Day 167, "on the loop", 3/25/2023

It's been almost 1 month since the last post, I decided to post a week early because we have a lot more planned for 3/26 - 4/1.

I fell in love with the Ft. Pierce, FL area. We stayed at the City Marina in the historic district of Ft. Pierce. It reminds me of Kirkwood, MO, such a great town with everything within walking distance of the marina. This is a popular marina for Loopers, at one point, I think there were over 20 Loopers at the marina.

City Marinas are operated by the city and typically not well maintained. This marina is impeccable! The marina provides a 15% coupon for Cobb's Landing (a local eatery) that Loopers can use during their stay at the Ft. Pierce marina. The coupon is good for all both food and drinks!

Cheers! From Ft. Pierce, Sailfish Microbrewery. This place has Bingo on Monday nights.

Wk 1 (Feb 28 - March 3) in Ft. Pierce:

- Arrived and toured the area, looked for looper boats to meet & greet

- Joel ordered boats parts and will take care of a few minor projects during our time here.

- Walked around and stumbled upon the Ft. Pierce weekly market (on Wednesday's) AND Joel found painkiller(s), it's a drink.

Another bike incident, ugh! Long story, short....The St. Lucie Historical Museum attendant recommended we move our bikes from one location to another. The bike I moved was left in the "on" position. Needless to say, it started and took me with it. I looked like a baby giraffe being born, legs going all different ways while arms went the opposite way. My leg swelled fast. Side note: Fellow looper, Volition, is nurse practitioner, she said I was doing all the right things (ice, elevation & Arnica) and to continue for 24 hours. She indicated I will have bruising in a few days & she was right, the bruising came (see pic #3). Thank you, Rhonda for settling my mind.

Some pictures taken at the Aquarium & History Museum (before or while the goose egg was developing on my leg-LOL)

1st pic: Crab shells

2nd pic: Blue Clam, the clam is open in this view

3rd: Entrance of the Aquarium museum (Did I mention we got the Sr. Citizen discount... 55+)

1st pic: tools used during the Seminole stage

2nd pic: Joel entering the museum, prior to the bike incident

3rd pic: Florida style home (early days of development). Note: This area made their money in pineapple, citrus and cattle.

Happy Hour with fellow loopers: Unfortunately, I didn't get a pic of the group;

Boat Name: Volition (Eamonn) - shared his rum at docktails and hopes this will become the "new" looper

rum :-) Bumbu (See beautiful sky in the background)

Boat Names @ docktails: You and Me, Water Witch, Moonshadow II*, Irish Lass*, Last Chance, Fun Intended, Let Time Go Lightly, Volition* and Picnic Boat.

*met at the beginning of our loop (Tennessee)

After nursing my leg all day, Joel and I went to dinner. While eating, a nice couple from Fall River, MA gave us tickets to the local theater to see a Billy Joel tribute band. Apparently, the singer (Michael DelGuidice) was discovered by Billy Joel himself and has been part of Billy's Joel's concerts for the past 10 years. This guy (and band) were GREAT. Thank you to the kind couple for selecting us to use their extra 2 tickets!

We purchased a few things from the farmer's market, we are suckers for a great market with local crafts and food! We walked to 12A Buoy to have lunch; but, they had a 45 minute wait so we decided to try it on another day.

Wk 2 (March 4 - March 11) in Ft. Pierce:

- Ft. Pierce weekly (Sat) Farmer's market

- Tried a couple of places recommended by Allison & Randy Stickrod

• Pierced Cider*

• Taco Dive*

- March 10 - baseball

- March 11 - Black Room @ the Sunrise Theater (L A Hardy, comedian)

- Watched Arkansas Basketball, they lost! :-(

Pictures during our visit at Pierced Cider Tap Room. Personally, I am not a beer person (Joel partakes enough for the two of us - LOL). I didn't think I would like the cider; however, I loved it. Thanks Allison Marder Stickrod for the GREAT recommendations!

Side note: There was also a Zombie Crossing for those into that sort of thing (or perhaps those that can't walk after their ciders).

