Jan 1-12 2015 Ft. Meyers and Punta Gorda

Mary and I went into town the next morning to walk to the store for a few things.  We strolled through the downtown area instead of the taking the walking path along the river.

The main drag in Ft. Meyers

A Banyan Tree near the city administration building

We took the dinghy out for a spin.  We haven't run it fast since last week and I wanted to get some fresh gas in the tank because it was stumbling along every once in a while.  So we ran it out on the ICW for a bit and then came in and went over to Legacy Harbour Marina.  Some very fine boats in there and even a few Looper boats.  Returning to our boat, we just relaxed on board.

The Anchorage.  Thats Quimbee on the left.

The next day I ran into the marina but ran afoul of the law!  A FWC boat just leaving the marina basin pulled me over for running too fast.  All of the area around the marina including the anchorage is a slow speed zone.  He also noted our registration sticker had a faded expiration date and that having inflatable life jackets didn't count.  They have to be worn unlike the regular life jackets which can just be carried on board.  All this resulted in a warning ticket with the explanation that if I was caught violating any of these warning items I'd be arrested.  Great start to the day!

I finally tied up to the dinghy dock and went in to the marina office to buy a fire extinguisher for the dinghy.  I had one on board  already but it was a bit too large so I bought a smaller model.  Then I ran the dinghy over to the gas dock and filled the tank with good old marina gas which is real gas, not the alcohol blended stuff which wrecks havoc on some outboard engines.  

Took the dinghy, slowly, out to the ICW where I could run it fast and after I returned it sure was running better.  Went back to the boat and pretty much just relaxed again.  But I did take a permanent marker and write in our expiration date on the  dinghy registration sticker. 

Part of the Ft. Meyers river front

Next day, same as the last.  Boy are we adventuresome.  But today I had a brief spike of adventure when I walked to Publix with the couples from our small contingent of boats.  Seems like we all had to hit the grocery store.   It's only a mile walk right along the river and the majority of the route is through a great park.

That night we had a hot hors-d'oeuvre cocktail party aboard our boat with Steve, Liza, Brent and Susan.  Great fun!  And Mary made great food!  Must be that new stove.

We ended the evening playing a game called Farkle.  We did not exhibit a talent for the game.  So we lost.  Badly.

Looking towards the marina from the river walk

Next morning we took the dinghy into the marina again and did laundry and took a walk around the downtown area.  Fort Myers downtown is only a few blocks from the marina.  Very convenient.

Nice sunsets and pleasant evenings

Later we all  met at the dock to try a place nearby called Stevie B's for a burger dinner.  But as we got there the owner apologised but said they were about to close.  So we headed to downtown and Fords Garage but the wait there was over thirty minutes so we went across the street to Los Cabos Cantina, a Mexican place.  Fun time!  We all set out to head back to the marina but the others wanted to wander over to the park.  Mary wanted to get back so we left the group and headed back to the boat.

Today it was windy but we took the dinghy into the marina again.  Its about a 1/2 mile ride from the anchorage to the dinghy dock in the marina.  If the wind is in opposition to the tidal current it can get a little bouncy like it was today.  

Unique bathrooms at Fords Garage

We were determined to try out Fords Garage since everyone we've talked to recommended it as a place not to be missed.  So we walked downtown and into Fords Garage.   No wait. 

 Mary ordered the Ford Standard, a heart attack burger with bacon and an egg on top.  The few tomatoes they added came off immediately and were flung over to my rather bland, normal cheeseburger.  In the end, we ate enough to suffice for lunch and dinner. 

Fords Garage

At Fords Garage we finally hatched a new  plan different from the one we had figured out before.  We decided to stay here in the Ft. Meyers Yacht Basin (cheap!) versus running up to Punta Gorda tomorrow and staying there at double the price.  We are meeting Greg, Dona, Don and Carole, there for a few days later in the week.  Seems we have some old cruising friends stopping in Venice now too and that’s where some other old cruising friends are staying so we may just end up going up that way for a few days.  We are still planning on getting on a mooring in Ft. Meyers Beach until the end of January where we'll hang around with Dave and Joanne a few days before leaving for the Keys.  We might be traveling with Quimbee down to the Keys.   They are planning on returning to their boat near the end of the month are heading to Marathon around Feb 1.

So after formulating this new plan and consuming several thousand calories of Ford’s Garage finest, we left the place and walked up McGregor Blvd. to see the Edison and Ford Winter Estates again although we didn’t pay the fee to take the tour again.  

The dark overcast slowly lightened up and turned sunny!  Maybe that’s what motivated Mary to purchase a few more herb plants.   I like sunny days for a number of reasons, not the least being the impact it has on our solar panel output.  Lots of suns equates to lots of amps to keep the batteries charged.

