southerntidesfl
- Jul 17
- 11 min read

FLORIDA PART 1: BACK TO SALT LIFE, FRIENDS AND FAMILY CHRISTMAS IN KEY WEST!!

The first stop after entering Mobile Bay was Fairhope Al. Our dear friend (and co-worker for many years) Stephany was awaiting our arrival. She picked us up at Fairhope Marina and took us on an auto sightseeing tour of the town. We then had dinner at Sunset Pointe at Fly Creek Marina. Unfortunately, our visit with her was brief, as she was departing on a trip to Tx for the Thanksgiving holiday.

We continued sightseeing the next day throughout Fairhope enjoying the Christmas decorations, as well as, provisioning for our Thanksgiving feast and adult Advent calendar bags.

Christmas decorations...

Scott's backpack full of minis...

We were delayed one additional day, due to weather, so we cooked our Thanksgiving dinner on Wednesday night. We figured we would be traveling on the actual holiday so leftovers would be appreciated. Cooking a turkey in a very small oven was a first for us. We haven't even done this in our various RVs. It turned out awesome and our meal was delicious. Dessert was enjoyed watching another sunset.

Thanksgiving morning brought beautiful skies and calmer seas as we headed south to the Gulf of Mexico Intracoastal Waterway.

Our first dolphin sighting in five months. This was now a daily occurence.

A few of the ICW sights...

The famous Lulu's, owned by Jimmy Buffett's sister.

Artificial reefs, ready to be launched...

Colorful townhouses...

More dolphin...

A lighthouse amidst the white sands of the Gulf...

Scott, the dolphin trainer!! Actually, they would jump, swim and play for as long as either of us stood there. It was incredible!!!

This sailboat was tied to shore with all the comforts of home (i.e., lawn chair, metal roof, solar panel and generator on shore).

And a very strange stuffed animal menagarie along the shore.

We couldn't even count how many dolphin encounters we had each day. As you can tell, it never got old.

One of my favorite things, sunsets ❤️

Unfortunately, derelict boats are all too often seen along the shore.

We arrived in Carrabelle, our final stop on the Gulf ICW on 11/25th and anchored offshore adjacent to Dog Island, just as the sun was setting.

We stayed here for several days, until the Gulf waters were calm enough to cross to Steinhatchee Fl. Our first day we rocked and rolled through thunderstorms, as we relaxed (as much as possible) in our robes. Suddenly, our anchor alarm sounded and we realized we had dragged anchor 300 feet towards the shallow water. Needless to say, relaxing was over and I found myself pulling anchor in my raincoat covered robe. We reset the anchor in the middle of a thunderstorm and hoped for the best. Later Scott added a second anchor by dinghy, and we held well for the next 4 days. I was thankful to see a rainbow filled sky that first afternoon, but the seas never really calmed down for the rest of our stay.

We did enjoy a beautiful beach walk one day and explored part of Dog Island. Even Harlie joined the fun!!

The waters may have been a little choppy, but we did enjoy the sunsets and a gorgeous full moon.

We left Dog Island during the early morning hours of 11/29th. The marine forecast wasn't great, but doable. We started out in about 2' seas, they grew to 3'-5', but around noon the water calmed and we had seas of glass. It was a long day (10+ hours), but we were glad to have this crossing behind us. There were numerous boats crossing that day and most docked at Steinhatchee Marina, where we enjoyed docktails at the tiki bar.

Our kids in Jacksonville were kind enough to leave us a car at the marina, so we were able to provision, have prescriptions refilled and visit our land based "Southern Tides" in Suwannee. The family came to visit us at the marina. It was awesome to see the grandkids run down the dock and jump into our arms. I think our fellow boaters were a little jealous.

Next stop, as we skipped down the coast, was Cedar Key. We anchored right offshore of downtown.

A walk through the streets revealed Christmas skeletons & brooms, mermaid skeletons and a beautiful Christmas tree topped with an Osprey above the star.

The anchorage that night was gorgeous, with another sunset and the lights of Cedar Key illuminating the surrounding water.

Following our channel markers and charts carefully, we had a short run to the Yankeetown Marina. As you can see the shallow water, rocks and oyster beds surround you in this area of the Gulf.

We met good friends Dee and Mike Coates for lunch at the Blackwater Bar and Grill. Again, no pictures of our meet up. Somehow, I dropped the ball on photographs as we met up with our friends along the way. I guess we were having too much fun visiting and catching up. Sorry 😞

The next day, we headed to Tarpon Springs. Of course, we had dolphins visit us along the way.

