Aren't they gorgeous

Gypsies in the Palace all decked out for a wet ride back to the boat

Let the party begin

We arrived at Cabbage Key Thursday afternoon, changed clothes, and headed for Useppa Island for a get together with some of our fellow Defever cruisers to kick things off. Most of the 40 boats and 130 people will not arrive until Friday but some of us got an early start. Friday it was so cool seeing all of those beautiful Defevers coming into the marinas and anchorages. Friday night we had a cocktail party on the dock at Cabbage Key and then went to the Cabbage Key Restaurant for dinner. Today we headed for Useppa Island at 08:00 for seminars and boat tours. I gave a talk on hurricane preparation for anchoring out and told of our experience in Hurricane Hanna this last summer in North Carolina. Tonight we had small aft deck parties on our boats and enjoyed sharing stories and liquid refreshment. Tomorrow we will do it all over again. It is so much fun getting together with friends and fellow cruisers. They are a great bunch.

September Song (we are having a ball) out

Bob


Cabbage Key from our boat deck

Party on the Deins boat, Gondola

They come by the boat load for that cheeseburger in paradise

Cassie and Godiva's new friend Reggie

Defever cruisers in Cabbage Key Marina. That's September Song on the right

Dinner with friends at Cabbage Key

I thought you were supposed to leave the tip on the table, not the ceiling and walls

My love with dinner friends

Useppa Island

Visitor to the docks

Defevers in the anchorage

Drugs needed, friends ready

Today Stephanie woke up with a swollen face. She had an abcess and was in pain. We called our friends on Tide Hiker for an antibiotic (Vickie has good drugs) but they were still in Ft. Myers Beach where Vickie had a lump removed from her leg (she is OK) and would not be here until Friday. We then called Bob and Barbara Dein (Gondola) who are at Useppa, and they Suggested we call the Orrs (Four Orrs) who are at Boca Grand Marina. I called them and they said a drug store in the area delivered. Stephanie called our dentist and he called in a prescription. Budd had a friend in the area with a car and they offered to drive to the drug store and pick up the prescription and bring it back to Boca Grand Marina about 3 miles to the North from here for me to pick up. In the mean time Norm (Tide Hiker) called and said they could pick it up and drive it to Boca. (long trip) I told Norm that we had already made arrangements with the Orr's. I got into Half Note (I would swim to Boca for her) and drove to Boca Marina, met the Orr's, picked up the good drugs for Stephanie and drove back to my sweetheart. If you ever need anything, you can rely on fellow cruisers. We all help each other and this time it was us who needed the help. THANKS EVERYONE!

(And a special thanks from me, Stephanie. I am blessed with a truly magnificent husband and wonderful friends. Thanks all!)

The Loon in the picture is one of thousands that migrate to Florida, they lose their color in the winter. I don't think they are so loony.

Tomorrow we move to Cabbage Key. Here we come Jimmy B.

September Song (love to our cruiser friends) out

Bob

Sunrise over the anchorage

Northern Loon spending winter in Florida

Two pooped puppies after playing at the beach

Cayo Costa anchorage

We arrived at Burnt Store Marina Saturday afternoon and our friend, Jerry Anderson, met us at our slip and helped us tie up September Song and offered his car which we greatly appreciated. (aren't fellow cruisers great) That evening we had cocktails with Jerry and Betsy on September Song, and then the four of us went to dinner at the marina restaurant. Sunday we took full advantage of the generous offer of the car and did some provisioning for the next couple of weeks and a major portion for our trip to the Bahamas the latter part of March. I won't say what we spent, but between Home Depot, Publix, Wal-Mart, and Sweet Bay, we helped the local economy.
Monday, we left Burnt Store Marina for Cayo Costa and the Pelican Bay anchorage where we will stay until our reservation Thursday at Cabbage Key (where Jimmy Buffett wrote Cheese Burger in Paradise) for a DeFever rendezvous which is always great fun. There will be about 40 boats and 130 fellow cruisers.
Monday, after arriving at the anchorage , we put Half Note in the water and took the girls for a run on the beach. We will let the girls play for the next couple of day (us too) because they will get little time while we are at parties, seminars, and lots of stuff they can't attend.

I had a really great video, but it wouldn't upload, sorry, I will try again today.

September Song (at anchor in Pelican Bay and video challenged) out
Bob


White beaches of SW Florida

September Song in the anchorage

Looking at Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound from the beach

Our fisher dog, Cassie

We went to Picnic Island again today and I thought you might like to see what Cassie does while we are at the beach. She chases fish the whole time we are there. I don't know what she would do if she actually caught one. Is she having fun or what?

