Treasure Island, Florida

Treasure Island Yacht Club is an absolute beautiful place to stay.  The facility is first class and you can't beat the great location.  Our boat is the first one you'll see when entering the harbor and we'll be here for a month. 

 Over two weeks worth of laundry made for a huge cart full that day!  It's cooler and sunny out, but at least beats the snow in Michigan.

Harbor hosts, Nick, Angela, Nicholaus 9 and Eileen 7 Metro gave us a warm welcome right away and have continued to go out of their way to make us feel special.  The following picture is a view from their "beach house" where we attended a lovely dinner one evening.  The five kids played on the beach and had a great time.   

 Pete and Anna Guilick aboard their m/v Blue Yonder a Nordic Tug, along with their cat Moby (pictured on deck here), traveled  north from Sarasota to spend some time all together.  They are fellow "Loopers" and from Nantucket Island, MA.  We really enjoyed their company and made some great memories!

 The kids loved them and they felt like family.

 Madeira Beach made for a fun day of walking around shops and sightseeing. 

 John's Pass is a newly constructed bridge that celebrated a grand opening this weekend (right next to Madeira Beach). 

 Don't mess with Captain Morgan....unless it comes from the bottle!

 We had a rare opportunity to hold an alligator and what an amazing experience it was.  His name was Psycho and luckily he was rather tame at the time we held him.

 It did not feel like you'd think he would.  He was heavy with tough, dry skin....and the kids weren't scared at all. 

 Always willing to take a photo op!

We biked approx. 3 miles one way with Pete and Anna to Johns Pass, beach, park and Publix afterwards.

 The number one appointed grill master of the week, Pete did a great job flippin steaks in the cockpit. 

 There was an open air market and playground in downtown Treasure Island.

 The marina has a free arcade full of all the fun games.  Basketball, air hockey, Ms. Pacman, pinballs, golfing, dance revolution, etc. 

Ryann and I have "face offs" with Guitar Hero and she wins most of the time.

 Eating pizza with the Metro family in their 56' Matthews m/v. 

 The kids staterooms were so large that you almost forgot you were stll in a boat.

 Jaxon found a great hiding spot for a game of hide-and-go-seek!

This boat made me miss my sister, Michelle Marie (see name on lower hull).

 My little buddy and turbo booster, Morgan! Just when I need a jolt of energy up a big hill, she's there for me. We make a great team and have biked many miles each day this entire week.  I love the tandem bikes as its much easier to talk as well.   

 Santa Claus was a crucial visit this year as the kids were questioning how Santa would get to our boat.  Rest assured he promised to be there this year no problem.  He gave them each a new stuffed animal and asked what they wanted for xmas.

 The charter fisherman were fileting their recent catch with an audience of birds gathering for their share.  Look in the middle of the picture to see a fishes fin and all around to see the pelicans dive-bombing their potential lunch.

 An evening boat parade included almost 50 vessels decked out with some creative ideas and lights galore.  Joe Piscapo was playing in the clubhouse afterwards and several hundreds of people attended the poolside dinner prior to the show. 

 I always put my favorite photos on my blog. The sunsets seem to amaze me every night and with the palm trees on the horizon it looks so perfect. 

Another fun evening with the Metro family.  They came to the boat afterwards to watch the light parade and have a cocktail too.

 It was all very well orchestrated like they do it every weekend. 

 Miz Scarlett is an 8 million dollar boat in the parade. It was filled with people and music (it usually has a Smart Car on it).

FYI - my goal is to only post to my blog one time a week.  Thank you all for your support!