into that category as well! Make sure you keep musician Jeff Gurney playing on Wednesdays; he was hilarious during early afternoon cocktails!!

As I mentioned in the last blog, family is picking us up tomorrow (Sunday) for some Orlando fun. We will be back on Friday the 11th to continue our journey South down the Intercoastal Waterway. Next big port...Tampa! To be able to enjoy the holidays with family, we have made the decision that we will be docking the boat in Jacksonville Fl. in lieu of going all the way to Grand Dunes SC. Per a rough navigation estimate (weather and travel time through the locks of Okeechobee pending) we would hope to be in Jacksonville by the 26th/27th and have a late Thanksgiving when we get back to NC. Captain Steve will then round up the crew for a 13 day trip in the spring to finish out the journey from Jacksonville Fl. to the original destination in South Carolina. I of course would love to be part of that crew and continue my duties as ship navigator, galley chef, drinker of beer and rum, and driving this bad boy when Dad needs a break...obviously driving duty BEFORE the beer & rum! Safety first.

Well everyone we will catch back up with you on the 12th when we get back on board. Dad is ready to head over to the Palm Pavilion again for dinner. Fine by me; there is a sea scallops in white wine sauce item on the menu calling my name! Cheers everyone; enjoy your Saturday night!!!

Awww come on get that poor bird a peg leg or something.

No this is not a bad "Titanic" King of the World imitation.

I'm pointing to crab pot bouys that are everywhere in the Gulf.

You run over one of those and you will be dragging it behind

you in your prop till you get out your snorkel gear and knife!

Crystal River Florida pulling into Twin River Marina.

Captain Steve at the helm. 85 mile blue water shot from

the end of the Florida Pan Handle to Steinhatchee Fl.

Steinhatchee Sunrise

Stardate 2011.28; Captains log:

The captain grows restless awaiting fuel truck arrival at Crystal River Marina. All hope may be lost....oh wait there is another marina 2 miles up river that has gas. "Sulu, plot a new heading to "Pete's Pier Marina!" Well... as we have found out gas trucks on the Florida "Big Bend" (the end of the Pan Handle to Clearwater) must take really long lunches or forget appointments all together?! We have run into the "waiting on the fuel truck to arrive" scenario several times at our marina fuel stops. No complaints what-so-ever. I mean really, if that is the only issue we have had or will have on this trip?!

Will be arriving at Clearwater this weekend and have a folder full of recommendations of where to eat, drink, and be merry from local boaters and fishermen. Everyone has their favorite and their non-favorite recommendations. A bar recommendation from one of the locals here at Crystal River called "Manhandlers" will be one my Father and I will NOT be frequenting...what was that all about?! Anyway, looking forward to the 1000 foot pier and the white sand beach within walking distance from Clearwater Municipal Marina where we intend to dock up. Our family will be coming down for a weeks vacation in Orlando and picking us up on the 6th of November. I may just get to race my Nephew Brady down the water slide at Blizzard Beach on the Disney property...we shall see.

So one issue that has to be paid attention at all times while we travel the Florida coast and up the Carolina's is THE TIDE!! That baby can drop a water level 3 feet and that makes for a very bad day when your boat needs 42" (as ours does) and the depth finder on board states less than 4' of water under your boat! That has not happened to us since we are overly careful but remember, Tide Charts are your friend! They of course are the main factor in your travel times in and out of port for overnight stay or fuel up. In other words, you have to time your departures and arrivals around high tide which rarely coincide with your comfort zone. There have been many days of leaving at the first break of sun on the horizon and risking docking in the dark to make sure you do not run aground or snap a prop. But that of course is the fun of it all!!! It makes it all worth it when you travel slowly down a river, put the boat on idol, and watch a group of manatees feed in the marshes.

So tomorrow is the last open run on the Gulf as we will be back traveling the Intercoarstal Waterway once again. Up at daybreak, grap my coffee, slather up in suntan lotion and enjoy the salt wind in my face for 90 miles one last time into the bay at Clearwater! Cheers my friends. It's Friday night and 5:3o; enjoy the weekend!!

These two pictures are the renovation of a boat
owned by the Kennedy's at one time.

Hanging out at Harry T's in Destin Harbor FL.

Entrance to Destin Harbor Florida. I have a

sudden taste for a Corona!

Dad getting some engine hours on the new dingy.

Our anchor spot at Apalachicola FL.

This one is for you Marty; ask and you shall receive!
Oh maybe that is not what you meant...

Ahoy all,

Wow, where do I start from the last blog? A lot of miles have gone under the boat, and a lot of sights and experiences have been had! We entered the Intercoastal Waterway off of Mobile Bay Thursday Oct 20th. We had a bit breezy weather crossing the bay but that is normal conditions typically. We went from a vast wide open bay into a small narrow channel filled with colorful beach homes and yachts. An extreme contrast from open waters so suddenly! The Intercoastal is awesome with so many sights from dolphins swimming off your bow (see the below video), to plowing through schools of jellyfish. The waters are beautiful light emerald green when the narrow channels open up into lake like conditions. The dolphins love the bays, coves, and at most, typically keep within a few miles off of the coast it seems. Amazing to see them jump and play in the waves that the Ol'e S.S. Lin II is cranking out.

