EVERGLADES, MARCO ISLAND AND NAPLES

He Said:  Hello from sunny-most-of-the-time Florida.  Wow, sometimes I think if it wasn’t for my little notes I keep I wouldn’t know where to start my blog.  It has been awhile since we last posted so here we go.  We were still in Marathon on our last blog.  We spent almost 7 weeks there and really enjoyed it.  As mentioned, we had guests and wonderful weather - pretty tuff to beat in the middle of the winter.

We finally left Burdines Marina in Marathon for our trip heading north on Tuesday the 5^th of March - hell yes I had to look it up.  I also had to look up where I ate lunch yesterday.  (Pat is getting tired of me putting the blame on the big Heart Attack, but what the hell.)  We spent our first nite in Shark River - about 50 miles of open water from Marathon. What a gr8 place.  We anchored out with very few neighbors, ate fish on the grill, and swatted these little pain in the ass rascals called no see um bugs.  Other than the bug dudes we had a terrific nite.

Sunset - Everglades, Little Shark River
 

 

We left Shark River for about a 6 hour trip to Marco Island. We have been to Marco before but never to the marina area.  It was very cool and very walkable for us without wheels.  My brother, Jim, and his wife, Claudia, greeted us there.  They have a condo up the road in Naples and spend their winters in Florida, why not??  The following 5 days we spent with them in both Marco and Naples – cocktails, sunsets and fun times.




 

Claudia & Jim

Our first Naples sunset.

On Sunday we moved the boat from Marco Island to Naples.  We had my good friends, Tim and Pam Wild, here from Seattle so they made the trip with us on the boat along with Jim and Claudia.  It was a good time.  It was nice having friends and family on the boat especially while traveling.  (Believe it or not, Pat and I get a little tired of looking at each other.  Hard to believe, isn’t it?)  

Tim & Pam

The happy couple on Naples Beach

Once in Naples the company kept rolling in. We had our good friends Jeanne, Joel, and their son Ryan in town for 5 days. Those of you who know Jeanne can figure out that there was not a dull moment while she was there.  She could turn anything into a blast.  Thanks for coming to visit us, it really meant a lot.

Pat, Jack, Claudia, Jim, Tim, Pam, Joel, Jeanne & Ryan

Another beautiful sunset.  The beach is crowded at night watching.

Along with those guys, Tim and Pam, my brother and his wife, we also had visits from Pat’s great friends from Chicago, Ken and Debi. They also spend their winters in Naples, just like my brother.  It was great hanging at their condo and catching up on too many margaritas.  Did I forget to mention that Ken and Debi’s daughter, son-in-law, and 3 grandkids also hung with us?  We took them on a nice little boat ride in Naples.  The 3 little ones had a blast and could not have been better behaved.

I think I forgot to mention that our friends (we met them thru Lance and Amy) also spent the day with us.  We had a blast with Claire and Dale; they live part of the year in Bonita Springs and the rest in good old Rocky Point, Mexico.  We had a gr8 time on the boat and at Happy Hour.  As we all grow a little older and you can’t figure out how to get in shape, call Claire.  She does yoga on a paddleboard. 

Lunch at The Old Naples Pub with Claire & Dale

Naples is very, very much like Scottsdale - a beautiful downtown, shops, galleries, restaurants.  There are lots of junky cars like Rolls Royce, Ferrari, Bentleys, and Maseratis.  (These cars are so bad ass I am not certain if I can even spell them correctly.)  Our plans are to roll out of here in the next few days and head to Ft. Myers Beach.  It’s supposed to be rocking with the spring breakers - a bit different from Naples.

We have enjoyed all parts of Florida.  The Golf Coast is certainly different than the Atlantic side.  We have enjoyed both.

The pelican population was unbelievable.  Here are a few aboard our dinghy

 

The fishing is great!  One of the reasons for the pelicans.

Coming up shortly will be our 10 month anniversary of boat life.  Oh what a ride!

