Fort Myers to Moore Haven, Florida

Today, we end our spring tour of southwest Florida the way we began our fall adventure....through a river, locks and bridges. We leave Legacy Harbour in Fort Myers around 9 am and arrive to River Forest Yachting Center around 3 pm.  It is roughly 45 miles up the Caloosahatchee River. Unlike the Ohio, or any of the other rivers we navigated in the fall, it is very scenic and has a pronounced smell of jasmine, orange blossoms and celery. This is a far cry from the paper mill "fragrance" we experienced on prior river travels! There are two locks, each rises us at the most 5 feet.  There are no floating bollards; we just hold on to the lines tied up to cleats on the lock. This is a piece of cake!

Everyone adds their boat sticker to the lock...darn, we don't have one!

We  travel through rural inland Florida. Take away the palm trees and the mangroves, and we are back on the Ohio, well maybe if you squint.

Cattle ranch

We arrive at River Forest Yachting Center where Crazy 8 will spend the summer.  It is a great facility, temperature and humidity controlled, and rated to withstand a category 4 hurricane.

Crazy 8's Summer Home - dry docked

We will be sad to end our adventure, but feel confident that Crazy 8 will be safe this summer from hurricanes and any other things mother nature may have in store for the south.  After all, doesn't she need to make things even after dealing the north such a  horrible winter?  God willing, we look forward to reuniting with Crazy 8 this fall. 

To end this segment of our travels, Tom and I decided to post our top ten, not necessarily in any order.

Top Ten things We Enjoyed While Touring Southwest Florida

10)  Manatees - They were most prevalent at South Seas Marina.  They move so slow and the "bubbles" they emit are quite stinky!

Manatee

9)  Dolphins of course!

Never tire of seeing them playing in the boat wake!

8)  Longboat Key - We loved this marina and really enjoyed seeing our family, neighbors from home, and especially our daughter Sam from Ann Arbor, who really needed a winter break.  We also were able to assist our sister/sister-in-law as she recovered from major surgery.

Family!

7) Sea Tow

The beginning of a cruise on Sarasota Bay

The return trip to the Longboat Key Moorings. Thanks Sea Tow!

6) Floating Docks and dock hands to catch the line!

Pink Shell Resort- Awesome docks and great  dock master, Craig!

5) Shelling at Captiva Island.  Shells galore after the storm blew through.

Shells and more shells!

4)  Free Laundry.  This is boring and no pictures are needed, but both Naples Boat Club and Pink Shell Marina had free laundry.  So nice not to hunt for quarters.  It is the little things in life!

3) Beautiful weather and no winter weather alerts.

Useppa Island

2) Sunsets

Stormy day ends with a spectacular sunset on Captiva Island

1)  People

It is the people we met along the way that really brought enjoyment to our trip. From our fellow boaters, dock masters, lock masters, cab drivers, fellow ferry passengers, waiters, etc, it has been a true pleasure to meet and hear every one's story. Of course, meeting up again with Dan and Nancy was the real bonus.  And, to all you who read our blog, from over 10 countries, we hope you have enjoyed our journey.  We would love to hear your stories too!

Until fall returns, Crazy 8 over and out. Time to head home.