With Christmas holidays over and having had a chance to get Salty all fixed up for the New Year, we left the calmness of Aquamarine Palm Harbor and entered what is the boating equivalent of a busy freeway full of Sunday drivers. Literally, dozens of boats speeding down the Intracoastal Waterway made it a challenge to merge into traffic with boats of all sizes and jet skis buzzing and waking us on all sides. It was a short 6-mile trip, and the weather was gloriously sunny and warm.

The heavily-trafficked Intracoastal Waterway on a sunny Sunday afternoon.

We proceeded south from Cape Haze in the channel and passed under the Boca Grande Causeway, then turned sharply right before the inoperative railroad bridge, built for the phosphate industry that flourished on the island until the 1970's. The channel into Uncle Henry's marina was anything but straightforward, but luckily for us and other boaters, the harbor master stands guard in his office three stories up at the main building and directs the boats in with detailed instructions. The marina had great cement docks and was very protected from wind and weather. We had contemplated staying at the very busy, very loud and very wakey Boca Grande Marina, further south - right outside Miller's Dockside Restaurant, but glad we ended up here in tranquility.

Uncle Henry's Marina, with a view from the Harbor Master's office.

Gasparilla Island (the town on it is Boca Grande) became the site of a fashionable resort for Tampa and wealthy New England families in the early 20th century - with a number of residences being built along with the grand Gasparilla Inn with its associated golf course. The old railroad bed was acquired by the Boca Grande residents and is now used as a bike/golf cart path the length of the island. We biked the 8 miles roundtrip to the downtown Boca Grande once or twice daily while here. The town is famous for its fishing, white sandy beaches and its picturesque downtown.

The bike path to downtown Boca Grande; the old Charlotte Harbor & Northern Railway Depot; Banyon Street

Gasparilla Inn; Gilchrist Avenue street scenes.

On New Year's Eve, we rode our bikes to the Gasparilla Inn for dinner in the main dining room - there was surprisingly only one dinner seating which was 'over' by 9:30pm - no ringing in the New Year there. There were some fireworks here and there throughout the evening. Roy's mom came down from the Rotonda for lunch at the Pink Elephant on New Year's Day.

Gasparilla Inn by night; Main Dining room on New Year's Eve; Lunch at The Pink Elephant

This visit to Gasparilla was a great relaxing way to bring in the New Year. Happy New Year!