Ahoy Matey

Welcome Aboard,

            It has been a busy few days for the Girlie Pirate…Friday seemed to take forever…I had a hard time sleeping, I was so excited…It was Saturday and time to head for Sarasota…YEA!!!!!!

            A happy Girly Pirate I was to find George had taken her to the beach for me when I got to Economy Tackle…I paid young Lee and off to Siesta Key we went…poor Walter had to put up with the VERY excited Girly Pirate

            As we drove down the street I could see her on the rack…I swear she was calling to me…she wanted to show me all her new goodies…she wanted to be in the gulf and not the bay…quickly I untied her and Walter helped me carry her over the dune…I could feel her excitement at the waves…the big blue girl likes big blue water…

After a few minor adjustments, we were off…the improvements had shifted her center of gravity- in a good way…it did take some time getting used to and I think we were both nervous…I was happy to have the Lady Blue Horizon home and she was happy to be here…I faced moderate chop and I was okay…she was making me a better sailor and a better person...the school of dolphins were happy to swim beside us:)

            On my way off Siesta Key we stopped at the Orange Octopus…Kim makes ice cream as good as mine with the same fresh ingredients…I had the espresso chip in a cup and Walter had the mint chip in a waffle cone…YUM

I found a great place to shop in Sarasota...I even got a girlie pirate Tshirt...prices were great and the staff was helpful...had way to many cute swim suits...it is called 'Splish Splash'...I can hardly wait to go back

            On the ride home, Walter was telling me about the Metal Detector Book he was reading…I was so tired and happy; the miles seemed to race by…it did my heart good to see my big girl back in her rack (I think even Yum Yum had missed her) and I think she was happy to be home

            Sunday and Monday brought patients for me to work on, but I could feel the pull of the ocean to my soul…I made some changes and plans started to form for Tuesday…I would go over to AncloteRiver Park…Cooper (my 80yr old father) was going with me…he had never been to the area and never been when I went kayaking…I was in for an interesting day

            Tuesday came to find not such great weather on the water…I will not find everyday good weather on my trip, so I was going…We got there at high tide…the weather was about 58f air and 65f water, cloudy and windy, coming up on high tide…I paddled for the protection of the mangrove islands…even they were little comfort…they day turned sunny and warmed to 70f air, but the wind grew stronger…the cross current in the channel seemed to be hard for even the dolphins to maneuver…when my arms started to hurt I came in…just as I went to get out, a wave popped the aft end of the boat and I got flipped into the water…my dad would not let put on dry clothes until we had the Blue Horizon tied down…lol…what was even funnier is he had this psyko squirrel following him the whole time we were there and if I did not know better I would say he was trying communicate with him….hmmm

            On the way back, Dad had me pull into a stables he had once been to in the 1950s…I pulled in and the very kind woman made time for dad, she had been there 9 years…her name is Joy Lambert…she trains horses and people in Jumping and Hunting…the Windward Farms stables are beautiful…the horses are well taken care of…we ran into beautiful wildlife as we walked the property...a lovley stop

            This morning I was a sore Girly Pirate…going through the mail I found a lucky charm sent from a facebook friend and cowboy in Ireland…it will be placed on my life vest the morning I leave for my trip…as you know this trip is run on donations and any and every thing is helpful

May the wind be at your back;)

Captain D