The Marina is located in the town of Indian Rocks Beach.

We got settled in, the car was delivered, and the forward Air Conditioner decided it had worked long enough, and it quit.  I immediately diagnosed the problem as a failed water circulation pump, and set about finding a replacement. The Boat/US store is about 6 miles away. They had the replacement in stock.

After almost three weeks without Internet, I decided to try the wireless modem. Miraculously it worked as soon as it was plugged in. The signal strength here is better than I had in Seabrook. Once connected I had to wade through 147 Emails. That took over an hour of download time.  It sure is great being back on line.

The family rented three multi-bedroom condominiums on the beach in Redington. That's about 4 miles south of where we are staying.  The family reunion is tied together by the three sisters in the senior generation. It adds the nephews and nieces and their children in the next two generations down the pecking order.

Here is the complete roster...the three sisters and spouses:
    Marion Herndon and Ed
    Ginny Brackett and Tom
    Linda Hyatt and Roy

The nephews, nieces and their children:
    Randy Divalerio and Paula, + Karen, Pam and Mark
    Mike and Dianne Kurish,  + Matt and Mellisa
    Walt and Laura Kurish, + Wally
    Robert and Connie Kurish,  + Alex and Tim
    Lorrie Kobetish and Jim,  + Billy
    Cheryl Schultz and Michael,  + Emily

Missing due to distance, but remembered nonetheless:
    Phillip Divalerio and Ingrid + Elsa and Maija --- In Norway.
    Lisa Austin and Duncan + Ethan --- In Northern California.

Most of the week was spent doing beach stuff.  Every morning at first light, there was Mandatory Sea Shell Scavenging.  This exercise was led by Lorrie and had a mixed following of hangers on, depending on how late we were up the previous night.

There were a few organized events that deserve special mention.
 
 

Busch Gardens A group was formed from the younger generation to go to Busch Gardens. I got to go because they needed a senior tour guide.  I had been there two years ago and was experienced.  Also, I could be counted on to take pictures of other people having fun. Here is the group before the first ride. >>>>>>>>

We got to ride on the Gwazi after only a ten minute wait.  Gwazi is a brand new wooden coaster. Its a double coaster... that means two separate tracks and two trains leave the station at the same time. The tracks are intertwined on almost mirror image courses. The trains pass each other three times during the ride. Closing speed is around 100 MPH.  Its a THRILL FROM START TO FINISH! Karen and I took the back seat and rode the whole way with our hands over our heads.  It was Pam's first ever coaster ride. Now she has been on one of the best.

Busch Gardens is a combination zoo and amusement park. There are wonderful exhibits of birds, perhaps the most outstanding feature. The Bird Show featured aerobatic stunts by parrots, falcons, owls, and even buzzards.

There is a caged area where you can go in and feed the Lories.  They are so tame they will rest, and feed, perched on your hand, or even on your hat.
 
 

The Childrens plaground is one of my favorites. It has rope net walkways suspended three stories above the ground. They bounce you about, as you try to cross over them between the towers. After lunch the weather warmed enough that we were ready to get wet on the Flume ride.  <<<<<  This is the Big Wave Ride. Here we are getting wet. The bird on my hat did not like it, and flew off after the picture was taken.

 

As the afternoon wore down, we decided to take the train around to the front of the park for a ride on Montu.  Here are Pam and Karen on the train.  They are looking at the train they are riding.  How did they do that?

Dinner at Salt Rock.

Thanksgiving was a real treat. Salt Rock is one of the finest restaurants in the area. Cheryl had arranged for us to have the whole "Cigar Room Bar" reserved for the family. The food was Outstanding! The chef used pecans in much of the dinner preparations. They were incorporated into the salad, the turkey dressing and into the desserts. It was a superb touch.

The family had time to visit  before dinner over cocktails, and while we were awaiting dessert and coffee. There was a pair of TV sets so the Maimi fans could watch their team go down in defeat to Dallas. A grand time was had by all and we retired to the condo's for frozen Orange Delights.

Cruise to Shell Island.

It took two days for the party to regroup. Some had been with their parents in other cities for Thanksgiving. They arrived on Friday and we all went to Hullabaloo for dinner.

Saturday morning the DiValerios headed for Texas and the rest of us piled aboard Remedy for an excursion to Shell Island.

Shell Island is an uninhabited island just south of Pass-a-Grille, the Southern end of the Gulf Beach island group. People come by boat and either anchor out or just drive right into the sandy shore. (That's for shallow draft boats.)  Its a laid back place where you can sun, swim, or just walk the beach and search for shells.

The wind was out of the North and there was an uncomfortable quartering sea on the way down. We were anchored in unprotected waters so it was a bit rocky. We got everyone ashore as quickly as we could.
 

Lorrie made it to shore on the first dinghy trip and immediately found five sand dollars.  She managed to return on the last trip as well, collecting shells to the last minute. I found an unusual shell... A sand dollar partly encrusted with barnacles. >>>>>>> Shell Island has a lot of the same features that made Redfish Island in Galveston Bay a wonderful boating destination.  Plus a great sandy beach.  We Want Redfish Back!!!

On the way back from Shell Island we took the Intracoastal Waterway.  The water is clear and blue near Pass-a-Grille.
 

We were met by a pod of dolphins that swam alongside the boat and played in the wake. Several times they leaped out of the water. Tim  Kurish had his camera ready and got several good shots.  This is a photo composite of four of his pictures.