1/25/16 Faro Blanco Resort in Marathon

We rode 50 miles this day; leaving our anchorage right after sunrise. We are very anxious to finally get to Marathon. Our plans are to stay till mid March. The resort is very nice, pool, restaurant and we're close to most everything we need. Lynn n Dawn arrived the day after us, staying in the Hyatt Place (which is on the property) for 5 days. We ate out a lot, rode in their convertible, took the bus to Key West, etc. Had so much fun, and hate to see them leave!
Lots of "Loopers" are here, and many more to come. There are also more of us at other marinas and on mooring balls.
We attend "docktails" most afternoons at 5:00, a chance to meet other boaters. Bike riding is great for shopping, groceries, and eating at the local restaurants! It's also easier on the knees n legs! Several of us started doing water aerobics this week, but today is cool and super windy!

Pool and Island Grill 

Chess Set n Iggy

Manatee

Iggy 

Egret?

Lynn n Dawn and "us"...........

Iggy the Iguana watches over the huge chess set when needed........................and the Manatees swim around the boats, hoping for someone to give them fresh water!

1/24/16 Leaving Everglades Isle

We left early on this Sunday morning heading out of Indian Key Pass, hoping to beat low tide. Trying to follow the buoys, it was very difficult to stay out of shallow water. Sooooo, we ran aground; twice!
Sonny managed to back up enough both times to get us off the shoal. We traveled 40 miles this day, and all the way the water was only 8' - 10' deep, staying about 3 miles offshore. The day was absolutely beautiful, so it was a great ride. We anchored out in Little Shark River, along with 7 other boats. Some of us are waiting to cross the gulf heading to the Keys!!! Others going the opposite direction.

Sunrise

One of our "run-agrounds"!

Beautiful water; but shallow!

This anchorage is in the Everglades and very remote. No cell service!!!

1/21/16 thru 1/24/16 Everglades Isle Resort

Wow, what a place this is! This is an upscale RV resort that also has a marina. The clubhouse is fabulous, with just about any amenity you can imagine. Pool, golf carts, spa, salon, laundry, pool table, full bar, tv's, reading areas, wheelchair lift, espresso machine, showers, etc. And all inclusive. Restaurants within walking distance; although we only ate at one of them, twice! They also have planned activities; meet n greet, wine tastings, karaoke, etc. We missed the Karaoke night!

Camellia's Street Grill

Pat n I on Airboat ride

Joe Neal

Sonny

Red Mangrove

Alligator

Larry, Audrey n Donnie

Airboat path....

Young Mangrove's

Now; what could make this even better? Our Ky farmers are driving down for the day! They let us share in all of their fun..................We did an airboat ride, Wooten's alligator farm, historical trading post, then Rod n Gun Club. This was the best day, had a blast!

1/20/16 Heading to Everglades City

We traveled 8 hours and 70 miles today. It was a good ride though; started out cool but ended up very nice weather. Came by Naples and Marco Island; would like to have stopped at either one, but not enough time. We came through 10,000 islands and came into Indian Pass. Passed the Rod & Gun Club where past presidents and stars visited. We will come back to tour once we are settled in.

Marco Island

Island

Egret

Rod n Gun Club

Boat in Harbor

1/17/16 thru 1/19/16 Pink Shell Marina

This marina and resort is in the heart of Ft. Myers Beach. We have other friends here also; Larry n Linda Thompson, Joe Neal n Pat Ballance and Donnie n Audrey Edwards. All Kentucky farmers! I went to school with Larry n Joe Neal; although I am MUCH younger than them. lol They came to visit us, then we went out to dinner at Nervous Nellie's. We had the best time!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks guys, enjoyed our time with you all so much. Storms again and this time was rougher for us. High winds made it very rocky..............Anyhow; we survived. This has been a good stop for us; getting to visit with old friends is very special

Pink Shell Resort

Sonny n Marena

Audrey n Linda

The whole clan.....

 Audrey n Pat

 Donnie n Larry

 Us Girls

1/16/16 On to Ft. Myers

 We left @ 9:00 this morning and enjoyed a wonderful ride across Charlotte Harbor then down the ICW. Of course, this is Saturday, and all the weekend boaters are out. Its like a traffic jam! lol        But we wanted to get as far down the coast as possible before this next storm hits. And it did........60 mph winds again. We put on extra lines to tie us as secure as possible. We rocked around some through the night, but had no problems.
This place is awesome, Pink Shell Resort and Marina. We are about 100 yds from the beach. Walk across the street, through the hotel and there you are! We walked over last night to watch the sunset. On Monday 18th, Doug n Sherry Gentry took us to lunch @ Doc Ford's. Great food and great company. They are good friends of ours from Cedar Creek Yacht Club. They also took us to Publix; a much needed stop! lol  Thanks Doug n Sherry!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We enjoyed seeing you so much. After they dropped us off @ the marina, I realized that I had not taken a pic of us; so When I asked Sonny if he thought they would drive back over for a selfie with us, he said Probably Not!!! You all know that pics are not my strong suit while doing this blog............It is not simple. I do not have all the knowledge to do it the right way. (I'm learning bits at a time, plus I'm cleaning up the photos on all these devices too). It takes time. So, sometimes I get a little behind on blogging!!!  Right now; I'm doing the best I can.....................

1/13/16 thru 1/15/16 Punta Gorda

On the night before we left, I made sausage pinwheels so that we could have them for breakfast. I love those things, don't really like sausage though. Weird.............Anyhow; right before we pulled out, Sonny tried to start the generator so I could cook while riding along. Dead. So, no pinwheels today. Muffins and oatmeal instead. So we need a battery. When we arrived here @ Punta Gorda, Sonny got in touch with someone to replace it for us. The only other thing that has happened lately was a fuel shut-off solenoid on the port engine. The problem was diagnosed in Dunedin, part ordered and shipped to St. Pete, and Sonny put it on before we left there. You landlubbers may not know this, but, b o a t stands for break out another thousand.
When we pulled into the Fishermen Village Yacht Basin, there were these cute multi colored structures that are right beside the marina. It's an open air mall..........boutiques, restaurants, olive oil store, candy store, coffee shop, doggie store, etc. Happy. They have wonderful facilities, 3 washers, 4 dryers, restroom and showers, common room where people meet for games, karaoke, etc. An all of it is very, very clean.
We walked downtown Thursday, on a bike/walk trail, along the waterfront. A long walk, but it was so nice.......
The day we left, we had some nasty storms come through, but all is well.
There are lots of live-a-boards here, and are very nice people. Tomorrow, 16th we are headed to Ft. Myers.
pics to follow; haven't been able to backup to the cloud, but when it completes I will post them.