Fun with friends and family in Madeira Beach, St. Petersburg, and Sarasota in Florida!

On Monday, January 19 we moved from Tarpon Springs to Madeira Beach near Clearwater. On the way there we passed Clearwater Marina where our friend Todd was staying so he got a photo of our boat. I got a photo of him. It was a pretty chilly day (notice Todd's parka). When we got to Madeira Beach Marina, we walked to nearby Pete's Sushi for some of the best sushi we have had and they even served it in a tray that looked like  a boat.   We went back to our boat  and watched Indiana beat Miami in the College National Championship! Go Hoosiers! On Tuesday, our friends from back home, Steve and Cindy picked us up and showed us St. Petersburg. They recently bought a place in Largo, near Clearwater and so they live  down here for the winter. Their daughter is a nurse in nearby St. Petersburg so they know all of the great spots. We had lunch at The Big Catch on Salt Creek. Then we saw Steve's friends's boat that he watches over at St. Petersburg Municipal Marina. We spent time on the beautiful pier and enjoyed the view at Pier Teak. On the way back we enjoyed sunset and dinner at Caddy's on Madeira Beach. 

On Wednesday, January 21, our friend from college, Rhonda from Peoria, came to visit us. She has a condo on nearby Anna Maria Island and was there for a week. We were not able to make it by boat, so she drove over and met us and we went to nearby John's Pass Village and Boardwalk. We had a great time catching up, eating at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.,  and shopping.  Later we, along with  Todd,  had pizza at Frabotta's Beach Kitchen and enjoyed the sunset at the rooftop bar at the Cambria Hotel. We also had ice cream from the Amish Creamery Company run by Clint Herlein from our home state of Iowa! 

On Thursday, Steve and Cindy again graciously picked us and Todd up and showed us the Largo and Indian Beach areas where they live. They have a beautiful condo in a great location and they took us to a couple of their favorite places, Cocos and Crabby Bills. Crabby Bills was having a delicious Shrimp Boil and they had live music and a beautiful sunset of course!

On Friday, January 23 our friends Steve and Cindy joined us as we moved to St. Petersburg Municipal Marina. After visiting there with them the other day we couldn't pass up a chance to stay there. The location is so great being right downtown and on the Pier and close to many restaurants and museums and stadiums. It also has an airport right next to it  and states that it had  the first Airboat Line. It was a sunny and warm day and we saw many dolphins jumping. When we got there they helped us put a pin in our map of the loop as we do at every stop. We all had lunch on the pier at Doc Ford's Grill and watched boat activity going on in the marina. Their daughter Aliya came and picked them up so we got to welcome her to the boat as well. Later on we, with Todd, explored more of downtown including the Vinoy Hotel, Cigar Paradise, Oak and Stone, and Fresco's.

Saturday we enjoyed the weekly "Saturday Morning Market" and had wonderful empanadas there. We also visited the Salvador  Dali museum and watched the Van Gogh Alive 360 degree experience. The weather was nice and warm so I enjoyed walking and sitting outside all day at the pier area, including the beach and the Volkswagen festival that was going on there. We had dinner at Stillwater Tavern. 

Sunday, January 25 we left early for Sarasota to hopefully avoid the wind that was coming. We watched the sunrise in Tampa Bay and the water was very  calm but by the time we got to Sarasota Bay it was pretty rough, but the captain again brought us safely to port in downtown Sarasota! The staff at the marina expertly helped us dock.  Marina Jack's is an awesome marina and restaurant in the heart of downtown. The other boaters were very friendly and invited us to a birthday party they had on their boat complete with live music. Our good friend and former neighbor Karla (she had moved here 4 years ago) came to stay with us and she and I went to Lido Beach. It was the one warm day we had. It was windy there but still 79 degrees. Later we watched football at Evie's Tavern downtown. In the morning we had wonderful coffee and pastries at a French cafe called "C set la Vie". The next day we had a visit from my cousin Janice! She and I are the same age and grew up in Muscatine. She has lived in nearby Bradenton for over 10 years. We had lunch at Marina Jack's and it was so great to catch up. Later Karla took us back to her villa in south Sarasota and we had a fabulous Italian dinner at Tuscany. Tuesday we did some provisioning for the boat before she took us back to the boat. Next stop for us is Venice. More on that in the next blog!