Homeward Bound

On Saturday we made our way back to the Caloosahatchie and pulled into Legacy Harbour for the last time this season. On our way back we passed one of the Coast Guard Buoy tenders working on one of the channel markers. Not a common sight on the Caloosahatchie during our travels.

Nosed into the marker.

During our short stay at Legacy we were all work and little play. Oil changes, clothes packing, cleaning and more cleaning, and of course laundry!

 We even pulled the carpet runners and cleaned them.

All to soon the day came to stage our car at River Forest where we will be leaving Tourist for the summer. A special thanks to Bonnie & Bob of M/V B & B for bringing us back to Legacy and Tourist.

Thursday morning we cast off the lines and pulled out of the marina.

Leaving Legacy for the season.

Ft. Myers in our wake.

It was a beautiful day as we traveled across the Okeechobee Waterway through the locks and under the bridges. We took our time to enjoy our last journey for awhile.

Waiting for the Ft. Denaud Bridge to open.

As we approached the last lock we were overtaken by another boat. Big mistake!
Just after locking through it's only a short distance to River Forest and of course the guy that passed us was heading there too. Not a real problem except that it put us 2nd to be hauled out. Now that we're here I'm ready to get on with it so waiting becomes a minor irritation.

The staff is efficient and before long it was time to move into the travellift.

Out for the season.

River Forest is an extremely clean facility and part of the cost includes pressure washing the bottom before they put the boats in the buildings.

Part of the facility showing the basin and work bays as seen from the office porch.

The last couple of bags got squeezed into our car and we began our trek back North.

Friday morning we stopped to visit my Uncle Leo before we left the state. Breakfast at Cracker Barrel. Not my favorite place but convenient and a good place to visit. Don't you just love those golf tee games on the tables!

Breakfast with Leo.

After our visit we traveled a short distance to Sarasota to look at a boat that we were not familiar with. We had a little time to kill so we rode past the Ringling Museum. We thought about going in but at $25.00 a head and our short time window we decided to put it off for another time.

As close as we got to the museum.

With only a half hour before our appointment we found the brokers office and parked nearby. We also found this misplaced couple engaged in a public display of affection near the waterfront.

I thought they were in NYC.

The boat was bigger than Tourist but with less storage space and overall poorer quality throughout. Still it's always fun looking at boats!

Day two of our travels home ended in Valdosta, Ga. Day three we traveled through Atlanta, Chattanooga, Knoxville, Lexington, and into the outskirts of Cincinnati.

Coming into Atlanta.

Keeping Pam happy with her coffee from Pilot.

Through the Cumberland mountains.

Horse country near Lexington, Ky.

By now if you know where we live in Northwest Illinois you've realized this isn't the shortest way home for us. We chose this route so that we could make a surprise visit to Rick & Sarah (M/V Private Affair) at their restaurant, Pirates Cove. And surprise them we did. I thought Sarah was going to fall over when she saw us.

We're not in Florida anymore but still having fun!

Our visit was great but short before we shoved off to get some sleep before our last day of travel.

Mothers Day and we're back on the road through a bit of Ohio. Across Indiana and into Illinois. One other thing. It's cold! For the first time in months I put jeans on and shoes. Yuck!

Who's this?

Welcome to Illinois.

The sign used to have a caption at the bottom that said Governor----- welcomes you to Illinois. Now it simply says The people of Illinois welcome you. In this breeding ground of political integrity (imprisoned Governors) it was cheaper to change the slogan only once. Hey didn't our President come from here?
 Just sayin!

Across the prairies we traveled.

 Illinois farmland.

Farming the land and the wind.

As has become somewhat of a tradition we met everyone in Savanna, Illinois at Manny's Pizza for dinner. This time we were also joined by my parents. Pam was in heaven surrounded by family and especially the grand-kids.

My parents.

Pam's crew.

Fortunately it was still light out as we came into Galena.

Galena, Illinois

Just a few miles further and we were home. Now what do I do?

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Before I get telling about our latest exploits Pam & I would like to wish her Mom a very Happy Birthday which she celebrated on May 1.

 Cheers! Happy Birthday Vada!

So after three nights anchored at Cayo Costa we pulled the anchor and left another spot in our wake.

Cayo Costa off the stern.

It didn't take Pam long to get into cruising mode.

Settled in with her morning coffee.

I set the course on the plotter and sat back to enjoy the ride. Fortunately we had a day of light winds to make this trip. Charlotte Harbor is a wide expanse of water and like so much of the coastal area around Florida, not very deep. Our depths were usually in the 10' to 15' range which is deeper than most but can make for an ugly ride if the wind picks up on such a wide body of water.

A few hours later we pulled in to Laishley Park Marina in downtown Punta Gorda. After being in this area for 5 years we finally made it to Punta Gorda!

Laishley Marina.

We were met by two of the friendly staff who assisted with our lines to get Tourist secure in her slip.

Tucked in, safe and sound.

Of course one of the first things Pam had to satisfy was her appetite for doing laundry! This worked out well since it allowed me time to give Tourist a wash job. Once our chores were complete and we spruced up it was time to find some food.
We both remembered the dockmaster saying something about a Mexican restaurant not far away so off we went. A short walk later we found Dean's Tex/Mex which was already filling up. We took two seats at the bar and settled in. The drinks were good as was the food and when the band started to play I knew bedtime wouldn't be coming anytime soon! The band was good and played a variety of songs that kept everyone dancing either on the floor or in their seats. Even when they took a break the drummer would be out dancing to the taped music. A fun night for sure.

