He Said: Howdy.
It has been a while, but wow does time fly when you are having fun. First of all I want to thank all of our
friends and family who went the extra mile to come visit us. It is a little tricky to leave the boat and
visit you guys, so thanks again.
We
departed Naples on Saturday, March 22 and headed
to Ft. Myers Beach.
Due to the location of the waterway we
decided on FMB instead of Ft.
Myers. We spent the following 5 days there and
enjoyed it very much. At times, this is
long enough when you are our age and about 80% of the people are there on
spring break. What a big ass party in
the beachy areas - it was like Ft.
Lauderdale and other
areas that us older folks visited for spring break, lots happening!
 |
| Sunset on busy Ft. Myers Beach |
While we
were in FMB we timed it so we could spend time with my nephew Todd Belt and his
wife Katie. They have 2 children and
rented a cottage in Sanibel for a week during the kids’ spring break. From the cottage to the boat was no great
distance, but lots of spring break traffic heading for the beaches. After our stay at FMB we moved the boat to
Sanibel. This is a very cool little laid
back town. The cottage was about a 5 minute walk to the beach - very cool. We
had a blast hanging with them; it was Todd’s third trip visiting us, Katie’s
second, and the kids’ first. On Friday
we kept my great niece Anna (9) and my great nephew Jake (13). They both stayed on the boat with us and we
all had a wonderful time. We had a great time.
 |
| Jack bringing Todd, Katie, Jake and Anna out to MTB on the mooring ball |
On
Tuesday April Fools Days we left the area and headed to Cabbage Key. We anchored out and headed into the little
peaceful marina that evening for dinner. Rumor has it that Mr. Buffett wrote “Cheeseburger
in Paradise” while visiting here. It was very cool and very laid back. You could only get here by boat which made it
even cooler.
 |
| Sunset set on Cabbage Key |
The
following morning we pulled the anchor and headed to Punta Gorda. We enjoyed
this area very much and spent 2 nites here. The marina had bike rentals for free. We like jumping on 2 wheels and visiting the
town. It was a very cool area. We found a great Mexican joint and some fun
happy hours - what a surprise.
 |
| Partying at the Tiki Bar in Punta Gorda as the sun sets |
On Friday
the 4th we left and headed to Cape Haze.
The following day we headed to Venice. This is a place that our good friend Tim Wild
told us not to miss - he was right. We biked into town. That evening one of us had to get to the
local bar for the Final 4. I am so happy
that I do not bet on college hoop or I would be flat broke. What a surprise evening that was.
 |
| We took the dinghy to this little island in Venice. Close enough to swim there, but it's illegal to swim across the GIWW |
 |
| Checking out the sunset before dinner and the NCAA basketball games |
On Sunday
the 6th we departed for Sarasota
where we spent our first nite on a mooring ball. It was a very windy and bumpy nite. The Florida
weather has spoiled us but our nite on the ball was a reminder of the older
days of getting tossed around a little. The following day we moved into Marina Jacks -
how cool is that name?? Our good friends
from the Cave Creek area are going to visit us here in Sarasota. Mark and Kathy will meet us here and spend
about 3 days here with us - this will be determined by the weather man. Then the 4 of us will travel about 4 hours to
St. Pete where they will stay with us for a couple of days before heading back
to Arizona. This will give them a chance to see 2
different cities and also see what it is like to travel with us. We are very much looking forward to their stay
with us. They get the whole boat world;
Kathy has spent her whole life around boats and together they have owned a 24
ft. boat and have traveled to lots of the waters in the SW part of the country.
 |
| Sarasota sunset |
I think
this is about a 3 week wrap up of our world according to Jack. We are still having a blast after about 10 ½
months - still floating, still speaking, still alive. How’s that!!
Take
Care, Sorta Captain Jack
She Said: I thought things were going to quiet down
when we left Naples,
boy was I wrong!
There’s no inside/ICW route from Naples to Ft Myers Beach,
so we hopped out into the ocean for the 35 mile trip. We’ve been in the ocean since leaving Marathon. The
ocean/gulf is typically rougher water than the ICW and we’ve been fortunate to
have good water conditions while at sea.
We arrived early afternoon, grabbed our mooring ball, and headed into
town to explore.
Ft Myers Beach (FMB) is very
different than Naples. The average age is much younger and
everything is much more casual and more “touristy.” People walk up and down the streets in
nothing but their bathing suits. Most of
the shops are the T-shirt and beach variety.
Naples
may have a bit highbrow for my liking, but FMB was too laidback for me. We did find a fun dive bar, Bonita Bill’s,
filled with old people (even older than us) having a great time. The place was packed and everyone was
dancing. As we were boarding the dinghy
to return to MTB, a homeless-looking man with a hospital bracelet and a sling
asked if we could take him to his boat in the mooring field – we obliged. He was directing us to his boat and directed
us right into a shoal and the dinghy hit bottom – hard. I had to get out of the dingy and pull her
off the shoal – we were back underway.
 |
| Ft Myers Beach sunset from the mooring field in FMB |
Jack's nephew, Todd, and his family
were spending spring break in a cottage on Sanibel Island,
about 5 miles from FMB by boat. This was
Todd’s 3rd trip to MTB and Katie’s 2nd. It was the first time for their kids, Jake-13
and Anna-9. We caught up with them our
second day in town. They shuttled back
and forth between Sanibel and FMB; we eventually moved to a marina on Sanibel
and that made things so much more convenient.