• Pierced Cider* - A variety of flavors, all good. The Peach Harbanaro was a bit too spicy for my liking. We purchased a flight of 4 and liked them all.

  • Our selections:

    • Merica Dry

    • Choked Berry

    • Coco Loco

    • Brut

    • See picture 4 above, a flight of 10 (which was too much for us)

Below pics are at Taco Dive: Joel had the Rueben Taco (aka Irish Taco).

*Thank you, Allison & Randy for the recommendations (a friend who recently visited Ft. Pierce)

Guess who showed up in Ft. Pierce! Boat Name: Kayak: John & Kim, they stayed 4 days. It was so great to catch up and learn how their loop experience is going. We will see them again before they head out. Side note: We last saw Kayak traveling on the Tenn-Tom River system, such fun people... John and Kim learned the song Rocky Top back during football season (TN beat AL)

Monday, 3/6, took a scenic bike ride, approx. 6 miles down Indian River Drive. It was beautiful, no pictures would justify the view, absolutely breathtaking. It reminded me of the scenic views in the Netflix series Outer Banks and Bloodline. While on the bike ride, we passed a historic place:

Old Fort Park: encompasses two periods of Native American History. Ais Indian Culture, once Florida's largest indigenous groups, dates back 500 - 1000 years. Seminoles also Native American people who developed Florida in 18th century.

We closed this day down having dinner w/ Boat Name and neighbors at Key West: R & R (Rick & Steve, the wives were unable to join us). We met at 12A Buoy, the food was great. They have a small kitchen so the wait time for food was about 1 hour, they make everything fresh to order. It was nice to catch up and the wait time for our food flew by.

Wednesday, 3/8, we toured and spent almost 3 hours at the US Navy Seal Museum. The museum opened in 1985, The original Navy Frogmen first trained outside of Fort Pierce. If you enjoy history, you should definitely check this out!

Below is an honor wall, naming those that lost their lives in combat.

Below are random pictures taken while walking outside of the museum.

Pic 1 & 3 - Control panels of two different boats.

Pic 2 - Obstacle course that a NAVY SEAL trains on (NAVY Seals go through many months of rigorous training). Note: you must sign a waiver to use the obstacle course!

Pic 4 - Underwater vessel, a NAVY Seal can be launched from that side door

Pic 5, 6 & 7 - Museum Entrance and side wall of the building

Did I mention? As seen on TV, The CAKE LADY is here in Ft. Pierce, you should see her amazing cakes. Yes, I purchased a couple of St. Pat's cupcakes (they were yummy!). The cakes in the showcase are all edible. She is beyond talented with her designs.

@Jaime - See pic on the right...there is a Thirsty Turtle here in Ft. Pierce, thought of you and Rob! Miss you guys, See you soon.

Being on the loop, you never know what cool things you get to experience. We played Bingo at Pierced Cider. Joel and I thought we were going to be the ONLY ones there; however, 15 people showed up right at the 7pm hour. I won the last round and received a "cool" Pierced Cider t-shirt.

Thursday of Wk 2, Boat Name: Kayak (John & Kim) returned from visiting friends. We met them for happy hour and to our surprise, there was a car show that evening. We walked around and realized their was dancing too!

Calling out the first picture below, several cars were decorated on the inside. This one was like walking into a Steven King novel ("IT"). Scary!

We wrapped week 2 up by renting a car. We drove to Jupiter and attended a Cardinal baseball game (Cardinals spring training). We had a quick dinner with the Welde's (Craig, Jennifer & Austin) who are also in town to catch a few Cardinal games.

Jennifer was kind enough to give up her (PERFECT) seat for Joel and sit with me in section 203. Our seats weren't too bad, we met a nice couple from Long Island, NY (rooting for the Mets). The stadium has a "small home town" feel. We had such a great time with the Welde's. We love running into friends while living out our adventure. Side note: Apparently, I was wearing the "Mets" colors (see the band on my hat).

Several Looper boats arrived at the City Marina in Ft. Pierce on Friday. We and Boat Name: Arabella (Capel & Karen) gathered up the loopers (those interested) for docktails. Capel grilled hotdogs and those attending brought snacks or appetizers.

