Marathon, Fl to Stock Island, Fl

January 30, 2016

Saturday

Miles Traveled 46.1

Total Miles Traveled 2139

Day 142

We had planned to leave Marathon early this morning, but today is Saturday and there is a boat ramp in front of the marina.  The boats were lined up before daylight and after launching they were waiting around for a fishing tournament to start, making it a tight squeeze getting out of the slip and into the channel.  What a relief to get back into the Gulf. 

Seven mile bridge at Marathon, leaving the Gulf of Mexico and entering the Straits of Florida.  

We had the wind at our back and calm seas, but there is always someone to spoil the fun, this guy puts out about a 3 ft wave.

Another day of dodging crab traps, over 40 miles and missed all of them.

I have to admit, except for a few hiccups, it was awesome day cruising to Stock Island. 

We arrived at Key West Harbour Marina around two this afternoon and will be here the month of February.

Marathon, Fl Day 3 & 4

January 29, 2016

Friday

Miles Traveled 0

Total Miles Traveled 2092

Day 141

The wind shifted as the rain moved through so we were rocked to sleep last night.  It was not much better this morning, but things started to quiet down this afternoon.

We attended the Marine Trawler Owners Association picnic this afternoon at Sombrero Beach. We met old friends and made new friends, and had a great lunch.

This is the Atlantic Ocean view from Sombrero Beach.

After the picnic, our new friends Doug and Charlotte took us to the Marathon City Marina.  We tried to stay there but it was completely sold out through March. This is the mooring field, there are 216 mooring balls and all of them are being used, there is a 50 boat waiting list to get one.

This is dinghy dock one.

This is dinghy dock two.

Marathon, Fl Day 2

January 27, 2016

Wednesday

Miles Traveled 0

Total Miles Traveled 2092

Day 140

We were fortunate to have a 2 day weather window for our cruise to Marathon, the wind picked up today and we had several periods of heavy rain.

We took the opportunity to do a little housekeeping and planning the next few weeks in the Florida Keys.

Everglades City, Fl to Marathon Key, Fl

January 26, 2016

Tuesday

Miles Traveled 96

Total Miles Traveled 2092

Days 137-139

Strong winds and rough seas kept us at Everglades City another day, but our friends Merrill, Janice and Tim picked us up for lunch, and then took us to their house to watch football. Although we have been held up in this area because of the weather, we have had a great time visiting with them.

We finally had a good weather window to leave for Marathon Key, we split the long distance cruise over two days.  This crossing is in the open waters of the Gulf without barrier islands to protect us from the wind and waves.  There was another looper boat “Corkscrew” staying at Everglades City and we planned to leave early Monday morning about 2 hours before low tide.

 Corkscrew

I took this picture before daylight Monday morning of the International Space Station flying over with the full moon.  I hope you can see it; it’s the white dot in the top center of the picture.

I’m glad we left before low tide, about half way out of the 8 mile channel to the Gulf, both “Corkscrew” and “Moni Jean” bumped the bottom in the middle of the channel, I was showing 3 feet under our boat when we bumped,  not a good way to start the cruise. 

Once in the Gulf we had a great day cruising to our anchorage at Little Shark River.  “Corkscrew” and “Moni Jean” were the only boats anchored Monday afternoon, but before dark there were eight boats at this popular anchorage.

Sunset over the Gulf at Little Shark River.

Sunrise Tuesday morning.

Our only issue both days was dodging crab traps. At one point about every quarter mile we would run into several of them. 

Weaving between two crab traps.

The culprits

Approaching the seven mile bridge at Marathon Key from the Gulf of Mexico.

This is our view of the Gulf in our slip at the marina.

Everglades City, Fl

Saturday

Miles Traveled 0

Total Miles Traveled 1996

Days 135,136

We’re glad we stayed at Everglades City, securely tied to the dock.  The storm rolled through yesterday packing a pretty good punch and dumping a lot of rain.  Our good friends Merrill and Janice offered to pick us up and take us on a tour of Naples after the storm, we really enjoyed visiting with them again and had a great time seeing the sites and eating fresh seafood.

Of course we can’t pass up an opportunity to provision our galley, and what a great place we found at Lucky’s Grocery in Naples.  This has to be the best grocery store ever!  This store has the working man (and retiree) in mind.  They serve ice cold beer that you can sip while enjoying your shopping experience. 

My only suggestion would be to have someone offer hot pepper cheese and cracker samples at the end of the isle ways. 

On our way back to Everglades City today, we stopped at Joanie’s Blue Crab Cafe, a unique little restaurant in Ochopee, FL.  After our lunch, we stopped at the smallest Post Office in the United States. It is a tiny shed on U.S. Route 41 near Ochopee, Fl. It is located about 3 miles east of the intersection of US 41 and State Road 29. The building used to be a storage facility for irrigation pipes of an adjacent tomato farm. It was converted into a post office in 1953, after a fire which destroyed Ochopee's previous post office and general store. The post office is currently fully functional, serving the surrounding populations of Miccosukee and Seminole Indians.

Everglades City, Fl

Thursday

Miles Traveled 0

Total Miles Traveled 1996

Day 134

After reviewing several weather predictions this morning, we have decided to stay inland until the storm system moving through passes.  It was a beautiful day here at the Rod & Gun Lodge.

Tomorrows forecast calls for the possibility of severe thunderstorms and Saturday’s winds may approach 30 mph.  Not a good combination hanging on the hook in the middle of nowhere.  Although we are looking forward to the Florida Keys, we are going to wait for a good weather window before moving on.

