Snow? what snow?

We've heard the weather is bad all over the country, even in mid-Georgia (where one snowflake is an event). You'd never guess it to look outside our portholes and hatches, though; it's been either 80 or very near all week, sunny and gorgeous. The beach is beautiful, with white sand finer than sugar and enough breeze to keep you cool (sometimes even chilly, but we don't dare complain). The sky is a beautiful bright blue, and the clouds wispy and snow white. Oops, mentioned snow again.

We're enjoying walks on the beach, people-watching on the beach and streets (you know...the people who think they look good in things on vacation that they look REALLY bad in at home?), listening to good music, eating great seafood (and some wicked wings), meeting new friends, and NOT doing boat projects. This is the rest period between getting the boat ready to travel again and our arrival in Marathon (where we hear the party's already started). The mooring field is mostly full but not overcrowded, we've always been able to tie up at the dinghy dock, and the Miller brewing company was obviously notified in advance that Jay and William would be here.

We were happy to reconnect with friends Steve and Kelly, who we met here last year. They're from Tennessee (we found them because they were the only people who didn't have an accent) and rent a house on Estero Island every February. Kelly keeps a running list of which restaurants have the best deals, happy hours, and specials, and she's our source of knowledge for the fun and food on the island. We'd like her a lot better if she didn't look so good in her swimsuit.











We called old friends Norm and Sally (dock neighbors at Blue Springs Marina in TN), who have recently bought a condo in North Ft. Myers. They drove down to visit for happy hour one afternoon and then again for a beach day. We caught up on what we could remember (didn't take very long) and enjoyed the company and the weather. We kidnapped them and wouldn't let them go back home till they'd been initiated at Wicked Wings (where Jay and William have saved thousands of dollars on buy-one-get-ones). They're happy to be snowbirds, and seem to be happy off the sailboat (they took a trip south from Tennessee, which was aborted after much boat trouble and last year's cold winter).