Lollipop arrived at Fort Pierce City Marina with gusts of 30 mph winds, making for stressful docking. Once docked and situated, Lollipop’s crew goes in search of dinner. While at dinner, some thunderstorms roll into Fort Pierce. We waited in the Ice Cream shop below the restaurant after dinner for a break in the rain. (Waited with a scoop of ice cream, of course.) We had a break in the shower, and we started to walk to Lollipop. We had no rain gear with us, so we were hurrying along. Mother nature laughed and brought another downpour on us. We ducked into a restaurant and waited while watching the radar on our phones. Finally, we just had to go for it and walk back to Lollipop in the rain. We learned a lesson about taking raincoats and umbrellas, just in case.
The next day we got the bikes down and rode to the nearest CVS to get refills. We had a nice 2-mile ride along the waterfront and then turned inland to the A1A highway. We had to ride on the sidewalk of the five-lane A1A highway to get to CVS. After CVS, we went to the 2nd Street Bistro for lunch on our bikes.
After lunch, we visited the Manatee Observation and Education Center beside our marina. For a $2 entry fee, you can learn about the Florida Manatee and the efforts that Florida is doing to protect these animals. They have a lagoon area that borders the marina that manatees visit in the afternoons. So, we watched for manatees from the docks later in the day. From the pier, we were about 6 feet away from two manatees.
That evening we enjoyed visiting with Hal and Laurie from Gemini, another Great Harbour 37. On the way back from our visit, we spotted a large school of fish feeding right next to the wall. After watching the fish, the captain and I had a wonderful dinner ourselves.
Due to a scheduling problem with the next marina, we extended our stay at Fort Pierce. Saturday, there was a farmers market in the park next to the marina, which Deb enjoyed while Tom rode his bike to get parts for a boat repair. I also saw another manatee in the marina behind some docked boats.
Later in the day, I helped the captain with a boat repair. It took two trips with the bike for him to get the parts to make the repair. I’m sure he will do a project post later detailing the repair.
Saturday was also a big blow day for weather. Gusts of wind up to 30 mph, which is why we wanted to stay in a marina instead of anchoring.
Sunday, we walked to Captain’s Gallery and had breakfast for lunch. Then, we decided to get in some steps and walked to the St. Lucie County Aquarium. We had to walk across the Tom Staed Memorial Bridge. Our total steps for Sunday were over 15,000.
Monday, we used our bikes to explore more around us. We rode to Publix and, on the way, crossed over a bridge. Tom stopped me and showed me a mother and baby manatee under the bridge. Just a few feet from the bridge were a herd of more manatees. On the way back from Publix, we stopped at Crocadillos Bar and Grill for lunch. That evening we were invited to docktails and dinner and visited with eight other looper boats.
On Tuesday, we spent the day riding bikes and walking around Ft. Pierce. Another Great Harbour GH37 Sadie Belle, came into the marina. We enjoyed visiting with Bruce and Kate and their two golden retrievers. We toured each other’s boats and compared notes.
Tomorrow we are on the move. We’ll anchor Wednesday night and arrive at Cocoa Village Marina Thursday.
And a great time had by all!