The sofa has arrived and I’m not gonna lie-it’s fabulous. We ordered one from Wayfair back in January and it kept getting back ordered. At first, they were willing to work with us but after awhile it was becoming more of a problem. Without knowing when they could deliver, it was difficult to give them the where to deliver. They didn’t hassle us for cancelling and we got a full refund. So, we spent a day looking in Bradenton and actually found a great sofa that fit our specifications. It delayed our departure a couple of days, but from order to delivery was less than a week. Totally worth the delay.

We spent one of our extra days visiting the Ringling Brothers Circus Museum in Sarasota. My measly pictures don’t do it justice. Just make a point to visit if you are close enough. The miniature replica of “When the circus comes to town” (my title, not theirs) was fantastic.

We shoved off from Bradenton on a bit of a foggy morning on Valentine’s Day and headed out to the gulf. When we “go out” and travel we can go as fast as we want without worrying much about our wake. If the weather and waves are calm, it’s the fastest way to get anywhere and your only obstacles are the damn crab pots. Apparently, they can be dropped anywhere and you just have to be super observant. The markers are round and about the size of a child’s nerf basketball. If you run over one, you can end up with rope around your propeller. No bueno.We only knicked one without damaging it too much and were able to avoid bringing a rope along with us

As we pulled into the Crows Nest in Venice, Fl, we were met by two dockhands who made my work as rope girl darn easy. Actually, this was our second stay at the Crows Nest. We chartered a boat back in 2016 and docked there. Venice is a great little town and we would happily come back again.

Valentine’s Day was celebrated as follows: Cousin Bill picked us up from the marina at 3:00 pm and whisked us away to their home in Englewood lovingly labeled “Waszmahal.” See, Wasz is Bill and Cheri’s last name and they built a beautiful home with the ICW in their back yard and the gulf about 100 yards from their front door. They have guest rooms that rival any high dollar resort and their hospitality is second to none. The hosts at “Waszmahal” never disappoint.

They graciously invited us to join them and four friends at their beach club for a Valentine’s dinner and to spend the night. Delicious food, fantastic company and a performance with fire twirlers kept us thoroughly entertained. We were only slightly over served with very good wine.

Sunday, February 16, we were up and out of the Crow’s Nest by 0830. We, once again, decided to try traveling in the open waters of the gulf. Once again, we dodged the willy nilly crab pots but otherwise enjoyed the turquoise waters and sunshine. We are tucked away at Rose Marina in Marco Island and hope to do some exploring tomorrow. We’ll stay two nights and head for Marathon Key on Tuesday.

Fun fact-God is good! We are so blessed to be able to undertake this adventure and appreciate the support we receive from above and from friends and family.