Together we went to the beach, looked for seashells, went shopping, had
our nails done, cooked in, took a boat ride, ate out, took the kids dinghy
driving, and watched college basketball – to name a few of our activities. We especially enjoyed the night we “babysat”
Jake and Anna overnight on MTB. We made
burgers on board and then went out for ice cream. In the morning – after the marina delivered
the newspaper and blueberry muffins (the marina’s tradition) – we saw 3
manatees and several dolphins. We hopped
in the dinghy and went cruising with the dolphins. It was a fun week – a nice combination of
activities and kicking back. We always have fun with Todd and family.
 |
| Three manatees swimming off the stern of MTB |
Sanibel is a cute town - a nice mix
of both Naples
and FMB. Sanibel’s population is
typically 5,000, but while we were there the population jumped to approximately
50,000. It was crazy busy – especially
since there’s one main street that transits the 7 mile island. It’s a fun place with lots of sea shells,
beaches and bike trails.
 |
| The Sanibel lighthouse |
When the gang left, we headed back
to FMB and a mooring ball for a couple nights.
We needed to get provisions and Jack wanted to find a sports bar to
watch more basketball. It also gave me
time to plan our upcoming week. We were
meeting friends in Sarasota
– 77 miles away – and we had 7 days to make the trip. The Gulf IntraCoastal Water Way (GIWW) starts
just outside FMB so we’ll be back in protected waters.
Our first stop was Cabbage Key – a
small island only accessible by boat. We
dropped our anchor and spent a very pleasant afternoon hanging out on MTB. The weather was great and the water absolutely
beautiful. It was an ideal day living on
the water. Later in the day we took the
dinghy to the Old House Restaurant on Cabbage Key. The walls of the restaurant are lined with
dollar bills – approximately $70,000.
Visiting tarpon fishermen are said to have posted signed dollar bills on
the walls to ensure a cold beer upon their return. Dollar bills that fall off the wall are donated
to local charities. Some people believe
that the burger served here was the inspiration for Jimmy Buffet’s song
“Cheeseburger in Paradise.” I’m not sure I believe it, but they do have
Jimmy’s signed dollar bill framed.
 |
| The entrance to Cabbage Key |
 |
I've never seen so many dollar bills in one place
|
 |
| Jimmy Buffett's signed $$$ bill |
Pulling up the anchor the next
morning was a real challenge. The motor
just didn’t have any power, so we ended up pulling up the anchor manually. What a pain in the neck! After about 15 minutes we were underway. Our next destination was Punta Gorda – a 20+
mile detour off the GIWW. Punta Gorda
has a 40+ ball mooring field, and we were the only boat there. These balls are rarely used and that made
hooking up to them very challenging because the lines are overgrown with algae
and barnacles. The lines were so heavy I
had a hard time lifting the line. I
eventually got in the dinghy, rowed to a ball, and lifted the line into the
dinghy (I could finally lift the line of the 5th ball). Jack drove MTB to the dinghy and dropped a
line to me. I then threaded the line
onto the mooring ball. What a
challenge! But it was well worth it,
because Punta Gorda is a great destination.
 |
| Check out the growth on this mooring line. |
We found a couple of cute Tiki Bars
on the water with great happy hours.
These places were hopping with live music and people dancing. Everyone was very friendly and having
fun. We found a great Mexican
restaurant, Dean’s, which had live music.
We ate there our first night in town and went back the next night to
listen to the music. On our final night
we had an excellent stuffer grouper dinner at The Riverfront Grill. We met a couple at the bar and had a “small
world” experience: She and I worked in
the travel field in Chicago and knew a lot of
the same people; he taught high school in Columbus
and knew a lot of the same people as Jack.
We really enjoyed Punta Gorda, and would strongly recommend the detour.
 |
| The Tiki Bar on the Peace River, Punta Gorda |
 |
| Punta Gorda sunset from MTB |
Our next stop was Cape Haze
– this was more of a convenience stop than a destination stop. We’d been anchored/on the ball for the better
part of two weeks and I needed a marina.
Here we had cheap dockage, cheap fuel, a laundry, and a pool – it was a
very nice marina. We got caught up on
everything and I would stay here again.
 |
| Jack cleaning algae off MTB |
We continued northward the next day
to Venice. What a great setting. The marina was right at the junction of the
GIWW and an inlet. The water was really
pretty and there were lots of boating activities. The town was about a mile away, but the
marina had bicycles and it was an easy ride.
The town was very cute and there were lots of restaurants and
shops. This is definitely a place to
spend a week.
 |
| This is the inlet from the Gulf to the GIWW as seen from MTB |
I have really enjoyed the west coast
of Florida. The water is pretty and the towns are cute
and fun. There are also a lot of areas
where it’s nice to drop an anchor and just hang out. I am looking forward to spending more time in
this area.
It was a short trip the next day to Sarasota. It was pretty windy and we had a reservation
on a mooring ball. It wasn’t my best
effort tying up to the ball – it took me 3 tries to get on. But I think I learned something, so better
luck next time. We were right in the
heart of Sarasota. Our friends from Phoenix, Mark and Kathy, will be joining us
here for 5 days. We’re really looking
forward to their visit.
