Day 120, Year 10: Simple Gift—A Mooring Ball at Last
Date: Saturday, February 7, 2015
Weather: Sunny, Temps mid-70’s Daytime, low-50’s Nighttime, Winds NE 10-15
Location: At Home with Mary Ellen and Lee French in Bonita Springs, FL
What a relief a simple gift can bring. Very early this morning Lee called and said that the mooring ball next to Sea Turtle was available. We were joyous at hearing this news. But it was about an hour before low tide and we did have some reluctance about going in until the tide was higher after yesterday’s experience. But at the same time, the sand bar that was exposed in front of us yesterday morning just wasn’t there this morning, so we knew the tide was higher and we went for it. We reached the mooring ball and Lee was sitting there in his dinghy holding the space for us. Thank you, Lee. I guess we arrived here on Thursday with bad weather and a full moon super low tide causing us to find no available mooring balls and super shallow waters. But today the weather outside was much improved and lots of boat went out. So as the morning wore on, there were lots of mooring balls and a tide that never got as low as yesterday. But still the current in mooring field was fierce. We went over in the dinghy to talk to Lee and Lynda and when it was time to leave, Mark could not pull the dinghy up alongside their swim platform without great difficulty. It made me feel a little better about my ‘accident’ yesterday morning which I felt was caused by expectantly strong current, but it will be a long time before I will regain the confidence to drive through a crowded anchorage again.
When we got back to Windbird from our visit to Sea Turtle, we took down the life lines on the port side so we could remove our bent stanchion for repairs and I did a little fresh water washdown on the deck. Then we packed up and got ready to go visit with Mark’s family for a few days. We had hoped that Lee and Lynda would go with us this afternoon or join us tomorrow, but they feel like they have too many boat jobs to do. But since they decided to stay on the boat, we asked Lee to take us to shore in his dinghy so we didn’t have to leave ours at the public dock. We’re still hopeful that we can get them to come join us on Monday or Tuesday, but I guess that will depend on how much they still have to do and whether or not they have company. I friend who lives in Florida might come to spend the night with them. So we’ll have to wait to see if we can pry them away from Sea Turtle. In the meantime, Mark and I caught the trolley that took us south to Lover’s Key State Park. Unfortunately it arrived there 5 minutes late and that caused us to miss the connecting trolley to Bonita Beach. So we called Lee (Mark’s brother-in-law) and he came to get us. It was 1:30 and the next trolley would not arrive until after 3 pm and we didn’t want to just sit and wait that long. The reason we are taking the trolley instead of having someone come pick us up is that the traffic on Fort Myers Beach at this time of year is a madhouse. The trolley to Lover’s Key, which is halfway to Bonita Beach where Mark’s sisters live, gets us far enough south to be out of the worst traffic. Soon after we arrived at Mary Ellen and Lee’s, Mark’s other sister Jeanie and her significant other, Tom, came to visit. Jeanie is recovering from surgery so is under doctor’s orders not to go in the pool, but Mark, ME, Lee, and I jumped in and had an afternoon of pool fun batting beach balls around. Jeanie and Tom rescued the balls that somehow escaped the pool. The pool is under a lanai, so the sun is not so strong which makes it more enjoyable for Mark. After the pool volley ball games, Mark, Lee, and I sat in the adjoining hot tub and just relaxed and talked. Tomorrow Mark’s brother and a niece and nephew and their families will come to join us. So it will be a family Funday Sunday.
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| 150207 Day 120 Florida, USA–Afternoon with Family |
