Voyage 2021: Chapter 2

4 Jul 2021, Annual Family (Land) Trip to Marco Island, Florida, 25 55.176 N/ 081 43.698 W

We missed our 2020 trip to Marco due to Covid. This year the whole gang is vaccinated, bags are packed, and we are ready to go. We left Wilmington on 25 June an arrived on our 7th floor timeshare which we have had for over 36 years. Weather was not very nice; lots of scattered thundershowers with torrential rain; miserable traffic through much of South Carolina and Georgia, but a nice drive through Florida. We took the Okeechobee route across the state. It was a pretty and peaceful ride with horses, cows, and cowboys.

We had lots of rain on the beach, usually enough to shorten our day with the sun. Most of the weather is a result of sea breeze circulation of really unstable air. when the storm heads offshore, we get a real light show. We are tracking the genesis of tropical storm Elsa. She will not harm our trip, but the following week does not look pretty at Marco.

Chris, Bob and Logan adopted an early morning walk which included coffee from 7-Eleven, a stroll to Caxambas Park, a quick sit-down, ans then the return. It is a good walk (about 4 miles) and not uncomfortable at 0730. At the park, we watched the vendors set up their 'toys' for folks to explore the Caxambas Bay. On the way to the park, we saw a bunch of owls on their Marco provided perches. They were about 10" tall and were not fearful of anything.

Wednesday and Thursday were boating days where Wednesday was fishing with Jeff and Thursday was pontoon-ing with the Todd clan (Chris as skipper) Six of us Todd's met Capt. Jeff at Pelican Bend Marina (Isle of Capri) at 0800. We thought the boat was a might small for all of us but what do know. Jeff took us about 5 miles out in the Gulf and dropped his anchor. None of us ever fished, the seas were short at 2', and the Richmond Todd's did not have many handholds. We were pitiful but we caught fish, a total of 9. One of us was getting sea sick so Jeff weighed anchor and headed for calmer waters in the Marco River where we were unsuccessful in adding to our catch. Overall a pleasant day. Some of us will do it again.

Chris and the Todd troupe arrived at Rose's Marina at 0900 and took possession of a nice 18' pontoon boat. It was strange to me that there was no compass nor depth sounder but I am not the skipper. We left before 0930 and headed for the popular Keewaydin Island between Marco and Naples We anchored right off the west side of the island. We swam, hiked, rested, and got a bit hot. So we jumped back into the boat, got some lunch at Snooks, and explored some more. We relinquished possession of the boat at 1530, returned to the room, and did nothing but rest. We were tired.

We did pool time, beach time, and belated Father's Day in the last days. This year we had 3 generation of 'Todds' at Hooter's in Naples. Logan was having a great time looking at the people, the TV's and funny dressed girls. He enjoyed the french fries too. It has been a Todd tradition to go to Hooter's lunch for Dad's Day for over 10 years. A good time was had by all.

4 Aug 2021, Start of Summer RV Voyage, 42 08.9567 N/ 079 04.2630 W

Today we head North from Shipwright Harbor to Kennedy NY by Tiffin RV. Why Kennedy NY? We are headed there to visit old friend cruisers (Barb and Bob formally on SV BarBobasea) that swallowed the hook' a while back and recently moved to NY to live with their son on his farm. Before that they lived in Florida near Leesburg. We would stop and visit nearly every year on our way to Marco. Wonderful people!

The farm is over 100 acres where the son grows hay (sorta), and raises chickens, rabbits, and cows. The farm is up in the mountains at 3,000+ elevation. Weather was perfect in the day, sleeping cool at night, and peace in the air all of the time. The area's folks are flag waving America loving citizens that are friendly to everyone.

Bob made friends...with 200+ chickens. They were a little suspicious of me at first, but when I whipped out the treats, I had friends for life. The son told us all about his chickens, their predators, their eggs, and their habits. Ann knew a bit about chickens as she was raised as a country girl. Bob was raised in the North so only saw chickens on TV.

Bob and Barb took us on rides around Lake Chautauqua, Lake Erie, and several of the communities. Some of the evergreens akin to Nova Scotia's red pine are suffering a blight that grows and spreads in foggy conditions. Sad. We stopped at a small farm and bought some corn. We would eat some at the farm and take a bit of it on our voyage, includes some colorful eggs from my 'friends'. Tomorrow, we head out east to chase down our grandson, Collin, and his girl friend, Jamie.