Saturday, January 28. - Farmers Market

The rental car was due at 10:00, so we headed that way.  Our bike were still in the storage shed, so we got on them and started peddling back.  There was a IHOP on the way, so of course we had to stop and get breakfast.  Love their grain and nut pancakes!

The Harbor Hosts had mentioned a Saturday farmers' market close to the marina, so we rode on down to check it out.  Fabulous!  Crowded!  Beautiful!  Unusual booths.  Here are some pictures I took.  It was so crowded I couldn't get a good overall shot.

The market is in the old historic part of Naples, so lots of people rode bikes.

Now that's a lot of popcorn.  Eight different flavors.

A new kind of food booth to me.  I think they called it Hot Rice.  It was a HUGE pan of paella.

If only I could have carried one in my backpack.

The music was pretty good.

Our take-home was cheese bread, a cantaloupe, and fresh corn.  Feast tonight.

The dinghy was ready for a trial run.  You get a different view from water level!

Friday, January 27th - Shopping Day

Friday, January 27 - Shopping Day

We had a car, so we went shopping.  But first, we went to breakfast at Waffle House, of course.  Trader Joe's was next to get my wine.  Then WalMart to get everything else.  I really don't like shopping at WalMart, but since we needed food and yarn and a lantern and oil for the bicycles, it was the natural choice.

We drove back along the coast and saw more beautiful houses and hotels.  I had no idea Naples was so big.

Traffic had been horrible, the stores were further away than we thought, and the navigator (me) missed a couple of turns, so we came back to the boat and I fixed a martini!

Danny worked on the new dinghy, and we enjoyed some of the pretty scenery.

Thursday, January 26 - Marco Island and Everglades City

Since we have extra days in Naples, we rented a car to do some shopping and exploring.
We rode our bikes to the car rental agency, this was the view as we crossed the bridge.

We are getting good at this bike thing!

First stop with the car was McDonald's for an Egg McMuffin and iPhone update, we thought.  The one we picked did not have a single plug-in.  Oh, well, on to Marco Island.  We have been shopping for a dinghy for a couple of weeks, Danny is tired of pumping ours up every day.  The cheapest and best for us was at West Marine in Marco Island, so we went to pick it up instead of waiting until we get there by boat.

First tourist stop was the Marco Island Historical Museum.  It was quite impressive, obviously it had significant financial backers!  The Kay Marco Cat was found on the island, it is now in the Smithsonian Museum.  Both the Chamber of Commerce lady and the museum docent said they WILL get the Cat back to Marco Island. The cat behind me is a reproduction, the original is 5" tall!

Everglades City was our next stop.  It had been important in the construction of the Tamiami Trail crossing Florida.  The local museum was located in the former laundry of the company town.

 This is also home of the historic Everglades Rod and Gun Club, where Eisenhower fished.

We drove down another mile or so to the visitor center for Everglades National Park.  It was very disappointing.  The focus was tours of the Everglades, the visitor center itself had part of one room set up as displays.  Well, we tried to be scholarly.  This was the best view.  I told you it was disappointing.

Leaving Everglades City, we drove through a section with several of these signs.

The panther is one of the most endangered species, and they are serious about this habitat!  Fences for miles, and the area is designated as Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge.  Danny was interested because we had seen a large, beautiful panther at the wildlife refuge at Tybee, and he would love to see another one!

We got back to the dock in time for the return of the fish boats, and the flock of pelicans that attends each cleaning.

Danny decided to unpack the dinghy and inflate it, then he had to find a place to put it on the boat!

Wednesday, January 25 - Surprise Visit!

The repair couple yesterday had raved abut a burger place not far from here, and you know us and burgers!  Again, we rode our bikes.  I'm sure glad we bought them before this stay!  While we were eating (my hamburger was pesto and feta cheese  - delicious!), we got a phone call from Jeanne and Chuck, long time friends from Iowa.  They were on their way to Naples to see some friends and could stop by the boat this afternoon.

It was wonderful to see them, it had been about 8 years.  We caught up on children and grandchildren, travels (they just went on a safari), and the BIX 7 race in Davenport, Iowa (Chuck still runs it).

Major development - I cooked dinner.  It was pasta chicken something, and was pretty good.  Now we have enough leftovers for two more meals, and that's boring.

Tuesday, January 24 - Oil Change Day

Danny had called several maintenance places yesterday trying to get someone to change the oil.  (We left the oil puller in Knoxville.). The first time anyone could come was today around noon.  So we spent the day at the dock waiting for them.  Danny went down in the engine room just before they arrived to get everything ready and noticed some white "stuff" that he had not seen before.  Another question to ask the mechanic.  "The mechanic" was a couple, she was from Knoxville and he was from Johnson City!  The white "stuff" was from some kind of leak that needs to be fixed as "routine maintenance."  They can't fit us into the schedule until Monday, so it looks like we will spend the week in Naples!  We did get the oil changed, at least.