Take Care, Jack    

She Said:  While in Marathon we didn’t post a blog because we were living a very laidback life and didn’t have much to report.  Since leaving Marathon we haven’t posted a blog because we haven’t had a free minute to write an update.  It has been crazy busy with friends and family.  We are having a great time!

 

Our last few days in Marathon were a whirlwind.  We got together one last time with boating friends.  Later, our marina neighbors threw us a going away party – it was so much fun.  Even the marina cat, Buddy, got in on the celebration.  Our last three nights in Marathon Buddy decided to make MTB home.  He curled up on our patio couch.  He’s been known to stow-away, so we made sure he was ashore before we set sail.

 

We had great weather for our cruise from Marathon to Little Shark Creek in the Everglades.  We lost phone/internet service about an hour after leaving Marathon and didn’t pick it up again until about 2 hours before Marco Island.  It was a long, pleasant, uneventful day.  When we arrived at Little Shark Creek there were already 2 sailboats anchored.  Two power boats anchored after we arrived.  It was calm and peaceful.  As we were watching the sun set, those @#$%# no see ums came out.  They are so annoying.  We went inside to get away from them.  Just after sunset the breeze picked up and the no see ums were a thing of the past.  We had a nice dinner outside and made it an early night.

 

Little Shark River - Everglades

 

We were up early the next morning and the no see ums were back.  I was having a problem getting the anchor up – the motor seemed to be struggling – and the no see ums were being pesty.  Jack came out to help me and the no see ums swarmed him.  He was wearing a white shirt and it looked like someone threw coffee grounds on him.  The no see ums stayed with a good hour after we were under way.  I hate those things! 

It was another great day on the water.  It was a long trip to Marco Island – about 60 miles/7 hours.  Jack’s brother and sister-in-law, Jim and Claudia, met us upon arrival in Marco and our two-plus weeks of madness began.  J&C took us on a tour of Marco Island and then we had happy hour and dinner on the gulf watching the sunset.  It was a beautiful evening.  We spent the night at Jim and Claudia’s place in Naples.  We planned to spend the next night back on MTB, but there were tornado warnings and it was pouring rain, so we decided to stay at Jim and Claudia’s again.  We enjoyed our time with J&C – they were so helpful and made our stay in Naples that much more enjoyable. 

 

Our first sight of civilization - Marco Island

Sunset from MTB

 

Our friends from Seattle, Tim and Pam, arrived on day 3 in Marco for a 4 night stay.  This was Tim’s third time visiting us on MTB and Pam’s first.  Tim & Pam are boaters so they’re easy guests to have onboard.  Tim usually finds a project or two while he’s onboard, but this time it was nothing but fun! 

We had a first time experience while in Marco.  We traveled from Marco Island to Naples with passengers.  It was another great cruising day and the waterway into Naples was lined with big boats and bigger houses.  We’re told that 1/3 of all U.S. billionaires own property in Naples, and they occupy these homes about 18% of the time.  Unbelieveable!

Here we are at the helm as we travel with our first guests

 

We found our marina and pulled MTB into our narrow slip bow first.  The finger piers were so short that we weren’t able to get on and off MTB, so we had to turn her around and dock stern in.  Captain Jack did a great job.  The slip was so small that even the dockmaster shouted over to us, “Need a shoe horn?”  In fact, the local boaters hanging out on the dock were overheard saying, “That guy knows how to drive a boat.”  We’ve come a long way, baby.

The sun setting off the Naples Pier

 

The next day our old neighbors – Joel, Jeanne and Ryan – arrived.  They stayed at the Cove Inn which is adjacent to our marina.  The 9 of us (including all of the above) had a cocktail party on MTB before heading to the beach to watch the sunset.   The cocktail served onboard was the “Meant To Be.”  We’ve been on a mission to create our own “boat drink” and with Joel’s help we finally accomplished it.  What a fabulous night!

