Year End at Bradenton

December 31, 2010, year end at Bradenton, Florida. Well, the 2010 year has come to an end and this will be the final blog of 2010. I will show you some of the hidden treasures in the smaller communities, that many of the people pass by. We got a rent car and drove out to Anna Maria Island, this is only a five mile drive from our marina. We walked out to the resturant on the pier, the food was really good and there was a guitar player/singer on the deck. He was also really good. We then drove down the coast toward Sarasota and went out onto the beaches. Miles and miles of beaches and more sea shells than I have ever seen. People were gathering by the bucket fulls. Much larger than I have seen on the Texas coast. The day before, we had gone to the South Flordia Museum, Parker Manatee Aquarium, and the Bishop Planetarium. The Planetarium did a movie presentation in a surround sound dome of the development of the telescope. The stars and sky were very realistic in the laid back seats and domed screen. Next we went to the feeding and information session in the aquarium wing with the live Manatees. Until this presentation, Nancy and I had not seen an entire Manatee. We had only seen portions of them in the water. Next we walked through the museum with it's different sections with early displays of firearms, clocks, pottery, and other artifacts of the area. One display really caught my attention, not from the area, but considered tourist items from the 1870's, these were the shrunken heads on display. World Tourist would collect these heads and bring back to the States. I guest it is like Alaskans coming to Florida and buying varnished alligator heads. Well maybe not. Also, I now know that Jona could have been swolled by a large fish, looks like I would fit. Well it is the end of the year, I appreciate all of you who have followed this blog. After the first of the year, I am going to write the entire Great Circle Trip in a single blog. I will put as much detail as I can without being boring. Happy and Safe New Year to each and every one of you. Eddie and Nancy Hamilton.

Bradenton Florida

December 26, 2010 Crossing Our Wake Celebration and Christmas in Bradenton, Florida. It is December 26 and time to catch up on the blog. We crossed our wake at Maximo Point, Florida and Ruth aboard High Spirits took the picture as we crossed the Lat and Long point we had previously determined. Many Loopers return to the marina of their beginnings, we were going on to Twin Dolphin Marina at Bradenton. After arriving, we had a small celebration with friends that we had traveled off and on with during the approximately 5,243 miles. This does not include the original trip from Amarillo, Texas to Florida or the miles by rental car at the many stops along the way. In the picture is Ruth and Wayne of High Spirits, Jill and Richard aboard Finally, and Bill and Phil aboard Gullwing. It was a great achievement for us, being such inexperienced boaters. We can now fly the Gold Burgee, showing that we had completed the Great Circle Loop. Now several decisions will have to be made, but not before meandering down to Key West for the winter and over to the Bahamas for early spring. It is now time to go back to Amarillo, Texas to see family, friends, and for yearly checkups. Piper said that she was not going to be left behind. She was able to fly coach with us, and she did very well. Although she would have preferred First Class. I explained to her, that in coach with us was first class for her. The option was the hole. We made our flight to and from Amarillo, and got back to the boat on the 22. Nancy setup and decorated the Christmas Tree that Captain Alys had given her many months ago. We had our Christmas Eve and relaxed. Bill and Phil had Nancy and I along with Claude and Yevett aboard Trusty III to their home for Christmas Day dinner. It was a great time with friends. We will now stay at Twin Dolphin Marina in Bradenton until the middle of January, then start to move to the South.

Clearwater to Bradenton Loop Complete

December 11, 2010 Clearwater to Bradenton, Florida: Loop Completion. Well this is the big day, and we wake up to fog so heavy that even the birds are grounded. We can't move, because we can't see the other boat traffic or the channel markers. We can only wait and anticipate the final leg of our 5,000+ mile trip. Due to all the plans that have been put into motion to fly to Amarillo we know that at some point a decision has to be made to move out or stay put, there is another cold front coming in tomorrow and the move would be delayed another 3-4 days. At 11:30 am Wayne and I decide that we think it is time to go. As we move out, the fog is dense and travel is slow and cautious. As the day goes on, the conditions improve. We continue on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway through St. Petersberg, the point at which we started our loop adventure. We are looking for those magic numbers: N27 deg 43.426 min W82 deg 42.328 min. We will cross our "Wake" just off Maximo Point. All of a sudden there you are, you have completed an adventure at 2:24 PM, 9 months and 24 days after starting out into the unknown. We pulled into Twin Dolphins Marina with Ruth and Wayne, of High Spirits. We tied up and Ruth took pictures of our new Gold Looper flag. We had arrived at Bradenton, Florida on the night of their winter festival with streets filled with Christmas decorations, games, and a childrens choir. The night finished with the four of us toasting our completion of the loop and eating delivery pizza, watching a lighted boat parade. We will now pack and get ready to fly to Amarillo. What lies ahead? Who Knows.

Clearwater December 6, 2010

December 6, 2010 Clearwater. Today was kind of a knock around day, just staying out of the wind. We had breakfest out and then walked through a few shops, seeing all the things we did not need. When living on a boat, for something else to come aboard, something has to come off, so you tend not to buy alot of unnecessary stuff. Well we are making plans to come to Amarillo for a few days. Saturday we will make the last leg of our Great Circle Trip, we will go to St. Petersberg, Florida, this is the port at which we started. We will have traveled 5,214 miles by water, and over 1,100 miles by car. We have lived on the boat for 10 months. We will be looking for our next adventure. We want to see family, friends, and Doctors when we return December 13-21.

Tarpon Springs

December 5, 2010 Tarpon Springs, Florida. There are several Looper boats now at Clearwater and we have rested and decided to take the Jolly Trolly to Tarpon Springs where the Greeks have made this a thriving Sponge business center. The Jolly Trolly takes about an hour to get there and we arrive just about lunch time. We have to have lunch before the serious shopping can begin. Friends of Richard and Jill have recommended HELLAS as a great place to eat. The atmosphere was very festive and several large tables were having a good time. We traded turns with another table to take pictures of each group. At our table were Richard and Jill aboard Finally, Tom and Linda aboard Q's End, Eddie and Nancy aboard Dream Fever, Wayne and Ruth aboard High Spirits, and Claude and Yvette aboard Trusty III. Tom and Linda wanted a real show, Tom likes to play with fire anyway, so they ordered the Flaming Chesse, at which time everyone in the room yells out OOPAA. The meal and dessert were great. Next to see the sponge musem, where we saw a film of how the sponge harvest begin with a glass bottom bucket and long pronged poles. As the harvest required deeper and deeper depths, the diving suits were used. Nancy searched until she found the right sponge, I am not sure how one tells they have the right sponge, but she knows. Well back on the Jolly Trolly and back to the marina. Get ready for another day of chores.