Touch of Class

We did go shopping for Smokie.  He got a few toys and a new pooper scooper.  Gary on the other hand got a new hat!

Captain Gary and his new hat

Meet Smokey’s new friend from Russia

I think I am going to have to do a little shopping for the Smoke Man :).

This week we went to Legacy Harbor.  Now Legacy is really close to us, like about 15 minute quick ride, so we thought we stop in at First Round Draft Sports Bar to have some lunch.  We had seen this restaurant almost every day when we travel to and from the gym. You can get there by canal and we are interested in trying out different places to eat by boat.  This was going to be our first.  So we traveled quite a ways in from the Caloosahatchee River, turning down different channels.  We can see the place, we can see their dock, so we slooowly move closer to the dock and boing!  We are stopped dead about 5 feet from the dock.  Our keel has run aground.  Well, so much for having lunch there. Good thing I packed a tuna salad, just in case.

First Round Draft Sports Bar

We slowly turn around and head back down the canal.  As we travel back to the river we see several boats that just need a match

 Here is a close up of that one.

See the tree growing out of the thru hull fitting and here is the house it is in front of

This one has been on the lift for  a long time

You wonder what happened to the people that used to love them.  Why wait till they get in this disrepair?  You’d think they would sell them.  Of course a lot of boat owners think their boat is in pristine condition and worth a lot of money.  That is probably why these are still sitting here.

So we continued our trip to Legacy Harbor.  Legacy is a very nice harbor and there are some really big and nice boats here  Look at this beauty :).  See that boat next to us?  That is a catamaran.  For those of you that don’t know what a catamaran or cat is, it is a double hulled boat, sometimes a sail boat, and they are very wide.  Here are some pictures of big ones. 

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One of its hulls is almost as wide as our boat! LOL.  There were also some other boats, nothing too spectacular  but I certainly wouldn’t turn my nose up at it :).

So while we were there, we took a walk into the town of Fort Myers.  One of the couples in the boat club offered to give us a tour as they had been here several times in the past.  It was really close to the marina and it’s geared for tourists, boaters and people that like to shop, drink and eat.  They have recently redone the down town area.

Down Town

They are currently having a special metal art exhibit in the city.  Pieces are randomly placed here and there

 Some strange guy snuck into the next picture

These last two were at the library.   They also have several outside areas where you can sit and read, play some musical instruments and play chess

Giant Chess Board

Apparently the library here is mostly automated.  When you return a book, you put it on a conveyor belt and the bar code is read.  Then the belt takes it to the place it belongs in the library.  Sounds pretty cool.  We’ll have to come back and check that out.

We were too early to check out any of the shops but if you are looking for the best donuts in the world, and you are in Fort Myers, be sure to stop in at Bennett’s.  Oh Man!  They have donuts like Maple and Bacon, Key Lime Pie, Orange Crunch.  Yum!  Of course we went there every day for breakfast.  We even took home a doggy bag :).

Our three days there were finally up and we headed home.  For the Friday of Memorial Weekend, it was surprisingly quiet out on the river.  I guess all the Snow Birds have gone home.

We had to drive one of our condo neighbors to Punta Gorda Airport the other day so we thought we do a little sight-seeing while we were there at the Fisherman’s Wharf.  Fisherman’s Wharf is not only a marina

but you can even hire a fishing boat.  Gary went fishing and caught this big one

a Shark!

Look at the size of that baby!  Good job Captain :).

The marina, which we are going to be visiting by boat later on this year, is right next door to a large mall of sorts.  It has a few shops to explore and some nice restaurants.  Not so crowded now that the “season” is over.

Inside mall

As you can see, the malls here are a little different than in the Northern states.  These are wide open to the elements.  This helps keep it cool by having the wind blow thru during the summer months.  There are also apartments and rooms to rent on the upper level.

Gary and I ate at Harpoon Harry’s which was on the lower level and the last stop on the walk.  Harpoon Harry’s has a more swankier place upstairs but we really weren’t dressed for it, flip-flops are too casual for that restaurant.  Harpoon’s is kind of an outside bar/restaurant.  But you can drive your boat up to a dock and have dinner here if you want. Here is Gary whistling, I think that is what he is doing, otherwise he is in his empty box :).

So that was about the extent of our field trip.  We have a boat trip coming up in the near future, that should be fun.  Stay tuned.

