Christine's Birthday Cruise

May 3, 2017

Beautiful day for a short cruise before heading North for the summer. Had to cancel our Bahama plans this year due to health issues but there is always next season.

Mystic Lady and crew need a few days on the water and it looks like a good time to take off.

Gotta get back to Kentucky before our Memorial Day Harley Ride with Jimmy, Alison, and the whole Harley Group.

Once we were all settled in at Fort Myers Beach we unloaded the tender and took a long ride with Annie. She loves to ride in the tender.
A nice day for a water outing but storms are coming in tomorrow tonight and rain for tomorrow so we get'r'done today.

Annie says Thank You, Thank You.

Good shot of Mystic Lady as she sits on a Mooring Ball in the bay behind Ft Myers Beach.

Gotta get moved over to the "Pink Shell" Resort/Marina before the storms move in.

Gonna play the "Tourist Game" for a few days. Beach sittin' while the sun shines and a nice dinner for Christine's birthday.

May 4, 2017

Lunch at poolside.

This Resort is one of the finest in the area. The place is gorgeous, looks a lot like a Disney development but it isn't.

Service is excellent and the marina is super. Harbormaster Dave O'Connor is stop shelf.

A little Beach Time before the storms move in. The wind is whipping pretty good now.

Only a few die-hards are still in the water. We watched a couple try to take a kayak out but never got past the waves.

Several jet-skiers were still out.

We had a beautiful Birthday Dinner at "Jacks", an upscale restaurant at Pink Shell.

We only mentioned once at the Marina sign-in that it was Christine's birthday.
That message must have made it to the chef because they presented us with this complimentary dessert after dinner.
Like I said the Dockmaster is top-shelf.

May 5, 2017
"Cinco De Mayo"

Five dollar Margarita's and Two dollar Tacos was our bargain lunch today at the Pier Walk on Ft. Myers Beach. Complete with live music...Bob Dylan, Creedence Clearwater Revival and Johnny Cash all wrapped up in one guy.

Topped that off with Brown Derby's from Dairy Queen. Does anybody know what a Brown Derby is?

Another great day with two of my favorite girls.

Saturday May 6, 2017

Just another day in Paradise.....

Watching the Pirate Ship go by Ft. Myers Beach...

Beautiful (but windy) day on the beach.

My little "Chick Magnet" Annie is up to her old tricks again.

This time she reeled in three beauties from Chicago.

Man, I love this dog.







MAY 7, 2017

An 8:00 am walk on the beach, what a beautiful day. The storms passed thru and left us with dry air, warm temps, and finally the wind calmed down.

Ft. Myers beach is great. The Pink Shell Resort/Marina is perfect for us.

Heading back to Ft. Myers today so gotta go check out and cruise back up the river.
Christine said she had a wonderful birthday weekend.

Christine pulling in the dock lines as we leave Pink Shell. Lots of traffic today, perfect boating day.

This is as we round Bowditch Point at Ft. Myers Beach.

Fishing fleet coming in after all night fishing.

Now she gets in a little "Captain time" as I go down below to test the water maker and other systems before we put Mystic Lady up for the summer.

This has been a good sea trial for the boat since we didn't do a lot of cruising this year. Seems our doctors had other plans for us this season.

I don't think we have ever seen this much traffic before.

Looks like everybody with a boat decided to take advantage of this beautiful day.

Click on the picture to enlarge it and get a better idea of the number of boats....Unbelievable

Key West 2017

Saturday April 15, 2017

Taking Annie for her morning walk before we depart for Key West.

Had to wait until around 10:00 am for the tides to come in enough to depart through the cut.

Very shallow here, we could never get "Mystic Lady" in here because we draft 5 ft. but Adventure III is a shallow draft boat.

Follow along at
https://share.garmin.com/JerryChafton

A shot from the boat over towards the Old Bahia-Honda Bridge.

This bridge is no longer used and was constructed in 1909. It is still in decent shape for it's age but just obsolete for today's traffic.

Winds are howling around 20 knots today (notice the palm tree)..
It's going to be a rough ride for the next four hours.

Hang on Annie......

Dave is checking the engine room as we make our way to Key West..

He says "All Good Down Here"..

That's certainly comforting!!

Well, we made it just fine. The ride was not as bad as predicted.

It was pretty rough as we departed but as soon as we turned Due West and put the winds and waves on our backside we smoothed out a lot.

