Ft. Myers

Sunday, December 10, 2017
Day 252

Thomas Edison said "There is only one Ft. Myers, and 90 million people are going to find it out."  Count us as two of those 90 million.  We loved Ft. Myers!

It is a combination of several things.
One - a really nice marina.  Our only complaint about Legacy Harbour Marina is our slip was as far away from the front as you can get.  About 1000 steps.  But it really isn't a negative as we need the exercise!

Two - a great location.  Two blocks west is a Publix grocery store.  We are atypical Loopers in that when in Florida we have our car.  Most transient boaters don't, so being able to get provisions nearby is a big plus.  Six blocks west are the Edison-Ford winter estates, a major tourist attraction.  Thomas Edison first visited Ft. Myers in 1885 and bought 13 acres along the Caloosahatchee River.  In 1886 he built a home for himself, an identical home for his friend and business partner, Ezra Gilliland, and an electrical laboratory.  Two years later, after a business dispute, Gilliland sold his home and Edison purchased it in 1906 and used it as a guest house, which is how it is referred to today.  Edison's wife Mina named their home Seminole Lodge. In 1914, Henry and Clara Ford visited Ft. Myers as guests of the Edison's.  Two years later, Ford bought the estate adjacent to Seminole Lodge to spend winters with his friend and mentor.  The Ford home is called The Mangoes.  In 1928, Henry Ford established a living history area in Dearborn, Michigan.  He had Edison's Ft. Myers laboratory dismantled and reassembled in Greenfield Village, where it can be seen today.  After the death of her husband, Mina Edison deeded their estate to the city of Ft. Myers.  Henry Ford sold The Mangoes to a local resident in 1945.  In 1988, the city purchased the Ford estate and opened it to the public.
I had taken the tour of the estate years ago so didn't this time, but walked to take pictures.  Over 100 trees on the grounds were lost to Hurricane Irma.  But still standing is the third largest banyan tree in the world, which Edison planted in the late 1920's.

Back to location - two blocks east is a park and a block further is downtown Fr. Myers, which we found to be filled with unique shops, restaurants and an art center.  We learned that this area wasn't always so welcoming, and it has been a 20+ year transformation to the vibrant area that it is today.

Three - other Loopers!  Ft. Myers is a popular stop on the Loop as it has 3 marinas within a mile.  Jim and Mandy on Shell Belle spent 2 months at Legacy last winter so knew their way around.  We enjoyed a fun afternoon together at Ft. Myers Beach.  There is only one bridge over to the beach area and traffic can get really backed up, but the time and effort is worth it when you get there.  It was a nostalgic trek for Mike as his maternal grandparents wintered in Ft. Myers for years.
On Monday, Observer, another Loop boat arrived.  We first met Tim and Alice and their dog Millie when they stopped at our marina in Ludington this summer.  Tuesday brought a grand celebration as AC and Jim Stebel on Hour Plan crossed their wake at Legacy Marina.  We met them last winter in Marathon and stayed in contact, including their stop in Ludington in August.  We didn't wait for Champagne Sunday to break out the bubbly as 4 couples toasted AC and Jim on the completion of their Loop.  It was our first time to be with a fellow boater to celebrate this amazing accomplishment. Also in our group was Paige and Mike on Golden who fly a platinum flag as they have done the Loop twice!
Over 70 boats on the Loop came to Ludington this summer, and now that we are back in the water and they have made the trip down the inland rivers, we are starting to meet up with each other.  Two other boats from that group joined us on Thursday when Mike barbecued for the 14 of us.  I have to mention Mike and Tammi from Ned Pepper as their last name is Magee!

Since being back on the boat, we have also seen friends on land as we've had dinner with Mike and Pat Kowatch at their home in Largo and lunch with Loren and Marilyn Adgate.