Last weekend (time flies, it was about a month ago now 🙂 ) they had the Cardboard Boat Races just down the road from us.  Seeing as one of our friends was going to be participating, we thought we’d go and watch and then take some pictures if he landed in the water.  Us old people get our enjoyment in what ever form we can find :).

So we headed off to the park.  The park was located on Bimini Bay and this is where the boat races were going to happen.  The Bimini Bay is a pretty popular spot for boaters to come in and anchor.  It is well protected from all sides and makes for a perfect anchorage. One of the condos we looked at was located on Bimini Bay but we passed on it because of its close proximity to a very busy street.

Anyway, back to the races.  You wouldn’t believe some of the boats that these people built. You could tell they put in a lot of time and effort into the boats.  Most you would never know they were made out of cardboard.  Some people had themes, like this boat that was the S. S. Minnow.  There was Gilligan, the Skipper too, a Millionaire and his wife, a movie star, the professor and MaryAnn….plus someone else who must have landed on their island who shall remained unnamed :). Unlike their TV show, they made it all the way to the finish line and didn’t end up on a deserted island.

There was another boat that was dedicated to the wounded warriors of the Armed Forces and it had a motorcycle on it   It was called Wheels on Waters and you can see they didn’t have much free-board, but they made it to the finish line and didn’t sink.

There was also a boat that was built by the Engineering Department of the SW Florida University.  It was the biggest boat in the race and held the most people, like about 24!

SWFU

They, being college students, were the loudest group, chanting, “biggest boat, biggest boat!”  Someone next to me mumbled under his breath, “But will it float?”.  It did and it also made it to the finish line.

Of course we all know that the only reason people go to any of these spectator sports is to watch someone crash and burn.  This race was no exception.  There was a boat with 3 young boys on it.  It was a barge type boat that had a flat area the boys sat on and rowed from.  On top of the flat area they had what looked like a dingy turned upside down.  Half way thru the “M” obstacle everyone maneuver thru, two boys, who were hiding under the dingy, jumped up and flung the dingy into the water, then all the boys leaped from the bigger boat to the dingy, well, with that much weight in it the dingy sunk almost immediately so as the boys were standing in their boat that was at the bottom of the water, they jumped off it and tried to get on the bigger boat, but alas, that too started to sink.  Luckily, there were spotters out there and they helped the boys to shore.  Naturally the crowd went wild when the boys sunk.  What did I tell ya?

There was one boat that comes every year.  It is shaped after a speed kayak and looks like a professionally built boat.  When the guy rowed in it, he made a wake!  Needless to say, he wins the speed section of the race every year.

It was a great day, in the low 80’s but with a nice breeze.  Unfortunately our friend never got the chance to row his boat so we didn’t get any good pictures of him all wet.  But hey, there is always next year :).

BTW,  Happy Mothers day to all you women out there.  And to you guys, be nice to the women in your life.

We met some people while we were at Chattanooga and they were leaving to do the Loop.  These are some pictures they posted on their blog while they were by Fort Lauderdale

This very large boat, like over 120 feet, was being pulled and pushed (you can just see the blue back-end of the 2nd boat right off the big boats swim platform) by two tow boats.  Sometimes when an area is too shallow or too narrow to navigate, the bigger boats have their boat towed thru the area, that way, hopefully, there won’t be any damage to their bottom.  Of course if you can afford a boat like that, you can afford to have it pulled thru questionable areas.

Star Wars?

This boat was another big one, but all black.  Reminds me of Darth Vader, “Luke, I am your Boat”!

Scottish Humming Bird

This is not a boat but a very unusual and scarce humming-bird.  You rarely get to see a picture of them so consider yourself very fortunate :).  Quite lovely, isn’t it?

And last but not least, here is Gary in his favorite spot at the Condo, having a nice Jim Beam Honey and looking at this favorite thing to look at 

Hey, what about me and the cat??????

So the second place we went to was Marco Island Marina.  Apparently this is a very popular place to visit and the earliest we could get in was the 2nd week in April.  We trip was from a Monday thru a Wednesday.  The weather looked great for all three days but the wind for the third day looked nasty.  As I had my final AARP Tax day on Wednesday (don’t know if I mentioned it but I volunteered to do taxes for people that signed up, free for them and all E-filed.  What a deal!), so anyway, I didn’t want to be late for that so I drove the van.  Here is Gary leaving for the trip

Heave hoe!

