Well, our planned departure to Naples was indeed delayed by big winds and waves. So Monday (Jan 18) we rented a car and drove to Fort Pierce to visit Tom's mom and sister Deb who is staying with her for a few weeks. It was a little over a 3 hour drive and once we arrived we took Mom to her hair appointment and then to dinner. We ate at the Citrus Grillhouse in Vero Beach overlooking the ocean. Wow, what a great find, the food was truly awesome. I ordered a dessert and the server said "I'll bring four forks". My sister and mom said don't bother. But how many forks were used? Yes three were used!! The server knew how good it was!
After dinner we played some cards, skyped with Sarah (on Mom's new Kindle!!) and generally caught up on things. Mom is really pleased that all my siblings will be staying with her in "back to back" time frames so she can spend a good portion of winter in Florida. Thanks Deb, Pam, Betty and Larry for doing this!
We had a great 24 hour visit with Mom but had to leave to get the car back before 5 PM as we needed to leave first thing Wed for Naples to make a dinner with SpartanNash executives who have winter homes in the Naples area. Given the tide situation we could not wait for high tide to leave so that meant we could not use Big Carlos pass and instead had to traverse the entire island and enter the gulf via Matanzas pass on the N end of the island. It was really skinny water traversing the channel at a little after low tide and we bumped something but had no damage. Planning for travel is certainly complicated by tides, weather and length of day! But proper planning gets one through it.
The ride to Naples was really nice and we arrived about 2 PM. We got fuel and with the stay at Naples Boat Club, paying by check and buying over 200 gallons got a 30 cent per gallon discount... so got fuel for $1.96 per gallon, cheapest yet and who would have thought that was possible in Naples! Note the pelican making himself at home on the bow rail as I fuel.
are the second from the left here:
Moon over Naples from our aft deck. I guess these large boats should have been named "Moonblocker"
After washing the salt off the boat we dressed for dinner and walked over to Truluck's....wow, another fantastic restaurant. And a big surprise to boot. The CEO had set up the dinner with spouses and we thought we would be joined by the Chairman and his spouse. But once arriving the table was set for 12. Other SpartanNash executives enroute to a trade show and the recently retired chief legal officer and spouses also joined us! What a surprise! It was certainly great to see them all. I have said I miss the people at work, but not the deadlines. And it was certainly great to see these folks! Thanks to all of the SpartanNash team for spending some time with an old retiree like me!!
After lunch Julie and I took a long walk down 5th Ave doing a little window shopping and generally checking out Naples. It is certainly a "rich and famous" kind of place. Everything is top notch. We walked out to the beach and then south to the public pier. Walked out on the pier and then back to the boat for a nice dinner aboard. On Friday, Craig and Mary Ann took us on a tour of Naples. It was a rainy day but they gave us a great tour of some unbelievable real estate and a great feel for the area. They also showed us their home which is quite modest for the area but a beautiful place that is truly the perfect spot for them. They also took us to a fantastic lunch near Bonita Springs at Coconut Jack's. Thanks so much for the wonderful hospitality Craig and Mary Ann!!
Later in the day our friends Bill and Carol from Spring Lake joined us aboard for a couple days. worked with Bill in the old BilMar/ Sara Lee days as well. They are wintering in the Orlando area and took the long drive down to Naples. We had a wonderful lobster dinner at the Wharf Tavern right at our marina.
We then played some cards and Julie wanted everyone to know the ladies.....wait for it....lost to the men this time. We could also fast forward to Sat night's game with the same result but I guess I can leave that our for now.
Including a Mickey Mouse blueberry pancake for Bill!!
Sat Bill and Carol graciously drove us around to run some errands. We went out to the beach....it was 50 MPH winds and COLD. The pier was closed by the authorities...reminds us of Grand Haven waves.
We also went to the other shopping area in Naples and had a great lunch which included live music. So here are the dancers doing their thing at lunch hour.
Sat night we used the brand new Weber grill (that is for you Ben and Jane) at the clubhouse and grilled some great pork chops and had dinner aboard. Then cards again as noted above.
It was so great to catch up with Bill and Carol. Thanks so much for coming to visit us! On Sunday we were invited to the clubhouse to watch the games on the big screen there with Tim and Carol from Liquid Assets. We plan to leave with them for Marathon first light Monday. They came to the boat club on Wed too and we had not seen them since Demopolis on the river system.
While the guys watched football the ladies enjoyed some sun at the pool.
In the clubhouse. Nice place.
Monday we departed at 7 AM for Marathon, an almost 110 mile trip. Just before leaving the slip:
Sunrise as we leave.
Some of the real estate leaving Naples along the the Gordon River
And a video of "slaloming" through them
Smooth morning ride.
The following seas kicked up as we were a couple hours into the trip so we kicked up the RPM's to travel about 17 MPH. Burned more fuel but certainly made the trip a lot shorter time wise. The fly bridge was a real help to see all the crab pots. They were everywhere! Tried to go deeper, shallower, etc but in the end all we could do was look out and navigate through them. Fortunately we hit none.
Nice smooth water....with Liquid Assets following.
We were first assigned a bow in port tie but the finger pier was too short to get off the boat. And we don't like to stern in starboard side as then we cannot launch our dinghy. So we are now in a stern in port tie 80' slip, overkill but a nice spot overlooking the gulf. North winds are going to provide us a bumpy stay but all other wind directions should be well protected. Keep those winds up North OK? The view from our slip...looking north.
Tuesday was a work day, washing the salt off the boat and cleaning and oiling the teak chairs. We also rode the bikes to Publix, about 2 miles each way to get some groceries and start to explore the area. We then went to dinner with Bob and Liz (Knot Sew Easy) from Grand Haven and Tim and Carol (Liquid Assets) to Porky's and Seven Mile Grill. There are lots of places to eat within walking distance!
Wed we did more exploring of the area, doing over 10 miles on the bicycles. I think we are really going to enjoy our month here! Tonight we are going to dinner with Rod and Julie from Tuscobia. We last saw them at Saunder's Yachtworks back in November in Gulf Shores. It will be great to catch up with them too!
We look forward to more visitors starting on Sunday for a few days. The McKennas and Kenyons, our good friends and supper club aficionados will be here on Sunday. We have a number of tiki bars and restaurants within walking distance scoped out, so c'mon down!! And Mary Beth, one has an over abundance of pelicans for you!
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1 comment:
My husband will be retiring soon, and he wants to explore the coastline of the country in a boat. I've been hesitant on this subject, but your post shows that being on the water doesn't mean being isolated. Thank you for this timely post, and I will let my husband know that a boating retirement is something we can now consider.
Crystal Carson @ Tacky Jacks
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