Well….maybe not shocked, but pleasantly surprised by the abundance and beauty of the shells that can be found on the beaches of southwest Florida. We have been looking forward to this part of the Loop for its shelling and fishing. You can probably guess who prefers what, but I found myself really enjoying my time with Stel searching for different kinds of shells. We were able to find at least 30 different shell types, some of which we were familiar with, and some not. We are having a great time learning the common names and then finding color variations that make each shell a little different. Because of the abundance of beaches, shells, fish and natural beauty of the water, we have slowed ourselves down a good bit and spent a number of days at anchor around the islands of Cayo Costa, Captiva and Sanibel. We ended up in a marina on the south end of Sanibel, took the bikes off the deck, and spent 2 days biking the full length of the island. We have been to a lot of bike-friendly places on this journey, but nowhere quite like Sanibel. Great exercise and fun!
After leaving Sanibel, we cruised up the Caloosahatchee River a few miles and found a beautiful and secluded anchorage called Glover Bight. It was a great location to watch the meteor showers that were expected in the northeast skies on the night of the 13th of December. It was a cool night, so we wrapped up in some blankets and reclined on the bow for quite a show while we listened to some James Taylor. We spent 2 days and nights at Glover Bight doing over-due boat chores and some fishing in between. Some people have asked us whether we ever get bored on the boat for extended periods of time. We both are in agreement that we have not yet had a moment when we were at a loss for something to do. This life style is much simpler, but is extremely active and fulfilling. Boat cleaning, maintenance, buying groceries, doing laundry, planning, exercising, preparing meals, socializing, exploring, reading, blogging, keeping up with family & friends and the time spent cruising makes for full days. Did I forget fishing?? We even unpacked a few Christmas decorations from our “attic” (called lazarette on a boat!) and enjoyed some final decorating.
We look forward to making our way up the Caloosahatchee a little further to Ft. Myers, where we will pick up our son Sam from the airport. We will then make our way south, through the Everglades and on to Key Largo where we will meet the rest of the family for a tropical Christmas celebration.
- Shells, shells and more shells.
- The closer you get, the more you see!
- Layers of shells we found on a deserted beach at Cayo Costa
- Happy girl on a great shelling beach at Cayo Costa
- More proof of God’s creative hand
- A little lagoon we found at Cayo Costa….great for anchoring overnight and fishing over-day.
- Jacks are fun to catch, but not much fun to eat
- But this grouper is a keeper!
- Fish in the water in the afternoon….and on the grill in the evening
- Swimming after a runaway dinghy….how did that dinghy untie itself???
- Canadian friends, Germaine and Chantal, surprise us with a visit to our anchorage. We had not seen them in 2 months
- What are you boys doing playing underneath my boat???
- Hello!
- If you can’t find enough shells on the beach, you can always buy them here!
- Swanky entry to the Sanibel Marina
- Sanibel is a popular spot for “destination weddings”(notice the bows on the lighthouse)
- Grandma Dots Restaurant at Sanibel Marina
- Meeting new people along the way has been one of the highlights of our trip
- The trunk of a car is sometimes missed when trying to get the groceries home!
- Every rental car should come with a free tree at Christmas time
- Work day includes defrosting the freezer with a heat gun
- Varnishing teak is a more frequent task, now that we’re back on the saltwater
- Taking a break to talk to a local resident that came to our back door
- A school of cow nose rays cruise by our anchorage
- Stel gets a great picture of a ray’s wings breaking the surface of the water
- Stel had carefully packed some Christmas decorations in the boat “attic”
- Our Sanibel Christmas Tree with fishing line for tinsel
- Merry Christmas!!