Saturday brought a change of guard on True North.  Greg flew in with friends Ron, Dennis and Mike.  They will leave Ft Myers on Monday and take the boat to Marathon, back to our same marina and same slip as last winter.  They will spend a week fishing in the Keys.
Mike and I drove to Jeff and Julie's in Tarpon Springs on Saturday.  Several months ago, when looking at the schedule for the Detroit Lions, I saw they were going to play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Tampa while we were in Florida.  13 other family and friends joined in on my Christmas present as we watched the Lions squeak out a victory on Sunday!   It was simply, a wonderful day.

Mike and I fly home on Monday morning and will celebrate Christmas with our kids (except Matt who is here in Florida and can't get away) and grandkids next weekend.  We hear we are in for snow, which is ok by me.  We will return to the Tampa airport on December 20th and drive down to Marathon to settle in for another winter at Marathon Marina.

We wish everyone a very Merry Christmas.  There is a reason for the season, and His name is Jesus.

Sculpture in the park.  From left - Henry Ford, Harvey Firestone and Thomas Edison

Edison and me and the banyan tree

Edison's Seminole Lodge

Ford's The Mangoes

Ft Myers is called the City of Palms.  The first royal palms were planted in 

1887.  The Edison-Ford Winter Estates are on McGregor Blvd and Edison planted the trees from 

his house to town. 

Today, royal palms line this street for miles.

Ford's Garage.  Probably the most well-known of the unique eateries in downtown Ft Myers.

The bathroom sinks!

This is just a feel-good picture for me as my Dad always called bars or pub "Biergartens".

These "rusty" sculptures are scattered around town.

Bennett's Coffee and Donuts was right across the street from the marina.  

We exhibited remarkable restraint as we only went there twice, despite the fact that Mike

said they give Wesco apple fritters a run for their money.

On the pier at Ft. Myers Beach.  Mike's grandparents spent many hours here.

Loopers having dinner

In front left - Jim and Mandy, Shell Belle.  Front right - Jim and AC, Hour Plan

Back left - Mike and Paige, Golden;  Back Center - Tim and Alice, Observer and us

Our nightly view from our flybridge at Legacy Marina on the Caloosahatchee River

True North's little bit of Christmas

Are you ready for some football?

Matt had shirts made for everyone

The Pirate Ship is the main attraction at Raymond James Stadium

  

Unique and Random photo of the day:

Our neighbor has neglected to "mow" his boat!

Clearwater to Ft. Myers

Sunday, November 26, 2017
Day 238
3075 miles

Our time in Clearwater flew by.  We seemed to be busy every day with a combination of things.  Boat-wise, it was getting settled in (where did we keep this item last year?), more cleaning and a few repairs.  Both of our freezers stopped working and needed freon injections.  Our main freezer in the kitchen area also required a new condenser.  We were so fortunate to get a small piece of the flybridge canvas repaired in one day.  Canvas shops in Florida are overwhelmed with work from Hurricane Irma damage.  The first place we called said they are booked until February!

We like being busy with family things.  We got to spend lots of time with Jeff and Julie and Shafer and Thomas.  And we made it to one of Shafer's varsity basketball games.
My apprenticeship studies continue.  Along with the electrical, plumbing and seamanship knowledge I gained on the first half of the Loop, I now can hang wreaths, garland and wrap palm trees with lights.  I spent 4 days helping Matt with his holiday lighting business.  Since he lives in Florida and we see him only a few times a year, I was happy to work along side Matt just to be able to spend the time with him.  He helped us by installing a new pump in our forward bilge, following Greg's instruction. (that would have been a job for me or Mike).

Although we were only there for one night, we could tell our slip at the Clearwater Beach marina was right in the middle of all the action.  Across the street was the beautiful sandy beach, all the shops and restaurants were within a 4 block radius, and charter boats of every variety (fishing, sightseeing, dolphin watching, lunch and dinner cruises) left from the marina.  But all that action comes with a price, which was congested traffic (both car and walking) and noise.  We were more than OK with the move to the Clearwater Harbor (city) marina.  Quiet, free parking, floating docks, and just one block from downtown.  (I mentioned in my last post that a power issue forced us to move to the city marina).  Since boat watching is now a favorite pastime, a bonus at our new spot was being able to sit at the back of True North and watch the parade of vessels that went right behind us, especially on the weekends.  The marina sits right on the intracoastal waterway.  Big ships,  little ships, tall ships, small ships, white ships, blue ships.  (my nod to Dr. Seuss).

