27th March- Sunset on the Gulf of Mexico

Hey! Its still me, Jean-Luc, but today I will be writing my blog in English because we had the privilege to be invited by our dear friends, Barbara and Will Duguay to go on their boat to admire the fantastic sunset on the Gulf of Mexico in Venice. Barbara is on your right of the picture and Captain Will is the one with the white shirt. Our friends and neighbors Gisèle and George, our cousins Lucie and André were also on board.

We got on the boat directly from their house because they are situated on a little canal that opens on Hatchett Creek and started our trip towards the Gulf.

I do a lot of cycling in the area but to have a view from the water is quite different and with this trip we will have the chance to see the backyards of some of the nicest homes in Venice and we might even see Charlie (who is Charlie?).

When I cycle with André, we go over the bridge but tonight we went under. After a few minutes, we passed in front of the very nice mobile home park where Lucie and André have their winter quarters. It is very different to see it from Hatchett Creek. For an instant we taught we were on the Canal du Midi in France with a house boat and 2 couples enjoying what it seemed a very nice evening meal.

We left Hatchett Creek to enter Roberts Bay and started to see some of the bigger homes in the area. Just to give you an idea of the prices surrounding the shore line, on the second picture above , you see a mobile home on the left. The owners are asking 240,000$ for the home and Captain Will told us that you have to put another 50,000$ because it needs renovating and the land is big as an handkerchief. Si imagine the next ones…

When leaving Roberts Bay and entering for a short time Dona Bay, there is a small island that the locals call Butts Bay (l’île aux fesses), its funny a lot of islands are called that name so I guess Mr Butts travelled a lot and gave is name to many islands. When I was a small kid and living in Laval, Quebec, there was also a Butt Island on Rivière-des-Prairies and one on the other side on Rivière-des- Mille Iles. A couple decided to try out this little gem and pass the night doing you know what…

We will be now entering Blackburn Bay and trying to meet up with Charlie who lives near the bridge on Albee road that crosses the Intracoastal Waterway to get to Casey Key where you find two very nice beaches, Nokomis Beach and North Jetty Beach; it is also on Casey Key that are built some of the biggest and richest properties in Sarasota County (I made a blog on Casey Key a short time ago when I cycled it from South to North and back). So is Charlie in the area tonight…

Yes he is; great opportunity and much emotions from the people on board to have the chance to see him up close and personnal.

It was a great thrill to meet Charlie but we still had business to attend to, our Captain Will pushed the motor a bit so that we could enter the Gulf of Mexico between North and South Jetties and have a good look at the fantastic sunset. There was even a crowd on both sides to admire the sun entering the water. When we left the calm waters of Blackburn Bay to emerge on the Gulf, there was waves 3 to 4 feet high and Marie who was in front of the boat said to herself: “Boy, I hope that sun is going to come down fast” but our Captain brought us in calmer waters and we stayed until the bright orange globe disappeared in the Gulf.

Thank you Barb and Will for a wonderful night, it was just amazing , a great souvenir. As my cousin Lucie says, “what a way to finish our stay in Venice “.