Punta Blanca Island to Fort Myers, FL

Total Miles Traveled 1258.2

Merry Christmas and a healthy and prosperous New Year to all of our family and friends!

This is the earliest we have been this far South since our cruising started in 2015.  After spending 8 days on the hook at Punta Blanca Island, we traveled 38 miles on December 5^th and arrived at the Fort Myers Yacht Basin Marina in Fort Myers, Florida.  The marina is located just one block from the downtown restaurants, shops, and historical sites. 

Our main goal for reaching this location early was to attend Moni’s mothers, 90th surprise birthday party held on December 7^th, near Cocoa, Florida.  Family and friends came from all over the country to help Delores celebrate.  It just so happens it was also Delores’s granddaughter Adelle’s birthday, so we had a double celebration and the opportunity for a great family reunion.

Of course, our family from Indiana had to hit the beach before returning to the frozen tundra.

Cocoa Village had a festival in progress while we were there so we spent an afternoon viewing the vendor displays.

When we returned to Fort Myers, we were invited to docktails and dinner from members of a boating organization we belong to.  Our boat manufacturer is DeFever and there are several DeFever owners in the Fort Myers area.  We had a great visit and realized we had met the host of the event at Goose Pond Marina on the Tennessee River in 2015.  When we meet new boaters, we usually exchange boat cards.   I keep an electronic version of the boat cards on my phone and currently have 265 boats that we have exchanged cards with.

This has also been a good stop at the marina to knock out a few boat projects, explore the city, and visit friends that have moved to this area since we met them on the Loop.  David and Barbara from “Miss My Money”, and Kevin and Jill from “Chasing 80”.

Main street downtown is lined with palm trees and displays several pieces of artwork. 

Moni put her artistic abilities to work and painted scenes on our shower window, and the cover we use at night for our salon door.

The Ford Garage Bar and Grill is one of the popular places to eat on main street.  The napkins are shop towels wrapped with hose clamps, and I couldn’t pass up a picture of the sink in the men’s restroom with gas pump faucets.

We will return to Cocoa tomorrow, the 23^rd, and celebrate Christmas with our family. Our current plan is to leave Fort Myers after New Year’s and gradually work our way south to the Key’s.

Merry Christmas!