September Song (the fisher dog) out

Bob

A day for the girls

Today was a day for the girls. They haven't been to a beach or gotten much exercise the past couple of weeks so they asked if we could take Half Note to the beach. (please, please, dad) Picnic Island is a tiny island about a half mile from our anchorage. Notice the pure white sand of Southwest Florida beaches. Cassie chased fish, as usual, and all Godiva wanted to do is chase the ball. We all had great fun and now the girls are worn out and have passed out for the night.
Rickshaw (Rick and Lynnie) came over this afternoon and Stephanie prepared the shrimp we bought yesterday in garlic and butter over pasta. (YUUUM) After lupper (late lunch early supper) we had a fantastic apple pie that Lynnie bought in Naples. We played a game that we bought after playing it with Life's2short called Catch Phrase. We are practicing, Todd and Brenda.
Tomorrow Rickshaw is leaving for Sarasota and we will spend another day in the Wildlife Refuge. Saturday we are going to Burnt Store Marina, where we kept old September Song two winters, and meet up with old friends.

September Song (stuffed with shrimp) out
Bob


Picnic Island beach

As usual, Cassie chasing fish

What do you think she wants? "dad llab eht worht"
That's dog talk for throw the ball dad
They talk backwords

visitors to the beach

Moving on

Today we left Naples at 08:00 and headed for Sanibel Island to anchor out in Ding Darling Wildlife Refuge for a couple of days. As we left Naples, we passed the Naples Pier where I used to go for the sunsets when I lived in Naples. The next area we passed was Pelican Bay where Wayne and Gini have their condo and the Gang stayed. As we passed I called Marcia and asked if they could see us. Sure enough, they could, and through the binoculars I could see Marcia and Marlene, in her house coat, waving at us. The picture didn't turn out so well because we were about a mile out from shore and the condos are set back, but it was still way cool. Next stop, fill up time. It is always a bite to fill September Song with fuel, but not as bad as it was last summer which was over twice the cost we paid today. While we were at the dock where all the shrimp boats are I bought fresh shrimp off one of the boats that had come in from fishing. Huge white Gulf shrimp for $2.50 a pound. Shrimpers are notorious drinkers, and this guy was way into the sauce. I guess it was OK because it was lunch time. After filling the boat and emptying my wallet, we headed for the Wildlife Refuge where we are anchored out. Maybe, because we are in the Wildlife Refuge, Stephanie and I will get wild and crazy and get into the nature thing. (NOT) Your are only as old as you feel.

A Quote from our good friends on Life's 2 Short.
"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away"

September Song (wild and crazy) out
Bob


Naples Pier

The building where Wayne and Gini's condo is

Pirate ship. ARRRR!

  Sanibel Lighthouse as we came in from the Gulf

Time to fill the tanks (OUCH)

Filled up where the shrimpers fill up. Good price, just under $2.00 a gal.

Cool sailboat off our stern after we anchored

Rick's try at a video

Rick tried his hand at a video on his camera while we were on the Shark River. We are learning! I need to try sound.

Trying something new

I'm trying something new for the blog. This is a video I took on the camera while we were anchored on the Little Shark River in the Everglades National Park. Let's hope it works.

I just checked it out and IT WORKED!

I will try to improve on the videos and post more of them in the future.

September Sing (more fun with the camera) out

Bob

Hail, hail the gangs all here

Everyone arrived at 10:00 and after a tour of September Song, showing everyone where the life jackets are and pottie training (toilets work differently on a boat) we headed out to a beautiful day on the water in Southwest Florida. We cruised through the Port Royal area in Naples, (McMansions) then anchored in a quiet cove surrounded by multi million dollar homes and enjoyed lunch on the fly bridge. After lunch we cruised back to the marina and had cocktails, told stories, talked about the people who weren't there and played catchup on what everyone has been doing for the last ???? years. In the evening we went to the Dock Restaurant and had dinner.
We enjoyed seeing family and sharing a little of our life on September Song. The time went by to quickly and I wish we could have had more, but the time we had was great.

September Song (thanks for coming) out
Bob


Cousin Jack enjoying the views

I think brother-in-law Bill likes this Florida weather

Is that a good looking group or what?

My sister Marcia enjoying the aft deck

Decisions, decisions, it all looks so good

And it was

The group saying goodbye

Naples Florida

Saturday, Stephanie had a nice visit with her best friend from high school, Ann, after not seeing each other for 40 years. After they got caught up, that took a while, we picked up Bill, Ann's husband, and the four of us went to dinner at one of my old haunts when I lived in Florida, The Snook Inn. Today we had to wait until 10:30 for the fog to lift and then traveled the Gulf from Marco Island to Naples. The gulf can be like a mill pond at times, and today was one of those day. We were going to anchor out tonight because the City Docks couldn't take us until Monday but I called when we arrived at the inlet and as luck would have it, they said we could come in today because a boat left a day early. Tomorrow the gang, Marcia, Bill, Jack, Marlene, Wayne and Gini are going to be here at 10:00. We are going to take them for a day cruise and show them Southwest Florida from the water. Should be great fun. I will e-mail pictures to you Rena.

September Song (see you with the gang tomorrow) out

Bob


Naples, the jewel of Southwest Fl.

The Gulf of Mexico was like a mill pond today

The white sand beaches go on forever along the coast