Big Bend, Steinhatchee to Cedar Key to Clearwater (Days 218-223)

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Our time in Steinhatchee is best represented by this photo.  We met lots of great Loopers here.  Steinhatchee itself is a quiet place with not much going on.  This may be in part due to the hurricane that went through earlier this year.  The Marina owners bent over backwards to ensure we had a great time here.
We left Apalachicola with out new Looper friends, Tim and Brenda on Indigo.  The Gulf was cooperating.
Steinhatchee had a great fish cleaning station and the birds absolutely loved it!
We stayed here for there days waiting for the weather to once again cooperate.  This gave us ample time to survey the bottom prior to our departure because the low tides were REALLY low. We ended up leaving the dock before the sun was even up.
This area is well known for the crab pots, so I perched myself up in the dashboard and kept a look out.
The birds for some reason were wanting a free ride.  This pelican nearly made a landing but after four failed attempt he went on his way.
I was filming him leaving as another surprise visitor popped up!
Our next stop was Cedar Key.  This cute little town doesn’t have a marina and has a huge tidal swing.  We found a way to tie up our dinghy and go exploring.
We found this rail trail from a railroad that opened up Florida to settlement in the 1850s.  They shipped lumbar and seafood from here. The last passenger train left Cedar Key in 1932.
the end of the trail opened up on the waterway that the watermen on Cedar key use.
The views from this town are spectacular and they have a lively tourist trade with many cute shops and restaurants.  They even have two museums. Golf cart rentals were available for exploring but Mike and I walked.
We had been the first boat to anchor.  When we returned we dropped in on a couple of Looper boats who both began their loop way up on the Mississippi River for happy hour.
The sunset here was breathtaking.  Very little protection here from the Gulf.
In Clearwater Beach we once agin found the birds hanging with the fishermen. What a great way to go bird watching.
I also found my first sand dollars here on the beach.
We took the “Jolly Trolley” to Tarpon Springs for the day. This area is known as Greektown.  In 1905, Greek immigrants brought new sponge diving techniques to Florida.  They still dive for sponges here today.
We had some amazing Greek pastries for breakfast (I had an Karidopita) and gyros for lunch. Of course we purchased a few sponges, both decorative and utilitarian for our boat.
Back in Clearwater we played Pickle-ball before our Looper friends,Mike and Gina from “This is What” came out for dinner. We all went up to this rooftop bar to enjoy the view of the beach and the harbor.
While we were up there we got a great shot of some of the tourist boats that were going in and out of the harbor all day long. The last boat came in around 11:00 each night with boisterous revelers.  So glad we didn’t need to get an early start from this stop.
Our Journey

”And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,“
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭10‬:‭24‬ ‭NIV‬‬








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