St. Charles YC and Fort Myers

 We left the anchorage across from Cabbage Key and motored on down behind Captiva North, Captiva and Sanibel.  Sadly the epicenter of Red Tide is in this area and we were both affected but once we turned up river towards our destination, St. Charles Yacht Club, things let up.  We love coming to this club.  It is very protected and the members and staff are friendly.  It is also convenient to the old Fort Myers downtown.  The town has really made an effort to recover from Hurricane Ian and revitalize old town.  We also wanted to see how the former yacht club was faring as well as the old municipal marina.  We took Uber to our starting point, walked all over the area, went to grocery shop then back to the boat with another Uber ride.  We also managed to get laundry done so a total success from our perspective.  Next stop, Boot Key Harbor.

The entrance to the club.  I really love the old ship's wheel.

The club is situated in a gated community and I think most 

of the residents are members.  The palm line entrance

boulevard is so stunning.

We both agreed that the original Ford's Garage restaurant was

a must visit spot.  It is full of fun memorabilia from a bygone era. 

This bar back is full of old pennies. All along the shelves are old

oil cans and old signs advertising different automotive products.

Why Ford, you ask, it's because Henry Ford along with Thomas Edison,

Charlie Firestone and other moguls of their day made Fort Myers

their winter home.  In fact, the Edison-Ford museum is well worth the visit.

Not only was the burger tasty but creative as well.

I always wonder how they get it stamped without

squishing the bun.

Near the waterfront is this art display.  It is

of Ford, Edison and Firestone on one of their many

camping trips.  If you look closely, the pond surrounding

also has frogs, fish and an alligator statues.

This old Ford is proudly the centerpiece of the bar.

Not to be ignored, the ladies' room sinks are old

tires with gas pump spigots with valves to

turn on and off the flow of water.  The door handles

throughout the restaurant are old pump handles.

One of the views of the nicely restored vintage

buildings in old downtown.

Not sure what these awards were for but the cups were 

covered with decals from beer companies.

The other side of the street.

This is an old post office converted to a performing 

art space.  The old post office boxes are still there.

The area has a lot of public art installed along

the street.  This is one of many.

The old municipal marina is still torn up.  All

the sunken vessels are gone but the plans to rebuild 

are still tied up in red tape according to one source.

The history of Fort Myers.  The sign was crooked, not me.