 

Our biggest group of visitors enjoying happy hour on the beach in Naples

Cocktail party on MTB.  Enjoying our special rum drink - The Meant To Be

 

 

While J, J & R were in town we took the $5-all-day water taxi to lunch, got some sun on the beach, went for a boat ride aboard MTB, did some shopping, hung out at the pool, and had the most fabulous shrimp cocktail!  We had an action packed visit, and we loved every minute of it!

 

One beach with Jeanne, Ryan & Joel - before they got sunburned

Enjoying the pool at the Cove Inn

 

Dinner at the Dockside Restaurant - great shrimp cocktail!

 

The day Joel, Jeanne and Ryan left, my longtime friends from Chicago, Ken & Debi, with their friends Jim & Kathy, came aboard MTB for yet another cocktail party.  (We’re finally getting pretty good at hosting people aboard MTB.)  During our last week in Naples, Ken & Debi were great hosts.  We had dinner with them a couple nights.  They also hosted a dinner party for us (including an overnight stay) and took us “provision” shopping.  Their daughter, son-in-law, and 3 grandkids joined us for a boat ride on our last day in town.  Four of the five had never seen the ocean before, so it was really fun to take them on their first trip to the ocean/gulf. 

Debi, Ken & family.  The kids saw their first dolphins!

We thought our last two days in Naples were going to be quiet – wrong!  Jack got together one last time with his brother to watch Ohio State play in the first round of March Madness.  (I always like when he goes off to watch a sporting event, because I get a little peace and quiet.)  Jack arrived back at MTB along with Jim, Claudia and friends from Ohio.  Another cocktail party on MTB!  The next day we connected up with friends from Rocky Point, Clara & Dale, for lunch, a little sightseeing, a boat ride and our final happy hour at the Waterfront Restaurant. 

 

Dale, Clara & Jack

 

We had a fantastic time in Naples.  We’re off to Ft. Myers Beach where we will connect up with Jack’s nephew, Todd, and his family.  More to come.
 

p.s.  Russ & Jen, we’d love to see you aboard MTB.  We’re here for another 2 months!
 

p.p.s.  Thanks to all my photographers at large.  You guys do a much better job of taking photos than I do!

MARATHON AND KEY WEST, FL

He Said:  It’s been a while.  Since our last blog we have had 2 sets of company.  Back on Feb. 5 Pat’s folks came into town from Las Vegas.  We had a terrific 5 days here in Marathon and then headed to Key West on the $1.50 bargain bus.  We spent 1 nite in KW and the following day they jumped on a plane to Miami then on to Vegas.  We took off later that same day and headed back to the boat arriving at the marina at about 7:30 in the evening.  We had a great time while they were here in Florida.  They spent a total of 7 days here and the weatherman was very nice to us. Our days would land in the low 80’s and our lows in the low 70’s.  It’s very tuff to beat the Southern Florida weather in the winter.

Pat's mom & dad Mallory Square, Key West

Our Key West home - The Douglas House.  A great place to stay right off Duval Street

In the middle of February we decided to extend our stay and not leave until the end of the month. We really enjoy it here -  the weather and the people have been great.  Our plan was to depart on Sat. March 1 but the weather has decided to take a change and cool down along with some winds.  So we have once again extended our leave until the 4^th of March.  The weather should be much calmer by then.  Our trip to Marco Island is about 100 miles in the open water, so we need back to back calm days.  We will travel about 50 or so miles in the ocean and hopefully not run into bad weather along with those big waves that we don’t much care for.

Marathon Sunset

Over all our stay here has been fun but not a ton of stuff to report.  We are ending up our 6^th week here and when we are in the marina  stuff is not always changing.  Having said that, this past Saturday we were very pleasantly surprised when my nephew Chad and his wife Amada paid us a surprise visit. Along with them dropping in, we got to meet my almost brand new great niece, Michel Belt.  She is 15 months old and cute as a Belt should be.  How’s that!  Having 4 adults and a little rascal on the boat was certainly different but certainly fun.  The 5 of us traveled in the dinghy one day and took their rental car down to Key West.  Key West is where Chad proposed to Amada - sort of cool.  They headed back this past Sunday to Naples where my older brother Jim and his wife spend their winters.  (Jim is Chad’s dad.)  I believe they really enjoyed Southern Florida, and we enjoyed having them here.  Living in Cincinnati, Ohio, as they have for years, makes Florida look pretty sweet this time of the year.

