Ernesto through Florence



Fort Worth Stock Yards



This Cowboy Code rings throughout the Cattle Country of Texas



Normal Texas Bar




The Admiral could not wait to take a ride on this Longhorn!



BBQ at Risckys Not the best I have had but it is Mighty Fine
http://www.risckys.com/

Notice the only flags flown at Billy Bob's are the National Flags of Texas

We got the Senior Daytime discount, FREE.

We had to dance to a country song under this Disco Saddle spinning over the Dance Floor.

The Admiral beat me in a game of 8 Ball at Billy Bob's.



We managed to get some early evening Jazz by this trio at the Scatt Lounge in
Downtown Ft. Worth




The only place to see a Limpkin is in Florida, this is our first.



Lettuce Lake is really a river that runs through Lettuce Lake Park

Beauty, birds and Gators in every direction.

In the background you can see a board walk that winds throughout the park.

one picture just can not capture it all

This couple is headed upriver.

These are Cypress knees that are part of the root system of the trees, scientist have yet to determine their function.



The Spanish Moss is related to pineapple and you can eat it!




We saw at least 5 gators this size but there were lots more out there for sure.



This baby one was right by the boardwalk just hanging out, about 3 feet long.



The invasive Channel Apple Snail lay these bubble gum colored eggs, we saw several of these on the trunks of trees.



Here is a close up, how many eggs do you count from this one snail?



Our Park Ranger Guide spotted this non-poisones Banded Water Snake for us



She also pointed out this Hummingbird nest, about the size of a golf ball...we would have never noticed it in all this vegetation.



and near the end of our time at Lettuce Lake Park this Black Vulture landed right in front of us, it was like he was a pet around here.


Ernesto and Florence
Ernesto and Florence were developing as we were making plans to go back to Texas.

Whenever you are consider leaving your vessel for an extended period during Hurricane Season the topic foremost on your mind during Hurricane season is the Tropical Forecast for the Atlantic, Caribbean, and the Gulf of Mexico. We planned to take a break and return to Austin to visit family and take care of some routine business and we knew it would be at least a two-week stay but was unsure if we would want more time in Austin. After watching the Weather Channel like hawks and visiting the NOAA and weather underground websites everyday for a week we bought one way tickets to Austin not knowing exactly how long we would be away. I could always get a ticket back if a storm headed into the Gulf of Mexico to come back and secure the boat. The rule is to always leave it tied up with double lines everywhere just in case something weird happened and you could not get back to the boat. We left our canvass and sails on since it is a lot of trouble to go through just for a couple of weeks and would have to be a really weird situation keeping me from getting back in to see after Wand’rin Star before a storm. I drove from Austin to Houston and then to Kemah the day after Ike to check on her so I had the prior experience of navigating through very weird situations the day after a major Hurricane, You just have to take your time and be ready to deal with the weird stuff. This means packing your own food, water, and extra fuel.

We love Austin, this is apparent even more so since we left Texas. We just have not seen anywhere that can compare to the friendly, fun loving culture that is so accepting to everyone and has the diversity, and dynamic energy that drives a healthy economic climate that is resistant to types of problems we have seen across the Southern U.S. The vibrant community just will not allow the polarizing politics, bitterness or despair you hear about in the every day news media to live there.

We ended up staying three weeks since my brother was going to be on the road and asked us to house sit. We managed to eat at all our favorite spots: Amaya’s, Tres Amigos, Central Market, Whole Foods, Taco Deli, Tino’s, and our son’s family introduced us to Zu Zu’s. We caught a couple of my brothers shows at Zachary Scott and got a great relaxing visit with our entire Austin Family. We saved the last two days to visit the Admiral’s parents in Ft. Worth and since we had the time we spent a day at the Ft. Worth Stock Yards. This is the first time we both had been there since we lived in Ft. Worth back in the 60’s and early 70’s. Very easy to spend more than 1 day there especially if you can take advantage of the night life there. We did not have time this round to participate in the night parties but there is always next time. We did have time for a early morning walking tour, Lunch at Risckys BBQ, and a dance, Beer, and a game of 8 Ball at Billy Bob’s. We topped it off with a early evening at the Scatt Lounge in Downtown Fort Worth with a neat little Jazz Trio. In bed by 11:30pm and up at 4:30 AM to catch our early flight out of DFW to Tampa.

