Day 6 but really Day 1

 We've been gone from our dock since Saturday, but we felt like today was our REAL first day of the Great Loop. We started early and stayed in the Gulf until the Venice Inlet. Then we took the ICW to Englewood Beach where we dropped the hook at a small anchorage. We did a total of over 70 miles and the boat ran great. John was happy to be a Captain and put his maintenance hat away for the day.  On the way, we saw dolphin; a stingray leap out of the water and do a back flip; a huge manatee eating...or mating ; a strange squid-like thing; and rustic, untouched, natural Florida landscape. You forget how beautiful our state is - it's more than Tyrone Mall and a gazillion subdivisions and condos. Even though we have thousands of dollars worth of navigation equipment, I learned the necessity of charts and how to read them. I also learned you need really really good eyes to read them. Even with my "bionic eyes", I had to use a magnifying glass. The weather is gorgeous - a magnificent, refreshing breeze is coming off the beach which is a stone's throw away.  Jack had a tough day at first, but as you can see he recovered and kicked me out of my chair. It was a good sixth, first day!