Sunday, April 20, 2014 Happy Easter everyone! The day began with heavy clouds and cool temps when we woke this morning at 7:30. By the time we had breakfast and took Auggie to shore, the clouds had thinned out and the sun peeked through. Auggie supervised Bob as he did his routine engine checks this morning.
We left our anchorage at 9:00 after a beautiful night at Englewood Beach.. Today would be our last day of vacation, so we wanted to enjoy every minute of it. This was one of the few times we’ve seen the South Venice Beach ferry actually running back and forth to Manasota Key.
The sun began to warm things up when it popped out, but we kept our light jackets on just the same. Boat traffic was light south of Venice this Easter morning, but the few people that were out stayed bundled up. By the time we reached Venice, we had more sun than clouds and people were getting out to enjoy the day. This group had gathered on the newly renovated island at the Venice Inlet. They looked set up and ready for some fun-in-the-sun.
The jetty at Venice Inlet was crowded with walkers and fishermen on this fine day.
We passed my favorite tiki bar at Blackburn Point. It’s usually really hopping with people, but today at 11:00 it was still pretty quiet.
I just love seeing all these new hatchlings along the way. I could really get an up-close look at this new family of ospreys while we waited for the bridge to open.
Bob had me drive for awhile so he could work on repairing our computer cord. Things were going well until I heard a loud splash beside me. It scared the daylights out of me. I had Bob take over at the helm so I could get some good pictures of this dolphin that came up alongside the boat to play. He was quite the acrobat! Thanks for the show!!
He stayed with us for about 5 minutes of jumping and flipping out of the water and then he was gone. I counted 8 rental boats on the water today. Bob and I joke about staying far away from any boat with a phone number on the side. We arrived at our anchorage at 1:15 and found a spot in the back. The anchorage in front of the Mar Vista Restaurant is a popular one and we were lucky to get a spot.
The sun finally came out and Auggie enjoyed basking in it.
We took a dinghy ride to check out the action around Longboat Key Inlet. Auggie went along. He loves to ride in the dinghy with us.
You can tell by his “ear meter” that it was quite windy.
People like to hang out on the sand bar near the inlet.
There’s also a place to land small boats and walk along the beach on the point.
There were some large swells coming in the inlet from the Gulf. It was still windy out there. We dinghied around the area and made a stop at the boat launch to give Auggie a chance to stretch his legs. Back at the boat, the sun warmed things nicely. I put on my swimsuit to finish the cleaning job I started on the dinghy earlier in this trip. I needed to clean the other side of the dinghy once it was turned around on the lift and I was finally motivated to do it before we got home. Auggie came out on the swim platform to keep me company.
We enjoyed sitting in the cockpit watching the boats go up and down the ICW. We had some excitement when the Coast Guard stopped a boat and boarded it for some unknown reason. I made a delicious Easter dinner of ham, cheesy rice, cranberries, and of course, a chocolate bunny for dessert! After dinner, we took a long walk with Auggie on the island. We were on the lookout for the flock of peacocks that inhabit the island. It wasn’t long before we came upon them. There were at least 4 males and 2 females in a group together. Farther along we came across a couple more males. They are beautiful birds, but mean.
One female chased Auggie down the street until she couldn’t keep up with us anymore.
Back at the boat, we watched some TV as darkness fell. It was still pretty windy outside. We’re hoping that the wind dies off tonight likes the forecast said.
