Last Monday night we went to The Lighthouse as we usually do for their Happy Hour. We decided to try their pizza for once but it was pretty disappointing though edible. Ray got picked up at 5:00 Tuesday morning and had a successful boat delivery of a 58 foot Bertram from Ft. Lauderdale to Ft. Myers returning on Friday of last week. Meanwhile Linda enjoyed herself at Ft. Myers Beach. A walk was enjoyed each day but the temperatures and humidity were so high that the afternoons were spent inside the boat in the air conditioning. A couple of puzzles were assembled from the boaters lounge despite the missing and mixed up pieces. On Thursday Carolyn and Jeff pulled in from Venice with "Liberty" around 4:30 in the afternoon. They got settled in once they let the three dogs off to do their business after holding it all day. We relaxed outside eating peanuts and washing them down with adult beverages. After dark I dinghied them over to Bonita Bills for some good music and dinner. Of course adult beverages continued.
We made a trip to Walmart Friday morning after Carolyn brought me a delicious homemade breakfast. Soon after our return to the marina Ray was ready to be picked up in Ft. Myers so we headed back out. By evening Carolyn had still not fully recuperated from the night before so it was just us and Jeff that went to dinner at the Mantanzas Inn Restaurant. That ended up being one of our best meals in Ft. Myers Beach. Now we know.
On Friday night the cold front came in as predicted. Thankfully the temperatures and humidity dropped, but boy did the winds pick up. We had paid for a week at Moss Marina and it was time for us to go. The daily rates were so ridiculous compared to the weekly rate. A mooring ball is much cheaper. We debated our decision for a while though. We were inside a small basin in the marina with a sailboat on our leeward side. With lines wrapped around pilings to hold us tight to pivot and Jeff on Carolyn's soft side dinghy pushing our bow like a tug boat, we got out of there with no problems. We picked up mooring ball 23 for who knew how long. We paid for two nights trying to be optimistic. That afternoon we all bar hopped and ate pizza on the Upper Deck. Not the best ever, but it was okay.
Sunday afternoon we all decided to walk the beach even though we were afraid we were going to get sandblasted the way the winds were blowing in the harbor. We were amazed at how calm it was on the beach. With the east winds it was very pleasant and the Gulf was smoother. That helped us to confirm that we would most likely leave Ft. Myers Beach on Monday. Meanwhile we ended up at this little biker bar where they were ending a Poker Run benefiting Toys for Tots. It was fun, entertaining, and they had the coldest beer, although in a can, in their old fashioned wooden coolers. We made our way to a couple more places all saying that the biker bar was better. For dinner we decided on Doc Fords. Jeff had never been there despite reading the series of books. We had a wonderful time. We met Judy who was at the end of the bar by herself but decided to stay when we four clowns showed up. She looked like Ray's mom when we approached. She said she wanted to enjoy our company rather than go home to an empty house since her husband had passed away about a year ago. Of course Jeff could relate. Her husband lost a leg to smoking before succumbing to lung cancer all in a matter of four months. We could relate to that from Ray's father. After Judy left we watched the end of the Giants/Patriots game. That was exciting and Carolyn was happy with the outcome. The couple on the other side of us started up conversation with us during that time. Upon introductions we learned her name was Linda. Just the day before, although I often do, I thought how I have never met a Linda younger than me. Now I have. Her boyfriend touted on how Linda was a good name. We then told them that was Jeff's wife's name. I think there were a whole lot of spirits with us that night to remind us so much of them.
This morning we decided to go for it. We untied from mooring ball 23 at 6:45 a.m. We said if it was too rough when we got to the Gulf we would turn around. It was not bad at all. We then said if it got worse we would go in at Naples and take the inside route. The waves were barely two foot at worst with just a few hitting us just right to get our attention and splash up onto the helm. By the time we got closer to shore near Naples the waves weren't even six inches so we continued on the outside to Marco Island to anchor around 1:00 p.m. after 41 miles of travel. I did some fishing while Ray did some napping before dinghying in to shore for dinner. Finally some good pizza at Marco Island Brewery.
Upon checking the weather again we decided we would stay in Marco for an extra night rather than in Shark River tomorrow. The weather for continuing on to Marathon looks better if we wait one more day.
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