Monday, January 23 - More Wind!

Bruce, the Harbor Host, had recommended the coffee shop in the Cove Inn Motel for breakfast.  It's just across the canal from us, so we biked over.  The cafe is just off the lobby, and is a throwback to the 60's.  The food was great!

We walked down the dock behind the hotel and got a great shot of our boat across the way.

As we left the motel, the wind was really whipping the palm trees.  This is some serious wind!

Back on the boat, Danny noticed two little kids with their mom and grandfather walking by on the dock looking at our boat.  He started talking to them, and asked if they wanted to come aboard and look at the boat.  Of course they did, especially the little boy.  We had fun showing them around and we got a kid fix.

We needed some kind of filter from West Marine, so Danny proposed that we ride the bikes to the store to get it.  Our maps app showed the distance as 2.7 miles.  Doable, right?

It was a great ride!  Downtown, or at least the part we rode through, was very scenic, sidewalks and crosswalks were in all the right places, the wind was blowing to keep us cool.  We were at West Marine before we knew it!

Google maps showed lots of restaurants in the mall across the highway, so that's we went to the food court for lunch.  Too many people, too much noise, I was so glad to be through and back outside!  What will I do when this trip is over?

On the way out of the mall, we passed some really funky trees, so Mr. Forestry Major asked me to take some pictures.

Late in the afternoon, we watched the palm trees sway in the brisk wind.

Then the beautiful clouds as the sun set.

I had to take this picture of Danny watching the fenders.  With such high wind, he has been preoccupied with keeping the fenders against the slip poles.  He thinks it is all right tonight.

Sunday, January 22 - Exploring Naples

The wind was still very strong, so we decided to stay another night.  The AGLCA harbor hosts had made some sight-seeing suggestions when they stopped by yesterday, so we took off on our bikes.  First stop was the beach.  I wanted to see these huge waves everyone was talking about.  It's a beautiful beach, but the waves didn't look THAT big.

The next stop was the town pier, which is very long, and the waves did look big from the the end of it.  The wind was non-stop.  Really.  I don't think I have ever been in wind that powerful or that steady.  I took pictures and video, but neither one does it justice.

The shopping area close to the pier was very upscale, mostly art galleries and design studios.  I didn't get any pictures because I can't take pictures and ride!

The other tourist area the harbor host had mentioned was Tin City.  It's an old warehouse area that has been converted to small shops and restaurants.  I found a visor that we both liked, but it wouldn't stay on in the high wind so I ended up putting my old one back on.  We had lunch at Pinchers Crab Shack which had a great view of the Gordon River.  Good food, crazy wind.

Our adventures at an end, we went back to the dock to do laundry.

Saturday, January 21 - Headed for Marco Island, stopped at Naples

It was much easier to get OFF the mooring ball than it was to tie ON!  We stopped at Salty Sam's Marina on our way out of the bay.  It was humming!  Fishing charters, boat rentals, lots of activity.  And Danny's favorite activity - filling the gas tank!

Our journey took us "outside" into the Gulf of Mexico.  The view of the island was amazing - condo after condo after condo!

About 20 minutes into the trip, we heard a Coast Guard  advisory on the VHF radio - small craft warning, winds 25+ mph, 14 foot waves.  Worsening today and even worse tomorrow.  We are a small craft, and we heed warnings, so we turned in to Naples rather than proceeding to Marco Island.

As we turned into Naples Bay, there were boats everywhere!  It's the week-end, high season, bright sunshine, and everybody is out on boats!

We also passed beautiful houses, and lots of construction.  Danny said the building bust must surely be over.

We pulled into Naples City Dock to pump out before  pulling in to our slip.  When Danny cranked up to move to the slip, the port engine wouldn't stay cranked.  A Tow Boat US boat was getting gas and Danny went to ask them if they could tow us to the slip.  With one engine, no thrusters and the stiff wind, it would be impossible for us to make it.  When Danny told them he thought the problem was the fuel filter, one of the guys offered to come aboard and check it.  His friend came, too, and between the three of them they got it running!  They offered to help us get into the slip, and even unloaded our bicycles (the finger piers were too short for us to use our "normal" system).  Danny tipped them nicely!  Now if they will just come back when we are ready to load the bikes again!

This is a city boat dock, not a marina.  There are many charter fishing boats which provide entertainment, like this 80 pound fish.

It does have restrooms and showers just across the dock from us,

washers and a dryer with a great view,

a Take One, Leave One "library,"

free coffee,

 and a boaters' lounge where people wait for the charter boats to come in.

The view out front is pretty nice.  "I think I'm gonna like it here."