Picture success !!

Thanks to Darin and Pam's techie skills, we discovered why the pictures weren't uploading.  We learned that Blogspot users now have to use Chrome to blog if they want to upload pictures.  It appears to be a conspiracy by Google to get us all to switch over to Chrome as our browser, rather than Internet Explorer. Good news is ... problem solved.  So rather than rewrite the previous blog, just gonna post pics and captions here.  This is a floating bait shop on the Caloosahatchee River just outside Fort Meyers.

In Fort Meyers Beach, and here in Marathon, we are on a mooring ball.  Picking up the ball can be a challenge ... Susan shows her technique while Cheryl looks on.

I've likely posted this pic before, but this is the Fort Meyers Beach pirate boat ... for the tourists.

Trico Shrimp Company nestled among the shrimp boat fleet.  Excellent gulf shrimp.

And here is the shrimp fleet.  

The homes on the Naples waterways are spectacular.  Note the "boat garage" on the right side of the first one.

 In Everglades City, this is the interior of the Rod and Gun Club.

 This is the exterior.  They don't open until 11:30, but the porch was open, so we took our own morning coffee up and enjoyed it on the porch.

This is the museum, where we learned how Everglades City was developed as a planned community to house the workers who built the Tamiami Highway, a massive undertaking that connected Tampa and Miami built in the early 1900's.  

 We are having a great time with Pam and Darin and they are enjoying the cruisers lifestyle.

report from Marathon

Hello, dear blog readers,
We have made it to Boot Key Harbor in Marathon, FL, in the "middle keys".  I am unable to upload my photos from Fort Meyers to here into the blog at this time.  Not sure what to do next, so I am going to write a brief narrative, just to get something down, and hope we can resolve the issue soon. 

From Fort Meyers, we went to Fort Meyers Beach and scored a mooring ball.  We had a mini Minnesota reunion at Bonita Bills, meeting up with Kay and Bob, neighbor Paul, and Dean and Missy.  Bought 5 pounds of shrimp at $14/pound at Trico Seafood, nestled among the shrimping fleet. 

Next stop was the Naples City Dock, where we had not stopped before, a lovely and very upscale city, we wandered about, went to a great Farmers Market and had some good pizza.  From there we tried to take the old Naples-Marco ICW back channel, but after running around twice, decided there was just too much shoaling, the tide was too low, so we came out and went to Marco Island on the outside.  Calm seas, it was a good cruise, but we still prefer the ICW routes to the open water, just more to look at.  At Marco Island, we anchored in a small back bay, where there was a dinghy dock at the Winn Dixie (nice!) ...

We were traveling with Once Upon a Time, their guests had left at Naples, and by this time we were all sick with a wicked "cold" or "flu" or whatever.  But travel we must, so on we went to Everglades City.  This little community is less than an hour from Naples, but when you go there by boat, it feels like you are in the middle of nowhere.  We wanted to visit the Rod and Gun Club, a historic inn on the water, so we spent the night at their dock.  Overpriced, the shower had no light, no TP, no paper towels.  In the early morning the fishing boats went out with no regard for their wakes, bouncing us off the pilings.  But we saw the Club and toured the museum. 

From there, boats traveling to the Keys almost all stop at the Little Shark River, one of our favorites, in the middle of the Everglades, very remote.  The next day, we crossed Florida Bay and came into Marathon.  There was a waiting list of 20 to get on a mooring ball, so we are anchored adjacent to the mooring field and are now #11 on the list.  We've been out a bit with Susan and Brent, but we are all still recovering our health.  Today our niece, Pam and her husband Darin are arriving to stay with us for a week.  It's been cloudy, but today the blue skies returned.  As always, stay well.

to Fort Myers

The social life at Fort Pierce continued.  We had dinner on our boat with Jim and Gloria, who we spent time with last winter in the Bahamas, and Susan and Brent. 

 

We went caroling one evening on the docks, I lip sinc'd and played my toy tambourine from the Dollar Tree and Steve opted out altogether, but it was fun.  We had a quiet Christmas Eve with Susan and Brent and their visiting friends, Bob and Lynette.  Susan and I organized a pot luck Christmas Brunch, which was delicious and well attended by about 35.

 

Our plans were to leave on 12/28, but when Steve went to fire up our engine, we got nothing.  A bad starter was the diagnosis.  He pulled the 60 pound beast out and began researching replacement/rebuilding options. 

I just set the beer bottle next to it to illustrate how big it is, but must admit, after wrestling that thing out of the engine room, Steve did drink the well deserved beer.  After having no luck finding one at the typical places, he brought it up to Tim at Florida Marine Diesel about 2 blocks from the marina.  It's the kinda place that looks like a complete mess with piles of stuff every where, but when you go in and ask "do you have one of these thingamajigs", Tim walks over to the thingamajig pile and pulls out exactly the right one.  So he got us one, added the new starter to the old nose piece on ours and Steve put it in.  We were just three days behind our friends and booked across the Okechobee waterway to Fort Myers (150+miles and 5 locks) in three days.

 

We giggle about the way the lock chambers are filled  and emptied.  No fancy pumps here, the lock master just opens the door a foot or so in the direction they want the water to flow and lets it rip. Here it is raising us up. 

We fueled up at American Custom Yacht where diesel was a remarkable $2.71 a gallon, cheaper that it was when we did our Great Loop.  New Years Eve was a quiet night for us at Indiantown Marina.

 

We love seeing the Cypress trees with Spanish moss drapped over the branches....

 

 

... and the occasional air boat. 

 

 

 

The marinas in Fort Myers are all full with the annual Gold Looper Reunion coming up in a couple of weeks.  So we joined Once Upon a Time,

 

Quimby,

 

 

 and new friends, George and Mary, from Green Bay, on Beach Quest

 

in a great anchorage just across the main channel from downtown.  The Fort Myers Yacht Basin (aka City Marina) has 6 mooring balls in the anchorage and there is room for many more boats to anchor.  We have use of their dinghy dock, just blocks from the vibrant downtown and Publix.  The mooring balls are only good for boats less than 22,000 pounds and even the humble Shingebiss, the smallest boat in our little fleet, is bigger than that.  The solar panels have been very efficient in meeting our electrical needs and it's great to not listen to the generator run first thing in the morning and last thing at night. 

 

The last few days have been a whirlwind of shopping, social hours, dinners, and dining out.  We had lunch with Tom and Diann, who we looped with, great to see them.  The weather has been stellar with near record highs and it feels great to be out of the marina bobbing on anchor.

 

Our plans are to head to Fort Myers Beach with Brent and Susan, Once Uupon a Time ... unfortunately, it's their turn to have boat problems and they are awaiting a part to be delivered tomorrow.  If it fixes the problem, we'll be outa here.  Meanwhile, a relaxing day aboard, maybe town later.