Spring Turkey Run Car Show

More normalcy! This past weekend, Dave, Barry, and Jim went to the Spring Turkey Run car show at the Daytona Speedway. This is the spring version of the gigantic show held at Thanksgiving. 

The guys weren't vaccinated in November, but they are now, so it was time to get back into the swing of things. Enjoy a few of the wild sights Dave saw during his day there. First up is this stretched Mazda Miata, powered by twin V-8s mounted in tandem.

A chopped and channeled 1947 Buick resto-mod.

1960s Fiat 600 gasser. Originally it had the engine in the rear.

This is an extended-extended 6 door cab mega dump hauler with four gas tanks (Dave thinks there were 4 more on the other side too).

A typical vendor's rig set up to spend the weekend at the swap meet.

This vendor had a beautiful array of mid-century Route 66 motoring memorabilia. 

Mean green late 50s Ford Fairlane. Notice the custom exhaust tips...

A Ford Model T doctor's coupe with three 2 barrel carbs.

A street legal tow car with a matching Legend class race car. It was powered with a Honda CBR1100. Plus there was a matching kiddie car!

Now hopefully we will be going to the original Turkey Run in the fall!

"Who Let The Dogs Out" Tour

Yesterday we found another new spot to explore by kayak. This time we launched at the Charlie Leighton Park in Palm City, along the St. Lucie River and the Okeechobee Waterway. The adventure was nicely diverse with mangrove island wilderness coupled with homes, canals, marinas, and boats. Unfortunately most of the canals we tried to go up had tons of non-stop barking dogs...good for the owners' security, but annoying for us quiet paddlers. They ranged from these chihuahuas, which we were hoping they wouldn't fall in and needed to be rescued (I originally was trying to get a photo of the pretty Whitehall dories)...

To a couple of big labs (we also saw what we were sure was the Abaco version of a mutt, called a potcake dog, complete with curled up tail and howling at us). Below you can also see that the water is quite high, most likely from the outflow of water being dumped from Lake Okeechobee, because of its high water levels. It is better to do it now than wait until hurricane season when there is more of chance of algae blooms with the hotter weather and water.

The labs had the quaintest house and huge property that they lived at (and being worked on). Notice the palm tree growing through the tiki hut...

Up one of these canals there was a dismasted sailboat. It brought back quite the memories from when we used to spend the winter in the Florida Keys and our friend Gary had a boat just like this. The boat, named Ara, ended up sinking down in Key West, making a fun salvage operation for the guys. This boat's name was the Lucky One, which was ironic considering its condition.

This No Dog canal was peaceful, lined with condos.

Then more memories came pouring back to us when we saw a Caliber 28, which we bought new and took to Dry Tortugas and our first ever trip to Abaco and Hope Town, way back in 1986. Ours was trimmed in burgundy and named Celebrity, because it drew lots of attention.

This Mainship photo is for Barry and Barb...

Back out in the waterway, what a line up of these Fleming motoryachts, all worth at least a million dollars!

While crossing the St. Lucie River, on the way back to the launch ramp, we spotted several dolphins feeding in the shallows. It was so much fun watching the mullets jump out of the water as the dolphins tried to catch them. What a turmoil they made too! Plus, since it was so shallow, they couldn't dive deep and were doing what I call sharking...going along with their fin out of the water. 

Back at the dock, I couldn't resist taking a photo of this perfect pelican, all decked out in its summer plumage. It was funny to see it looking down at me.

Despite being barked at 😉, this was still another fabulous morning on the water. It will also be a great place for the guys to go sailing next time. 

Fun At Sea And Land

We have been waiting for the perfect day to go out with friends Barb and Barry in Coqui and wow, yesterday was it! Since all of us, including our famous Boat Boy Jim, have been vaccinated for Covid (although 'youngster' Dave has only had one shot), we could go out and enjoy the day without worries or masks. We launched at Sandsprit Park in Port Salerno, and went down the ICW to Peck Lake. The smart boaters that we all are, we anchored with the bow into the wakes, and tied the stern to shore, so we could all get off and go over to the ocean beach. We had a spectacular walk with very few other people around, although it did start to get a touch busier when we left. Jim and Dave went swimming, but Jim refrained from body surfing this time so neither one of them came out bloody...which is good, because a large hammerhead shark washed up on Jensen Beach yesterday, so they are out there. We all brought picnic lunches and ate and chatted before meandering on our way. The chivalrous guys were in the sunny bow allowing us ladies to be under the shade of the bimini top.

After a stop at the sandbars by the inlet to explore the trails in the mangroves, we took a cruise through Manatee Pocket before hauling the boat out.

We sure were happy but tired boaters at the end of the day. What a fun adventure that we hope to repeat again soon!

Up The Creek

Today we made it to a new kayaking spot in Stuart. We had recently crossed a bridge while on the road near the St. Lucie River, eying some sailboats up a creek. I did some investigating by Google Earth and discovered it is called Krueger Creek. Hunting for water access, I also found a small park called Commissioners Park, where there happened to be a tiny little beach that we could launch the kayaks from. The park also has plaques honoring past mayors under donated trees along the walkway.