Note to self: I need to vacation at Destin Florida Harbor for a week!!! As you can see from the above pictures, it is the place to be! Live bands on the boardwalk on the weekend, white sands, pilots training and doing stunts from the local air strip on the weekend, resorts, and the best grouper Ruben I have ever tasted at "Harry T's Restaurant". We just drove the boat in the harbor and dropped anchor?! We then dropped the 3 man dingy in the water and rode in to the restaurant. One little problem we realized with that plan arose as I was finishing my first beer. Our table was outside and faced the harbor that we anchored in. The sun was setting and we realized THEN (a little late) that we did not have the required night time red and green running lights on the dingy and we noticed the coast guard cutter just pull in the harbor. Seeing that red and white official boat is what sparked Dad's brain that we were a little to quick to party before being legal on the water! "Um waiter...check please....like now!" I know Dad's little legs are pretty fast, but this brought on an all new perspective I have never seen. There may have been a bit of smoke emitting out of his boat shoes with the speed of him heading to the dingy to avoid a ticket from the Coast Guard after we payed the bill. I on the other hand, was a bit slower due to laughing too hard and therefore delayed the whole process. We made it back to the boat in time but I have to admit that while in route I was watching the sun get closer to that horizon like we were running from vampires or something?! So we have now acquired proper running lights thanks to Miller Marina in Apalachicola, but unfortunately there is no where actually to mount it on out inflatable dingy....yup as you may have guessed, I will have to hold the red and green light at the front of the dingy like the Statue of Liberty" for our future trips in to the restaurant, bars and beaches. If the seafood is always this good though, I will wrap Christmas lights around myself if that is what the Coast Guard requires!!

So we are in Apalachicola FL which is the end of the Florida Pan-handle. Our next bearing east is heading over to Steinhatchee which is the North inside bend of Florida which will give us some much anticipated blue water travel in the Gulf! We will then travel South to Clearwater and be in port there for a few days just in time for the arrival of our family for a weeks vacation in Orlando. Very much looking forward to seeing everyone and getting caught up! All is well here and we are being ultra conservative at times to make sure the trip goes smooth and we can have the most out of the time spent an the water. If Dad could only keep me on the bridge long enough to navigate half the time instead of sprinting to the bow deck to video dolphins, we could probably be going a bit faster...just kidding...sort of.

Now that is just crazy huge?!

Entering Mobile AL at the Bay.

Gateway to Mobile AL.

Turner Marina AL to wait out a storm.

"Wooah dudes look at that hottie!!"

Hello Everyone!

We had a perfect travel day as we entered Mobile AL where the Tombigbee River dumps into the bay. You could literally see about where the river ended and saltwater began. The porpoise playing around the bow of our boat gave us the sure sign that we were in blue water!! Amazing sight to see. As posted in the last blog, boaters said we would see a little porpoise play but I took it with a "grain of salt" at the time. But sure enough I was like a giddy kid pointing in every direction! I was taking some video trying to catch one surfacing. I caught the dorsal fin briefly on one video but it was so quick it is not really worth posting. Hopefully I will get a second chance for some good "footage".

Due to that big storm that came up from the West coast of Cuba and covered the east coast with rain last night (Tuesday); we are in port at Turner Marina to wait out a little amount of wind that occurred here. This will give us a chance to get some general cleaning and finally get that river mud off the boat!! We should have ideal conditions to head South again on Thursday where there is only projected to be a light breeze on that day. We will be entering the Intercoastal Waterway on the east side of Mobile Bay at the Bon Secour/Oyster Bay area which will be our "road" all the way to our final destination in South Carolina. We are so pumped to experience all the sights Florida will soon have for us! Panama City beaches on the panhandle, traveling around the bend to the white sands of Clearwater, the history of St. Petersburg, and then possibly the keys if lake Okeechobee is too shallow to cut across the state. We have never been to Miami and I can not wait to see how the Intercoastal Waterway brings us by the city skyline. Hopefully we will be able to get a courtesy car long enough from the marina we will stay at to hit a little Miami night life!! "Welcome to Miami"...

A shout out to Terry & Shawna Sikkema for letting us borrow the complete seasons of "Burn Notice" before we left port. The show ROCKS!! Since we do not have TV reception on the go, the DVD player and Netflix instant is getting abused. Netflix is not making a dime off of me this last 30 days!! A general shout out to all family and friends, we miss all of you and can not wait to share all of our "salty dog" stories soon!

Take care everyone and enjoy the rest of the week!