Saturday 5/30/2020 - Marco Island Marina to Rod and Gun Club, Everglades City

Well rested after two nights at Marci Island Marina we awoke and had a plan for the day to move on down the coast to Everglades City where we are having the new water pumps shipped to the Rod and Gun Club.

While Renee worked on finishing up her homework and doing a couple loads of laundry Erik rode into town for a few more errands since we knew there would be very little available in the everglades.  Early this morning while ripping off the water holding tanks our “as seen on TV” expanding garden hose that works perfect for the boat suddenly reached the end of its life and burst.   A replacement for it was found at the local ACE Hardware.   He also picked up a couple of new belts for the engines to replace the old when the new pumps arrive.

The new owners of this older Carver came over and talked to us this morning.   They had just bought this boat in the Keys and are on their way bringing it home all the way to the Beaver River which is up in Pittsburgh off of the Ohio River.   They have quite a Trek ahead of them!  

We shoved off from the dock at 10:15 am.   It was already a hot morning.   We doused ourselves in sunblock as we usually do taking a little extra care this morning because we both appear to have gotten more than our share of sun the past couple of days.  Today’s trip was a planned to be a fairly short (27 mile) journey back out into the Gulf where we would hug the shoreline within 3/4 a mile or so down and into the Everglades.   It was an easy cruise with no issues.   We arrived at the Rod and Gun Club at 2:15 pm.

Docked on the wall at The Rod and Gun Club.  Notice the gas can to fill the generator since the electric here is not good and has stray currents.   

Old truck under the awning at the entrance 

Very ornate front door

I don't think this is where we will be filling up the boat at

Pic of the main building from a distance 

We were looking forward to a dip in the pool to cool off.  We went up to register and looked around the historic building for a few moments.  It is a very cool, beautiful wood, circa 1864 building.   More pictures to come of the interior tomorrow as we didn’t get the chance to take many inside shots today.   We dipped our toes in the pool which was very nice and actually of a somewhat cool temperature 😊 before we headed back down to the boat to get plugged in and get the A/C running.    Did we mention that this place is old?  I guess that the electrical is as well 🤨  Immediately after plugging into shore power our galvanic isolator unit alarmed indicating that there was a significant issue with the power (likely a short on the ground).   We moved the boat and tried several other power pedestals but all with the same results.  Ugh...it was WAY to hot and muggy to not have A/C particularly since we planned to be here for at least 3 nights.   After talking with a guy working on some other stuff around the club it was determined that he had no knowledge or ability to remedy anything.   The even lore unfortunate thing was that this is the ONLY place in the Everglades open for transient dockage.   The other marina which is actually mainly an RV resort is now. Loses for the season (we had tried weeks ago to get a boat slip there).   We decided to motor on through the channels down to that marina/RV park anyhow on the notion that possibly we could locate someone who would allow us to go ahead and use a slip with power given the circumstance.   No luck....the site manager was there and very friendly.   He really wanted to allow us to stay but the owners were adamant that it could not happen.   Back we went to the Rod and Gun Club.   Fortunately, last year we had installed the new A/C unit with a start capacitor that does allow us to run it with our portable generator in a pinch.   This is what we decided to do.  It appears that Uncle Dicks two 5 gallon gas cans that he brought to our boat while stored at The Glades near their house will come in REALLY handy!  Thanks Uncle Dick.   We walked about 3 blocks to a gas station where we purchased 8 additional gallons of fuel (the generator already had 1.5 gallons in it....it has a small tank).   With the generator now ready to run the A/C we were now really and hot and sweaty so we suited up and went for a dip in the nice cool pool.  Ahhhhhh!

Very nice pool at the club with somewhat cool temp of water :-) 

We fired up the generator and AC afterward and  oiled off in the boat while preparing dinner on the grill.    The evening was rounded out with Renee finishing and submitting her homework on very sketchy internet service while Erik tried his hand at fishing again.  The fishing only lasted for a short time before the rain came pouring down.   He did manage to catch one boring catfish....could’ve gotten that in the muddy Muskingum 🤣

Not grilling worthy :-( 

Friday 5/29/2020 - Hanging out in Marco Island another day

We were pretty tired yesterday, only saw a fraction of what Marco might have to offer, and we now know that our water pumps won't arrive at our next planned stopped until Tuesday of next week.  So, we decided to stay another day/night at Marco Island Marina.

