Venice Yacht Club

We arrived before dusk and made the most of our short stay.  I was able to catch up on laundry and we had a fabulous meal in the club dining room.  We needed to leave early the next morning to leave on high tide.  If you look at a map of this part of Florida you see a lot of water.  However, most of the water is less than 4 feet deep so we have to plan carefully.  We were also taking another leap forward in testing our cruising limitations.  We planned to travel in the Gulf up past Tampa Bay back to Gulfport.  With the forecast winds we knew we could make it in daylight as long as David tolerated the open water.  We had several inlets where we could opt out if need be so it seemed a good spot to give it a go.

The intracoastal near Venice is a dredged canal meandering along a
creek bed. There are parks and houses along the way to look at so it's a
pleasant trip.

The only negative about the stretch of water is all the draw bridges.
It takes time to call and then wait for an opening.  There were 5 along this stretch.

This is a mural on a school near the downtown area telling the
history of the area.  

This beautiful bird came for a short visit and didn't seem to care that
I was taking his picture.

We were at the end of one of the club's docks. Not many other
sailboats but a few.

The club's main building.

Sunrise through the haze.

On to Venice

We tried not to rush ourselves but we wanted to get as far north as possible in case David's vertigo came back and we had to be rescued so we didn't stay at any place more than a night.  The trip from Pelican Bay to the Venice Yacht Club was our longest trip since the "incident" but all went well. The trip from Gasparilla Island up Lemon Bay is always full of different things to see.

This large truck and backhoe were being ferried across the sound
on a flat barge pushed by this little boat.  That seemed  risky venture
for such expensive machinery.

Somebody had it in for this mark.

There are 2 car ferries crossing the sound on a regular schedule.
A lot more substantial operation.

You can't miss this marina with its bright yellow office.

This bridge is new but instead of a lift bridge it swings.  We had
thought only railroad bridges were swing and new bridges were
draw (bascule)  Learned something new.

They were dismantling this old railroad swing bridge.  Only the
concrete piers were left. 

We saw several osprey nests along this stretch.  there is at least one
chick in the nest.

When you pass close to a nest, one of the parents lets you know to
stay away by calling to you or even swooping down on you.

A picture for all of our paddle boarding friends.  This guy was brave
in my mind as the winds were fairly stiff with rain pending.

One of the many boats anchored in deep pockets of water off the main channel

Pelican staking out his perch.

A perfect reflection in a quite pool of water.

Pelican Bay

Our stop at Cabbage Key was only for lunch.  We pressed on to a glorious little spot called Pelican Bay.  It is just off of Cayo Costa State Park and a small island.  It has a very shallow entrance so we only can get in and out on high tide.  It is so worth the effort.  We have always been able to see manatees here as well as dolphins, fish and tons of birds.  The walk to the gulf beach was a little over a mile but we liked playing in the waves for a bit.  The rains caught us on the way back but since we were salty, it was a welcome fresh water rinse.  We also met some very nice folks on a Cape George sailboat.  This is a rare boat from the Washington State area so even rarer on the East Coast.  A very pleasant stop.

All these swirls are manatees just barely under the surface.  We cut off
the engine and sat quietly hoping to see them surface.

You can see the tail fluke and the outline of the rest of the manatee.
Sadly, none of them felt like surfacing for a proper pose.

We counted at least 10 separate manatees.  This was about as good a group
shot as I could manage. They usually only bring their snouts above water
enough to get a breath of air then submerge again.

We saw all the manatees out in the larger bay area but thought we'd
check on what is called manatee cove.  This is where we saw them last time.
It was an interesting place to row around but we didn't see any more manatees.

This park is only reachable by boat.  There is a ferry that brings
visitors over every day.  There is a tram that takes them to the beach
but it was closed for the day so we made the 3 mile round trip.

One of the docks in the park.

The trail leads from the large dingy dock to the gulf.  The bay side
is lined by trees then thins to prairie grasses then dunes.  It was once
populated with settlers trying to make a living farming and fishing.
There are camp sites and cottages for those interested.  We always wish we
had more time to explore all the ruins.  Maybe next time....