We returned to the boat around 5 and read for a while before I got antsy and dinghied into the marina and took a walk for awhile.  The wind died down a little so the dinghy ride wasn't too wet this time.

Small but it zips around just fine

The second day we were here I had finally deployed our alternate, little dinghy and tried it out with the motor Dave let us try.  The motor is a little 2 hp Nissan 2-stroke.  Runs sweet!  But the motor has no transmission so once its started its going some where.  I forgot about that and when I started it the first time I pretty much drove the dinghy up on the swim platform.  Ooops.

The dinghy is a tiny, only 8 feet in length.   It’s also heavy duty PVC, not the sturdier Hypalon material on our large dinghy.   I originally purchased this for taking Cleo, our old dog, to shore.  Getting the big dinghy down is such a hassle and this thing is easy to blow up.  So now, with a nifty little motor, it'll be the new dog dinghy when/if we ever get another dog.  Or a better alternative for going short distances.  Although both Mary and I have yet to experience dinghy co-occupancy.  The initial attempt of both of us getting in to it might be worthy of some video.

  

Brent's brother, Chuck, was in town with his wife and they were saying aboard their boat.  So using that as an excuse to go out on the town, we made plans to try Stevie B’s again. 

Steve and Liz at Brent and Susan's boat

At 5pm we went over to Steve and Liz's boat and gave them a ride in to the dock.  Brent, minus Susan and his brother who weren't feeling well, brought Cheryl in so it was only 6 of us. 

We walked over to Stevies confident they would be open since I had stopped there on the way to Publix earlier in the day to confirm their hours.  The place has a little bar which was fully occupied when I walked in.  The owner assured me he be open late, but, "get there by 6".  

Stevie B's

What a fun place.  Two guys, who appeared mildly high,  ran the place which is basically a bar which serves hamburgers.  Too funny!  We sat down and the bar tender/waiter came over and after cracking a number of jokes, took very precise notes as we ordered.  But nothing came out quite right.  They had run out of coleslaw so we received a free lemon cake desert instead.  We, well Cheryl Steve and I, tried his homemade pea soup.  Never had anything quite like it before.  The hamburgers were, well hamburgers.  But the two guys running the place were entertaining to say the least.  Very funny.

In the past there was usually a guitar player banging out classic songs but alas, not the days we were there.

We all got in our respective dinghies and shoved off after walking back to the marina from Stevie B’s.  It’s only about a half mile and it was a pleasant evening.

Brent and Cheryl left first and then we pulled away from the dock.  Not 30 seconds later the engine up and died.  Steve and I both figured something was caught in the prop.  And sure enough, one of the dinghy stern lines was wrapped around the prop.  So I got out on the back of the boat and teetered there as Steve raised the engine up enough for me to untangle the line.  Took us only 5 minutes which is unprecedented for a problem to be diagnosed and solved.  Our luckily night.  Brent and Cheryl, noticing our absence came back in looking for us just as we got the engine going again.

I was able to do our pump out at the dock!

Everyone else is leaving tomorrow for Ft. Meyers Beach.   Except us.  We’re executing our Fords Garage plan and heading into the marina.  We can get the batteries fully charged up and do all the laundry and get pumped out while there.  And escape the gale force winds predicted for the next day.  These winds and cold air are the remnants of that big bubble of arctic air that descended on the country last week.    I was receiving a few weather related complaints from several people we know who still shiver up there in the hinterland.  Guess now its our turn.  55 degrees!  We’ll all freeze to death!

The channel into the anchorage is narrow as I've said before.  But its also a bit shallow too. So, risking mutiny, I wanted to leave around 8am while the tide was relatively high.  There was no mutiny because I've learned the power of  a cup of coffee.  And we ended up leaving at 8:30 and were tied up at the dock by 8:45.  The poor engines barely got warm.

Meanwhile Steve and Liza and Brent and Susan pulled their anchors and left right behind us.  An unspoken cruising rule is for the deep draft vessels to always go first thus assuring a safe passage for those of less draft.   Ok, I’m kidding … sort of.

Tied up.  A day later we had a boat right in front of us.

We cleaned the exterior of the boat and washed the windows today.  It was forecast to be blowing gale force winds the following day so we worked on the outside today.  Tomorrow out comes the vacuum cleaner and dust rags.  I suppose its better to do all this stuff in warm temperatures under a sunny sky then gray clouds and frigid temperatures.

After midnight the winds picked up dramatically.  There is a long fetch and very strong northerly winds roar down the river kicking up some impressive waves.  Although there were still some boats out in the anchorage they were bouncing around pretty good.

We spent the day cleaning the inside.  An later in the morning an older Marine Trader 49  pulled in right in front of us.  The dock was clear for a few hundred feet before they came in.   

