We started the day with a relaxed departure from Bradenton at 9:30 am. We headed west down the Manatee River to re-join the IntraCoastal Waterway headed south. Unlike any other day so far, we had a scheduled lunch stop at Moore's Stone Crab Restaurant near the north end of Longboat Key.
The restaurant has been run by the Moore Family for many generations, and they have a small fleet of boats that catches/traps much of the seafood that they serve. Let me tell you that even with "lunch size" portions of great broiled shrimp, Mahi Mahi, lobster bisque, etc, it was difficult to stay awake at the helm after lunch...
The second picture is Lucky Us docked at Moore's. The IntraCoastal
runs betwee the two mangrove islands in the background.
The next picture is the view back as we are leaving our lunch stop. Fortunately, our final destination was only about 7 miles away, which is about halfway down Longboat Key. We are staying at the Longboat Key Club Moorings, which is a really upscale place with just about every amenity possible starting with a 18 and 27 hole golf course, several pools, spa, 7+ restaurants, 9.5 mile walk/jog/bike trail, plus endless beach on the Gulf, etc. The next picture shows one of the pools in the foreground. Lucky Us is hidden amongst the much bigger boats in the background...
The restaurant has been run by the Moore Family for many generations, and they have a small fleet of boats that catches/traps much of the seafood that they serve. Let me tell you that even with "lunch size" portions of great broiled shrimp, Mahi Mahi, lobster bisque, etc, it was difficult to stay awake at the helm after lunch...
The second picture is Lucky Us docked at Moore's. The IntraCoastal
The next picture is the view back as we are leaving our lunch stop. Fortunately, our final destination was only about 7 miles away, which is about halfway down Longboat Key. We are staying at the Longboat Key Club Moorings, which is a really upscale place with just about every amenity possible starting with a 18 and 27 hole golf course, several pools, spa, 7+ restaurants, 9.5 mile walk/jog/bike trail, plus endless beach on the Gulf, etc. The next picture shows one of the pools in the foreground. Lucky Us is hidden amongst the much bigger boats in the background...
Hello! I am a fellow cruiser and am following your blog. We bought a smaller Mainship in 2005 with the idea of doing the great loop but realized that it is too small for us to liveaboard. Also, my spouse doesn't want to leave the grans right now. We purchased the boat in Knoxville, TN so we have done the trip from there down to Mobile, AL.
ReplyDeleteI wanted to pose a quick question. You folks are running a bit behind the traditional looper schedule. Are planning to put your boat on the hard for several months somewhere up the east coast? When we were planning, we were told to be out of the great lakes by the end of September at the latest and on our way down the river. We look forward to following the progress of your adventure.
Howdy, Yes we plan to leave the boat (in the water) somewhere in the Carolinas from about November 1 to March 1, 2014. Then we plan to finish the Great Loop and return to Texas by Thanksgiving...
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