All Kinds of Sea Creatures

Day 263  |  Punta Gorda to Pelican Bay  |  3.4 Hours  |  21 Miles  

Back to paradise we went. The generator was running like a champ with the new fuel pump so we had no hesitations about returning to the great anchorage we were in prior to our mechanical set-back. So back down the Peace River and across Charlotte Harbor we went before turning south into Pelican Bay. We cleaned up a bit and realized we've accumulated a nice little pile of shells and driftwood in the last few days. Barry prepped a few holes for patching. As the third owners of Crossroads, we inherited a few holes and have removed old equipment to expose more holes. It was a perfect day to get this project checked off the list.

With the projects complete, it was time to lower the dinghy and head back to the Pelican Bay beach. Today I was surprised to find what I believe to be purple sea urchins. These were nowhere to be seen two days ago, but easily spotted today by identifying mounding clumps of shells in thigh-deep water. I gently scooped up the mound and flipped it over to examine the mouth of the urchin, then softly returned the mound to the sea floor. There were a few starfish today, but nowhere close to the numbers on our first visit.

I was awe-struck at how the tiny little fingers attracted shells to form a protective armor. The little arms swayed back and forth. Another new treat today was the Jack Russell Terrier that was having a great time splashing around in the surf. While I walked up and down the beach, Barry was guarding the dinghy and anchor in my new beach chair. Looks like he found it to be pretty comfortable.

The unexpected moment of the day was discovering this shell, flipping it over to see it was occupied, then watching the bigger than expected crab emerge to check me out. He quickly convinced me to return him to the water. By 4:30 we packed everything up and returned to Crossroads. The cloudless sky did not produce much of a sunset, but these two sailboats on a still bay were a nice scene to end the day.

Tomorrow we will go back to Cayo Costa State Park, make our way over to the Gulf beach, and enjoy our final day in this paradise.