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!