Pictures of Last Boat trips 2010-Jan

Key West Butterfly Museum Pictures

Boca Chita

Brenda Barnhill

Bud Sealing and Brenda Barnhill

Nelson & Ondra waiting to catch the bus to Boca Chita near Key west

Little Shark River anchorage the day before we arrived in Marathon

Randy & Kathy Chamberlain's boat who sailed with us to Marathon- "Intransition"

Judy Gainey and her brother Cliff Gainey- Nelson's cousins who live in Altamonte Springs, FL

Nelson getting friendly with the Pelican at Ft Myers Beach Pier

Ondra at Ft Myers Beach Pier

Tues., Jan. 18-Thurs. , Jan 20, 2011

Happy Birthday Ike!
Nelson and I after eating a big breakfast Tuesday morning, went for a shower at the Marina and then headed off to Boca Chita Naval Air Station to meet our friends, Brenda & Bud, who use to be at our docks at Jordan Creek in NC. Since we were not taking our boat we had to catch a bus and ride as far as the base which is right next to Key West. They met us at a store before entering the base as we had to go in with Bud since he is retired military. They keep their motor yatch there and enjoy coming here when the weather is cold where they now live in Asheville, NC. They took us to a neat restaurant/Bar right on the water way in Keiger Key for lunch. We fish and shrimp and it was delicious and fresh. Nelson got his favorite shrimp po boy sandwich and I got a salad with blackened mahi. Very good! We walked around the campground there and checked out the ship's store. We then returned to Bocas Chita where their boat is socked and enjoyed a nice afternoon of leisure. Late afternoon, we went to a gathering of people on the docks who blow their conch shells each and every day as the sun goes down. Yes, I do that also when I have mine with me. We bought one which I usually blow every afternoon but did not have mine with me. They served us delicious snacks and drinks. Later, we returned to the boat and had peel and eat shrimp that Bud had prepared earlier. Brenda, Bud, Nelson, and I enjoyed several games of Farkel after dinner. Bud won every game but one that Brenda won. Nelson and I had fun but could not win but had fun trying. We spent the night with them.
Wednesday morning we had a delicious breakfast prepared by Bud and then we dressed and went in to Key West to the Butterfly Museum. What a neat and beautiful place to visit. The butterflies were flying everywhere and the plants and birds were beautiful to see and hear. They even had a small brook running through and there were very large gold fish in it. I have never seen so many butterflies and with so many different designs and colors. They also had larvae and cryalis hanging and some were developing into butterflies or moths. If you are ever in Key West, you would love going there. It was great! After a little shopping, Bud and Brenda carried us back to Marathon in their car. We then all got into our dinghy and rode them out through the canal to where the ocean begins behind the mooring field where we moor our boat. It has been beautiful days since Monday. We later drove their car over the Fisheries Restaurant for another delicious seafood meal. Bud & Brenda had a lobster wrap and Nelson got grouper and I had snapper. It was very fresh and very good. After dinner, they delivered us back to the docks and they drove back to Boca Chita. We are getting no TV here. (only Spanish) so, we watch movies that we have brought along with us.
Today, Nelson and I spent cleaning the bottom of our boat. It had a reddish mustache from the muddy waters of NC. Later, we walked to West Marine and the Dollar store for a few needed items. I guess we will be watching another movie as the TV is still Spanish only. I hate missing the beginning of Amer. Idol. We are continuing to enjoy our stay here and meeting many new friends and seeing old friends from our last trip here. The best part is the warm weather.

Jan 15 - 17

We departed Marco Island on Sat. am at 7:30 headed to Little Shark River. It was a nice, sunny day on the water with temps in the 80s. We motor sailed all day and arrived there at 5:30 pm. We are still sailing along with our friends, Kathy and Randy Chamberlain on sailboat, Intransition. There was also a trawler there whom we had met in Ft. Myers Beach who had anchored at Shark River for the night also. After a long day on the water, we ate steak, potatoes and broccoli and with no television signals or phone signals, we watched a movie and went to bed early.
The next morning, we started our day early. We had pulled anchors and were headed over the gulf toward Marathon by 7:30am. Another beautiful day on the water. Again, the temps we in the 80s and the winds were good enough for motor sailing. We had to use a watchful eye all day because of so many lobster or crab pots everywhere. We arrived at Boot Key Harbor, Marathon by 3:45 and are now attached to R7 mooring ball where we will call home for the next three or four weeks. We enjoyed dinghing over to a restaurant on the water late yesterday afternoon for a dinner with Kathy & Randy. We all enjoyed a fresh Mahi dinner. Great choice! This morning, the rain storms hit and it poured most the morning but now, the weather is just perfect. The sun is out and it is 88 degrees. Boy, we are enjoying this warm weather! Wish our family were here with us. We miss them.

