Weekend Reflections: Beaches are open!

So happy the beaches are finally open!

These two pictures of Madeira Beach were taken on a nice summer day in July when we took a walk on the beach to see the turtle nests.

A walk on Madeira Beach in July

to see the turtle nest

This next picture was taken a few days after Hurricane Helene passed through. Not only were homes flooded, the storm surge had pushed an incredible amount of sand onto homes, hotel parking lots and over to the streets! For weeks, the county worked on shoveling, cleaning and sifting those sand before  moving them back to the beach.

All that sand sat in the beach parking lot at Madeira Beach

Last week, I was in the St Pete area, and drove along Gulf Blvd, from the southern end at Pass-A-Grille Beach to the northern end at Belleair. I was saddened to see the widespread devastation and the erosion of the area's pride and joy - the beautiful beaches along the Gulf of Mexico.

map of the Pinellas County beaches

Stuff from flooded homes lined the street at Passe-A-Grille

Three weeks after the duo hurricanes, I was walking the neighborhood in Belleair and was shocked to see several boats sunken or grounded on the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) at the Belleair Causeway Boat Ramp. Guess what is the boat name? 

Did the captain try to run here from Hurricane Milton?

And the boat name is ... drum roll ,,,  Ain't Right. No kidding!

A couple days ago, we took a walk on Indian Rocks beach. This is one of our favorite beaches; it's closest to us and there are lots of parking spaces. Look what the hurricanes have done to it.

Part of the boardwalk to beach was blown apart

Rebuilding continues

Shorebirds are happy

Indian Rocks Beach in July.

Many beaches are opened except for Sunset Beach (Treasure Island),  Madeira Beach, and many county beaches and state parks. Click here to find out the current conditions of the gulf beaches.

The sun is shining. The beaches are being re-nourished and beautified. Businesses are re-opening. Y'all come visit!

This post is shared on Skywatch Friday and Through My Lens.

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Weekend Reflections: Hurricane Helene

Hurricane Helene, a category 4 storm, unleashed its fury Thursday, causing significant damages. It made landfall near Perry, Florida late that night, leaving tremendous destruction in its wake. The Florida Gulf coast - Bradenton, Longboat Key, Anna Maria, the Tampa Bay area, Cedar Key, Steinhatchee - bear the brunt of it. This morning reports are coming in with pictures of historic flooding and landslides in the foothills of TN and NC. It is heartbreaking to see so much devastation. CNN mentioned that at least 45 people were killed across five states. You can read more here.

To add insult to injury, many beaches and homes were rebuilt just last year! Storm surges are the scariest, as you can see in these videos below. The first is of Cedar Key, the second on Steinhatchee. We never stopped at Steinhatchee, but many cruisers, especially those who do the Great Loop, stop there as they cruise from Mobile Bay to Florida.

Just last week we were in the Florida Panhandle and had driven to Apalachicola for lunch, stopping at Mexico Beach. Hurricane Michael, a category 5 storm, had devastated the area back in 2018. We were happy to see the rebuilding of the small town coming together nicely. Beaches were restored with the planting of sea oats to protect the dunes from future storms and erosion.

At Apalachicola, we ambled around town to find many businesses closed, likely due to Covid. Our favorite place, The Seafood Grill, is now a different restaurant. We settled for Hole in the Wall where we had fabulous fried oysters and shrimp.

Fried oysters and hush puppies

Our next stop was St George Island State Park. Dr Beach selected this beach to be number 1 beach in America last year, and we are not surprised. Miles of undeveloped beaches with fine white sand beckoned us to swim in the inviting warm waters of the Gulf. A yellow flag was flying indicating medium hazard; the slight breeze felt wonderful. Visions of the Cape Cod National Seashore danced in my mind when I saw the wind swept dunes.

Sand dunes

Nice facilities with restrooms, showers and pavilions for picnics

Cape St George Light

During our vacation in Panama City Beach, we ate at a popular restaurant called Schooners, a popular spot to watch and celebrate the sunset. When we turned onto the street where Schooners is located, this was what greeted us.

Shocking is an understatement. OMG, what happened here? We later learned that it was a tornado's doing. Which is even scarier because you never know where it's going to hit.

View from the beach

Schooners

No doubt lives have been changed. We pray people are safe and hope for the best.

This post is shared on Skywatch Friday Through My Lens and Art Journal Journey.

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Hiking Little Lougheed, Kananaskis, Alberta

Please welcome J.M., my guest blogger for this post. J.M. is my brother, and he lives in Calgary, Canada. Recently he discovered hiking, and got some stunning photos of the Canadian Rockies. He's happy to share them here with us. Enjoy! 

After living in Calgary for 21 years, I am only now discovering the grandeur of the Canadian Rockies. I love Lake Louise and Banff National Park, and have visited countless times. They are literally in my backyard, as Banff is just over an hour's drive from my house. But hiking the trails on these majestic mountains is a game changer. I've been bitten by the mountain bug. It is so peaceful and awe inspiring. I appreciate Mother Nature and my surroundings so much more. I am thankful to live in such a beautiful area.

