We finished up some changes on the boat...then after a nice Christmas Eve with my brother, Dan, and his wife, Suzanne...we headed for Sanford and the boat launch....had a nice leisurly ride and beached for the night behind Hontoon Island...we spent the second night at Salt River Springs....lots of fishing boats....even had several boats cruising around after midnight...but quietly......This Heron posed for a bunch of pictures...
...Some of it's feathers are so fine and beautiful...The next day we headed for Silver Glen Springs......we had our dingy with us to take the dogs to shore..
... so were able to anchor in an area to take advantage of the early morning sun.
..it has been cold at night and a cold front was coming in...once the sun hits the boat it warms up nicely and we dont have to run the generator for heat....
...Some of it's feathers are so fine and beautiful...The next day we headed for Silver Glen Springs......we had our dingy with us to take the dogs to shore..
... so were able to anchor in an area to take advantage of the early morning sun.
..it has been cold at night and a cold front was coming in...once the sun hits the boat it warms up nicely and we dont have to run the generator for heat....I found Jim a pair of fins so we snorkled several times over the next few days....
There were several boats in for the weekend....many stayed during the day...went home at night and came back...
Would you believe this is a trailerable houseboat? It is a Lil' Hobo Vagabond....8' wide...30+' long....
Carl and Debbie come from Michigan each winter and spend it on their boat "Chantel Marie"......we both headed S about the same time so cruised together for awhile...
....We spent our last night on the river near Blue Springs...they have a spot to beach but you have to leave at dusk..so we anchored nearby and beached in the morning to walk the boardwalk and see the manatees.....
...
There were a few in the springs but the river hadn't cooled down enough to drive them all in.. The morning air was so cold that everyone was bundled up....if you didn't see palm trees in the background you'd think this picture was taken in up north...
Would you believe this is a trailerable houseboat? It is a Lil' Hobo Vagabond....8' wide...30+' long....
Carl and Debbie come from Michigan each winter and spend it on their boat "Chantel Marie"......we both headed S about the same time so cruised together for awhile...
....We spent our last night on the river near Blue Springs...they have a spot to beach but you have to leave at dusk..so we anchored nearby and beached in the morning to walk the boardwalk and see the manatees.....
...
There were a few in the springs but the river hadn't cooled down enough to drive them all in.. The morning air was so cold that everyone was bundled up....if you didn't see palm trees in the background you'd think this picture was taken in up north...
Because we beach so much we have some minor scratches and missing bottom paint. Jim just put a keel guard on to help protect it....next we'll touch up the bottom paint and wax the topsides...prepping for the next adventure.
We did find we need a bigger inverter...should be here next week and Jim will install that....then we should be set up pretty well....
Great way to start the New Year.....on the water...
