January 2009

Super Bowl visitors

Hank and his boat

Frost on Betty's front yard

01/18/09 to 01/28/09 The third week in January presented a variety of weather conditions. High winds (40-60 mph) blew in from the Gulf of Mexico early in the week. Then we went to Bob’s sister and bro-in-law in Lakeland for a few days and temperatures at night went down to freezing. Betty and her neighbors covered the tenderest of their outdoor plants to save them. No one has had to shovel snow, however–what a break for us.
This last week of January has been much warmer. On Monday we went to Tarpon Springs and our friend Hank Demler took us for a ride in his boat. We went out the Anclote River and into Clearwater Bay, between the mainland and the barrier islands. It was a beautiful day and we really enjoyed the ride.
We’re seeing a variety of boats in our marina. Some are staying a month or so, as we are; others are here for a short time and are on their way in a day or two. Yesterday a 141 foot-long vessel came in; it is a charter, has a crew of 9 people, and will be here until the Super Bowl is over. The individual who rented it is reportedly the coach of a major league football team, although not one of the Super Bowl contenders. The dock master here says we’ll see a couple more big boats come in before game day. Super Bowl mania is rampant and the news media inundates us daily with information. All we have to say is: Go, Steelers!

Lakeland & Clearwater, FL

The original Hooters is here in Clearwater and business must be good.

This is a Customs and Border Patrol Vessel. Your tax dollars at work.

My sister Bety and Husband Harry and Lois

Betty and Harry's House in Lakeland

01/03/09 to 01/11/09 We spent this week in Lakeland, FL, with Bob’s sister and bro-in-law, Betty and Harry. They live in a beautiful 55+ community of 1150 homes, occupied mostly by refugees from the cold, cold North. Citrus trees are abundant and we were able to pick grapefruit, oranges, and gigantic lemons sized more like big navel oranges. We met new people, played cards, board games, and Mexican train dominoes, and walked through the community almost every day. One day a shopping mall nearby had to serve as a substitute walking venue–a real hardship! On Friday, we headed to the Auburndale flea and farm market in search of strawberries, as the season is getting started here. When we returned to Clearwater Beach on Sunday, we drove Harry and Betty’s van, which they kindly loaned us for a few weeks. You Loopers will appreciate what a great convenience it is to have a vehicle to use at any time and how grateful we are.
01/12/09 to 01/17/09 Back at the boat, everything is fine. We located the Clearwater Library and the used book shop operated by the Friends of the Library, Bob located a Walgreens, where he got his flu shot, Lois found Country Quilts and Bears quilt shop, purchased batting for her quilt, and located Lucky Sew and Sew, where Marlene will do the machine quilting. Bob found a diver to inspect the bottom of the boat, the prop, and the shaft. He reported that the shaft seems to be OK, but the edges of the blades on the prop are rolled, causing the vibration we reported in our blog of 12/26/08. The diver will remove the prop, take it to be repaired, and bring it back and replace it. On the weather front, this week has been cold, night temperatures going down into the 40's here, an abrupt change from the previous two weeks. Oh, you folks in PA and NY feel soooo sorry for us, don’t you?