We've determined that at upscale marinas 95% of the boats are ALL white.  Our off white and maroon stands out a bit but we love our classic look

We slept in until 7 am....unheard of for us!   Apparently the sun and water takes it out of us. 

Renee had some catching up to do on school work for her masters class and spent the better part of the morning completing her homework.  Erik went out and about to run some errands and try to spend all our money....shouldn't have taken more than an hour or so 😆

He started out to go grocery shopping to stock up on some things since we have read that Everglades City (our next destination where we will be for four or so days) has limited shopping choices.   The problem with grocery stores on Marco Island is that there are a lot of distractions nearby.   Directly next door to the Publix there was a West Marine and everyone knows that no respectful boater can pass up going in to take a look at what they might have on sale that they NEED!  Sure enough....they had a great deal on a Garmin chart plotter.   Normally $499, on sale for $399 AND with a $100 mail in rebate it was down to $299.   We have been navigating thus far utilizing Navionics (which is really good!) but on our phones.  Additionally, our old Lowrance fish/depth finder that has minimal plotting capabilities has been acting up from time to time and it gives us crazy shallow depth readings that are inaccurate.    After almost pulling the trigger, Erik decided it best to wait till later to bring Renee who is much more versed on technology to ensure we are getting what we want. 

How could we pass up a deal like this?!?! 

While leaving West Marine instead of immediately looking to the right toward the Publix, Erik looked to the left toward the beach wear boutique.   His mind has been set on getting Renee into a two piece suit for months now.   This could be his golden opportunity!   Shortly after entering the shop he realized several things: 

a) women's swim suits are ridiculously expensive for such small pieces of fabric and Erik is a cheapskate. 

b) Renee has a hard time picking a suit for herself....could he REALLY pick one that she would like 

    or wear?  

c) Maybe it would be best to bring her back later and convince her that every beautiful Florida   

   navigator should have a new sexy bathing suit to wear while operating their new chart plotter and 

   have her make the selection!

This gal needs to get our into the sun more!  

So, an hour or more into the outing Erik finally made his way into Publix where he did the grocery and other essential shopping for the next week or so.   When he returned to the Marina Renee was tired of thinking of math theory and had all but her last problem solved.   She would have to watch a couple more videos to be in a place to complete this.   That would have to wait till this evening.   The sun was now hot and the beach was beckoning.    

On the way to the beach, we stopped back into West Marine.   The salesman there was VERY knowledgeable and answered all our questions.    However.....Renee is almost as cheap as Erik and between them the decision was made to hold off and try to utilize Renee's Ipad in a way that we have not tried previously for charting courses.   We will see how that goes on our next leg.   But wait...look there....a bathing suit boutique Renee!   We should stop in there.   Erik had her sooooo close and we went in to take a look.   After all these years Erik should know better.   Did we mention that Renee is almost as cheap as Erik?  Also, have you figured out yet that Renee in a two piece is really more appealing to Erik then Renee?    All that shopping and no purchases made today.   

On to the beach we rode.   It was a hot and sunny day and the beach had significantly more people on it than it did yesterday evening.   With our suits on this time we immediately cooled down from the bike ride with a long dip in the blue waters.   Ahhhh....very refreshing.    We took a nice long walk down the beach and back and then headed back to the marina.   Back at the marina a quick dip in the pool to refresh and rinse the saltwater off.   

Dinner was delicious; five cheese tortellini with mild Italian sausage and portabella mushrooms in alfredo sauce 😲   Ok....so the purchases for the day were fabulous, even if they were just food!  

After dinner we did our dock walking and gawking at fabulous boats (none of which are as cool as Aquaholic!).   We worked our way back up to the pool for another dip at sunset and then showered up to prepare for bed.     Overall, a very nice and relaxing day of  staying in place and smelling the roses.  Or, in this case smelling the ocean air!   God is good!