Met Boat Name: C'est La Vie, Eric & Kathleen in Marathon, FL. They have a boat that is similar to ours. It was great to see them again! Side note: Eric is from France, they are a lovely couple! Did I mention they are also somewhat newly weds :-)

3/11 - Comedy show: Went with "Yachts of Fun" and "Arabella" to see L.A. Hardy. It was a fun night and the comedian was truly funny!

Wk 3 (March 12 - 18) in Ft. Pierce:

We had another great week and managed to do a few more things prior to traveling home to St. Louis for a planned visit. Side Note: Jonathan was on spring break and we had a few things we needed to take care of.

Sunday (3/12) we met Jane and Ron Morgan at the Cardinals spring training game in Jupiter. We also ran into the Welde's again :-). What a great place to spend the afternoon! @Ron & Jane - Thank you for making the long drive to have lunch and hang out with us! @Craig & Jen - so happy to see you a 2nd time (at the game).

The seats we purchased were in the sun. Jane and I didn't want to be in the direct sunlight so we found seats in a nearby shaded area. We ended up sitting by the mom and girlfriend of Blake Rutherford, outfield for the Washington Nationals.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blake_Rutherford

We enjoyed sitting with them, they were so excited to see B. Rutherford (in green circle) take the field in the 7 - 9 innings. They were secretly cheering under their breath for their #34. When I asked if they knew someone on the opposing team, they were proud to share their relationship. Unfortunately, their team did not win, Cardinals did though! Thus far, Joel and I have brought home 2 wins.

We returned from the Cardinals game and joined fellow loopers to celebrate a "wake crossing". Yes, Table Six crossed their wake and earned the Gold Looper flag here in Ft. Pierce. Boat Name: The Other Woman (Danny & Jenny) invited Loopers to meet in the Captain's Lounge for appetizers and docktails.

Side Note: Table Six is the couple (Tim & Debbie) in the green circle. Congrats on becoming GOLD!

Monday, 3/13: Bingo @ Sailfish, local brewery. We invited Boat Name: Dragon Fly (Steve & Jenny) to join us. They are both "retired" and newly weds :-). They are from Roswell, GA (my home state). We played about 12 rounds and unfortunately, our group did not win ANYTHING! All in all, we did have fun and enjoyed getting to know them.

Tuesday, 3/14 - We said goodbye to Boat Name: Arabella (Capal & Karen). They will make their way to Savannah over the next few weeks. We hope to meet up after Savannah and perhaps travel through New York / Canada together. Of course, this is a while away and a lot of planning to take place.

Side note: They are from Sandy Springs, GA. Karen is familiar with my home town, Villa Rica. Prior to her retirement, she worked for a company that had a site in Villa Rica.

Karen (from Arabella) made these beautiful party sticks. She gave me a set of 10 as a friendship gift. These will make a great conversation piece at the next docktail. Thank you Karen for the VERY thoughtful gift, they are so pretty it will be hard to use them... but I will.

Since we had a rental car, we ventured out from the marina. Drove thru St. Lucie and Jenson Beach areas (just a town away from Ft. Pierce). While in St. Lucie, we stopped for lunch at Archie's, a really cool and fun place in St. Lucie. The place reminded me a little of Soggy Dollar Bar, Willie T's and Cabbage Key (sharing this to provide an idea for those that have been to those locations... of course there are pictures below)!

Legend of Archie's: Established in 1947 as a one room military shack that served beer to male soldiers on South Beach. In 1990, Patty McGee leased Archie's kitchen from Archie Summerlin for $12 a week. The kitchen was very small with one refrigerator, no fryers and VERY few customers.

- If you look closely at the 3rd picture, you see money (mostly dollar bills) hanging from the ceiling and walls. Archie's has donated over a million dollars the past two decades to charities for homelessness, veterans, animals and children. I LOVE THIS!

On Wednesday (3/15), we had rain (liquid sunshine) and some cooler weather. We used the day to pack up and prepare the boat for a short St. Louis get away!

