Moore Haven

30 March 2015   55 sm today   2 locks

We departed Ft. Myers at 830 am. in beautiful conditions. Light winds and sunny skies. We had a wonderful day cruising. Only passed by 2 big go fast boats and they both slowed down as they passed so as to minimize their wake. Went through the first 2 locks for this year. There are 3 more to go on the Okeechobee Waterway. The scenery was lush and green with many beautiful homes. We arrived in Moore Haven and docked at the city dock at 400 pm. At $1.00/ft. it's quite a bargain with electricity. Docktails on shore with Mike & Carolyn of Patriyachtik and Mark & Becky of Mara Beel. Afterwards we had dinner aboard.

A passing pelican.

The first lock.

Siesta time.

Bad day on the water.

Solar power but no sails.

Ft. Myers day 3

29 March, 2015   0 miles today

I shouldn't say 0 miles today as we took a bike ride east along the river this morning for our second ride on the new bikes. It was a beautiful day but the winds were still up. We're glad we decided to stay another day. The ride was fun and we saw more of the city and some old homes. When we came back to the downtown area we spent a bit of time at Starbucks doing some people watching as Ann had a cup of coffee. Then around the corner to a tavern where we did some more watching as I had a beer. We had thought of having dinner at Firestone which is housed in a 3 or 4 story building with a bar on the roof. After looking at their menu we decided against dinner but went up top to see the view. As we returned to the boat about 430 pm. Mark from Mara Beel came walking up behind us and said hi. We didn't expect to see each other as we had exchanged emails last week and we would be a day apart. Us staying another day changed that. He invited us to docktails aboard with Becky, Steve and Gina from Island Time and Eddy Johnson from Spiritus. Eddie opted out of dinner so the 6 of us wandered from restaurant to restaurant until we found a short wait time. It turned out to be Cabo the Mexican place we ate at the night before. Another great time!!

Saturday night sunset.

Biking under the Hwy 41 bridge.

Old home.

A small beach along the river.

A patient fisherman.

Mangroves.

View from the Firestone rooftop bar.

Ft. Myers day 2

28 March 2015   0 sm. today

After the cold front went through yesterday I awoke to 50 degrees this morning.It felt good and allowed me to turn the ac off and open up the boat. Continuing to look at the weather and our timing into Stuart, we decided to stay another night and leave here Monday morning. I did a few engine room chores early and we then set out on our new bikes for the Edison & Ford winter estates. The estates are next to each other and cover about 20 acres. There are 2 homes, a guest home, a caretakers cottage, a swimming pool and numerous other buildings. The grounds are covered in palms and many other tropical plants. Edison's home was built in 1886 and Ford's home was built in 1911 but he didn't purchase it until 1916.

The crew with Mr. Edison.

Mrs. Edison's moonlight garden pond.

Swimming pool with  high and low dive boards. 

What a view!

Edison house.

some inside shots.

Mr. Ford.

Ford house.

One of 4 Ford cars on display.

Part of the kitchen in the Ford house.

Banyan tree.

Front view of the Ford house.

Front view of the Edison house.

More gardens.

Entrance and old pilings from the pier.

Lots of palm lined streets.

Dinner was at a Mexican restaurant downtown. As we walked up we realized the entire downtown area was closed off for and old car show. After we ate we walked around and enjoyed seeing cars from our past.

Even a fake dog!

Old VW pop up camper.

Ft. Myers

27 March, 2015   0 sm traveled today

The thunderstorms and rain came early in the morning and gave the boat a much needed rinse from yesterday's salt accumulation. Mid morning we took a walk through the historic downtown area. Now filled with shops and restaurants. The rain returned again mid afternoon and continued into the evening. Not wanting to take outdoor showers, we decided to eat on the boat and watch TV.

A houseboat hair salon in the marina.

Downtown street.

The admiral with her late morning coffee.

Nice fountains.

The marina.

Lots of palm trees.