One of multiple crazy yachts at this marina.  This particular one is 100' long and was almost menacing looking

This pic was from yesterday as we were getting close to Marco Island.  this guy had just taken off from a bridge we had just gone under and did several very low fly bys of our boat and this other oncoming boat

A relaxing dip in the pool at sunset

   

Thursday 5/28/2020 - Ft Myers Yacht Basin to Marco Island Marina

After another good nights sleep at our tranquil slip we were both up early.   Our usual yogurt and granola for breakfast before we got started prepping for today's voyage.   The plan for today is to go out into the Gulf and travel just 3-4 miles offshore for about 56 miles down to Marco Island.   We took a little time to double check the weather forecast.....rain not expected till mid/late afternoon.  We took another look at a couple of Apps/sites that we utilize for wind and wave predictions.....light winds (6-8 knots) predicted today with average wave height of .9 to 1.2 ft.   Those are more than acceptable conditions for us so we motored over to the fuel dock and topped off the tanks and then shoved off.

Leaving Ft Myers Yacht Basin.  This guy wants to race us to Marco Island Erik thinks

View getting ready to go back out into the Gulf of the Sanibel Island lighthouse

Out into the great blue

It was a non eventful slow cruise along the coast.  A little rougher than we expected because the wave timing was short (ie. 3 seconds between waves) which gave us the occasional spray up on the bridge.  Nothing to unreasonable though.   It was a hot day and we kind of wished we could have picked up the pace just a bit, but, given that we were running on only one engine we thought it prudent to take things slow and easy.   About 2/3 of the way through the cruise Renee drove for a spell while Erik tried his hand at fishing at a 4-6 knot troll.   No luck!  I guess it's pork chops for dinner rather than fresh snapper :-(  

As we were coming into the Marco Island bay/inlet we watched a couple of dolphins following directly behind a small boat that was next to us.   They were jumping and turning and playing in the wake immediately behind the boat.   Very cool and entertaining to watch. 

Pulling into Marco Island Marina it was VERY apparent that we were going to again be the hooptie boat of the day.    The marina is filled with beautiful boats and with many multi million dollar yachts.  We are definitely the outcasts, BUT, my money is on the fact that we get way more hours of cruising the waterways on our hooptie than any of these that likely sit in their slips most of the time.  The dock hand was very friendly and even refused our tip $$ for helping us to tie up at the slip.

Funny boat name at Marco Island Marina

After getting hooked up to electric and ensuring we were tied off well we changed into bathing suits and walked up toward the marina office to check in and pay for the slip.   We were very hot from the long slow cruise and figured we would immediately take a dip in the pool.  It was nice to get some movement in and bring our body temps down. 

Should Renee swim laps?

Or just chill and relax!  

We had once again skipped lunch so we both were very hungry.   We grilled up some pork chops and made some rice for an early dinner before settling into the couch for a late afternoon nap in the A/C.  Somewhat rested and cooled down we got the bikes down and started off toward Tiger Tail Beach to enjoy the sunset.   Marco is a very pedestrian/biker friendly city with wide sidewalks and bike lanes along the roads.  It appears a good part of the island is residential and is actually a series of canals with boat docks that service the back yards of almost every home on the island.   The homes are quite impressive.  

About half way to the beach we heard some screeching and as we looked down just a few feet off the sidewalk on a vacant lot there were multiple burrowing owls just a few feet from us.  Very interesting birds.  Small and very cute although they did not sound particularly happy that we were so close.  They come in and out of holes in the sand and were flying around.   Some reading later in the evening found that there are about 500 of them on the island and that they are very rare anywhere else.

burrowing owls

Cute little guys, but not too excited about us being as close as we were to them so we moved along

Tiger Tail Beach was not your typical 'beach'.   It is actually on a lagoon a few hundred feet inland of the actual gulf shore.   Walking out onto the 'beach' of the lagoon in our bare feet proved to be quite painful because there were millions of shells.   Very nice shells; too bad we didn't bring a bag or something to collect some in to carry on our bike ride.   In addition to shells, the lagoon was teaming with wildlife; multiple kinds of birds and fish jumping everywhere.   As the sun was getting low and preparing to set in 30 minutes or so, a small insect (likely a "no-see-um".....scientific name "Ceratopogonidae".....accurate name "evil little bastards") landed on Erik and we both had flashbacks to Cayo Casto last year and decided it might be time to leave the stagnant lagoon area before we experienced a blood sucking disaster. 

