Sarasota to Boca Grande and on to winter in Fort Myers

December 19, 2001 - Sarasota to Boca Grande and on to winter in Fort Myers

This is a little recap of our last week or so. We did go to Sarasota and spend a couple of days. It is a very nice town and we met some lovely people. We took the town trolley all over town and out to Long Boat Key to see the shops. Somehow, however, tho' we caught a virus on our e-mail. We don't know where it came from, but I hear that it is everywhere. I hope none of you got it from us. We think we have it under control now, but what a pain. When we left Sarasota, we decided to go out into the Gulf, as the ICW is so shallow in spots. Well, guess what. A couple of markers were missing or misplaced and we got into some very skinny water and even bumped bottom for a minute. Luckily Bill slowed way down and managed to get into deeper water without causing any damage to the props etc. I was a wreck, of course. After that scary beginning to the day, everything went smoothly on our journey to Boca Grande, which is about half way between Sarasota and Fort Myers. Boca Grande is a very cute spot and we plan to go back there to spend a couple of days. I hear that the President Bush and his family go there often. It is a laid back, quiet, beautiful island and they drive golf carts everywhere to get around. We met a young couple from the Boston area who are traveling on a boat that they had purchased recently in St. Pete. Alexandria and Gary were delightful and we spent quite a lot of time visiting with them both in Boca Grande and in Fort Myers.

We traveled to Fort Myers on Thursday, December 13. We cruised on the ICW because if we had gone out into the Gulf it would have been about an hour and a half longer to get here as we would have to go out and around Sanibel, and our marina is about 20 miles from the Gulf on the Okeechobee Waterway/Caloosahatchee River. The trip was uneventful, but we had to follow those dreaded markers very carefully and stay in the channel to avoid the skinny water. The trip from Boca Grande to Fort Myers took exactly 4 hours.

Our marina is very nice and we have a slip overlooking the river with a great view. We spent the rest of the day checking in and getting organized. Friday we took a taxi to pick up our car that we had shipped down here. Thanks, Doug, for dispatching it for us. This is a pretty large area, so we're still trying to find our way around. The marina is right downtown in the Historic area - there are some restaurants, but not much in the way of shopping. Sunday we drove down to Naples to have dinner with Nancy and Gene Heth at their darling condo. It was a great dinner and Gene cooked his special fish dish with the dried cherries. It was delicious. Suzy was there too and it was so good to see all of them.

Yesterday we spent all day driving around - to Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel and Captiva. We got some ideas for some short trips when the kids, or YOU, come to visit.

We are going to see Lee and Lynn Hornack, who moved down here from St. Joe a few years ago tomorrow and take their boat to their favorite lunch spot on the river. Then on Friday we are going to see John and MarLouise Chiviges. They moved down here a number of years ago and we haven't seen them in years. It will be fun to renew our friendship after all this time. Amy, Jim and Baby James arrive Saturday night to spend Christmas. I can't wait to see them. I guess I'll never get enough of those kids.

We now have a land phone, so you can reach us at 941-334-6541. You can still call us on our cell phone if you want to. Our address is:

Capt. Rahn

Fort Myers Yacht Basin, A 27

Fort Myers,

Florida 33901

Have a very Happy Holiday.

Love Wendy and Bill