Chad, Amanda & Michel Belt on Mallory Square, Key West

We have been living our lives pretty normal here, eating in, taking our walks, doing boat stuff, watching the Olympics, and just being normal.  The next 3 to 4 months we will be in the SW part of Florida.  We will start in Marco Island/Naples and travel north as far as Tampa/St. Pete.  Sorry I don’t have all that much to talk about.  Hopefully as we get back to doing more traveling, we will also have more to report - new waters, new places, new cities, and just plan new shit going on.  

Happy Hour view from Sunset Grill, Marathon

For our friends and families who have joined us here in Florida we can’t thank you enough.  For those of you who are heading to the mainland of Florida to visit us in the following few months we also thank you for thinking of us.  We have a pretty good idea of our future months in Florida so for any of our friends who are considering a trip out here give us a call, we would love to see you.  We did just celebrate our 9 month anniversary of boat living.   It’s been a blast.  We will keep you posted on our future plans.  

Take Care, Captain Jack

Our home for 7 weeks in Marathon

She Said:  We’ve been in Marathon for almost 7 weeks and it’s finally time to move on.  As expected, we quickly settled in and we lived a pretty normal life – and we’ve really enjoyed it.  In many ways, Marathon reminds me of Rocky Point.  It’s very low key, not action packed, and very comfortable.

 

The highlight of last few weeks has been our visitors.  First was my mom and dad’s visit.  Their trip started with a 5 hour delay out of Vegas.  As a result they misconnected with their shuttle from Miami to Marathon and finally arrived here around midnight – about 16 hours after they left home!  My mom and dad had a boat in Wisconsin for 30 years and have traveled in a motorhome for over 40 years so they had a pretty good idea of what it would be like aboard MTB for a week.  And at 80 years old, they did a great job getting on and off MTB (even at high tide) and up and down the narrow, steep steps.  They even got on and off the dinghy!  Their trip ended with a four hour delay due to severe storms in Miami.  They were real troopers!  Then we had a surprise visit from Jack’s nephew and family – Chad, Amanda and 15 month old Michel.  They were visiting Naples and made the four hour drive here to spend two days with us.  We didn’t have a lifejacket on board small enough for Michel, but once we got one we were off on the dinghy headed for the swimming pool.  That night we fixed up a bed for Michel in the V-berth, then the adults had pizza and a nice visit on the “back porch.”  Key West was on the agenda for both groups, and it was a fun trip each time.  Looking back on the two visits, it’s amazing how similar the challenges were with a 15 month old

and an 80 year old!

 

Pat's mom & dad on the porch at our hotel in Key West

 

Michel Belt - what a cutie!

 

Other than having visitors, life has been pretty normal.  There are lots of happy hours - most ending at 6:00pm - so we get an early start on the evening.  Most happy hours have fantastic deals on shrimp and chicken wings.  If Jack had his way, I think we’d have shrimp and chicken wings ever day – and believe me, we had more than our share!  There’s not much in the way of nightlife – most places close around 10:00pm – so we’re in early and we saw a lot of the Olympics.  There’s a lot of live music – mostly one or two guys playing background music.  Overall, very enjoyable.

 

We’ve had great food.  It probably goes without saying, but we’ve had a lot of fresh seafood – both in restaurants and on MTB.  One of the local fish is hogfish – it’s very mild and tasty.  There are lots of different groupers, tuna and dolphin.  Currently in season and popular with the locals is stone crab.  When the stone crab is trapped and harvested, one claw is broken off and the stone crab is returned to the water.  Amazingly, the claw grows back.  The local shrimp is called Key West Pink and they’re pretty darn good.  I even got Jack to try sushi and amazingly he liked it.  We’ve also had a lot of Cuban food – and it’s all been very good.  We especially like the pork.

