Day 55, "on the loop", 12/2/2022

In Dunedin until 12/20/2022 and then Stock Island (in the Keys) until the end of January. We hope to travel to the Bahamas in early February (depending on weather windows). I plan to post weekly, maybe every other week; however, these upcoming post will likely be highlights or fun facts of things we learn and experience during these next 3 months. Once we start moving up the East coast, I will go back to weekly blogs, blogging about our daily activities.

Interesting Information about Dunedin:

• Dunedin is the oldest town in Pinellas County, began as a remote settlement in 1852

  • Originally named Jonesboro, two Scottish immigrants renamed the settlement to Dunedin in 1882 (the names come from the Scottish-Gaelic form of Edinburgh, Scotland, Dun Eideann)

• Home of Honeymoon Island, the #1 state park in Florida

• In the 1800s, it was discovered that today's Dunedin was the seasonal home of the Tocobaga Indians, a Safety Harbor culture, who inhabited the area from 900 to 1500 AD

• Hogs and farm animals roamed free in this area, until Dunedin was incorporated in 1899

• Caladesi and Honeymoon Island used to be one island, until a hurricane separated the two in 1921

• Cereal King, W.K. Kellogg, became wealthy after making Corn Flakes, and purchased a mansion in 1934 to call Dunedin his winter home, During WWII, the mansion was used as a Marine barrack

• Andrews Memorial Chapel was once located downtown. It was moved to its current location in the 1970s (at the edge of Hammock Park on San Mateo Drive) - see pictures below

• Are you a fan of the hit HBO series, Game of Thrones? David Nutter, the director, graduated from Dunedin High School in 1978

• The bike trails are beautiful and easy to get around - you can ride bikes from Dunedin to Tarpon Springs ( approx. 20 miles round trip)

• Clearwater Jolly Trolly runs between Clearwater, Dunedin and Tarpon Springs

• Dunedin got its start in the Citrus and Railroad industry

Happenings, in no particular order:

• Toured St. Andrews Church (Dunedin, FL)

  • Historic site, listed on National Register, July 1972

  • The chapel has 21 pews for seating and can seat 130

  • Non Denominational

  • When the chapel was moved to it's present location in Hammock Park (1970)

    • It was cut in half and transported to the current site in 2 pieces and then restored to its former glory

    • This is the only building in FL with the Victorian Gothic Architecture

    • The ceiling, contracted of native "heart pine" used the same techniques as ship builders did in that era (the ceiling looks like a boat hull, see picture below)

We visited the church right before a scheduled wedding (Trevor & Hannah, 11/19/2022), the wedding coordinator showed us around while she was waiting for the bridal party to arrive.

Better picture of the ceiling shown below. There is even a bridal suite for the bridal party to get dressed and gather before the official vows.

It's not all fun and games, we have to do chores too! After crossing the gulf... salt was EVERYWHERE! We (I mean Joel) cleaned the upstairs walls, seats and helm to get all the salt off. Joel sprayed this blue spray (SALT AWAY) throughout the inside of the boat and then wiped it down.

Things break! We had to get the Isinglass (front two panels / boat windows). One cracked when it was cold and the zippers were already worn. We found a local woman, Susan, that was willing to fix them (before we depart Dunedin, 12/20). We rode our bikes to her house to drop the Isinglass off (see picture below).

Our little burley (bike attachment) has been handy! We have used this thing for so much. It has certainly paid for itself. Thank you Perfect Match (Kevin & Ellen) for making the suggestion!

We had planned to visit the Police & Military Museum; however, it has closed down. But that didn't stop us from our fun bike ride!

Picture 1: Liquid Sunshine, had to pull out the old rain jackets!

Picture 2: My new "sea grass" hat and Shh... don't tell Jonathan - but his Christmas present is on the back of my bike :-) He will never know! He doesn't read our Blog (we are boring to him - lol)

Picture 3: Local micro brewery, Joel is sampling as many as he can while here

We had dinner (in Clearwater) with the Loopers that crossed the Gulf w/us:

Us, Breakaway, Aquaholics, Permanent Vacation and La Vida. We toasted our safe arrival and talked about the horrific experience! Permanent Vacation was traveling with dogs (poor dogs got sick).

La Vida was our lead boat and had crossed the gulf before. He indicated the seas were rougher than he had ever experienced.

Aquaholics managed to take turns sleeping! It was great to catch up, share our gulf story and laugh (A-LOT). Several of us will cross paths again! La Vida will be the first of this group to cross their wake (ending their loop).

Wk of Thanksgiving - we went home to St. Louis to celebrate Thanksgiving with Jonathan and Grampy! Many blessings to all.

