Our Great Loop Adventure

We have spent these last two weeks at Legacy Harbour Marina in Ft. Myers. It has lived up to its reputation. They have all the amenities including two laundries, showers, a fitness center, a covered gathering area called the "Chiki Hut," pool, friendly and helpful staff, dockside pumpout, and last but not least, location within walking distance to downtown Ft. Myers, a Starbucks, and Publix. We have spent part of our time primping the Summer Recess through cleaning both the inside and outside as well as waxing the super structure. We also spent a lot of time cleaning our deck chairs which were suffering from exposure to all kinds of weather. We rented a car, which allowed us to shop at places not close to the marina like Costco, Total Wine, and West Marine. But it has not been all work and no play. We have taken many walks along the river front as well as downtown. The Ford Edison Estates are within blocks. These are the winter homes of Henry Ford and Thomas Edison. The grounds are filled with many buildings as well as a lot of the flora that was brought in by both Ford and Edison for experimental purposes. The very well maintained waterfront is along the Caloosahatchee River. It is the location of not only a Farmers Market every Thursday, but also many weekend activities. We attended the Art Fair on Sunday, February 2nd. The downtown is filled with restaurants and boutiques as well as offices and businesses.
There have been activities at the marina. We attended the Super Bowl Party on February 2nd complete with food and beverages. Becky, our daughter, won $40 in the pool for having the square that matched the First Quarter ending score. On Wednesday, February 5th, there was an Olympic Torch parade on the docks followed on Thursday with a pot luck dinner. Everyone brought a dish to represent their ethnic heritage.We took pierogis and kielbasa. We had a great time. We met the owners of Tortuga. Also, we were surprised to see Hiromi and Mike from Off-Leash. We met them several times on our river travels and into Mobile.
We had a delightful surprise on Friday, February 7th. We were visited by our Belle Maer dock neighbors, Dave and Bonnie. They came with Betsy and Kim, Bonnie's sister and her husband. We had a great conversation accompanied by more than one glass of wine. We were very grateful that they took time out from their Florida vacation to visit us.
Pat and Sue, Tony's brother and his wife, came from Tampa, where they are vacationing, to visit and spend the night at the Legacy Hotel. We took them to Ft. Myers Beach. They are condo hunting for next year. We also walked the beach at Lovers' Key. However, since there is only one way on and off Ft. Myers Beach, we got stuck in a traffic jam and it took us two hours to get back to the boat. They are now thinking twice about leasing a condo there. We walked downtown for dinner at Fords Garage. It was fun. Both Pat and Sue worked at Ford Motor Company. We were going to meet for drinks at the Chiki Hut, but the torrential rains arrived. To top it off the gate to our dock did not work. The harbor master, Eric, literally had to hop the fence to get it open. Tony, who had an umbrella, helped a lady to her boat. The floating dock closest to the river was wobbling in the wind with waves coming over it. He came back soaked to the skin. So much for having another glass of wine at the Chicki Hut. The following morning the rain had cleared out, but it was still breezy. We drove to the Manatee Park. But due to the cool conditions, we did not see many manatees. After lunch at an English Bistro, Pat and Sue left to go back to Tampa. We had a enjoyable visit.
Valentine's Day was celebrated with breakfast at Gwen's Cafe. This was a restaurant recommended by our son-in-law, Jeff, who used to be a co-owner of an engineering business in downtown Ft. Myers. The food was very good.
The Edison Light Parade took place on Saturday, February 15th. We walked downtown to watch it. Beautiful fireworks over the water marked the start of the parade. The parade included representatives of the armed forces, police and fire departments. There were many local high school bands. Of course many local lawmakers were there. The highlight was the Budweiser Clydesdales pulling the truck with their trusty Dalmatian sitting next to the driver. We enjoyed this event. The next posting will be at the end of February just before we leave Ft. Myers.