Close to sunset at Tiger Tale Beach / Lagoon

One of many different birds at Tiger Tale 

A little to small to eat!  

We got back on our bikes and rode down the road another mile or so to a different public beach access point.   This was the 'real' beach; white, soft sand :-)    The sun was setting and just a few people were milling around.   There were thunderstorms not too far away and it was considerably cloudy which did not make for a spectacular sunset but it was nice nonetheless.   We took a stroll down the beach a ways and then turned around to walk back to the bikes and head to the most important stop of the evening for any day.....Ice Cream!    Todays stop was at 'Sweet Annie's' which was just a mile or so from the marina.  Rather than getting cones, we purchased two pints to bring back to the boat with us.   When we got back we showered up, made our nightly cups of coffee and relaxed with our hot and cold treats. 

The obligatory sunset selfie

LOVE the sound of the waves coming ashore

We are pretty certain that we are going to stay here in Marco for two nights because we did receive the tracking on our water pumps being shipped and it now appears that they will not be to Everglades City until Tuesday 6/2.   Kind of a bummer but at the same time not a bad thing because it will force us to slow down a bit to continue enjoying the towns we stop in.     

Wednesday 5/27/20 - Ft Myers Yacht Basin

Have you ever heard that it is HOT 🥵 in the summer in Florida?  Whew...a warm one today with some early evening thunderstorms.   We slept well last night in the marina with just a gentle rock....very relaxing.   It was a nice comfortable morning.   After sitting on the deck for a while and watching the sunrise Renee took a few hours to accomplish some math theory homework 🤓 while Erik took everything off the outside of the boat and gave it a GOOD washing.   The bulk of the grime had been removed at the storage yard but it needed a good polish.   Aquaholic still cleans up nicely for an old boat!

Everything stripped off the boat and time for a good bath

The AGLCA Looper flag is up on the bow pulpit

Old Glory is back in her station as well

While washing the boat Erik also did some MUCH needed maintenance and lubrication of the bicycles.   When we got to the boat we found that the sprockets, chains, gears, brake mechanisms and just about everything else had rusted badly.   We got them to somewhat operate back at the boatyard but the chains would both skip, brakes were very hard to squeeze, some gears wouldn’t shift and they were making all kinds of  squeaks and noises.   One full can of PB blaster later and a half bottle of chain oil and they are much more functional now.   We do think this will be the last year for these bikes though.

Erik's Cannondale was picked up off of craiglist 4 years ago in Wheeling WV on our way up to Pittsburgh
You can't tell from the pic, but its getting rough!  seat is electrical taped up, rust everywhere, sprocket squeaking.  Nothing lots of oil can't fix though :-) 

We picked up Renee's Trek bike at a garage sale 4 years ago for $5 and it's still chugging along.   No.....Renee did not crash into the pylon and fall into the water;  This is just one of several positions it was put into in order to get chain oil to seep down into the cables and such to get everything to operate 

In the afternoon we took the bikes up to the main drag, parked them and walked for a while looking at the many shops and restaurants.  The smells wafting from the kitchens made us hungry.   After the walking for a bit we got back on the bikes and rode further inland toward the historic residential neighborhoods which had many charming homes.   Love the moss hanging from the trees and the banyon trees.

Pretty landscapes

Neat street sculptures along the main drag 

Another sculpture 

Selfie chin. lol

If you have really good eyes and know where to look you can see Aquaholic in this pic taken from a pier down the coast

Bike ride into the historic Ft Myers neighborhoods

Stearnwheeler docked a hundred feet or so away from us

One of many beautiful homes we saw on our bike ride

After the hot afternoon the AC back at the boat was welcomed.   Erik stood directly in front of the AC vent and prepared fresh guacamole and then grilled hamburgers for dinner.   Some strong thunderstorms rolled through just after dinner time.  They were actually welcome because they knocked the heat down considerably.   Later in the evening we took another walk into town to partake  in our favorite activity....eating ice cream!  The ‘stellar coffee’ flavor lived up to its name 🍦

Tuesday 5/26/20 - The Glades Boat Storage to Ft Myers Yacht Basin

Excitement brewed as we slept aboard Aquaholic on the hard after two days of hard work to get her ready for launch.   Up at dark thirty with anticipation of splashing into the water.  A few last minute checks to ensure we were ready to launch.  Erik left with Dave (guy we had met working on his craft in the boatyard just behind us) to return the rental car.    Before he returned the boat had been put in the travel lift, brought to the docks and gently placed into the water.   Renee was there to help guide it over to the docks with the ropes.

