Friday 8/15/14 Pelican Bay

Five days into our future, and we are thoroughly enjoying our days in Pelican Bay. It feels like we are a world away when anchored in this tranquil setting. Other than the occasional passing boat, the backdrop of sounds are made up of the wind whistling through the bay, the calls of osprey and sea gulls, interspersed with the splashing of pelicans diving for fish, the gentle splash of dolphins and the sound of their breathing through their blow holes, and the crackling sound of a school of bait fish suddenly changing direction. The sound of distant thunder sometimes breaks in among the other sounds. I sit here, right now, on the front deck listening.

Dolphins hate to have their pictures taken.

Today was a lazy day. We had a succession of thunder storms rumble through our area with gusty winds (which inflicted damage on my tarp over the bow deck), lightning and thunder. We ate and played card games most of the day while watching the wildlife feeding and playing in the bay. (We won’t mention that Cindy won both games. Shhh!) I also did 2-3 hours of studying for my emergency medicine board recertification exam coming up on September 9th. This is an every-10-year exam required to maintain board certification. I’ve been squeezing in and hour or two of studying when I can.

Storms Rolling In!

In the afternoon, I also did a little kayaking on my own. Our kayak can be set up for 1 or 2 person kayaking. I paddled along the shoreline all the way over into the small bay/lake in which we saw the alligator a few days before. But, no alligator this time… or manatees, for that matter. The trip back was against the wind and current, insuring that I was exhausted and wobbly upon return to Beatitude.

A little upper body workout.

After watching parts 3 and 4 of John Adams, we retired to bed relatively early so that we may get an early start tomorrow.

Brilliant Sunset!