There were a lot of boats there

Lots of Boats

It was a pretty big marina, much bigger than the last one we visited.  There was even a boat on our dock that was a live-aboard.  He had 2 cats.  He let them walk out on the dock everyday.  One liked to catch the “Florida Mice” or lizards as they are known in the people world.  They were both very nice kitties and I got to pet them both.  Too bad Smokey doesn’t have such good manners.  He could be chasing “Florida Mice” on the docks too ;).

The place had a really nice pool 88º I am told.  (No shade for me so I didn’t go in)

They also had a very impressive Yacht Club

That had signs to keep the riff raff out Which means a collared shirt.  That leaves us out with out T-shirts.  Probably can’t get in there with flip flops either.  Well!  They can have their crummy Yacht Club, I didn’t want to eat in there anyway :P.

The Marina did have a nice beach you could go to, and some nice views of the water

 (that’s the bridge I drove over to come here, Gary came from the left by boat)

Nice walk way along the water

And ok, the Yacht club did have this pretty cool fountain

And of course the prettiest boat in the marina heading back home

Drive safely

So till our next adventure, pray for spring!

We have some friends down here that belong to a boat club called Shoreleave.  They invited us to join the club.  We decided we could always meet new friends and go on boat rides, so we joined.

Our first outing was to Palm Island Marina.

Palm Island Marina

The marina was about a 48 mile trip, one way.  There were 8 or 9 boats going but every one travels separately.  We all travel at different speeds.  It was all ICW traveling so it was a good trip there.  We passed this island on the way  Not much room for a house but you could come and sit on the picnic table under the grass roof enclosure and watch all the boats go buy.  You could play Gilligan’s Island!   I want to be Ginger!!

Then we passed this little store on the water

Beartrax II

See the pretty girls on the balcony modeling swim suits.  They are there rain or shine.  I wonder if he has to pay property tax or get a boat license for that thing?

The traffic was pretty light for a Saturday AM.  We did see this pretty boat

Nice boat, nice hull 🙂

We had to pass thru only one bridge

Fishing Bridge

Swing Bridge

Apparently they have been working on that bridge all winter.  It was actually tall enough for us to get under without them swinging it for us.  They were swinging it for a bigger boat.   I miss the good old days when we were the big boat :(.  This is a car traffic bridge, a little different from the RR swing bridge in Hudson.

We arrived at the marina about 11:30.  The entrance is so narrow that they only allow one boat in or out at a time.  So we had to wait our turn.  When they finally called us, the members that had arrived before us, all gathered around our slip to see if we could get the boat in without panicking, hitting another boat or the dock.  It was a very tight fit and we had to back the boat in to a one-sided cement pier on the starboard side and pilings on the port side.  Of course the Captain made it look easy.  They were impressed :).

Good Job Captain!

The Marina had 4 people there to tie the boat up for us, something we are not used to, but they know just how to tie it for the tides (although when we woke up on Monday to leave, the tide was WAY out and all our lines were very tight.  It was hard getting off the boat!)

After we got tied up and situated, we could break out the drinks and watch the rest come in.  They all did pretty good.

There was severe weather forecasted for the afternoon.  The Coast Guard kept announcing it on the marine band, saying boaters should seek cover.  We were glad we were tied up in a marina.  We all met under the patio area with our drinks and watched it rain and thunder and lightning.  Wow!  Some very close lightning strikes.  We were a little worried with our down riggers sticking up so high in the air.  Luckily for us, there was a Carver parked close by that was higher than us ;).

Soon it was time for dinner.  The marina had a very nice  restaurant there where we had an excellent meal.  The next day, we took their boat

Shuttle Boat

to go visit the island near by.  The island also had 2 ferrys going over to it.  It is $50 per car, one way!

Ferry 1

This is a private island.  You can only take the ferry over if you live there or if you plan to eat there.  There is a really nice beach there, but outsiders aren’t allowed.  They even have guards posted so you can’t get on the beach

Mean Guard

That is unless you are US!

Gary on beach

There are quite a few sharks teeth on the beach and people love to go hunting for the sharks teeth.  Do you see any

Here toothy, toothy, toothy

All I saw was this sponge

Now I can wash my car 🙂

And this strange thing

Euwwww!