We were back at the boat by 1230 hrs and had to gingerly step aboard around the Guano. The Birds had a big party on deck and I had some cleaning to do. The first thing to check upon entering a boat from after a long absence is the bilge. Good news it was dry, next try and determine why the forward AC unit was just blowing warm air. After diagnosing the problem I figured it was the out line was clogged with debris so I attached a vacuum to suck out any stuff and then attached a water hose to blow out the rest. Wow, worked better than ever. I am sure the Bromine tablets that I left in the strainer while we were gone had killed any creatures in the tubing for the cooling water and the dead shell was the culprit. I got the deck cleaned up with beer in hand and all was back to normal by sunset.

The Admiral heard through her grapevine that the Fall Migration might be starting early due to the drought and dwindling food sources for the birds. She searched for some new birding grounds and found Lettuce Lake Regional Park: http://www.hillsboroughcounty.org/Facilities.aspx?Page=detail&RID=437 . After a couple of days to acclimatize to Florida time we were up early Sunday morning to make a Nature tour of the park. We got a private tour by the very knowledgeable park ranger since it was early Sunday morning and we were the only ones who showed up. You just do not have to go far from the city to find incredible natural beauty and wildlife in Florida. This little 240 acre spot has lots to offer everyone and the ranger said it is the most popular of the Hillsborough county parks.

The August weather patterns has the rain beginning no later than 2pm and very heavy downpours across the area now. If you stay in one spot you might miss them but if you drive just a couple of miles you will surely get caught in one. The thunder storm cells are not predictable at all so taking the boat out for an after noon sail will not happen till the summer rains are over. Central Florida gets 2/3 of it’s annual rain fall during the Summer months. For now we will continue to just explore the Tampa bay area by truck and dodge the thunder storms.

Tarpon Springs

The sponge Stores are everywhere in Tarpon Springs, we choose this one since they had a free 15 minute movie that documented the history of the Tarpon Springs sponge industry, it's a 1950's version

After the Sponge education we decided to get a Greek lunch, Greek Salad and Gyro (pronounced "Hero") at Plaka.

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Then the Admiral noticed this sponge tour boat about to leave so we quickly bought tickets and ran to get on.

The 79 year old Captain, and tour guide continued with the area history and Greek Sponge diver culture on this tour that included a exhibition sponge diver in an old school type of dive suit.

Frank the diver prepares to descend!



The Admiral went Greek!





Next thing you know He jumped in.



The Greek Diver had to make sure the suit was water tight before he dove.



He Ascends with a Sponge!

This sponge boat is the highest producing boat in the fleet.

This 28' sponge boat did over $125,000 last year with a crew of 1.

The oldest sponge boat in the fleet has been retired and is on display at the center of the Sponge docks.

1 more cool vessel on the Anclote River



A really cool terrapin





I just like taking pics of interesting boats.



This pretty big Puffer Fish was fun to watch, it was like he was watching all the spectators.

Tarpon are one of the primary game fish for Gulf fisherman in Florida

About 4 different type of sharks in this tank, Nurse, Lemon, Bull, Sand.

Huge Grouper



The Aquarium owner/diver is preparing to bring the goodies to the sharks et. al.



I got to pet this 4' Gator which is 7 years old, they grow just a few inches per year. Apple snails are the primary food for Florida alligators.






The Admiral loved the Recliners at the Wine at the Docks wine bar



Bream at Mykonos, we had other plans but the owner of the wine bar recommended this Greek Restaurant and it was great.



The paint job on the emblems turned out ok.




I could not believe that I found this replacement pump on Amazon.com, cheaper than Defender!



I finally figured out where the Anode is located in the water heater after 2 years of looking for it.



