Our Great Loop Adventure

After six weeks at home for the holidays, during which we had a most enjoyable time with family and friends, we returned to the Summer Recess on Wednesday, January 15th. The boat spent R&R time at Snead Island Boat Works, which is near Bradenton across the Manatee River. After being pampered while we were away, she was floating comfortably in a covered slip. We were sure she was ready to continue our adventure. She has new bottom paint, a waxed hull, some minor engine maintenance, and an oil change. As we were unpacking Tony tested the air conditioning and discovered that water was not flowing, which would quickly result in a burned out water pump. We went to the office to report the problem and right after lunch the technician came out, flushed the hoses and everything worked perfectly. We highly recommend Snead Island Boat Works. The people are knowledgable and very accommodating. They also have reasonable prices. While we were busy getting the boat ready, our entertainment was the pelicans diving into the water in search of fish. It's a wonder they did not crash into the docks. We stocked up on provisions, looked at the charts and at the NOAA weather web site. We discovered a cold front would be coming through on Thursday complete with small craft warnings. The decision to stay or leave would be put off to the morning.
We woke up Thursday morning to 42 degrees and gusty winds. Thinking we would wait until afternoon to leave, we went for a walk. We discovered Emerson Nature Preserve. It had several walking trails and scenic lookouts. It was bordered by Terra Ceia Bay and Tampa Bay. We had a beautiful three hour walk. Two of the highlights was observing several turtles and wind surfers flying in front of the beach. When we got back to the marina the decision was made to stay until Friday.
January 17th brought a cool (38 degrees) but sunny and calm morning. We left Snead Island behind at 11:30 for the short hop across the Manatee River to Twin Dolphins Marina right in downtown Bradenton. By 1:00pm, we were walking around downtown Bradenton. We stopped for a light lunch at the B'Towne Coffee House. The coffee was also very good. Bradenton also has a lovely river walk.
We are glad to be back on the loop and look forward to new and exciting experiences as we continue our adventure.