We're not sure how much this boat draws but it sure looked shallow to us.

Cabbage Key

Another favorite place to visit is the historic Cabbage Key.  During the heyday of Florida development folks bought entire islands between the peninsula and barrier islands.  One such was Cabbage Key.  It has changed hands over the years but the owners have remained committed to maintaining all the charm and ambiance of the original owners.  All water is collected in a huge cistern and pumped up into a water tower.  There are trails on one end and rental cottages on the other. Many of the workers live in cottages on the island rather than make the long commute via water taxi. There is a small marina with a beach for small boats and a restaurant with very tasty food.  The whole place is truly vintage with stories having been written with it as a center piece.  There is a tour boat bringing visitors from the mainland on a regular basis.  We arrived on the tail end of one such tour but by the time we had finished lunch, we had the trails to ourselves.

Our trusty dingy awaits our return.

The water tower was home to either an osprey family or heron family.
Both make very large nests

The bar in all its polished glory.

The dining area is covered in dollar bills signed by those who leave them.
They take them down to make space for new bills on occasion.

The entire building of the main lodge is full of original details such as
this scroll work.  It's lovely that these touches have been maintained over
the decades. 

These areas are set aside for the resident gopher tortoises.

The trail leading from the worker's cottages to the guest cottages.

This gorgeous vine covered this old arbor.  The weight of the plant
seemed to be taking it's toll on the wooden structure.

One of the worker cottages.  It seemed like several people shared the house.

This duck family was comfortably ensconced near the beach.

The grand lawn leading up to the main house.

Part of the nature trail.

Scary sign but we didn't see anything worse than spiders.

This is Useppa Island where we anchored.  It is also privately
owned and is now a resort with owner's summer cottages all around.

Ding Darling Wildlife Refuge

Our first day out was only a short hop of 8 miles to a secure anchorage off a wildlife refuge that never disappoints to provide hours of enjoyment.  We managed to lower the dingy, reattached  the motor and took off to explore the deep recesses of the park. We always see tons of fish, bird life and utter calm and peace (when the winds allow)  Where we were can only be reached by boat so not a lot of competition for space.

Never get tired of these majestic birds.

New growth on the red mangroves.  These tendrils will make their way down to the water.

Such a growth of oysters on the mangrove shoots.  Something for everyone.

What it's like in a mangrove swamp

We saw these houses grouped off of Pine Island.  Maybe a new Stiltsville?

The end of an island next to a large pass.

Fort Myers and More SCYC

After a very long week of slow improvements in David's dizziness we made some excursions that didn't include ERs or Urgent Care.  For Mother's Day we went to downtown Fort Myers to Ford's Garage.  This is a unique, Ford based, themed restaurant.  For those who aren't aware, Fort Myers was the summering favorite for the Ford and Edison Families.  The homes and surrounding buildings as well as Edison's experimental gardens and labs are all preserved and open to the public.  We didn't visit this trip but have on previous ones.  Well worth the trip.  When David thought he could handle steering well enough for me to handle lines we took the tentative step of leaving the marina for a short hop with the understanding that we might have to return.  We will never be able to thank the dockmaster, Nick as well as the entire staff of the St. Charles YC for their support in such a difficult time.

You won't wonder where you are eating with these buns.

The entire place is full of Ford memorabilia including this full sized car.
Since Henry Ford was a tea-totaler I'm not sure he'd appreciate the bar.

The lady's room was unique as well.  The water lines were all auto gas
lines and the faucets were gasoline pump handles

This was our first big hurdle, taking on diesel and pumping out.  If
he could handle bringing us alongside then we felt ok to go.  It was
a near perfect docking so we went.

The club is a long way off the intracoastal and down a narrow channel
of water deep enough for large boats.  This sign was very handy to let us know when
to turn off since there are many such channels.

We're not sure what this was but it was fun to look at.  It was anchored down the
channel but we weren't sure if it was a house or restaurant or a bit of whimsy.  Whatever
its purpose it was fun too look at through the binoculars.

All the figures were mannequins set in different poses.  The door was open
but we saw no human presence.  You just never know what you'll see out on the water!

So happy he's back on board and only dizzy.