Stuart to Long Boat Key

November 1 - 22, 2015

We arrived at Sunset Bay Marina in Stuart, Florida on October 31st and found many of our friends already there.  As soon as we were tied up, the fun began with long time friends and new ones.  Eight days of good times sharing past adventures and plans for the next year.    

Ruth and Steve introduced us to Crawdaddys and
Alita & the Boyz. We had such a fun evening we got
together again on Saturday for the Ft. Pierce 
famers' market. 
Former owners of a Krogen Whaleback, 
they now live on land.

Ingred and her husband, Ron, were our
first friends in Stuart many years ago.

Bob and Linda own a Krogen 48.  They shared a
dock with us in Bayport, MN for 12 years. In March
we will meet up with them in Eleuthera.

Deb and Larry are the current owners of our former
Krogen 39, Finally.  

Hottie Scotty, the Krogen Guru, keeps the
Krogen fleet moving.  On our trip to Grenada,
Brian called Scotty several times for advice on
how to complete a repair. 

We made a quick three day trip to St Louis.  Our
daughter, Jennifer, is moving to San Diego.  We
had loaned her some of our furniture.  Better to
store it in St Louis than retrieve it from California.

John and Gail did us a huge favor!  They flew from
Minnesota to Solomons and then drove our car to
Florida for us.    

40+ Krogen owners gathered for the first breakfast
of the season in Stuart.  What a great bunch!!!

A trip to the Manatee Education Center in Fort Pierce
gave us some interesting facts about these mammals.
Closely related to elephants they average 1000
pounds and 10 feet in length.
 

Brian and John left Stuart on Gotta Smile cutting
across the state for Long Boat Key. 

Gail and I brought the car across, spending time in
Sanibel and Siesta Key.  We met up with our guys
 every night but one when we stayed in a hotel on
Sanibel.

When we opened our hotel room door, in the
morning, we found someone's underwear on our
doormat!  Humm, what did that mean? 

Professional sand sculptors competed
on Siesta Key.  We were there before
they opened the gates so we could only
see them from the back.  Still amazing!

Sanibel had 1000's of sand dollars on the beach.

        Gotta smile -- we're lovin the ride!

Once all four of us made it to Long Boat Key, we had
time for touring, shopping, beach walking and some
good food!
These peacocks run wild in a local neighborhood.
We found about a dozen as we slowly drove
the area.