Day to Day

We have been in Fort Myers 6 weeks now with 15 weeks to go. I try to do a boat chore every morning while De Anne takes her morning walk. I'd go with her but I would simply slow her down. We sometimes take an evening walk together.

She usually comes back from her walk with fresh fruit. She has located the best places to pickup mangos, papayas and coconuts. She has found an avocado tree that will be ripe in a couple weeks. These trees are on public land or vacant lots - she is not climbing anyone's fences to get fresh fruit.

We use green coconuts for the liquid to make a drink mentioned in a book we just read "An Embarrassment of Mangos" about a cruising couple from Canada.

We do get some occasional excitement. A couple weeks ago the marina staff towed a semi-derlict sailboat from another dock and locked it to the finger dock next to us. It was sinking and had one of the marina's big pumps working almost continuously to keep it afloat. They found a hose disconnected from a thru-hull. The manager asked me to keep an eye on it. A few days later, after dark, some people boarded and started the engine. I called the manager at home and he was on the dock in under 5 minutes. At brief scene occurred. The owners were one week short of being 4 months behind in their slip fees. At 4 months the boat can be seized and sold. 2 days later the boat was gone, the lock had been cut and a new lock left to replace the cut lock. I can't imagine where a leaky old sailboat with a 5 foot draft and a top speed of 6 mph is going to go in a few hours that the police boats with their 600 horsepower engines can't find them.

Since the boat is tied to the dock we don't get many scares; however, the IRS provided a big land-based one. I got a small inheritance from my mother's estate and knew it was too small for taxes. Wrong. Apparently I am the only person in the USA that did not know the one and only exception was inheriting an IRA. At first I thought I would lose a big slice of my cruising kitty and even sent out a few resumes. Of course that is a joke in this economy. After a trip to the local H&R Block office all is taken care of and the cruising kitty was only dented not broken. My languid retirement continues unabated.

The 4th fireworks display was scheduled to be done from a barge in mid-river; however, after a few rockets.... nothing. A Police boat came by the marina and explained there was a problem with the barge and the display would be moved ashore and start at 10:30 pm. About 10:45 pm boats started leaving and I noticed the bridge crowd thinning. Finally at 11:20 the show started. They had set up just behind the city pier which is next to the marina. I had never been so close to a fireworks display in my life. Because of the late start I think they hurried it along, but that was just fine. It was 15 minutes of non-stop mulitple shots.

The heat is intense. Once or twice a day dark clouds may roll in and sometimes let loose a 10 minute shower. Once in a while it will be a real stom with 60 mph winds, but again 10-15 minutes tops. Everything cools down for an hour, then right back to steamy. I avoided the Indiana winter so this is a little payback at the other extreme - I accept my fate.

My customary bridge pictures:
Looking from the bridge towards the marina and downtown

The anchorage across from the marina