Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

Pam made it home without incident except for the last minute discovery that her departure flight from Moline had been moved up two hours. Remember my Pamster isn't a morning person.
I scored a few points by having the laundry done (including sheets), and the bed made when she returned.
Fortunately the boat was back in one piece as opposed to the mess she left. The guys from Cummins had been here replacing a bunch of gaskets that required some dis-assembly of the engines making access to & from the salon a tightrope walk.

There were no left over parts after re-assembly!

It doesn't take long to get back into the daily grind of morning coffee. Figure out what you're going to do today. Do it. And then get ready for docktails! No coaching required.
One afternoon everyone witnessed the below pictured ring around the sun. It was still early enough that alcohol wasn't a factor!

Ice crystals forming a ring around the sun.

Later in the day we were guests of Gary & Barb for docktails on M/V Boss Lady where they arranged a magnificent sunset for all to see.

Sunset over the Caloosahatchie.

Of course this time of year is bittersweet. The weather is getting better but our dockmates are starting to head back north.

Rick of Private Affair making things fit for the ride home.

Rich & Diane taking their scooter and heading home.

Not wanting to be left out of the exodus, Pam & I decided to cast off the lines and do a little cruising.

Stirring mud as we leave our slip.

Our first stop was the Ft. Myers Beach mooring field where we checked in for two nights.

S/V Lynx @ Ft. Myers Beach

We actually found a ball with a painter on it! A rarity in the East mooring field in the past. Once secure we dropped the dinghy in and went to shore where we found the St. Patrick's Day celebration in full swing a day early. Everywhere was green! We listened to a couple of live bands at Nervous Nellie's before retiring to Tourist for the evening.
Later we received a call from Donnie who was tied up behind John Carroll's home in Cape Coral inviting us for a St. Paddy's Day party on Sunday. The kicker was that we could bring Tourist and spend the night.

Irish for a day (unknown but willing subjects)

Mooring field sunrise.

We unhooked from the mooring around noon and made our way to Cape Coral and wound our way through the canals to the Carroll's where we tied up behind their home.

Tourist headed down one of Cape Corals canals.

Tied behind John Carroll's home.

The guest's arrived by 4:30 and the party began.

Cheer's!

We were even treated to a visit by the new Pope!

Pam receiving a special blessing from the Pope!

Pam gets a ride in the Pope mobile.

Thanks to John & Gayle for hosting a great party and the follow-up Bloody Caesar's Monday morning.

Tourist and Kasey's Choice got underway and headed out to anchor off of Sanibel Island near Ding Darling Preserve. We arrived just in time to get the anchor down before the rains started.

Kasey's Choice anchored in the rain.

Relaxing on a rainy day at anchor.

The rain continued into the night with the wind rising to 35 mph causing Pam to spend part of the night on the sofa. As for me, I slept right through it. Tourist stayed in place and got a nice wash in the process. The next morning brought a change in plans.
Originally we were going to head towards Marco Island but fate conspired against us. The forecast changed from cloudy to crappy (go figure!). Kasey's Choice's generator wouldn't start. And we decided to return to Legacy to order and replace a porthole trim ring that had fallen off.

 Trim ring in place.

Trim ring missing.

Of course nothing works as planned. The local Sea Ray dealer said he had a ring in stock. Good! However once I got to the dealership and viewed the ring it was the wrong one. Once again they looked it up on the computer, got a number and said that it would be ordered and in in 3 to 5 days. That person handed the number to the parts manager who I had talked to originally and he said it would be a week before it came in!  Not exactly a way to build confidence in their skills. Time will tell.

Birthday Week

Pam & I have two special birthdays in our family this week. Granddaughter Elliette who turns 1 and Grandson Luke who turns 18.

Elliette enjoying her birthday cake.

Luke getting ready to devour his cake!

Happy birthday to two great grandkids!

Cool Visitors

It's getting to be the time of year when the marina starts to clear out. Several boats have left in the past couple of weeks with more to follow. Some head to the Keys. Some to the East Coast. Some to the West Coast of Florida. Some doing the Loop. And some to the Bahamas. As for us.....We're still here!

Osprey headed to the Bahamas.

The weather has been pretty good so far this winter so wouldn't you know that when Mike & Nancy arrived for a visit it gets cooler! They were still happy to get here after a 2 day fiasco with cancelled flights and a winter storm at their heels back home.

The Flanagan's arrive.

The morning after their arrival we hosted a Bloody Mary greeting for them on Tourist along with a few of our dock mates.

Bloody Mary Welcome. Not everyone is awake!

With the cruddy weather we visited West Marine & Total Wine doing our part to stimulate the economy. Sunday we drove out to St. James City and had lunch at Woody's. The food was worth the trip.

Woody's in St. James City

Lunch @ Woody's

We also stopped for a drink at the Ragged Ass Saloon. A biker bar not far from Woody's before backtracking to Matlacha.
Matlacha is wide spot in the road that looks like a page out of Hippiedom. The only thing missing was the smell of ganja in the air. Most likely because the wind was blowing too hard! Certainly an interesting place with the expected artistic flair. A few pictures below of some of the shops.

Matlacha

Matlacha catch of the day!

Of course one of the highlights if you're a boater from the upper Midwest is walking the docks to check out the variety of boats. So many of which you never see back home. Names of boats are also intriguing. We found one that would be perfect for a buddy back home!

You know who you are!

Stilletto

Finally the weather warmed up and the wind slowed enough to make going out enjoyable so we cast off the lines and headed to the park at Franklin Lock for an overnight.

Mike & Nancy relaxing.

Franklin Lock. Raising the water level by cracking one gate open.

Once tied up and checked in we dropped the dinghy in and headed for Hickey Creek, a mile or so from the park. We wound our way up the narrow creek dodging overhanging trees and spotting turtles and birds along the way.

Hickey Creek

Tourist's.

On our way back from Hickey Creek we took a couple of the small oxbows off the main channel and were rewarded with a couple of gator sightings. We got a picture of the smaller one but the camera operators were a little too nervous and the angle was bad so the big one got away. True story! The 2nd gator was more than twice the size of the one below.

Gator!

Back on Tourist nerve soothing beverages were required to calm the crew.

Nerve Calming.

Off Duty Captain!

The park is a very tranquil spot where you can watch nature. Passing traffic on the water. Sit and fish. Or just enjoy the surroundings.

Capt. J P headed to Ft. Myers.

Fishin on the river bank.

53' Selene parked across the cove.

Wednesday we returned to Legacy before the winds kicked up allowing us to get into the slip unscathed. It also allowed the travelers time to get organized for their return to the snowy North.
That night we wandered over to Joe's for dinner and cocktails and were joined by Rick & Sarah.

Bar Fly's.

Too soon it was time to head to the airport and say goodbye to Mike & Nancy. Once again they kidnapped Pam and took her with them!
Actually Pam went home for Ellette's 1st birthday on Monday and to get an overall grandchild fix. At least that's what she told me.

They Kidnapped Pam!