We discovered that Clearwater is home to a LARGE Church of Scientology campus.  Many downtown buildings house the different facets of the organization.  The physical buildings themselves are quite beautiful.

Greg and Karen left on November 9th to return home for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  That cut the laughter quotient down by half.  Amidst all the hard work on the boat, we laugh . . . a lot.  Especially Karen and I.

There are two exceptions to our "quiet" stay.  The marina borders a city park and Sammy Hagar, from the band Van Halen, was at the park for a concert on the 14th.  We were able to sit up on the flybridge and enjoy the performance.  Actually, you could hear it from inside the boat, too.
The other disturbance was early one morning when we heard the pitter patter of little feet.  Over a hundred birds were running around on the bow of the boat!  That was Mike's estimate as I let him get up to check out the noise!  We had been dealing with the birds and their poop every day, but this was the first time they woke us up.  There were so many birds most nights around sunset, I felt like we were in a remake of Alfred Hitchcock's movie "The Birds.

We were suppose to leave Clearwater on the 19th, but a very kind dock master let us stay through Thanksgiving.  We just had to check out, move to a different slip, and check in again.

Looper friends Jim and Mandy Conley from Shell Belle docked at the marina last Saturday.  We first met them in Marathon last winter, and saw them again when they stayed at Harbor View Marina  in Ludington in July while on their Loop. Since then, they crossed their wake at Green Turtle Bay in Kentucky and are now flying a gold Looper flag.  They, like us, are going to enjoy another winter in Florida.  Jim and Mandy have been involved in a Looper tradition (like docktails) called Champagne Sunday.  So Mike and I hosted our first one, having the Shell Belle crew over for Sunday brunch.  We celebrated being on boats in Florida.  (Champagne Sunday is really just an excuse to celebrate something and drink champagne or mimosas!)

Josh and his girlfriend Ellynn drove down from Illinois to spend Thanksgiving with us, so there was quite a crowd at Jeff and Julie's as they had most of their kids and extended family - 18 of us.  The weather on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday wasn't the best - cloudy, overcast and occasional rain showers.  The gray weather meant games and cards took the place of being in the pool.
We were planning on moving the boat to Ft. Myers on Saturday and the weather cooperated.  Sunshine and waves under 1 ft made for a pleasant ride for Mike, Josh and Ellynn on True North and I drove the car.  (I live on the boat, so it was an easy decision to let Josh and Ellynn have the experience of traveling the gulf waters - crab pots and all!) The one surprise was it took the boaters almost 2 hours once they left the gulf and entered the Caloosahatchee River to get to downtown Ft. Myers, where Legacy Harbor is located.  Dozens of small pleasure boats out for the day created a virtual no wake zone for us the entire way.   We are courteous boaters, and would never allow our wake to swamp smaller boats, even though they are zipping past us.  So that made for a long day as True North left our slip in Clearwater at 8 am, went to the fuel dock at the beach marina for diesel and a pump out, got out to the gulf about 9:30, and tied up on the D dock at Legacy at 5:30.

After thinking we wouldn't know anyone in Ft. Myers (other than possibly other Looper boats), we were pleasantly surprised when we pulled into our slip and 2 boats over is the boat that was 2 slips over from us in Marathon! Joe and his family (including adorable 5 year old Olivia) live full time on their boat and came to Legacy to escape Hurricane Irma.  This morning Joe, standing on his deck,  laughed and said it was nice to look out and see True North again!  Another couple that live on their boat and were our dock mates in Marathon also got out of Dodge because of Irma and are here - Kevin and Christine.  I had met Christine last winter at water aerobics and Greg has been out fishing with Kevin.  Small world.

