FINALLY.....FORT MYERS
We arrived safely at the Marinatown Marina, Fort Myers yesterday late afternoon.  Some history is required....Normal procedures has Captain Tim selecting the night's overnight location somewhere early morning, same day or late night, evening before.  He had been looking at locations in Fort Myers for a couple of days, knowing we wanted to stay somewhere closer to my brother Dave's house.  Dave provided us facts about some of them, which ones had restaurants near by, which ones closer to downtown, etc.  We normally look for marinas that have a restaurant, pool, laundry, etc.  And, price per foot is pretty important too.  After looking at the available selections, he chose Marinatown.  He called them.  Long story short, they said 'Come on in. Park where you want. We'll settle up in the morning.' So, when we arrived (after about 1/2 mile of very shallow, twist and turn driving) we finally found someone who lives on his boat and he told us to head on down to the end where the wider slips are.  We had no way of knowing the width or length of these slips, so settled on a slip next to a comparable sized boat. The wind was a'whipping, but the Captain got her in on the first attempt.  We did swing on a wooden piling that groaned a little under the strain.

Some new construction along the Caloosahatchee River.  Made for a narrow passageway.  Glad we were not meeting another vessel.

 Rene sent us a picture of her yard yesterday.  I'm sorry about the weather back home.  I feel kinda guilty (really) and wish I could bottle some of our warm, sunny weather and send it back.  Stay warm, Rene!

 Along the riverside.

 This is one of our favorite varities of palm trees.

 A swing bridge along the route.  The bridge master (a woman) had to lower the gates for traffic, and then walk to the middle of the bridge to operate it.  We took a picture of her, but I'm not sure where that photo is....

One of the many orange groves we saw.  Didn't see many east of the Okeechobee lake, mostly on the western side.

 This picture is for Jessica.  She loves llamas!

Unusual little island.

 Fort Myers in the background.

 Fort Myers. This picture is out of order.... ;)

Last night, as we walked brother Dave and his soon to be son-in-law back to the car/restaurant. The moon was exceptionally pretty. A little, bottom curve, sliver moon. 

 From home. A drumset that Jeremy made for his 3 year old son. He loves to bang on things!!

Today the guys have been working on tracing antenna wire problems, opening up clogged air conditioner drain hoses, investigating fresh water pressure valves, etc.  You know, a normal day on the water.  At one point, Tim was down in the engine compartment working on something and noticed that there was transmission oil all over.  It appears that there is a bad seal.  A mechanic is coming first thing in the morning to render an opinion.  Originally, we were going to be here 2-4 days, but will have to wait to see how long repairs will take.  Our next stop is Marco Island and from there, weather permitting, we head straight to the Keys.
Another couple (also Loopers) that we met in Carabelle last spring are going to be here tomorrow.  They are on their second loop.  It will be nice to catch up with them.
The guys put our bench together. Dave ordered it earlier in the week and delivered it, along with his car, last night.  The bench will be a nice addition to the aft deck.  Joe even said that there's still enough room for my exercising :).
Not sure how much blogging will get done while here.  Stay tuned...... and stay warm!!