This is the 2nd Wood Stork at the Target Detention pond. They hung around about 3 weeks after Debby then  split.

 Day Trip to Tarpon Springs by Land

I have several spots to go discover around Tampa and the Admiral has been researching Tarpon Springs. We knew the first trip would be by truck so she kept a close eye on the weather to find a weather window to make the day a success. The summer weather patterns in the central Florida area begin with small bits of rain offshore in the am with a slow build to thunderstorms in the afternoon sometimes beginning as early as 2pm and lasting till dark or so. She read the reviews of the local Greek restaurants and other sights to see. So the first stop was at a Sponge store on the sponge docks that had a free 15 minute documentary on the history of the Tarpon Springs Sponge industry. The Greeks heard about a huge area of sponges in the Gulf of Mexico with Tarpon Springs in the center, so over 60 years ago the Greek fisherman begin to migrate in search of this special resource. It has been written that the closest thing to Greece in the US is Tarpon Springs...I am sure this is accurate. I thought it was just a tourist spot based on old history but this is still a working sponge dock and industry that supports a large Greek culture that is great to spend a day or more in. After viewing the 1950's era film we checked out all the sponges but resisted the urge to buy.We walked out onto the docks in search of a Greek Lunch but the Admiral spotted a boat preparing to leave and realized it was a tour, we quickly bought 2 tickets and They hollered to the boat to wait for us. We ran to get on board this authentic sponge boat. We had no idea what we were about to see or do. Frank the Greek Diver was already partially suited up in the old time divers suit and greeting the passengers. The 79 yr old Greek captain steered the old boat away from the docks and immediately begun to detail the history of what were experiencing. We had a great time on this sponge dive demonstration. The diver brought up a sponge and walked about the deck so everyone could touch it. The Captain never stopped talking in his slow very Greek detail about the life he and his family have lived and continue to live in Tarpon Springs.
Just across the street from the sponge docks is Plaka's...I had a Gyro Sandwich and Lynn had a Greek Salad...Have to go to Greece to get anything that compares.
Then we walked about a block and there was the Tarpon Springs Aquarium, a privately owned very special experience. We saw in less than two hours, a Shark Feeding show, a Python Show, Alligator Show, 2 great touching pools with stingrays, turtles, starfish, lots of other small sea life. and you could put this shrimp parts on the end of a stick and feed the baby sharks yourself...they would jump out of the water to get it!...It was getting getting a bit warm outside after that so just a few steps away was the Wine at the Docks wine Bar so good for me they had beer. We enjoyed the special recliner seating and relaxed with our drinks. We got to talk with the owner about the area and also a young woman who owns the Turtle Cove Marina invited us to bring our boat over...gonna have to do it, has great reviews on Active Captain.
We finished our trip with dinner at Mykonos, We had planned another popular restaurant but the wine Bar owner made the recommendation and we are glad we had the opportunity to talk with her, it was great.

I installed the painted emblems and they look good enough that they will stay that way for a while. Also had two other projects that have been on the list since before we left Corpus Christi but just were not very high on the list. In fact they kept getting moved to the bottom of new list. The pump for the aft shower stopped working shortly before we left Corpus but since the aft shower has been used for storage it has just not been important to fix. Since I have gotten just about everything else done I have started on the bottom of the list and as I started to research how I was going to fix this pump I noticed that a kit to repair it would be almost $80 and the West Marine replacement pump would be about $180, Defender.com about $140 but just on a whim I searched Amazon and I could not believe it but they had the exact replacement pump for $129. For now on I will check Amazon before loading the cart. When you can buy a boat part cheaper than Defender.com and have next day delivery the rest of the suppliers better watch out. The new pump works great but I am not sure when it will be used as a shower again.
Then it was time to deal with the water heater, I have read the owners manual several times. Researched anodes and some water heaters have them and some do not. I looked all over ours and could not figure out if it actually had one since there was not an obvious place where to install one. Finally figured out that the anode is integral to the hot water out connection. Found the part online at raritan and will soon install.