We drove Josh and Ellynn back to their car in Clearwater today.  They hated to leave as it is another sunny, warm day.

This Thanksgiving weekend we are reminded of our blessings and are very grateful for the little things and the big things.

And the parade begins

You can take the girl out of Michigan, but you can't take the Michigan out of the girl

Colorful dolphin statues around downtown Clearwater

A unique way to slow down traffic as opposed to speed bumps

Birds . . .

Birds . . .

And more birds . . .

This is what they leave behind.  We had just washed the entire boat the day before

Self pumpout.  A crappy job!

Wrapping trees.  I don't get on roofs!

The finished product

This reminded me of sand dunes at home

But this right next to the dune reminded me I was in Florida

Josh and Ellynn at Clearwater Beach

Jim and Mandy

Pizza night!

Coming into Legacy Harbor at Ft Myers

I was following a blog of some Looper friends - Scott and Karen Devoll.  They began the same week we did, kept going and crossed their wake in Muskegon this summer, after spending the night docked next to us in Ludington.  After two weeks at home, they planned to get back on Last Call and continue looping.  A recurrence of cancer for Karen put a hold on those plans.  Karen ended all her blog posts with "The Unique and Random Photo of the Day".  Until they are back on the Loop, I'd like to keep that idea going.  Here is my first 

Unique and Random Photo of the Day:

Back on True North!

Sunday, November 5, 2017
Day 216 (Loop days)


"On the boat again
I just can't wait to get on the boat again . . ."

Ok, so I borrowed a lyric from Willie Nelson and tweaked it a little, but we are on True North again and excited to be resuming our Loop.

A lot of hard work went into getting her ready to launch back into the Florida waters.  Hurricane Irma did no damage other than leaving the boat very dirty, both inside and out.  About a month ago, the outside dirt was tackled by Mike, Greg, and two of our sons - Michael and Matt, who spent a week washing, waxing, and painting the exterior.  It was brutal work, with the temps in the high 90's.  The pictures below show what a good job they did.

With the boat scheduled to go into the water on November 1, we loaded up a U-Haul trailer and left chilly Michigan the end of October.  We thought our launch time was 1 pm, so we were pleasantly surprised when we got to the boat yard and they said we were going in at 11.  Little did we know we would need those extra 2 hours.  Once in the water, we tied up to the yard's seawall but the contents of the rented trailer could not be brought onboard until the inside dirt was taken care of.  Every surface had to be cleaned - ceilings, walls, floors, cupboards, drawers, furniture, and the bathrooms.  So True North got a spring cleaning in the fall.  Mike and I and Greg and Karen worked for 12 hours just to get to the point that we could put sheets on the beds and use the bathrooms.  The next day we had hoped to leave for Clearwater, but another long day of cleaning and fixing some issues that arose kept us at Safe Cove a second night.  A very simple thing had us stumped for almost 2 hours.  The dinghy rides on the swim platform, on some rocker arms, and then we secure it to the platform with straps that ratchet tight.  No matter how tight we made the straps, the dinghy was way too wobbly.  We felt that our exhaustion and the hot sun were conspiring to fry our brains as we could not figure out how to have the dinghy sit correctly and be secure.  Last year we did this in our sleep!  We took a break and Mike searched my phone for any pictures of the boat and the dinghy.  He finally realized that 2 small, but obviously very important bolts got left back in Ludington.  The MacGyver in Greg came up with wedging one of our round bumpers under the dinghy so it wouldn't rock when traveling.  (I think we need to finish the Loop before our brains go really dead and we can't remember if we are headed north or south!) Our freezer in the kitchen is also not working, but in the "you have to be thankful for the little things" category, we have a chest freezer in the back cockpit area and that is working.

  When the U-Haul was finally empty (the dinghy was the last thing out) it marked the 5th time that Mike and I have transferred  our personal belongings from one place to another since moving aboard True North in July of 2016.

