Another vacation-like day. Sunny and warm; humid with a light breeze. The weasels have been predicting temps into the mid-90s along the coast, but they have been missing it by a bit - the high today here on the coast was only 85º... with a "feels like" temp in the low 90s.
Armed with that info, we decided to get out and about early. First on the agenda: some scooting about and breakfast at Pier 19, with a view of the water. With this being the opening day of the holiday weekend, the crowds will be pouring into the area - we knew this might be the last time in a while that we won't have to wait for a table at our favorite restaurants. And, for more perspective, the Motel 6 on SPI posts their room rate (starting prices) on their sign; for the past month, it has been in the $30 to $35 range... this morning, it was $89.
I decided to take the PCX today, leaving the Vespa behind. They really are very different... but I enjoy each of them. The Hondas...
The pretty views at Pier 19...
Good food and a nice way to start the day. Back to the scoots...
We rode around on the island, taking in the tropical vibe. Before heading for home, Joan asked, "Would you like to take the boat out when we get back - before it gets too hot?"
"Absolutely - shall we take Rufus? It's been a while since he's been out on the boat." Agreed. Well, we didn't ask Rufus's opinion.
Back home, I got the boat ready, we put Rufus in his harness, and headed out...
"Are you happy to be along, Ruf?"
Could be a smile, could be a scream!
The water is beautiful this morning...
It wasn't as hot as the weasels said, but the sun was intense - nice to have a bimini for the shade. We keep some towels on the boat; this one is called a "hand towel," but today it is a foot towel: covering Joan's bare feet...
There were small fishing boats running around; we kept our speed down for Rufus. He did fine when I started the boat, but no point in adding to his stress. When we got to the ship channel - our first view of a dorsal fin...
Not scads of them, but enough for a nice viewing...
A couple fishing boats blew by and the dolphins ducked out of sight. Looking around, we saw some ruckus on the water...
Not dolphins, it was a bait ball - and that brought a couple more fishing boats close by...
Waiting for the dolphins to re-surface, we watched some pelicans flying and diving...
We saw a couple dolphins pop up further up the channel, so we headed that direction, away from the fishing boats. Dolphins galore!
Swimming all around the boat...
Rufus had been meowing before we saw the dolphins - I can't say that his voice attracted them, but when they were close to the boat, he laid down under the helm station...
On with the show...
Looking down the channel, we saw this "armada" coming our direction...
It turned out to be a bunch of jet-skis and a small(ish) sport fisher...
They were far enough to the other side of the channel that it didn't chase away the dolphins...
When we were about to call it a wrap, even more dolphins came to the party...
Too many to get an accurate count - just the way I like it...
OK, this time we are heading for home - some good-bye tail waves...
We motored our way back around the west side of our island, heading for the canals. This Great Blue Heron was hanging out alone...
Rufus got some snuggle time with Joan...
I tried to get him to drive the boat so I could have some snuggle time with Joan. Nope.
This shot of Rufus checking out the views in the canal is a bit soft - I was kinda busy driving...
He waited for us to get the boat tied off, then casually stepped off the boat and onto the dock. "Yeah, I'm a boat cat."
I cleaned up the boat and met them back in the house - we were home around 1:00... yeah, we got our activities in for the day. Rufus said, "I'm bushed - you people wear me out!"
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