Thursday (3/16), we went back to Jupiter for our 3rd (and final) Cardinals Spring Training game against the Astros. It was a bit chilly and we did NOT bring home a win. We did run into some friends and blog followers, Dan & Peggy LaRocca (and their friend, Pat Burroughs). Thank you for following our journey. It was so fun to see you two, catch up and meet your friends, Mr. & Mrs. Steve Burroughs!

We sat with Terry & Amy Sanders from Branson. Amy and I chatted most of the game. It was nice sitting with Cardinal fans! Side note: Amy shared that her grandmother is 101 years old and still doing fairly well. Amy's grandmother grew up on a farm, must be that FARM LIVING that provided her grandmother such a great, healthy life.

March 17 - What a way to spend St. Pat's day (On a plane)! As mentioned above, went to St. Louis for a planned trip. We made it home to St. Louis and boy was it COLD, 30 degrees on 3/18. The weather is forecasted to be in the 50's during the week.

Wk 4 (March 19 - March 25) in St. Louis, returned to Ft. Pierce on March 24:

- Jonathan came home (watched a lot of basketball)

- Got in several needed appointments

- Visited with a few friends; however, didn't get to see as many as we would have liked

- Joel worked on taxes the bulk of the week (Grampy's, Jonathan & ours)

- Dinner w/ Jarvis & Heise's (after seeing Jonathan, this was another highlight of the week)!

As of now, we do not plan to come back to St. Louis until we "cross our wake," finish our trip in October 2023. With that said, of course, we can get home if we NEED to. One thing I have been anxious about is getting Jonathan moved home (from college) and back for his sophomore year. Saturday, 3/18 - I had lunch with Katie Gegg, she agreed to get him moved home this summer. THANK YOU, THANK YOU... KATIE! It was also fun to catch up. The Gegg's leave for a cruise on 3/20, so excited for them, a much needed trip.. HAVE FUN!

I wanted to ensure we spend as much time as possible with Grampy (Raymond) and Jonathan so I purchased groceries and cooked all week (except Monday). Grampy loved having some home cooked meals and spending time with all of us.

While in St. Louis......

Visited with Irina at the Salty Spa in Ballwin, MO. If you are in need of a spa day, check her place out. She has a lot to offer: PFEM mat, Infrared sauna, foot detox, Salt Cave (for allergies / asthma), and much more. Tell her I sent you!

https://www.stlsaltyspa.com

- When I am in town, I use the PFEM mat, oxygen bar and sauna, it really does help!

The day after St. Pat's, check out the cool decoration at the Salty Spa! This is Irina, just love her!

Also stopped by Golden Wok to see Diana, no pictures! In my opinion, the best Thai food in Ellisville. Of course, I didn't get my Thai fix while in St. Louis (Remember, I cooked all week to spend time with the family). If you are in the mood for Thai food, give them a try! You will find friendly service and GREAT food (all fresh, made to order). You can find their menu here:

https://www.facebook.com/goldenwok.mo?paipv=0&eav=AfazQz_nzgsZoqJQPqthUQff_YqI6UY01JHBqJifDmwzXn-4muGg2qcM4nec4Wngj-o&_rdr

Watched a lot of basketball, Arkansas beat KU.

We were surprised AND over the moon about the win! Arkansas lost to U Conn. We were surprised and happy UARK made it as far as they did considering how they played earlier in the season.

The rest of the week was much needed appointments and friend visits:

I had a scheduled dermatology appointment - Thank you Dr. P for taking care of me while I was in town. In addition, Joel and I caught up on our dental needs. Joel got a GREAT report; unfortunately for me, the dental work triggered my vertigo - ugh! Thanks to Kathy Jarvis, I think I am on the path to recovery. She suggested taking Zyrtec, which seemed to help.

- Jarvis' / Heise's & Joel feel the vertigo was initially triggered by the flight, atmosphere changes (hot / cold); regardless, day 4 in STL, I started feeling better! Thankful.

I felt well enough to have dinner at the Jarvis'. Denny and Kathy are the best HOST ever! They served Spiedini and salad. The Heise's came too and brought (made from scratch) a Red Velvet Cake. It was so nice to see everyone. We were able to catch up on the grand babies, recent trips and the loop! We also laughed.... A LOT.

