I hear there is a great Peter Rabbit movie that makes you forget all your woes.
March 5, 2018
I am sitting on our bridge, in perfect weather to write about February. As I write, it is March 5th and we were scheduled to leave here today for Cayo Costa, then Sarasota on Tuesday. But the weather didn't look good for traveling, so we are staying here for another week. To tell the truth it is not a hardship to continue to be on the dock, have happy hour with our friends and have the town close by.
We are on H8 Dock facing the Caloosahatchee. I think that it will be much easier to show you where we stay with a picture.
We are able to see all the boats that come in for fuel and there are lots each day. Some of the boats announce their presence with huge, loud diesel engines while other purr when they come in. If there is a flag on a boat that I don't recognize, I look it up to see where they are from. It was hard to figure out the country flag of one boat but I did and in talking with another boater I found out there are a lot of boats flying that flag because of the island's tax shelter. The boat I am talking about was a personal yacht.
Another boat that we saw here was very elegant, three stories with at least one captain and I would say probably a cook. Rob and I didn't know until we were on our way back from the theater (across from the marina) that the people from the boat also went to the theater. As soon as they were back on the boat they left in the night headed out of the Caloosahatchee River. The live performance we saw was "How the Other Half Loves".
Once a month the marina has a gathering on the water in front of the store. They serve hot dogs and hamburgers and everyone brings a dish to share.
These are some of the boats in the marina, people we have met and spent time with.
Nearly Perfect- Patty and Jack
Summertime-Wally and Darcy
Rising Tide-Jane and Kent
Dream Chaser-Janice and Russ from NH
Chesapeake-Joe and Connie
Attitude Changer-Ross and Barb
Final Approach-Darlene and Scott
Escape Artist-Erin and Donna (Donna is an art teacher)
Melody in Sea-Dan and Jenny (Jenny is a musician)
Antonia-Mark and Lezlie
Little Lady-Christina and Lance
There are so many nice people and so many boats.
We had a tour of Elaine and Russ's GH 37-Great Harbor. The Great Harbor has a lot of room and with Russ and Elaine's customizations there is even more room, it is an elegant boat.
We can tell the time by the time Elaine and Russ walking their two dogs.
Another boat, 37' Bayliner, in the slip beside us with a couple that live onboard. They have a 4 pound dog that Debbie walks several times a day. They just asked us to go to a Honky Tonk bar to hear a singer from the dock. Debbie is very nice, yesterday she brought us chicken for dinner.
Across from us are two sail boats an Endeavor 37' another O'Day 32'.
On the other side of the dock but down two slips is a trawler, Prairie 37', with a nice couple from Michigan. They are here for a lot of the winter and have done the loop. Barb and Ross are trying to sell their boat, but not very hard. Later in the spring they head back to Michigan by car.
Our friends Patty and Jack on the Hatteras 43 have for Niceville a city in Okaloosa County Florida. They will spend a year there and start the loop again, referred to as "working on getting their Platinum. The first time someone does it they have their Gold Looper flag. We really miss them. I told Patty that there is a boat in there slip and she suggested that I go over at 5:00 with my wine to have cocktails with them. We didn't.
No more happy hour aboard Nearly Perfect
The number of times we have spent on their boat are countless, the number of miles I have walked with Patty and the number of laughs I have had with both of them are priceless.
Nearly Perfect Docktails
There are some big boys here on docks too and one of them, Incognito, is a character in one of the Trawler Trash books, author Ed Robinson. It is unclear to me if the author lives in Pelican Bay (Cayo Costa) most of the time or he actually lives on his boat full time.
February 2
Jane took me to a Fleamasters flea market. It is your typical flea market in many ways, it does have a very nice kitchen "store".
February 3
Was the first day of the annual Art Show that starts off the Edison two week birthday celebration. The talents of the people are outstanding. As with any celebration there were a variety of food vendors.
Here is a chair done entirely with flowers advertising a florist.
February 6, 2018
Jane and Kent took us to the Calusa Nature Center here in Ft. Myers.
Cypress Trees
February 7, 2018
Several of us went shopping at the Miromar Mall and on the way back we stopped at the "The Best Ice Cream Store". It wasn't.
On February 10, 2018
Wally and Darcy leave for Clearwater to spend a week with their young granddaughters. They had a great time although exhausting.
Each year there is the Mutt Strut as part of the Edison celebration. Here are some of the contestants.
February 11, 2018
The kids parade has a great turnout every year. It was so hot we waited to the very end of the parade to venture downtown to see it.
That night six of us had happy hour on Jane and Kents PDQ. Jane made an appetizer of cream cheese with soy sauce and wasabi, it was a big hit.
February 12, 2018
The Grande Mariner boat/yacht came into FMYB for fuel and has been at the town dock since then we don't know what it is doing still there.
February 14, 2018
Two wives conspire to bring their husbands a Valentines to remember.
The happy couples
February 17, 2018
The last day of the Edison celebration is alive with lights, music and fireworks.
February 18, 2018
A minute of work
Clydesdales and Dalmatian
Come to Jesus truck, beautiful painting
Plymouth Prowler, before picture.
...after the magic Plymouth Prowler (Studebaker)
Patty is always up for ice cream
...Kent playing conch at sunset with Jane and Squirt looking on
Last dinner at Capones with Patty and Jack
This is a glass covered opening in the floor at Capone's
A young man needs a haircut and boaters need the same young man to climb their mast.
...and a young man needs a scooter
My own version of a pooch parade
Chase hates to have his picture taken. He growls. But he growls even more when you show him the picture.
Koreshan State Historic Site, Estero, FL
If you get a chance to research the Koreshan Unity you will find it fascinating.
You would think that the "girls" had never been out shopping before. We thought we had a new found freedom after we learned how to take public transportation to Bell Tower.
Ann Marie Dyer
Silk Scarf Painting at Edison Estate
Jane and I intend to take a class with Ann Marie Dyer next year in an all day class of learning silk art painting, the class will be at the Edison Estate.
Looking East at the Ft. Myers Yacht Basin
Jane holds up the city
Tricia knows how to act out
Rock Lake Resort, it looks so much like something you would find in Maine
Friends leave for a day sail
History Repeats
Deportee
The crops are all in
And the peaches are rotting
The oranges piled up
In their creosote dumps
You're flying 'em back
To the Mexican border
To spend all their money
To wade back again
Good bye to my Juan
Goodbye Rosalita
Adios mis amigos Jesus why Maria
You won't have a name
When you ride the big airplane
All they will call you
Will be "deportees"
Some of us are illegal
And others not wanted
Our work contract's up
And we have to move on
Six hundred miles to that Mexican border
They chase us like outlaws
Like rustlers, like thieves
Good bye to my Juan
Goodbye Rosalita
Adios mis amigos Jesus why Maria
You won't have a name
When you ride the big airplane
All they will call you
Will be "deportees"
The skyplane caught fire
Over Los Gatos Canyon
A fireball of lightning
Shook all our hills
Who are all these friends
Who are scattered like dried leaves
The radio said
They were just "deportees"
Good bye to my Juan
Goodbye Rosalita
Adios mis amigos Jesus why Maria
You won't have a name
When you ride the big airplane
All they will call you
Will be "deportees"
Martin Hoffman wrote and Woody Guthrie first sang in 1958 ten years after a plane crashed in Los Gatos Canyon. The history of these lyrics can be found on Wikipedia-https://en.wikipedia.org-