Under a beautiful sunny sky, the boat left its summer home in Port Charlotte at 8:45 am on Friday, November 3.  Destination - Clearwater Beach Marina, where we had a reservation for the month of November.  Mike, Greg and Karen were on the boat and I drove the chase car - a.k.a our Jeep.  Karen developed a really bad cold so staying onboard (where there is a bed!) was better for her than fighting traffic on I-75.  First stop was a fuel dock in Punta Gorda.  It took almost 2 hours to get out of the river where Safe Cove is located, and then another 45 minutes across Charlotte Harbor to Punta Gorda.  With full tanks, the boat left Punta Gorda at 12:30.  The trip to Clearwater took over 6 hours. A strong north wind produced a chop on the water so the ride was a little bumpy.

Friday was Matt's birthday and we had arranged to take him and several of his friends out to dinner to celebrate.  The marina is across the street from the beautiful Clearwater beach and in the midst of a lively restaurant/shopping district.  Matt was with me to catch lines when True North docked, much later than we had originally planned.  Getting settled in the slip (adjusting lines and hooking up power and water) takes a little time, and we all had to shower yet. Matt's friends took a quick tour of the boat, then went up to the flybridge with some appetizers and drinks to wait while we got ready.  All was going well until the inside lights started dimming and then went completely out.  Our power gauge indicators were reading really low voltage, which was odd because when we plugged in, the voltage was fine.  This started a process of troubleshooting.  When it got to be after 9pm, with no solution in sight, Mike and Greg stayed on the boat to keep working on the problem while the rest of us went to dinner. (Karen also stayed behind as she was a real trooper being sociable with our guests but really needed to go to bed!)  Our sister-in-law Julie and nephew Thomas also joined us and we had a really nice celebratory dinner for Matt at Crabby's, just steps from the marina.

No luck on the power issue so we spent Friday night not being able to run any of the air conditioners or have lights on with the hot water heater on.   Early Saturday morning I went to check in at the marina office (they were closed when the boat arrived) and I just happened to mention that we were having an electrical issue.  The worker said "You will not get any more than 208 volts, and even that is optimistic".  I knew that didn't sound right and went back to tell Mike.  That was the "aha" moment, as he realized the power issue was not something that was wrong with the boat.  She needs 240 volts, ideally, and can get by at 220 if need be, but anything below that just won't cut it.  The worker said the Clearwater City Marina has better power.  I inquired if we could get in over there, could we get a refund on our dockage.  I had just paid for the entire month.  "I can do that if you leave by 11".   Calls were made and off we went for the 10 minute ride to the city marina.  We have great power here and floating docks, which the beach marina didn't have.  My short legs have a really difficult time getting on and off the boat at low tide with fixed docks!

I know you are going to find this hard to believe, but True North has been back in the water 5 days and Mike has washed the outside of her twice already.

I'm dealing with an attack of biting no see-ums.  At least that is what I think they were as it hard to tell when you can't see um!

This marina has a maximum 15 day stay policy, so we will be here until Nov. 19.  We will need to find dockage somewhere else in the area for another week as we are spending Thanksgiving with Jeff and Julie at their home in Tarpon Springs.

Our Great Loop Adventure continues . . .

Reminder:  You can click on any individual picture to make it bigger.

Look at that shine!

Paying extra for these hurricane tie-downs was well worth it

Michael, Greg and Matt 

Launch Day!

The yard worker watching the lift come under the covering

He is controlling the lift remotely 

She's underway!  

Leaving Safe Cove Boatyard Friday

Clearwater City Marina

Even being your birthday doesn't get you out of cleaning the boat

Matt dropped his brush to do his best Titanic

"I'm king of the world" impression

Our view from our slip.  That is the causeway bridge to Clearwater

Beach behind us.

A well-deserved rest at the end of several long days

The Birthday Boy.

Jeff treated us to dinner at a great Italian/pizza place

on Saturday night

These two pictures show our Welcome Wagon

The turtle and pelicans are reminders we are not

in Michigan anymore, Toto.

Looking forward to seeing dolphins again!