May 16 - Englewood FL

  Last Friday we left St. Petersburg, anticipating a 2 day trip back to Fort Myers.  Along the way are many bridges over the Gulf ICW that open on a schedule (every half hour or 20 minutes.)  We were waiting for a bridge to open, spinning the boat around in a narrow section of the Waterway, when a gust of wind came along and blew us slightly out of the channel.  As luck would have it, it blew us right into a rock that was about 2 feet under the water.  We eventually had to be towed off the area.  Once we were underway again we could tell, by the vibration, that we had some propeller damage.  We were able to hobble our way to Palm Island Marina. 

The next day (Saturday) we had a diver go down to look at the props and, sure enough, both of them were damaged.  Unfortunately, he could not get them off, so we had to wait until Monday when the service department was open.  Then we had the boat hauled out of the water, had the props removed and drove them to a place in Bradenton (about an hour away)  for repair. 

 

 

 Of course, repair takes a few days, so here we are still. Since we couldn’t run air conditioning with the boat out of the water and it has been in the high eighties, we had to find other accommodations. Fortunately the marina also had some condos attached to it. So we have rented one for 4 days. 

The only good part is that the marina has a nice pool, and during the week Carol was the only person in it.  It also has a very good restaurant. 

The props are scheduled to be brought back today, and we hope to get back underway tomorrow to Fort Myers, then back across the Okeechobee Waterway to Fort Pierce.

April 28 - May 7 Fort Myers, Placida, Sarasota, St. Petersburg FL

We have enjoyed our time in Fort Myers - the marina is right downtown so we can easily walk to shops, restaurants, farmers market, grocery stores, library. etc.  Every weekend there is either an art walk, music festival, race, or some other activity.  The beaches of the Gulf of Mexico are quite a bit further away so we have to rent a car to get out there, but they are quite beautiful and well worth the effort.

Fort Myers Marina Sunset

Guess who's been working on his tan??

One of our favorite visits in Fort Myers was to the Edison-Ford Winter Homes.  Thomas Edison and Henry Ford both spent several months during the winter in Fort Myers living next door to one another along the Caloosahatchee River.  And Harvey Firestone would visit them as well.  There is a very cool statue in Centennial Park of the three of them sitting outside talking.

 The end of April our friends Roger and Barbara Garcia joined us and we traveled north from Ft Myers to Sarasota via Placida Fl.  Sarasota is another beautiful city and quite famous for its art museums.  Again the Municipal Marina is right downtown so one can easily get around.  It is also the home of the Ringling (of circus fame) Museums.  On a lovely setting along the Sarasota Bay there is a large complex (http://www.ringling.org) that includes the Circus Museum, the Ringling Mansion and a fabulous Art Museum.  Who would have thought that the owner of a circus would be such an avid collector of art?  If you ever get a chance, do pass up the opportunity to see this venue.

In St. Petersburg one can travel throughout the downtown by trolley.  We visited the Dali Museum,

which has the largest collection of his art in the world, as well as the Museum of Art.  The Chihuly Collection is right next to the City Marina as well.  We found a great Italian restaurant, Bella Brava, that we could not stay away from.