We had a great time while in St. Louis. We visited with Jonathan and Grampy too! Jonathan had Friendsgiving (Tuesday) and went to Mizzou (Friday) to watch the Mizzou / Arkansas game (spoiler alert... Mizzou won!). Joel got in a little duck hunting and I got in a lot of gal pal therapy! We had so much fun, I didn't get too many pictures :-( while in St. Louis.

I cooked for the 4 of us (Grampy, Jonathan and Joel), we missed our normal Thanksgiving crowd. Justin moved away and Evelyn visited her NY family this year. The dinner was simple since I was only in town for 2 days prior to Thanksgiving and we didn't want to purchase too much food. We had Turkey, potatoes, carrots, green beans and a couple of other dishes (my mom's dressing - not Thanksgiving without it).

- made several pans of cookies for Jonathan to take back to school

Joel worked on the vacuum cleaner. If you have the Dyson stick vacuum cleaner and it stops working, it may be that the lithium battery needs to be replaced (don't throw your vacuum cleaner away). Joel ordered a new battery and it is now working again... Thanks Joel.

I had lunch with Kellye, Stephanie & Kathy. We laughed so much, I hated I forgot to get a picture of this group... but it was much needed fun & laughter! What happens at Wildwood Pub, stays at Wildwood Pub... LOL.

While in town, I was able to work in a hair cut and color with my favorite hair stylist, Carol Richards. This cut will last me at least 6 wks, maybe 8. My next visit to a hair salon will be during my travels. Here's hoping I find someone as good as Carol. Thank you for working me in Carol!

During our St. Louis visit... guess who we got to see! The Bodnar's (Walt & Sandy). They were in St. Louis visiting with their son's and their families. They came to see us before we headed back to Tampa. We tried to remember the last time we saw each other and think it is somewhere between 5-7 years. Oh, how we have missed them! We hope to catch up with them again while we are on the loop (when we are near the Pennsylvania area).

We had a late flight out of St. Louis and arrived in Tampa at midnight. After a good night sleep, we woke up to warm weather and sunshine.

Wk of November 28th:

After battling vertigo for a few days, I am feeling somewhat normal again! I slept most of Monday while Joel cleaned the boat (washed salt water off, etc.)

Visited Honeymoon Island, it is a great state park with bike paths, hiking trails and a beautiful beach front. While there, we saw a notice of an upcoming Blues Festival (that we plan to go to). This is only a 2 mile bike ride away and then another mile or two around the park. There are park benches along the path, several people park their cars under the palm trees, put out hammocks, read their books, etc. It is such a peaceful place.

Jonathan called while we were sitting on the beach:

Joel (to Jonathan): Guess what we are doing?

Jonathan: What?

Joel: Sitting in the warm sun, on the beach!

Jonathan: It's windy here, I am sitting in my room, looking at the my view (roof of another building).

We also found a cute little area (town) called Ozona with a couple of eateries and a local brewery. The owner of Ozona Brewing Company is from Wisconsin. He came to Florida to brew and distribute his beer (and I am sure for the warmer weather). Of course Joel enjoyed a couple of the brews there!

Picture below: Molly Goodheads Raw Bar & Restaurant - We did not eat there; however, plan to do so before we leave Dunedin, FL. We are told people come from great distances to eat here. Note: We will depart Dunedin on 12/20.

We also walked through a huge "antique" shop filled with many rooms of old things, even Joel was impressed with the items we saw during our walk. We met the nicest couple who worked at this antique shop. The older gentleman asked us where we lived and when he found out we were living on a boat, he shared that he retired from the coast guard. We chatted with them for a while and had the best visit! If we see them again, perhaps I can get a picture.

In a recent blog (last posting), I mentioned our coffee pot breaking (when we crossed the gulf). The boat is 20+ years old so trying to find a replacement has been difficult to say the least. Joel order two via EBAY, the first one was broken upon arrival ($50) and the 2nd one was too large ($30) and then we came across one at a 2nd hand store ($3.00) so $83 dollars later, we have a Coffee pot!

We did not get a picture of the 1st pot from Ebay (the broken one). Shown below is the 2nd pot ordered thru Bay (the white pot, which is too big) and then this little Bunn - our $3 find, fits just fine! Whew Who?!

In closing, we found a company that cleans boat carpets, they will be cleaning today, Friday, December 2nd. The outcome of the carpet cleaning will be included in my next blog.

Will blog again in 2 weeks, unless something REALLY exciting happens between now and 2 weeks. Something exciting could happen, as we will be visiting with the Morgan's (Jane & Ron) and Jim & Julie (Joel's sister and husband). Stay tuned!

Until then, stay warm, healthy and safe! Remember if you are in our path and if your schedule aligns w/ours...stop by for a drink (water, tea, coffee or beer). If we can get to you, we will do our best!