We were visited by Dave and Denise Lyga, the prior owners of "Southern Tides", and enjoyed dinner and drinks at a local eatery.

We continued moving south every day, as we needed to be in Key West by 12/22nd to meet our family. We had 2 weeks, at this point to get there, but weather can disrupt your cruising days at any moment. So we kept up the pace.

We stopped in St Pete Beach to see friends we had met earlier on the "Loop", Jan and Mike Fitz. They had us over to their lovely condo for dinner, and we had a great view of the St Pete Beach Christmas Boat Parade below.

A random picture of our valiant tomato plant. It was purchased in 3/2023 and produced tomatoes throughout the next year as we traveled throughout Canada and the USA (actually had to be hidden here and there as we went through customs). Best tomato plant ever!!

We crossed Tampa Bay and headed to Apollo Beach. We enjoyed dinner and another great boat parade from the deck of the boat.

A view of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, as we headed down Tampa Bay towards Sarasota.

An interesting contraption "for rent" along our way.

The lights of Sarasota at night!

We spent one night on a mooring ball, and it was not a pleasant evening. The boat pitched side to side all night due to tidal changes and winds from the opposite direction. I finally woke Scott by saying, "I can't believe you can sleep through this!". I was not going to be the only one awake 😂

I insisted we move into the marina for the next night. We met good friends Lynn & David and Karen & John for cocktails on the boat and then enjoyed a great dinner at Marina Jacks. Again, no pics 😩

An early sunrise departure was necessary as we needed to arrive at a certain bridge before the first opening of the day. This bridge was having mechanical issues and was only opening 3 times a day. We didn't want to wait hours between the scheduled openings and arrived with 30 minutes to spare. Perfect!!

Heading towards Ft Myers Beach, we encountered many sights along the way, some quite nice and others not so much.

Unfortunately, the number of derelict boats was increasing. This area is still recovering from the devestating hurricane Ian, which hit in 2022.

Of course, dophins played in our wake wake all day.

More pictures of Hurricane Ian's damage.

We navigated through very shallow water and anchored for the evening. All was calm and quiet overnight. As we left the next morning, we went out the same way we arrived, but the tide was lower and we ran aground. We knew the tide was rising so we stayed put and finally broke loose about 2 hours later. Luckily, we were on a sandy bottom, so no damage (other than a little pride, maybe 🤔).

Our plan was to head to Everglades City, one last stop before arriving in the Keys. We started out on choppy seas heading south towards Marco Island. Nothing problematic, just choppy.

We turned under Cape Romano, heading east, and encountered seas we had not seen the entire trip. We were in a narrow channel between 2 very shallow areas and we immediately knew this was not good! There was no alternative but to continue at this point. Waves were spraying over our fly bridge. Even our dock box relocated about 8 feet forward toward the upper helm. They were coming in sets of 3-4 waves, with no break between. Scott stood up and never said one word. I knew he was worried, which is rare. I'm usually the worrier for both of us. This made me more concerned, but I sat quietly thinking we might be going into the water. I tried to keep myself and Harlie calm, and just sat still as much as possible. Honestly, we had a few rough days on the water, but this was the worst 2 hours of our trip.

Things calmed down after 2 hours, and we arrived in Everglades City no worse for the wear. However, after docking, we did go straight to the restaurant for dinner and ordered martinis! 🤪

We were the only boat docked at the Everglades Rod and Gun Club. We had never visited here and knew nothing of the history of the area. At one time, this small town was a bustling city visited by the rich and famous.

We walked around town sightseeing and enjoyed the Museum of the Everglades.

As stated before, weather can play a big part in cruising and it stopped us in our tracks at Everglades City. An overnight visit turned into a 5 night stay, but we made the best of it.

The Rod and Gun Club was established in the 1920s by Barron Collier. It includes a lodge, docking (?) facility and restaurant.

We met long time NC friends Julie and Kevin Burns for dinner at the club's restaurant. They have a winter home in Naples and drove over for a visit. It was great catching up! Again, no pics 🙄

The only negative about our stay were the high tides. On several occasions, the water went over the dock and almost reached the power outlet. Luckily, the pilings were tall, as that was what kept the boat off the dock. We were so far above the dock, I couldn't get off the boat during high tide. 😂

We finally had a weather window to leave for the Keys, after 5 days. It was 12/18th, and we had 4 days to get to Key West. It was a gorgeous morning, and we continued to Marathon, without stopping halfway to anchor for an additional night. Most of the day (10+hour cruise) was calm until we neared the 7 Mile Bridge approaching Marathon. The winds had picked up as did the seas.

