2002 - 3/13 - 3/17 - Ft. Myers beach, Cape Coral, Cabbage Key

It was nostalgic for me going under the Matanzas Bridge & into Ft Myers beach. Tight quarters in the anchorage but managed to find a hole. Anchor down at 3:00. Straightened up both the boat & ourselves and dinked to Bob Wallace’s house. Interesting older gent who is truly a boater’s friend. For years, he has generously allowed dinghies to tie up at his private dock with use of water etc. Chatted a bit, signed his log and were on our way to the                                                               Hotel on the beach
beach. Forgot it was spring break. Oh to be young again but I wasn’t in the financial class nor did I have time off in conjunction with this ritual to participate when I was in nursing school. I did, however, experience spring break while watching that all time classic favorite “Where the Boys Are”. Never played the tourist in all the years living at the beach - shame. Wandered the streets and discovered “Times Square” on the beach just north of the big bridge. How could I have missed this while living just a few miles away? Little shops, cobble stone
walk, trees, plants and fun lighting. Even had live music - one, lone guy, covered with different instruments. See for your self... Wanted to wander in some shops but decided it was time for happy hour & burgers. Suppose one place was as good  as the next. Wound up on the upper level, open bar of the Matanzas Inn under the bridge. More music, happy people & Ken, the bartender, made the best rumrunner I’ve had in a long time. I was still nursing my 1st one and Wayne almost finished his 2nd. Not a good sign. Two gorgeous, very elegant college girls sat next to us. What a hoot and good for the ‘old man’s’ ego. (Oh, & by the way, the girl’s father was scrumptious) Home & in bed by 10:00. God we’re getting old - I hate it! Thursday, March 14th Late start. Took dingy to the pass. Discovered they built a very nice park at the north end of the beach. It felt good to squish my toes in the sand again with cast net in hand. Miraculously, I managed to get 3 of my favorite baitfish. In the dinghy to the pass we
went...BINGO...I caught a ‘just legal’ sized spotted trout. Unfortunately, my last bait was eaten alive by my dreaded foe, the catfish! How could I have possibly forgotten what a PIA they are! Tide was going out and unable to net more of those yummy baitfish. Let me share a “Winnieism”: One sure-fire way to catch fish is to get something out of the freezer for dinner before you leave. Works every time. Happy hour at sunset and fresh fish for dinner. Forgot to mention that Katie Couric’s monster boat was docked by the bridge in Ft. Myer’s Beach (or so we were told) Apparently, the boyfriend is a major league
baseball player here for Spring Camp. (now, don’t laugh at my ignorance) Friday, March 15th Called Gregg (Wayne's brother) & he invited us on his boat (30’ Sea Ray called SUBJECT TO CHANGE) going to ‘downtown’ Ft. Myers for a night of revelry. Had to be at his place no later than 3pm. Pulled anchor at 11:50 and up the ICW. I still can’t get over the massive amount of boat traffic! We were towing the dink - I took it to the house ahead of BLUE MAX. Capt’n Wayne didn’t forget his docking skills. Perfect landing. Plugged in electric but kept breaking the circuit. (?) The new alternator and regulator had not arrived by 4pm - Wayne became concerned and called. He discovered that he gave UPS the street name with no house number. As in the Keys, the UPS driver knew Gregg and the address. All arrived intact. Unfortunately for us, but glad tidings for Renee (Gregg’s daughter) she was in labor. The trip downtown was off & they were off to the hospital. She delivered an 8# girl at 4:30. We skinny-dipped in the pool after dinner (just Wayne & me). Early to bed again. Saturday, March 16th - Another beautiful day in paradise. (Some would call it that-I still prefer the real paradise of the Keys) They watched Arial all day (the new baby’s sister). What a cutie. Wayne spent all day installing the new parts. As with most projects, this one was riddled with technical problems. Different mounting brackets and bolts & the wiring was different as well. Wayne had to adapt them to the existing mounts. To the hardware store, some reconstruction and WAM! The genius strikes again. While he was in the ‘hole’, I had time to play on the computer to downloaded pictures, wrote in the log & made postcards. Used the photo quality paper so the prints were perfect. Also figured out how to print on the back! YEA! Boy did I feel pretty smart. A little glitch...all printing on the back of the shinny side smears even after sitting a few hours. I was bummed out. I hand wrote them instead. Wayne swam after completing the job. Huge discussion between Gregg & Jo about dinner. Gregg won & ordered Pizza. They were both having trouble staying awake & the ‘no seeums’ were annoying, We adjourned to the boat & were in bed by 10pm. Sunday, March 17th - St. Patty’s Day. Gregg & Jo’s friend, Ginger, visited & Gregg
made Bloody Mary’s & brunch. Was a nice morning. They took the Sea Ray out & we readied the boat to leave but skinny dipped to give the neighbors something to talk about. We left at 2pm. Thankfully, boat traffic subsided as we headed north. Anchor down on the West Side of Useppa Island at 4pm - almost sunset. I hadn’t been here for well over 10 years & was very excited about showing Wayne all around & have drinks at their quaint bar. Sure burst my bubble when I learned he had been here before with someone else. Then he wanted to have dinner before going ashore which meant the bar would surely be closed by the time we were done. He knew I was disappointed. He acquiesced & took me ashore. It was nice to see

the place hadn’t changed all that much. After all, the “shower together” sign still hung by the bathrooms at the docks. This is Terry, the very long-time dock-

master. His son & my David played together when they were about 11 years old! David is now 29. Only a few changes that I could see; brick steps up to the restaurant and an outside open patio area with tables & umbrellas. There seems to be way more money hanging inside than last time I was here.

Virtually everything is covered with the green stuff - thousands of dollars in fact. The staff we met were gracious & friendly, Terry McDonald, an off duty server, was at the bar. We enlisted in a lively conversation and she bought me a drink. Wayne, the manager, (yes, another Wayne),

delighted us in conveying the history of the building and grounds. Terry is another ‘drop out’ having had an executive position with AT&T financial. We exchanged addresses. Probably would have had their famous “cheeseburger in paradise” if didn’t cost $12!! Returned to BLUE MAX for light dinner of salad.