This winter season here in Florida has been really nice: warm, mostly sunny with calm winds & little rain. Last year, it was much windier and cooler. Cruising has been great-the water is much clearer due to less wind, so it's not all stirred up.
After being in a dock for 10 days, we enjoy a quiet anchorage so we headed back to Cayo Costa for a few nights. There are always boats here but there is room to spread out. The night sky is always awesome. We took our dinghy to the State Park and hiked to the beach. Love this place & all its' beauty.
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| Our great American Bald Eagle |
We needed to keep moving south to make our reservation in Marathon, which had been moved ahead from the 15th of Feb to the 10th. We never had anchored in Ding Darling Nature Refuge before at Sanibel Island and the winds were ok to do that-it's not very protected but it's a fun stop. We took our dinghy through the mangroves and then across Tarpon Bay to the Nature Refuge office & gift shop.
Our next stop is Marco Island Marina Association. We stayed here last year and liked the location. We had a lot of friends & family to visit while in Marco Island so we didn't waste any time. Our first night in, Doug & Diane came by for cocktails and then took us to Pelican Bend for dinner-the fish special was delicious. Phyllis & Jerry treated us to Sunday brunch at the Marco Island Yacht Club which is right on site at the Marina. It's always great to see them. We skipped the 2 Super Bowl Parties that we were invited to and watched it by ourselves aboard Day Dreams because we had another busy social day ahead.
My brother Tom & his wife Rita picked up my Aunt Carmela and Uncle Jerry from Ft Myers and all four came to visit us. We toured the Island and then enjoyed lunch on the Isle of Capri. My Uncle Jerry is the last surviving sibling of my Dad. They live in Mt Pleasant, S. Carolina but are staying a month in Ft. Myers. We loved catching up with them and are thankful to Tom & Rita for bringing them to see us. For dinner, my friend Janet & her husband Bob came by, picked us up & took us to the Esplanade area on the water to dine @ CJ's. We then walked some of the docks there, enjoying another beautiful evening.
Marco Island was a whirlwind stop and now it's time for another quiet anchorage. We headed south to the Everglades. We are cruising the Gulf of Mexico and the water continues to get deeper blue and clearer. There is only a slight chop, skies are blue and the sun is shining. We are cruising 10 miles off shore and there are still crab pots and the depths are under 20 feet. Upon arriving to Little Shark River, we anchor amongst the mangroves all by ourselves where we have anchored before. It was a tad shallow near the entrance but we made it without incident. We are only staying one night because of the wind forecast for the following 2 days so we will be arriving to White Marlin Marina on Feb 8th, which actually works well. Annabella, the Harbor Master has told us our dock is available and Waterford & Sea Dweller are already there.
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| 7 mile bridge |
Our cruise back out into the Gulf is even better than yesterday-the water is completely flat and the sky is deep deep blue. We relaxed and enjoyed our day long cruise except of course for dodging the crab pots. We made great time and crossed under the 7 mile bridge and into the Atlantic Ocean well before docktail hour. Sea Dweller is hosting-looking forward to seeing them & Waterford again.
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Artist & fellow Krogen member,
Wendy Petersen McArthur's
latest piece of artwork |
Welcome back to White Marlin Marina. Waterford & Sea Dweller beat us here by a few days. It's like old home week: there are 6 other boats that we met here last year back for the winter. The weather is warmer and calmer than last year at this time. Harbormaster, Annabella and owner Sue are still keeping this place in tip top shape. We had a few days to get acclimated and then our visitors began showing up.
Jim & Elaine & Toro were our first guests-they cruised in on their new 35 foot Scout with triple power, from Pompano. Annabella found Jim a dock to keep his boat: Abigail in for 4 nights. The next day, Jim & Elaine graciously offered to take Waterford, Sea Dweller & us out in the Atlantic for a cruise. It happened to be one of the calmest days we've seen. It was beautiful, warm and clear.
That same night, Happy Valentine's-Jeri, Craig, Cheryl, Paul & Jessie arrived & we all went out to dinner to celebrate. The next day, it was back out on Jim's boat with the new gang-but the seas were not as calm. Jim took us over to the Gulf side which was more protected & Paul, Jess & Jeri did snorkel for a bit but did not see too much. We enjoyed 5 days of great fun with Jeri & gang, visiting Key West, kayaking and laughing a lot. Jim & Elaine had to head back to Pompano then that same day my niece, Wendi, Tadd & Samantha arrived. The fun continued. We hung out on the beach & swam in the pool @ Glunz in Key Colony, thanks to Wendi and family where they were staying.
It quieted down a lot after all of our visitors left but we still managed to enjoy Cocktail hour at the fire pit and in the Tiki hut with our fellow White Marlin boaters. Waterford hosted a delicious dinner at the Tiki hut one night. Our friends, Judy & Paul stopped by for lunch one day on their way to Key West. We biked some, took our dinghy out to the sandbar and actually took dips in the clear Atlantic Ocean. Lauryl Anne actually talked us all into taking Shag dance lessons and we still are practicing.