We attempted to anchor inside Boot Key Harbor, but the wind made it nearly impossible. Plus, the hundreds of boats anchored/moored nearby didn't help either. We quickly made a last minute decision and went to Safe Harbor Marina, where we enjoyed a quiet night safely docked.

The next day bought fair seas, and we headed south to Key West. We encountered several shrimp boats, a unique houseboat used as an AirBnb and a crowded mooring field. We were able to get a mooring ball, which was awesome as they are not reservable.

The kids and grandkids were arriving in 3 days. Most of them were staying at Sigsbee Campground, which is on the navy base in sight of our mooring ball. Ryan and Stephanie were going to stay with us on the boat. Unfortunately, the mooring field was not calm due to being wide open to winds out of the N/NW, boat traffic constantly and the never ending jet ski tours throughout the bay.

We took the dinghy to the town's dingy dock and then scootered into town. A few of the Key West sights...

Dingy dock; complete with showers, bathrooms, laundry facility, trash receptacles and water supply. This allows full time boat living on the water, whether moored or anchored. There is even a boat that comes out to pump your black tank on a weekly basis.

Chickens everywhere...

Classic VW Van...

Christmas tree of lobster pots...

Sponge person or thing?

This was a lot of stickers (yes, we added ours)!

Key West coffee...

and, of course Beer!!!

As we awaited the arrival of the family, we set up the bunks like cruise ship rooms.

We actually watched Ryan, Steph and Layla's plane arrive at the Key West Airport.

We enjoyed our first evening together at the campground and the Sunset Lounge Bar.

View from the campground to our boat on the mooring field. We couldn't have been much closer.

Karl and Ryan took the kids out snorkeling, looking for lobster. No luck 😔

The next swim out, they opted to only take Westin. He was very content to ride atop the kayak, but no luck again on the bugs!!! Check out the iguana on the rocks.

Playground time...

More Key West sights as we walked the streets downtown. Lots of ducks and Christmas decorations.

Mr and Mrs Santa Claus even visited the campground.

All the grandchildren stayed Christmas Eve on the boat with Scott and I. They unwrapped their first gift, which was matching PJs and watched a Christmas movie, enjoying hot chocolate and popcorn. Their parents enjoyed a night out on Duval Street, also wearing PJs 🤪.

After the little ones woke up, they started begging us to go to the campground. They were worried because Santa had not come to the boat, and they wanted to check the camper. We kept delaying, as we needed a little coffee first.

We had to ferry back and forth to the campground by dingy, which was quite wet, not to mention raining. Everyone had their raincoats on, except Westin who wore a trash bag. Yes, Scott and I fit in there as well. 😩

We arrived at the campground and found that Santa had indeed arrived in Key West. We all squeezed into 1 camper (6 adults, 4 kids and 2 dogs) and watched the chaos.

Everyone had received "Southern Tides" shirts, so we snapped a few pictures before Laya, Ryan and Steph departed. The bay was so calm that day!

Two more gorgeous sunsets, taken within minutes of each other.

We had a wonderful Christmas and enjoyed our family immensely.

We stayed put for a few days after the family left, as we were waiting for a weather window to cruise to the Dry Tortugas. This window never opened, but we did spend a few enjoyable days with Shar and Phil from Y2V. We first met these wonderful people when we volunteered at a Y2V project in SC in 2020. We have connected over the last 4 years on several different occasions and consider them great friends. They were also staying at Sigsbee Campground, which was so convenient. We visited a couple restaurants downtown Key West, they took us on a much needed provisioning trip and then we topped it off by spending New Years Eve topside on the boat. ❤️

Sunset over the mooring field...

A full moonrise over the bay...

Fireworks from the bridge...

Throughout the 2 weeks of our stay, we had tried several attempts at a Southernmost Point picture, and always found a mile long line waiting to take pictures. Not to mention the droves of people hanging around the monument photobombing your shots. We decided to go into town, leaving on the dinghy before 7:00am, on New Years Day for a final attempt. We were hoping everyone was sleeping off their New Years Eve. We made the right call!! Duval Street was completely empty and had just been washed down and cleaned from the prior night's shenanigans. There were only 3-4 people at the point, and one graciously took our picture. All 4 extreme points of the contiguous US accomplished and photographed in the same puffy jackets.

Southern...