Leaving early in the morning would have been a breeze.  Now though, not so much.  Their stern was about 5 feet from our bow.  If the winds are still strong tomorrow it will be exciting getting off the dock since the wind has us pinned pretty tightly to the pilings.

The owner of the 49 footer in front of us is a Canadian named Steve.  I talked with him briefly after he tied up.  They are sort of doing the loop, having begun their journey in Ontario.

 He was up around 7am when I was taking in the dock lines and preparing to get underway.  He helped and I was able to easily pulled the stern off the dock and straightened out in the fareway before heading out into the ICW.

A houseboat bar about 10 miles down river

So once again we started out on another long, rather unexciting trip through a well marked channel.  We eventually went by Sanibel and Cabbage Key before 11 am so we were making good time.  We had to be at the marina up in Punta Gorda before 5pm.

As we passed Cabbage Key I remembered my vow to return there and visit Floyd , the burger stealing Heron again.  This time though I’m ordering a salad.  We’ll see what he does with that.   

We ran by Cayo Costa where we’ll anchor for a few days and then made the turn to head up the Peace River towards Punta Gorda.

By afternoon it was getting pretty rough in the river with the strong north winds and long northern fetch.  And we, of course were heading north right into it.

As we neared Punta Gorda the winds continued but the swells began to lessen to a great degree.   And as we head into the Fisherman’s Wharf  channel it was basically calm seas and only mild breezes.

Entering the yacht basin

We made it in the basin but didn't make the correct turn to port so had to turn around and re-trace our route for a small distance until we came to B22.  I backed it in and after several minutes we were tied up.

All tied up

Come on Don.  It's not that bad!

Don and Carole arrived a few hours later and soon after Greg and Don.  We enjoyed a reunion of sorts on the boat for a few hours until heading over to the The Captains Table which is on the upper floor of Harpoon Harrys, one of restaurants in Fishermans Wharf right across from the maina.

Dona and Greg planned on staying aboard for the next two nights.  But I hadn't looked at the weather.  The temps overnight plunged to a bone chilling 48.  Now I know some of you are rolling your eyes.  48?  Bone Chilling?!  But consider that we've now become acclimated to this sub tropical climate.  If its 60, out come the jackets.  If its 50 Mary has on ear muffs and gloves.  We are wusses no doubt!

House of Breakfast.  Really good!

Next morning we went over to breakfast at the local breakfast place, House of Breakfast.  Greg drove us in their new Honda Fit.  Sweet car.

We came back to the boat and while I reconfigured our onboard router the others engaged in conversation or TV.  Our router lost its configuration and I couldn’t locate the backup so I had to re-do it all again from memory. 

That completed and the Ohio State basketball game having ended, we left for Don and Carol's place in Venice where we enjoyed drinks and a great dinner before heading off to the Venice Theater.  We were joined by Dave and Barbara, Don and Carol's friends.

I’m not much if a play person, but this play was really quite good.  Very entertaining, and with all local actors.  It was a musical about the life of  Buddy Holly and his music.  The cast did a great job playing the songs so I’m assuming they were all musicians as well as actors.  Very nice time!

We went back to Don and Carol's house but it was so late we just ate desert and abandoned the previously grand idea of playing games after the play.  We were all too tired.  It was 11:30.  My, how we've changed.  Anyone remember Putin Bay?

Next morning we walked into Punta Gorda and had ice cream.  Before noon!   We started to head back to the marina but with Mary on a mission, we had to pick up the pace and had a brisk walk back to a bar, Harpoon Harrys to watch the game.  And, as always, there were plenty of other Packer fans all decked out in their regalia. 

Mary (#18) and the other rabid Packer fans

The bar couldn't turn the volume up on the projection TV (a 9 foot screen) So Mary joined the old men at one of the bars where there were TV’s with sound while Greg, Dona and I watched the big screen and conversed about non Packers related things.  We ate there.  Fried food.  Is there any other kind at a sports bar?

Mary, Greg and Dona before Mary ditched us for her fan friends

We left at half time and watched the 2^nd half on the boat (they won).  Dona took me to the local Publix  during the 4^th quarter so I missed the controversial play.   After we returned Greg and Dona left to head back to their place in the Villages. 

A section of the downtown area

River front is lively.  Hwy 41 bridges in the background

I took another stroll to a different section of downtown Punta Gorda and still can recall anything familiar.  Did get caught in a brief downpour though.

Tomorrow we head to Alligator creek where there is an anchorage.  We plan to take the dinghy up the creek to Windmill Village to see what that look like after 35 some years.    Then the next day we’ll anchor at Cayo Costa for a few days before heading to Ft. Meyers Beach and the mooring field there.  Or maybe we’ll head over towards Venice and Englewood where there is another nice anchorage.  We’ll have to decide that though based on the weather.