Tuesday, Jan.11 - Fri., Jan.14

Tuesday morning, Nelson and I walked around the city of Ft. Myers Beach and visited many shops and points of interest. Yes, we did spend a little money on things for Ondra. I needed shorts for when the weather starts to warm up. Tuesday night, we met many other sail boaters at the Pizza place close to the docks to get acquainted. We had the biggest slice of pizza that I have ever eaten and good also. We met many other people who were headed to the Keys or to the Bahamas. The weather took a dive and turned very cold that night. We had to get out the down comforter to keep us warm enough. We had to get the heavy clothes out again and dress like winter again. Thursday, our friends, Randy and Kathy were going over to the Recreation Center to play Pickle Ball so we decided to walk there to watch them play as we had never heard of it before. It is like tennis but you use a plastic ball with holes and a rectangular solid racket. After watching them for an hour, we decided to walk back to the main street and get a hamburger for lunch. We ate at a cafe right beside the beach and it was very good, but, we had to fight the birds for our lunch. One flew down and got a fry out of Nelson's hand twice. We later decided to take a walk on the beach. We walked west until we came to the inlet and had to find a trail back out to the road. Yes, we walked so far our legs were sore the next day. Friday, around 9:00, we disconnected our boat from the mooring ball and left with our friends, Randy and Kathy sailing to Gordon Pass. We did not make it there as the water was so shallow that Randy ran aground and we had turn around find deeper water. We finally sailed on to Marco Island where we are anchored for the night. We plan to go further to Shark River tomorrow which is in the gulf also and head further to the Keys. Our hope is to be in Boot Key Harbor, Marathon, FL by Sunday. The weather got warmer this afternoon and tonight is at least 50 degrees. Tomorrow is suppose to be in the 70s and continue to be warm for the remainder of next week. Thank goodness!

Our family

Papa & Mya

Will, Stacey & Jackson

JUSTIN, LINDSEY, & MYA

Mya

Jackson, Mya, & Gigi

Gainey travels Dec. 11-Jan. 10

Nelson and I are grandparents again! Mya Louise Gainey was born on Dec. 11, 2010 to Justin and Lindsey, our youngest son and his wife. Mya is a sweet little doll baby.
We had a wonderful Christmas with family and friends and enjoyed Christmas Eve with our son, Will, Stacey, and Jackson, our seven year old wonderful grandson who is always a joy. Jackson had a great Christmas and we loved being with him Christmas morning to see all the things that Santa brought. Christmas Day, we drove to Wilmington and had a great time visiting our son Justin, Lindsey and little Mya. Lindsey’s parents, Al and Tori were there also and we enjoyed being with them again and sharing our new granddaughter together. Our trip ended in Hamlet visiting our parents and other members of our family. We are truly blessed to have them still with us. Ondra’s Dad has been in the hospital since Christmas with pneumonia but got out last Friday and is getting stronger each day.
We returned by car to Florida on Tuesday January 4 to continue our boat trip. We got into Cape Coral that night and spent the remainder days preparing our boat to leave the dock. We finally left the dock on Saturday, Jan. 7th headed for Pelican Bay which is a state park where we met up with our friends, Randy & Kathy Chamberlain from Buffalo, NY. We met them on our last trip South. We sailed along with them from Marathon to Ft. Myers. It was nice to see them again. We spent two nights there. Yesterday we rode across the ICW and ate a delicious cheeseburger at a unique restaurant by the water on Cabbage Key. There were over 80,000 dollar bills on the walls, ceiling and everywhere. Every time someone goes there, they write their name on the dollar and put it on the walls. When the bills fall off, they take them to a charity. They say that they have donated over $10,000 dollars to this charity thus far. Nelson and I forgot to do this. Today we motored along with our friends to Ft. Myers Beach where we will spend the next few days before leaving for Marathon. Tonight we rode our dinghy across the mooring field over to a small grill on the water and had seafood sandwiches while listening to several bands that played live music. They were very good and entertaining. Tomorrow, we plan to go ashore and walk around the beach area and check out the shops along the way. We are looking forward to an interesting day. Cathy and Randy love staying here at Ft, Myers Beach mooring field. They say that there is always something to do here. We shall see tomorrow!