All loaded up in the straps of the travel lift

Headed for the water! 

On the dock we conversed some more with Dave and Claudia who had come over to take a video of our departure.   Also on the dock was a gentleman from Ohio who had owned two Marinettes previously.  He had his “Great Lakes Marinette Club” shirt on.  

A quick check at the dock to ensure nothing was leaking and the motors fired right up!   Off heading west we went headed toward Ft Myers and back to the Gulf.  

All seemed to be running smoothly for the first several miles but then a squealing was heard from the engine room.   Oh bother!   Upon investigation it was discovered that the starboard side water pump appeared to be stuck and the belt was just turning on the pulley.  Yep....Erik did just tear the pumps down yesterday and replace the impellers.  🤔   We are not having much luck with water pumps this year.

Our traveling motto

The decision was made to forge forward on one engine and get to Ft Myers where we would have better resources for parts and help if needed.   Additionally, there was a significantly lower chance of rain in Ft Myers.  Onward we went.  Slow and steady at about 9mph we made our way 45 miles west.  Erik started the starboard engine just long enough to maneuver up to the lock walls of the two locks we passed through today.  Interestingly, as the starboard engine was started while entering the second lock the squealing stopped. After being lowered down a whopping 1 foot to the lower part of the river and exiting the lock Erik went back down into the engine room to investigate. The water pump had freed itself up and was spinning and pumping as it should.   However, after looking at a little closer it was determined that the water pump was now leaking water out of one of the side ports. With some communication from fellow Marinette owners we found out that the cause of this was that the bearings had gone bad. We started making phone calls to Parts stores and marinas to see if we could acquire a water pump rebuild kit or a new water pump. Unfortunately, after many calls none was to be found locally.   After checking into our slip at Fort Myers yacht basin we managed to find the pump online out of a shop in New York. Unfortunately, it will take 4 to 5 days to arrive in Florida. So, tomorrow our plan is to place the order for the pump and have it shipped to The Rod and Gun Club marina which is about 90 miles south of here.  We plan to stay in Fort Myers for two days and explore a bit and then head towards Marco Island on Thursday and They Everglade on Friday where hopefully the pump will be waiting for us. Hoping we will get by fine on a combination of one engine or one slightly faltering pump as needed :-)

Settled in at our slip at Ft Myers Yacht Basin 

Ready for another years adventure

With the AC on and nice cool air running over us we prepared shish kebabs to cook on the grill.  After dinner we took a walk around the marina where we met Mike and Dawn, a couple out of Houston Texas who were on their Great Loop.   We had some pleasant conversations with them and shared some stories. They have been here since early March. Their original intention was to go around the tip of Florida and continue their journey north, but when the Covid pandemic hit they decided to stay put.

Cirila out of Houston Texas with Mike, Dawn and Lola (the pug on a tug) aboard.  Always fun to meet and get to know fellow Loopers. 

The Evening finished off with a walk around the docks to a pier where we enjoyed a very nice sunset. Back to the boat we then showered up and prepared to retire for the evening. We both were pretty exhausted from a long day in the sun and the excitement of the first day back on the boat.
The adventure continues tomorrow!

After a nice bike ride we sat on a wall and watched the sunset 

God paints another picture

Monday 5/25/2020 - The Glades Boat Storage

We arrived at the Glades Boat Storage on Saturday and began to prep for launch!  New impellers, strangers cleaned, batteries replaced(ugh $$$), boat cleaned inside and out, bikes somewhat in working order😜, and supplies loaded. We return the rental car and launch in the morning!  Looking forward to another amazing adventure. First stop Fort Myers!!!

Aquaholic is a dirty girl....time for a good scrubbing! 

We're in gator country now

Want to go for a swim?