The next day we took advantage of the bike loaner program and set out to explore the waterfront.

Pamster reading a sign describing something of historical significance.

Our bikes took us along the waterfront to Fisherman's Village. A complex of restaurants, shops, and a marina. We had lunch at Harpoon Harry's looking over the water before climbing back on the 2 wheeler's.

We chose Harpoon Harry's because the other place we were thinking about, The Village Oyster Bar had a waiting line.

How much longer till I'm seated?

Our ride continued around town until it was time to head back to Tourist for a siesta.

Not in any hurry and with the forecast calling for higher winds on Monday we decided to stay one more day.

Tuesday arrived and we were out by 8:30 retracing our path down Charlotte Harbor to the GICW.

Burnt Store Condo's off the port bow.

Conditions were good with wave heights of less than a foot and winds under 10 mph. Our destination today was a little known anchorage between Buck Key and Captiva. I suspect it is not popular because of the shallow water and that it is off the beaten path.
Once we made the turn out of the channel the depths became shallower but not dangerous. With no immediately visible markers you rely on the plotter and your eyes to stay in deep water. After what seems to be an eternity channel markers begin to appear in the distance.

Hey that looks like a shoal!

You squeeze between the first two markers that sit on the edges of a shoal waiting to bump bottom at any time. But no bump occurs. In fact the low depth alarm didn't even chirp.
The channel winds in and along the eastern side of Cativia past the Green Flash Restaurant, Jensen's Marina, and Tween Waters Resort.

Jensen's Marina

Tourist continues past all of them to a spot that supposedly has 5.5 ft of water (we draw 4') and swing out of the channel. Of course we're stirring the bottom up but the beauty of Florida is that there isn't much hard stuff down there. Just sand, mud, and shells.
We pick a spot just beyond what looks like an old abandoned wooden boat at anchor and drop the hook. It sets immediately.

Old wood boat. Looks abandoned but someone actually lives on it!

Our view to the south. An older Mainship trawler anchored with no sign of life aboard.

The remainder of the day we just chilled on Tourist watching the dolphins play and a few kayaker's paddle by. Not much in the way of boat traffic, probably because there is no navigable outlet other than the way we came in.
That evening we got a little sprinkle of rain. Just a preview of the next couple of days.

Pam and I wanted to launch the dinghy and explore the area but mother nature had other idea's. About 10 a.m. the sky opened up and poured. At times it was hard to see the wood boat behind us.

No outdoor activities today!

The rain kept up all day without letting up until nightfall. Somehow we managed to grill dinner between the rain drops.

Thursday arrived and guess what came with it? More rain! Not severe storms. Just steady rain. The decision was made to move out to our next destination so out in the rain I go to retrieve the anchor. Of course I could stay dry in Tourist and flip a switch to raise the anchor but with an all chain rode a part of the bottom usually comes with it. This time was no exception and the consistency of the muck was like a baby's diaper. Not what you want coating the anchor locker.
It took a few minutes to retrieve and hose off all the chain but worth the wet backside that I got in order to keep that smelly gunk out of the boat!

Visibility wasn't great as we followed our track back out to the main channel and turned south.

View from the helm in the rain.

Past Captiva and then Sanibel Islands headed for Ft. Myers Beach.

Sanibel Lighthouse in the rain.

As we passed the lower end of Sanibel we could see lightning out on the Gulf. Not wanting to get lit up while docking I kicked Tourist's engines up and sped across the open water to Matanzas Pass. It worked and we arrived at the Pink Shell Resort and Marina before it got nasty.

Our view from our slip of the bridge to the beach.

The Pink Shell www.PinkShell.com has been a topic of conversation all winter long among the Legacy boaters due to the fact that Dave O'Conner who used to be at Legacy is now the dockmaster at this newly opened marina. It's a place we've wanted to get to all season but never did until now.
After we checked in and visited with Dave a bit we went over to the resort for a late lunch. Beautiful grounds and right on the beach. As part of the dock fee you can use all of the amenities of the resort. Definitely a nice place.
Later on Tourist Pam and I were just finishing docktails when the phone rang. It was Pete wanting to know if we had plans for dinner. He had just gotten back in town from his adventure's with Gene & Kathy (M/V Front Page) in the Carribean.
We hadn't crossed paths since last July so it was good to see him and catch up.

Dinner with Pete @ Charlie's Grill.

Finally on Friday the rain stayed away and we were able to launch the dink and cruise around.

Dinghy Captain.

We pulled into the dinghy dock at the Matanzas Inn and strolled down the street to the Surf Club for a Bloody Mary and lunch.

Ft. Myers Beach Dinghy Dock

Surf Club. We may have been a little early!

After lunch we strolled around for awhile before climbing back in the dink and exploring parts of Estero Bay.
One stop was on the beach right at Matanzas Pass.

Matanzas Pass.

We also motored across the bay and checked out the beaches over there but couldn't get close enough because of the shallow water.

Pam thought she saw some naked people. I think it was just the glare of the sun!

Before heading back to Tourist we took a shot of the Pink Shell from the water.

Tourist at the Pink Shell.

One of the nice features of our slip is that we can watch the boat traffic in and out of Ft. Myers Beach.

Key West Express heading to the Conch Republic.

Corps of Engineers boat coming in.

Tomorrow we head back to Legacy to begin getting Tourist ready for a little time off.