Fort Meyers Beach to Marco Island (230-232)

-

We had a lovely day to travel from Burnt Store to Fort Meyers Beach.
We passed the lighthouse on Sanibel Island that I remember from trips here with my parents years ago.
This was our first attempt at grabbing a mooring ball.
I’m proud to say I was able to get it on the first try which was no easy feat from the bow of our boat.  I had to lay down on my stomach and grab the leader line from the ball with a boat hook…then get back on my feet! The new knees don’t like that too much.
Our stern was really close to this sign which made us a little nervous as the boat swings on the ball with the changing tides.
Per our usual routine we went exploring by dinghy.  The Pink Shell Resort is behind us.  We were going to stay there but they had no room when I needed to change the reservation due to weather delays.
There are still many signs of Hurricane Ian here.  We ate dinner at the restaurant to the right of this poor cruiser that ended up on shore
This place is all fixed up and has live music.  We listened from the dinghy.
We had access to the dinghy dock for the mooring field were able to take a nice long walk on the beach.
This is the point going into Marco Island.  Mike had his eye on it as we passed as a potential kiteboarding spot.
We anchored in Smokehouse Bay. This was a well protected spot with a dingy dock right around the corer provided by the Winn Dixie Grocery Store.  That may be why there were so many loopers anchored in here. 
We had a small group of loopers we had met previously:Mark and Mel from Paradise and John and Kim from Wild Goose, on our boat for sunset happy hour.
And it did not disappoint!
The Moon wasn’t too happy from their either!
Mike did manage to find a great spot to kite board, back at the point.

This is an example of what they call a slick.  Mike had a great time and I was able to have some wonderful beach walking.
Our Journey
”The day is yours, and yours also the night; you established the sun and moon.“
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭74‬:‭16‬ ‭NIV‬‬









 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Down the Rivers We Go (Finally)Days 115-121

-
Image
  After leaving Chicago we went to fill up our diesel tanks at Hammond Marina before heading into the Calumet- Saganashkee Channel a.k.a Cal-Sag.  Unfortunately the starboard engine would not start after filling up and we limped up the Channel with just one engine to our first stop at Marine Services.  We thought we might end up staying for a few days unless Mike could work his magic on the engine.  Turns out after we ordered a new starter, Mike decided to use a hammer on it and it worked.  In fact it has worked ever since.  We left without the new starter but the “Looper Express” has it just a few days behind us. We left Marine Services on the Calumet River before the sun was up with a small flotilla that Mike was leading to the Joliet wall. Although this was in the middle of Chicagoland, we did manage to find some beauty.  Most surprising were the three deer swimming across the river. There were several of these surprisingly pretty parks with waterfalls that turned out to be the Chic
Read more

Sandestin Resort Florida (Days 162-210)

-
Image
  Here we are at the Marina Grill at the Baytowne Marina for what we believe will be a 6 week rest. Along the way we were accompanied by numerous dolphins as we are discovering, they love to surf in our wake. I did not get the best video because the Blue Angles surprised us coming out of formation right above the boat.  I grabbed my camera and caught them making their final approach.  They had been out of town and were just returning to Pensacola Naval Air Station. As soon as we arrived at the marina, Mike rinsed the boat with fresh water given several days with it in the salt air. To our delight, the marina had our golf cart waiting for us at the dock. Unfortunately, it was much colder there than we thought it would be. Some Looper friends, Jaleen and Hunter, from Catniss joined us for one night, but left early for an unexpected weather window to cross the Gulf. For Thanksgiving we took the golf cart to the beach and walked along the gulf to the Surf Hut.  It was cold and I thought it
Read more

Mighty Mississippi (Days 125-128)

-
Image
As we left Grafton we noticed a lot of color change. There were beautiful cliffs and although the day’s cruise was short it was Gorgeous. We filled with fuel and water as we staged for a long stretch with no marina services at Alton Marina. I was able to take a long walk on the levee and Mike changed the oil. In the morning, the lock-master at the Mel-Price Lock and Dam had us wait for the fog to lift.   But after we got the word everyone was quick to respond and we still made it through before 8:30. Our next and final Lock on the Mississippi River was the Chain of Rocks Lock and Dam.  We’ve heard of many boaters who miss this turn even with the big sign.  If they go the other way there are strong currents at…Rocks.  Fortunately I do NOT have pictures. The big event of the day was passing in front of the Gateway Arches in St. Louis.   We were traveling with our mini flotilla from flotilla 4 and traded photos. The Mississippi River is a busy super highway for barges.  These folks work h
Read more