It wasn't a very long waterway to explore, but we still found a few interesting things along the way. The canal started out wide, but got quite narrow and ended at a culvert that we believe goes under the Stuart airport. 

We were jealous of this old style gas pump on a dock...

We always end up disturbing dogs whenever we kayak in people's backyards, but this time we came across a potbellied pig! At least we weren't barked at. 😉 The yard was totally fenced in, so it could wander and dig wherever it wanted to.

We also saw several night herons lazing on docks and I have never been quite this close to one before.

What a gorgeous tree with quite the root system...

This eclectic home near the mouth of the creek, had all sorts of nautical relics displayed with a live guard...RABBIT! 😉

Most of the boats we encountered weren't anything unusual except this one Chinese Junk without its sailing rig. It certainly had an appropriate name.

This was a nice morning paddling adventure and we have really been on the lookout for new places to explore. Now hopefully the winds will stay calm for us to get out on the water more.

Bitsy's Friend

Bitsy made a friend this morning. However, after taking the photo, I chased it away before any 'deposits' could be made. Thank goodness the sunroof wasn't open! 

We have seen cattle egrets on the backs of cows (hence their name), so I guess it was improvising to get a good view of lizards or bugs for a meal. I think we'll have to name him or her Itsy. 😉 

Super-sized!

Derecktor Shipyards is in the process of making a large repair yard for megayachts at the Fort Pierce port. The inlet there is straight and deep providing easy access. We have been watching as their gigantic travel lift has been assembled over the past month or so. Rumor has it that it is the largest in the world and is rated for vessels up to1500 tons and can haul a vessel up to a total length of 250ft. There are eight huge wheels at the base of each leg, which equals 32 total. It is so big that it took a giant crane to build it and a smaller crane to disassemble the bigger crane for transport.  

We look forward to seeing how things progress and to watch the megayachts start arriving and getting worked on next season. It will be like the Palm Beach of the Treasure Coast.

Itsy Bitsy Road Trip

The north wind was howling today, so it was a perfect time to take Bitsy on a small road trip south. Although we originally were headed to Lake Worth and Lake Osborne, where Dave's parents had a house many years ago, we didn't make it that far. We found different places to see before we turned back. First stop was in DuBois Park at Jupiter Inlet. The wind was blowing 25-30 knots and white water was all across the inlet. Needless to say, no one was headed out this inlet, which can be treacherous with shoals, even in the best conditions.

This has always been a popular surfing beach, and in fact, the only place that Dave has ever tried to surf...just that one time (eons ago 😉). Although the photo doesn't show them, there were also kite boarders and windsurfers way down the beach, taking advantage of the high winds and surf.

The view towards the lighthouse is lovely and inviting...

At least there were calm conditions in the swimming hole at the mouth of the creek. The canon was discovered and raised while dredging the inlet.

We pressed onward and Dave wanted to check out the kayak rentals at Riviera Beach marina for friends. This is convenient and right across from Peanut Island.

We have not been to this marina by land in probably 25 years, and what a change! It is a cruising destination now and it is huge and modern. We had fun walking along the docks that we recently kayaked by, with lots of fishing and diving charter boats. Plus we saw these two boats...the first with matching blue 4- V8 425 HP outboard motors.

Then this one with its red matching 400 HP outboards. I bet they get to the Bahamas fast!

These are the two pilot boats that transport the experienced pilots to the ships. They climb up rope ladders on the sides of the ships and guide the captains in and out of the port and inlet...

We couldn't resist walking along the waterfront towards the Port of Palm Beach, eyeing the megayachts in the boatyards. We were in awe to see this 69 ft. IRC racing sailboat, named Prospector, with its 15 ft. draft. It takes deep water to float this yacht with that long racing bulb keel!

There was also a farmers' market happening at the marina, and music playing everywhere. We spent so much time exploring that we ended up back at our Mini and then decided to mosey back home. It was nostalgic seeing all these places again after so long, and soon we will do some more reminiscing when we make it further south.

Last Calm Day

We are expecting rain tomorrow and then windy conditions for quite some time, so today we took the last opportunity to do a bit of kayaking in the backwaters near the Fort Pierce Inlet. Launching across from Little Jim Island, we thought we had suddenly gone back to the 1000 Islands and the Alexandria Bay Poker Run with speed boats being launched.

We quickly got away and back into the mangrove water trails that got smaller and smaller. 

I even found a sunken boat, although at first I thought it was a manatee.

Eventually the channel became wider and we had a fantastic exploration, even if the water wasn't clear on this day. Best of all, we didn't get lost!

Waterbirds are really nesting now and we certainly were watched from above. Could that be the evil eye they are giving us?

Now we have paddled and are ready for whatever weather comes our way. I can see some "one bladder" Bitsy trips in the near future.

Footnote: I have had my second covid vaccine shot and had very little side effects, mainly a sore, bruised, and swollen arm. There is even a possibility that Dave will be able to get his shot(s) this month, which is encouraging.