Shortly after dinner, we received the best news EVER, tears of joy! A friend of ours had some health concerns, we think there is finally a solution to get better!

While in Eureka, was able to see Carol Richards at Grand Central Hair Design. I have not had a hair cut since Thanksgiving so you can imagine how desperate I was. Thanks Carol - you always make me pretty... I know what happens when I leave and style my own hair is on me :-)

On the other hand, Joel hasn't had a problem finding barbers to cut his hair. He has had several cuts since we left for the loop.

- Don't get me wrong, I am certain I could find someone to cut my hair. Fellow loopers get their hair cut / colored, etc. all of the time. I just don't make the time. I am a creature of habit and just love to see Carol. See below, isn't she a cutie!

Pre hair appt, had lunch with Jonathan. It was nice to have one on one time! He doesn't let me take too many pictures.

Found time to see a movie with Grampy and Jonathan. If you get a chance, check it out: "Champions" starring Woody Allen. It was a good, sweet movie! Grampy said he really enjoyed it. @Alain, from Breakaway, you would probably like this one too! You will know what I am talking about when you see it. Side note: You may not be able to tell; BUT, No one wanted their picture taken.

I got a massage! I had massages in Panama City and Key West, no one compares to Velvet! The best massage around (and she is local in Eureka). She is pretty booked; however, if you are in the need of a massage and want to reach out (314-403-5791). She's AMAZING! Thanks to Marisa Niezing for the referral.

Jonathan had plans for lunch on Thursday, so I was able to work in an unplanned lunch with these ladies. We had a lot to talk about. Thank you all for the laughs!

After dinner on Thursday, we were lucky and treated to a mini concert. Jonathan was the main headliner :-) He was great; however, we told him "he has to complete college". Besides, that will give him 3 more years to master his string plucking and singing craft - LOL. I think his stage name will be Jonny B. Grampy encouraged the craziness!

We returned from St. Louis on March 24 and plan to depart Ft. Pierce on Sunday, March 26th. Weather dependent, the plan for the remainder of month:

Coco Village (night of 26h)*

New Smyrna Beach Marina (night of 27th)

St. Augustine (night of 28th and 29th)

Jacksonville (night of 30, 31, April 1)*

Palatka (night of April 2nd and 3rd)*

*plan to see family :-)

Random Comments & Other Stuff:

Since pandemic and other various conflicts, it has been awhile since I have attended church in person. Fortunately, due to pandemic, my church: Chesterfield Presbyterian Church (CPC), has a live stream as well as recordings. One thing I had hoped was to attend church (in person) at least 1 Sunday per month. Unfortunately, finding local churches near by and timing of sermons is hard to plan.

If you struggle to get to your church and interested in hearing a sermon, check CPC out here. I am sure other (or your) churches provide similar services; but here's our link:

https://www.chespres.org/media/series/837xvkx/sunday-9am-worship

This is CRAZY but REAL:

We saw an actual "Peacock Crossing" sign. We would not have believed it, if we hadn't see it; but, there were actual peacock's crossing the road. Apparently, it must be a nesting area as there were several peacocks hanging out (I did not get a picture of the peacocks, just the crossing sign).

So long Ft. Pierce, will miss this place. So much to see and do.

Ft. Pierce History and Information:

- Located between Vero Beach and Stuart (Florida)

- Slogan: Sunrise City, sister city to the Sunset City (San Francisco)

- One of the oldest communities on the east coast

- 1838 - 1842 Fort and Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin K. Pierce commanded the troops at this fort

- Fort named after Lt. Benjamin Pierce (brother to President Pierce, 14th president)

- Incorporated in 1901, approx. 31 square miles and 45K residents to date

- A Spanish Treasure fleet sank in 1715 off the coast of Ft. Pierce

- To this day, Treasure can still be found; however, there are many rules and laws around finding these artifacts.

- Economic Drivers: Fishing / Pineapple growing & Cattle Ranches

Loopers in Ft. Pierce:

This (Ft. Pierce) has been a great place to meet other boaters. We met several new loopers as well as a few we have met at previous stops!