Anybody know what it is?  Someone thought it might be a sea cucumber.  I Googled sea cucumbers, I don’t think it is that ;).

After we tired of searching for shark’s teeth, we headed back to the shuttle boat and ran into this little guy

Timothy the turtle

He was a munchin away on the grass.  Must have been lunch time.

When we got back to the marina we saw this boat

2002 Albin

Yup.  That is the 2002 Albin we looked at with the black hull.  Some guy walked by and was admiring our boat.  He said he was with the other Albin, pointing to the one with the black hull.  Gary asked him if the guy just bought it.  The guy replied in the affirmative.  Gary told him about how we looked at it but bought this one instead.  He told us he thought we got the better deal ;).

Well we left on Monday.  18 MPH winds.  I hate to say it but the Albin is NOT the Navigator :).  We were rockin and rollin when we passed thru the inlet.  The tide was comin in and the water was being blown out.  Water was splashing up on the windshield to the point we had to turn on the windshield wipers.  The Admiral was not a happy camper. But ya know, we didn’t want to look like wienies to our new friends.  Next time the weather doesn’t look good, I’ll put on that wienie suit and strut around the marina.  Heck, I’m retired, I’m in no hurry to get home.

We have another boat trip planned soon.  Hopefully the weather will cooperate :).  Until then, ta ta for now.

We went to an in water boat show on the 12th.  They had boats on land and in the water.  The first one to catch our eye was a 28 foot, wood panel, 3 tube pontoon boat.  SMRP? A cool $189,000.00.  Then we saw this one

30 Foot

Made in Turkey

For a measly $20,000 more, you can go to the bathroom in an actual head instead of outside in a tent :).

There are always the fast boats 

Like the line up of the engines?

Gentlemen, start your engines!

I would hate to have their gas bill.

The police out here have way cooler boats than our police in Minnesota

Police Boat

Of course there are not that many drug runners in Minnesota, they’d get caught too easily when they had to slow down for the No Wake zones :).

And what boat show wouldn’t be complete without the antique boat

Side View

Bow view

Cock Pit

This boat is kept in a shed, that is why it looks so good.  The boats are all made by hand. There is a larger boat that was repossessed, then bought by another individual.  The new individual had them send it back to the factory to have every chip and scratch fixed.  Three years later it is still sitting in their yard waiting for the guy to pick it up.  Of course the guy is paying some exorbitant fee for storage every month.  Like a big cash cow.  The owner of the company is very happy :).

Here is a friend of ours who is trying out one of those fishing kayaks

Kayak anyone?

He did real good getting in and out.  Of course I had my camera ready just in case he fell in.  Nothing better than some action shots for the blog ;).

I couldn’t help take a picture of this “Ex-Wife”

Poor Ex-Wife

Sooooo, what do you really think of her?

All in all it was a fun day.  But looking at boats is always fun :).

The final leg of the journey was much more civilized.  We could tell we were closer to cities.  We saw some nice homes

Ginormous House

And interesting lawn art

 Wonder if this is really rock???

Horsey

I guess not too civilized, this person has horses on his lake front property

Moooo

and Cows.  I guess Smokie is not so spoiled after all :).

After we passed thru Fort Myers we finally found the entrance to our canal.

Our canal entrance

It is right before you go under the Cape Coral Bridge.  Ohhhh, we are very excited now, almost home.  Look at the size of this house

Wowzer!

This house is kind of kitty corner to ours.  We have been watching them build it from the street.  I didn’t realize it was so enormous.  He is using every inch of his property to put the house on.

Then look!

Our Docks!

There’s our dock!  Home Sweet Home.

Snug as a Bug

There she is, all tied up in her new birth.  We’ll be sure to love her and take care of her and let you know all about the adventures we go on with the new Touch of Class.  It has been an experience for me to go from a large boat (one that when we owned it, I didn’t think it was THAT big), to having this small boat (which to some people, is still a REALLY big boat), and boating in an area where everyone has REALLY big boats.   I now appreciate good boating etiquette even more.  Like giving someone a slow pass, don’t come so close to me that I can count your nose hairs, stay your course, wave when I wave at you, lend a hand.  All good boating advice no matter where you boat.

I have found that I have missed a boat and I’m glad we have another boat so we can have some new adventures.