January 9, Day 198 – In Clearwater

We woke up this morning to a cold rain and temperatures in the 30’s. We had planned to drive to Sarasota to the Farmer’s Market, but driving an hour and a half to walk around in the wet and cold didn’t sound like much fun so decided to bag that. While the weather is a cold inconvenience for us, it is serious for the citrus and fishing industry and for many of the animals and marine life in the area. There have been some reports of iguanas falling out of trees to the ground. They prefer temperatures in the 80s and 90s so with temperatures around 35 degrees, a handful of lifeless lizards hung from branches and fell to the ground. They weren't dead however, just in a type of hibernation. The weather is even causing some delays at the airports because they are not equipped with deicing equipment and so they have been parking the planes on the runways hoping the sun will melt the ice that is accumulating on the wings (of course today there is no sun).

We did a few chores this morning and then around noon headed for Tampa Bay. We went for dinner and a movie. Dinner was at an Italian restaurant named Maggiano’s Little Italy and then we saw the Sherlock Holmes movie. Back at the boat we watched NFL playoff games for a while and then off to bed. It is clear tonight so we imagine it will get pretty cold.