Captain's log: 2-19-12

      4 days on the mooring ball! We survived. We learned some things. One thing being that if we run our gen. a couple times a day, especially if it's while the frigerator is running we can stay ahead of our electrical needs and therefore stay as long as we want.  We also learned that we don't want to stay too long. Different opinions of how long too long is. I guess we are more social than we think.
      Speaking of social, did you know there is a hierachy of socialness and it can be measured like this: expensive marina, cheap marina, mooring balls, anchored out, anchored way out. It's kind of a bell curve with anchored way out =  leave me the he$$ alone.  We were in the far corner of the mooring field and every night the "way outs" would dinghy by in the dark , no lights, some motoring some rowing, one guy had a constant full out screaming argument all the way all by himself!!!

      Other than that it was pretty good. sunrise:

     And a few other obviously insane:

The girls and Doug....

Other than that same old stuff... sunsets, etc.

      This next week we will probably be going out on a afternoon/sunset cruise.

 Oh, we also went to a great little marine flea market at Bonita Bill's this AM. Lot's of great "guy" stuff fuel filters, tools, boat hardware, fenders, anchors, etc..........and Bloody Marys .

Captain's log: 2-14-12 V-Day

      So, we have moved out to a mooring ball at Fort Meyers Beach. Easy huh? In theory we know how it's supposed to work. You Hook the loop , pull it up, slip your line through it , cleat it and your done. Keep in mind neither one of us has ever seen "the loop" up close before. So we are pulling and pulling on the loop and that sucker is real heavy!  Now if something doesn't seem right then it probably isn't. It turns out the city hasn't completed all the balls and there was no mooring line on the one we were at so we were trying to lift the whole ball . I'm guessing 70-80 pounds. Who knew?
    Heres a pic just to show that we finally did get one.

Sleeping on the "ball" is a lot better than the "hook". Maybe a false sense of security since you really don't know how well they are maintained. Not well given the 5 pages of "it's not our fault" documents they make you sign.  Oh ya, I'm still in Florida. Land of cosmetic surgeons and lawyers.
     
   Moka here: Boy this guy is in trouble. It's Valentines Day and he thinks he is gonna get by with just taken her out to eat! I'll have to try and save him here. This is a pic Dorene took. Maybe she'll let it slide as a Valentines card if he declares his LOVE to her on line in front of no one but, technically everyone.

Notice the heart shaped moon. This is not a touched up photo, just amazing movement considering I needed it for Valentines Day.

  Moka again:  How long have I been on this boat? 2 seasons? and they finally take me to the beach. I love this water stuff. I wish they would have told me sooner, I would have held back on the grilling and kept my trim hips for the beach.

A day at the beach does really tire you out though!

     Well more pics to come but, I better go see about that Valentines dinner.

Captain's log: 2-8-12

                                             Sky's the limit!

view last night (cool)

     The weather/sky is the deciding factor. We've hung around in Fort Meyers Beach long enough for the weather to go down hill. Looks like the wind is going to hold us here for a few more days and calculating travel time down and back to the Keys we decided not to rush it. Looks like the keys will be next year. Just going to explore the water aound here,fish and try out our first stint on a mooring ball. 
       More friends from MN are coming down so staying here this year just makes sense for now.

Moka says she will have to "make do" but, the grill is a bit small. You can't see it because it's not there at the moment but, there was a dolphin splashing around just beyond my grill. Sounds cool but a large animal exhaling just behind you is kinda creepy at night!

Less intimidating,. A green heron watches us daily from our dinghy. They are supposedly shy but, this guy doesn't mind getting close.

Cobb salad. Not sure why this pic is here.......Dorene likes pretty food.

     

Captain's log: 2-5-12 Superbowl!!!

     SUPERBOWL, BIG day....So what do you need for a BIG game on a Big day?


 A BIG chair of course.

What is it with big chairs down here?    I'm pouting. It's a "time out" chair. What am I pouting about in paradise? 

Someone stuck a packer fans only sign in a remote corner of the bar with asolutely no view of anything. Someone must pay! I think Moka will have to pay a visit to the New England section.
     There is a large sports bar called "big game" right at the end of our dock so I guess it's a no brainer. we will be meeting Kris and Dan there later to watch the Superbowl. We met up with them yesterday on Fort Meyers Beach. Much different sand than Englewood,(White powder). Much different clientel also. 3 beach goers ages here don't add up to 1 beach goer at Englewood. Starting to feel my real age again. Gotta get back to Englewood!

Kris and Dorene at Times Square in FortMeyers Beach. (a couple a young chicks )

Captain's log:2-3-12

      Well It's true. If you don't move your boat often enough when you finally do it leaves a hole in the water. I didn't see it but Chrissy says she is fishing in it right now!

This is where our boat was.......

and this is where we ended up the first night...

Anchored behind Punta Blanca Island at Cayo Costa state park. Nosed into 3 ft of water and then set a stern anchor towards beach in about 7ft. Didn't move a foot during the night. Of course it was dead calm. That helped. I'm used to soft Mississippi mud/sand. Darned near took the bow pulpit off backing down on that "hard as cement" sand at Cayo Costa.

Moka liked this feature... Shuttle to the beach for her evening duty or is that doody?   Saw some rather large fresh paw prints (panther?) We didn't stay long but Moka definitely wanted something back in those Mangroves.  And since it for sure wasn't Clive's grill , I'm betting large animal. We're outa here!   Look closely, Is that a Leprechaun in that dinghy? Remember him you never know where he might turn up.

   Meanwhile back at 30 Below...

Fishing was plentiful but not desirable. 7 catfish released.

     For anyone interested back at Chadwick Cove . This is what the large anchorage at Cayo Costa looks like.  We dingyed over and payed our 4 bucks to the state of Florida , rode the shuttle a mile over to the beach only to be told by the driver that no dogs are allowed on the beach.  What did he think this thing under my arm was? a tumor? Sorry Moka maybe he was looking at your back end.

Of course the sunset was beautiful but the next morning was even better!

Now, what is it they say about red sky in morning? Oh ya- Sailors take warning.  I guess we are safe then. No sails on this boat!   So we left for Fort Meyers Beach anyway.
Turned out to be a beautiful ,calm, overcast day. Great for cruising. This is a pic of the fort Meyers Beach bridge that Dorene piloted under.

And of course the pay off for all this?....

A little rest and relaxation of course.                     AND....

Maybe the biggest Margarita I have ever seen! And if you don't believe me . Look closely. There is that leprechaun again, sitting under the umbrella ordering another one!!!!!