Arabella: Capel & Karen (from Georgia, near my hometown), neighbors at Rendezvous.

At Last: John & Jackie (from: n/a)

C'est La Vie: Eric & Kathleen (from: I think Carrabelle) they sold their house so they may be permanent boat residents.

Dancing with Lisa: Jim & Lisa (from Virginia):

- Started their loop in 2015 with all intentions to complete the loop; however, due to boating troubles, pandemic, etc. They had to regroup and re-plan their loop, will probably "re-start" when Lisa is officially retired.

Dragon Fly: Steve & Jennifer (from Georgia)

Gypsies Palace: Steve & Debbie (2017 Gold Loopers), they come to Ft. Pierce for a few months out of the year.

Kayak: John & Kim (from MI) - we go way back and taught them "Rocky Top" at Clifton Marina (when TN beat AL in football).

Legacy: Jim & Mary Walker (Gold Loopers), I think they live on their boat full time.

Moon Dance IV: John & Linda (from: n /a), one looper I didn't get to much information from.

Moon Shadow: Jim & Robin, we met when we started the loop on Day 2, at the Paris Landing (Tennessee) Rendezvous, was a boat neighbor.

Sojourn: Jack & Vickie (Gold Loopers, they are able to trailer their boat). If interested in their journey can follow them at https://sojourn.travelmap.net

Table Six: Tim & Debbie (from n/a): They crossed their wake here in Ft. Pierce. We met them at Aqua Yacht Marina (in Mississippi).

The Other Woman: Danny & Jenny (they charter out of the BVI's and have visited many of the same places we have been)

Volition: Emmon & Rhonda (and lets not forget Alfie, the looper dog, from Canada):

- Eamonn & Rhonda are not new to us, we met on Day 2 of the loop, at the Paris Landing (Tennessee) Rendezvous. They were in a slip, 2 or 3 boats down from us.

Water Witch: Jeff & Lori (from Maine) - we met them at the Rendezvous (6 mons ago), I knew they looked familiar. After talking for a few minutes we figured it out.

Yachts of Fun: Jeff & Sharon (from Ontario, Canada)

- My apologies if I left anyone out, it was not intentional.

Non-Loopers (but they should be with all the knowledge and experience):

Sarah Lynne: Captain, Robert Sprague & 1st mate, spouse: Eunice Sprague

- They are from Ontario, Canada. Captain Robert sails the majority of the time by himself; however, Eunice joins him frequently.

-Captain Robert has a website: https://sarahlynnesailing.com - check it out for more information about his trip. He has some cool video footage!

Not many people know about the loop and on average only 150 people complete the loop each year. In 2019, it is estimated that the 150+ held true to the statistic. In 2022, the number increased and was estimated to be 300+ boats scheduled to complete the loop. I wonder if this was due to the pandemic. The Loop Class of 2023 - is a record high. Apparently, 450+ Loopers are planning to complete the loop in 2023. We are part of the 2023 group :-).

Thank you, Cheryl Bauer for always checking in on Jonathan and getting pictures of him. I miss him and it does my heart good to see pics. I also like that Kylie is there to keep J company on the rides home!

Meanwhile, Joel and I are having a blast at the Cardinals spring training games, Jonathan is hanging out with fellow Arkansas friends/students (from Kirkwood) at the Arkansas baseball game.

Shout Outs:

3/17 - Thank you Craig Baggett for driving us home from the airport in STL.  You are a GREAT friend.  We OWE you!!!

3/20 - On this day, my dad was born.  It would have been his 87th birthday.  Oh how I miss him, his laugh, his humor and love for family.  I know he is celebrating BIG!

Jonathan's LA (language arts) essay assignment was selected to be used as a learning tool for  next semester students.  Congrats, Jonathan... so proud of you!

Cheryl Bauer - Thank you for the pics of Jonathan (in Arkansas) and being a "super stand in" mama.

We are 6 months into the loop!  We are still doing great, learning so much as we go! Joel is doing a fantastic job as Captain!  I am getting better about not letting nerves get the best of me when we dock. Shhhh.... Rumor has it, I may be promoted from 1st Mate to Admiral or thrown overboard (time will tell).