Internet service is back, and we're back on the water. We had a good Christmas in Tennessee with the family, and had fun in Bradenton in January getting the boat ready to leave and generally enjoying the great town and Twin Dolphin Marina. We enjoyed a visit in January from Bob and Mary, best friends from TN along with their friends Bob and Charlotte and LaVada (standing on dock in Bradenton). We left Bradenton February 7, and traveled in mostly cold windy weather to the mooring field in Ft. Myers. We planned to stay here a few days, but we're now in our second week (this is beginning to be a pattern). There's a 30+ wait list for mooring balls in Marathon because the weather has everyone backed up, so we decided to wait here for the crowds to clear rather than try to find a less-than-desirable anchorage there while waiting for a mooring ball. We have enjoyed Ft. Myers several times before and haven't been disappointed this time...with the possible exception of having to wear 6 layers of clothing for dinghy rides to town and the beach (see William and Poor Old Judy on the beach). There's something less than beachy about socks and turtlenecks.... We reconnected with old friends Pat and Dan from our days in Marathon 5 years ago; they live in Ft. Myers and joined us for lunch at Doc Ford's. We also got to reconnect with new friends Mary and David from Fairhope, Alabama who were visiting their friend Pat in Naples and drove down to join us for lunch at Bonita Bill's. People are the best part about our travels, and it's always fun to see and hear from them again. It's also nice to be traveling with William and Judy on Optimystique (that's their Island Packet on the hook at Useppa on our journey down), because we can share dinghy rides, confer about the best happy hour prices (Jay and William could write a book), mix our laundry together, have family meetings about our travels, and share leftovers. We've found great happy hours and appetizers and restaurants, and also been invited to a pizza party with other boaters in the area. There was a singing duo we really liked on our first visit here 5 years ago, and we were lucky enough to hear them again and get a new CD on this visit. This, as William says, does not suck!