Marco Island, Fl to Everglades City, Fl

Wednesday

Miles Traveled 29

Total Miles Traveled 1996

Day 128-133

We made a good choice to stay at Marco Island Marina instead of anchoring out; we had heavy rain and strong winds last Friday.  We were lucky, some areas north of us had major wind damage. 

After the storms passed through, our good friends from Indiana, Merrill and Janice, picked us up at the marina and took us out to a local restaurant for dinner.  We spent the next several days with them sightseeing and enjoying the local food.  We also learned a lot about the area, like Pythons, Panthers, and Bears.  Who knew Florida has a month set aside to capture as many Pythons as they can.  Thanks Merrill and Janice for giving us a few more critters to look for on our journey south.

Merrill and Janice live next to a lake not far from Marco Island; we spotted this alligator swimming along the edge of the lake from their back porch. 

The alligator crawled up on the shore to sun himself and stayed there until late afternoon.

This guy was walking along the shore fishing, I’m not sure if he saw the alligator or not but after a few casts, he walked back where he came from.

Today we left Marco Island and cruised out into the Gulf of Mexico heading toward Everglades City.  Not long after entering the Gulf another Looper boat, “Phase II” was coming from behind us and called us on the radio.  They were also going to Everglades City and during that conversation, another Looper boat “Dream Catcher” was several miles in front of us and joined in on the call. We haven’t seen any loopers since leaving Fort Myers so it looks like a few of us are heading south at the same time.

We arrived at Everglades City and secured our boat to the wall in front of the Rod & Gun Lodge.  Historical Everglades City dates back over 1000 years.  The Rod and Gun Club is built on the original structure of the first permanent white settler who founded Everglades City in 1864.  In 1922 Barron G. Collier, a banker and railroad man, bought almost all of Southwest Florida including the Rod & Gun Club which he operated as a private club.  He hosted international dignitaries and several United States Presidents here.

In 1972, the Bowen family, from Michigan, bought the Club and is still operating it today.  Celebrity guest, past and present includes Presidents Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Hoover and Nixon.  John Wayne, Ernest Hemingway, Burl Ives, Gypsy Rose Lee, Kate Jackson, Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, David Carradine, Roy Clark, Mel Tillis, Eddie Arnold, Jack Nicklaus, Sean Connery , Danny Glover , Joe Pesci, Peter Jennings, Phil Donahue, Marlo Thomas, and Rick and Monica Vicars.

Merrill and Janice met us at the Rod & Gun Lodge and took us to another local restaurant.  We had a great visit and hope to come back again next year.

We will have one anchorage between Everglades City and Marathon Key.  The anchorage will be at the Little Shark River north of Cape Sable and is located in the Everglades National Park.  There are no cities or towns in the area, so there will not be a cell phone signal to publish my blog.  Our current weather window indicates we will cruise to Little Shark River, anchor for a few days, then arrive at Marathon Key Monday or Tuesday next week.

Fort Myers, Fl to Marco Island, Fl

Thursday

Miles Traveled 62.1

Total Miles Traveled 1967

Day 127

We enjoyed our short stay at Fort Myers but according to the weather forecast, we needed to leave today, or be stuck there for awhile waiting for the next opportunity to head south. We had planned to anchor at Little Marco Island, and then continue on to Everglades City on Friday, but another weather system is moving through and severe weather is predicted for late tonight.  We decided to get a slip, secure the boat, and wait it out. 

There are no barrier islands from Sanibel to Naples, so we had to cruise about 3 hours in the Gulf today.  Although we had a good forecast for wind and waves, about an hour of the cruise reminded us of the rock and roll we experienced on our overnight crossing.  We finally made it back inside only to experience very shallow water and tidal currents on our final leg to Marco Island.  At one point we only had 2.7 feet under our boat in the middle of the channel.

We did have a few friends along the way.  They really enjoy putting on a show.

This eagle welcomed us to Marco Island.

Fort Myers, Fl

January 13, 2016

Wednesday

Miles Traveled 0

Total Miles Traveled 1905

Day 126

Today we visited the Thomas Edison and Henry Ford winter estates, the two estates are next door to each other along the Caloosahatchee River.  After purchasing the land in 1885, Thomas Edison quickly made a pencil sketch of how he envisioned the property and an architect turned his ideas into reality.  Henry Ford purchased the home next to Edison in 1916, providing him the opportunity to vacation with his mentor and friend, Thomas Edison. 

The estate property also includes a museum and the Edison Botanical Research Laboratory.  Thomas Edison, Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone were concerned about America’s dependence on foreign sources for rubber for industrial use.  As a result they formed the Edison Botanic Research Corporation in 1927.  Under Edison’s leadership, the corporation sought a source of rubber that could be grown and produced quickly in the US in the event of a shortage in the foreign supply.  After testing over 17,000 plant samples, Edison eventually discovered a source in the plant Goldenrod.  Many of the plants used for testing are planted throughout the properties.

Edison’s home.

Ford’s home.

Fort Myers provides a free trolley for the downtown area; we took the trolley to the Edison and Ford estates and on the way back stopped at the Ford Garage restaurant.   This was a very unique stop.

The napkin is a shop towel held together with a hose clamp.

The washroom has a gas pump handle for the faucet, and tires for the wash basin.

Edison planted 1.5 miles of royal palms along McGregor Boulevard in front of his winter home.  The Edison tradition continues and Fort Myers, known as the City of Palms, maintains miles of royal palms along the Boulevard through downtown.