 

Bloody Mary at Dockside - a slider, cheese, pepperoni, olives and veggies.  It's a meal

Our days are varied.  We’ve used the dinghy quite a bit during the day – always getting home before the sun goes down.  The harbor is large and our dinghy isn’t equipped for long, night travels.  We’ve been to the beach a few times – it’s about a 30 minute trip; the pool at Sunset Grille – about a 15 minute trip; and numerous tiki bars.  One Sunday a bunch of us made a day of dinghying to various waterfront happy hours.  As proud as we are of not grounding Meant To Be, we can’t take the same pride with the dinghy.  We’ve found the bottom of the harbor more times than I care to admit.  We’ve never gotten stuck, but we have churned up our fair share of sand.  Let’s hope that’s our extent of running aground.

 


Sunday Funday at Sunset Grille.  Spent many an afternoon at this pool.

We walk most days – it’s 2.5 miles to the main part of town with lots of possible stops along the way.  I’ve gone to an art show, a craft show, and a rug hooking class.  We even played bingo at the American Legion and went to the annual Pig Races.  Jack and I joined our friend John for a round of golf at the local par 3 course.  We made 4 trips to Key West – it takes about an hour and a half to get there on the bus.  A really fun day was spent at the Dolphin Research Center.  It’s the original home of Flipper and the site of the 1963 moving and subsequent TV series.  This isn’t a big SeaWorld-type of place, but more of an intimate, up-close view into the world and training of dolphins.  It was a very, very fun and interesting day.

 

Chickens roam the streets of Key West.  This one was at Caroline's Restaurant

Dolphin Research Center in Marathon.  Jumping and twisting - what a great day.

The pig races.  It was silly fun.

 

There are always projects to do on the boat.  With our technical abilities we have to hire people to do some of the chores.  We had a diver replace some of our zincs.  Zincs are big metal discs on the bottom of the boat that absorb electrical charges so the electricity doesn’t eat away at the props.  Electrical current in water comes from a variety of sources – mostly lightning and electrical current in marinas.  It’s another one of those things that I never knew to think about.  We also had to have our water pressure pump replaced. 

 

We have run into so many people that we met along the ICW on our way down here.  It’s fun to trade stories of our favorite areas and adventures.  We’ve also gotten a lot of good ideas of places to visit as we head up the west coast of Florida.  We look forward to running into many of these people in the next two months.

Marathon sunset from our dinghy

It’s a toss up for my least favorite thing while here.  It’s either the no see ums or the humidity.  The no see ums come out around dusk, especially if there’s no breeze, and are just plain annoying.  Then there’s the humidity.  I just can’t seem to get use to it.  The temperature has been great; it’s just that darn humidity that keeps a great day from being perfect.  The best thing I experienced while here was cruising in the dinghy alongside dolphins.  We were out in the harbor when we came upon about 15-20 dolphins playing.  They were jumping out of the water, slapping the water with their tails, swimming under the dinghy, rolling on their sides as they swam along side us, and just generally entertaining us.  They were so close I could reach out and touch their dorsal fins.

This dolphin picture is from the Dolphin Research Center, but it reminds me of the day the dolphins played with us

 As we’re quickly approaching our departure from Marathon we’re busy re-visiting favorite places and getting around to places we haven’t made it to yet.  Mentally I’ve struggled between the excitement of visiting new places and worrying about getting underway.  The trip from Marathon to Marco Island is a particularly challenging one – the charts are weird, we won’t see land for part of the trip, and our first night out we won’t have phone/internet.  I’ve been watching the weather and we’ve got a good two-day window.  I’ve got all of my waypoints entered into the GPS and I’ve studied the charts so we’re ready to go.  Once we’re underway, we’ll settle in and enjoy the great day on the water.

We’ve got a busy March planned.  We are excited about all of our friends and family who will be visiting over the next two months. 

 

Our last Marathon sunset