I'd like to give a big shout out to my buddy Mike for taking me under his wings on these awesome mountain hikes. Since mid-February, I've hiked with him every other Sunday.. This is my 10th hike. Initially, we were going to hike Tent Ridge Horseshoe, but did not because there was still a lot of snow on this ridge. I was bummed, but Mike said “Little Lougheed will not disappoint you J.M.” 

That was an understatement. The view at the summit was absolutely breathtaking!

Stunning vista of Spray Lake

These jaw-dropping vistas were our reward for our short but strenous climb. We spent two hours at the summit, reflecting and soaking in the spectacular sceneries of Spray Lake and the surrounding mountains. All that workout and sweat was so worth it.

I was ecstatic! 

Me and my buddy Mike

Little Lougheed Trail is a short trail with a lot of hard climb and loose rocks toward the summit. The length is 5 km or 3.11 miles out-and-back. From the car parking lot to the summit, it took us 2 hours on the ascend, 1.5 hours on the descent. Five and a half hours well-spent and almost 1,600 calories burned, I'd say that's an awesome workout.

What are your thoughts? Was Mike right on the money about Little Lougheed?

This post is shared on Skywatch Friday, Through My Lens and image-in-ing

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Boating and Hiking in the fall

Recently relatives and friends in New England posted some stunning pictures of fall foliage. It is Columbus Day weekend, the peak of foliage season there. Here in Tennessee, we haven't seen any traces of fall colors yet. Our temperatures dipped to the low 50s last week. Since then, we've enjoyed an entire week of almost perfect fall weather - mid 50s in the morning and at night, low 80s during the day.

Family visiting this week lucked out on the beautiful weather. We hiked, boated and kayaked. Even swam one day! We did a couple of sunset dinner cruises, and one day tied up to the free docks at Shellmound Recreation Area, not far from the Nickajack Dam. There's a boat ramp and an RV campground here too. The water was so calm and peaceful we got a nice reflection of the boat.

Mai Thai at Shellmound Recreation Area

Time to head back to the marina

It's been four years since we last hiked picturesque Lula Lake on Lookout Mountain, Georgia. It's open to the public the first and last weekend of the month, only now you need to make a reservation and pay a fee of $15 plus tax per car. This time we made it down to the bottom of the 120 foot Lula Falls. A tad strenuous down the rocky path, but the adventurous will appreciate the challenge. Great for both kids and adults to burn off some energy!

The mist from the falls was invigorating

Next day, we hiked Fiery Gizzard trail in Tracy City. We used to frequent Foster Falls, but found this trail to be easier and more relaxing. We'd bring our lunch and eat on the rocks listening to the sound of the rushing creek.

We look forward to seeing some nice fall colors in the next few weeks. Have a great weekend, y'all!

This post is shared on Weekend Reflection, Skywatch Friday and My Corner of the World.

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A day in the life of a liveaboard, part 7

It's only mid-November, and Thanksgiving is not until next week, but old man winter is showing up a little early for the party. With temperatures in the low 30s and 40s F the last several days, baking is the perfect solution to keep the boat warm. I was craving for some homemade cookies and muffins anyway. My go-to muffin recipe is from an old issue of Cook's Illustrated Magazine. I've baked from other recipes, but this one is a keeper (recipe below).

Orange Poppy Seed muffins

After five consecutive days of cold and dreary weather, the sun finally came out today. With a high of 58 F this afternoon, we seized the opportunity to kayak across the river to see some of the last traces of fall colors.

Kayaking across the river (Hales Bar Marina in the background)

This is it. Most leaves were gone.

Avid fisherman Mark is out no matter what the weather. 

Back on the boat, we enjoyed an afternoon snack of muffins with green tea.

muffins with green tea

Master Recipe for Basic Muffins [print recipe]

Cook's Illustrated Magazine, Feb 1997

Serves: 12 muffins

Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
10 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
1 cup minus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1½ cups plain low-fat yogurt
Vegetable cooking spray or additional unsalted butter for muffin tins

1. Adjust oven rack to lower middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl; set aside.

2 Beat butter and sugar with electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in one-half of dry ingredients. Beat in one-third of yogurt. Beat in remaining dry ingredients in two batches, alternating with yogurt, until incorporated.

3. Spray twelve-cup muffin tin with vegetable cooking spray or coat lightly with butter. Use large ice cream scoop to divide batter evenly among the cups. Bake until muffins are golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Set on wire rack to cool slightly, about 5 minutes. Remove muffins from tin and serve warm.

For Lemon Poppy Seed

Follow Master Recipe for Basic Muffins, adding 3 tablespoons poppy seed to dry ingredients and 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest to butter-sugar mixture. While muffins are baking, heat ¼ cup granulated sugar and ¼ cup lemon juice in small saucepan, until sugar dissolves and mixture forms light syrup, 3 to 4 minutes. Brush warm syrup over warm muffins and serve

Cook's Note: I used orange, and I halved the recipe because I have a small convection oven.

Have a great Thanksgiving, y'all!

This post is shared on Weekend Reflections, Through My Lens and Our World Tuesday.

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