However, the winds are still howling  and not predicted to let off unit next week.

Why can't you do something a little silly when in Key West ??....after all, the entire place is a little silly.

Annie liked it anyway.
Momma Christine said I can't get up there but she did.

OK, somebody bring me a ladder so I can get down from here.















Sunday April 16, 2017...Easter Sunday

The view this morning as we sip our coffee from the back of Adventure III..
Key West Bight is a very busy place every day of the week.

We are tied along a face dock at the fuel dock. we get to watch a lot of action from here.

Dave and Michele are going to a Methodist Church today for Easter Service but it's too far to walk for me and my screwed up knee.

Christine, Annie and I went over to the Wharf for lunch today...great fish  tacos.

Annie, my little chick magnet, found another one today.

Seems the girls just can't resist this little dog.

"Schooner's Wharf" was a funky little place with live music and great atmosphere.
The fellow doin' the pickin' and grinnin' has been playing at this bar for 26 years.

We had a great lunch and now we head over to the dog park to let Annie run off some energy before I give her a bath.

 You never know what you might see in Key West.
We ran across this fellow on the boardwalk and I just had to get a picture of his creation.

This started out as a little Honda Scooter. He chopped the frame and extended the swing arm. Also he added GSX6 Honda Engine with chrome upswept exhaust on the other side. He powered coated the frame black, added Z bars, LED lights, fat tires, etc.
Quite a creation and did it all himself, sounded good too.


Monday April 17, 2017

Woke up this morning with this Yacht in our backdoor.

They pulled in after the fuel dock closed, too big for a slip so they docked here all night.
They hold 9000 gallons of diesel fuel
The captain said they don't have a home port, they just cruise around all over the world.

They intend to go to Alaska next, down thru the Panama Canal  of course.

Nice shot of Adventure III in front of the Yacht.

Rick Hendricks Yacht is in the far background.
They pulled out today too.

The Hendricks yacht was towing a Center Console with four 350 Yamaha Outboards.

It's name was "Wheels Too"....I didn't catch the came of the Yacht.



April 18, 2017

Last full day in Key West....The three of us took a long walk around some of the side streets to get away from the typical tourist spots.

We ran across this old corner gas station (probably from the early 50's.
It had been converted to a corner cafe.
Notice the Iron Work support pole holding up the island canopy, also the wooden bench over the pump island. Very "Art Deco".
Wish they had been open but we were out early, as always. We also found another Art Deco building. The old Steam Plant built in 1951 had been converted to a Condominium  but retained the '"Art Deco" designs from the same era. It was on property developed by the late industrialist Flagler.

Bahia Honda 2017

Thursday...April 13, 2017

Follow along with us on this little journey as we practice using our In-Reach Satellite Communicator.

It will replace our emergency EPIRB on our long range trips at sea.
Just click the link below and see if it works...........
just remember we must have the unit on at the time you link up.



https://share.garmin.com/JerryChafton


Looks like the whole "Crew" is on deck getting ready to pull out of Marathon Marina.

Heading down to Bahia Honda State Park for a couple of nights.

Winds are blowing 15-20 kts and expected to pick up to 25 kts by Saturday. Seas are forecast to be 3-4 ft. today.

Cloudy and raining as we pull out but only about 10 miles to the Park.

Christine and Annie are hunkered down for the wet and rough ride this morning.

Showers are off and on this morning but clearing later.

But have no fear.....Christine has supper in the Crock Pot..

Smells like Roast, Potatoes and Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots.

The crew will eat well tonight.

Dave on deck as we move out of the HogKey Channel.

Cloudy and sprinkling...

Michele getting a lesson on "Upper Helm Prep" before we pull out of the slip.

Cap't Dave has big plans for Michele and Dave as they prepare for their trip to Cuba and the Exuma Islands.

They leave later this month from Stock Island Marina in Key West.

Arriving at Bahia Honda thru the old railroad pass.

This was a double deck highway/railroad that was abandoned when the new highway was built. It makes for a great overlook from the park.

It was a little choppy with 2-3 footers this morning but Annie was the only one feeling a little woozy.

Coming into the cut is a little skinny, both width and depth. Especially in a boat with a 24 foot beam.

However, "No Hill for a Climber"..

Beautiful Park with beaches, nature trails, campground and a little harbor.

Jerry and Annie taking a break along one of the Nature Trails.

Great facility that's very well kept.

We didn't realize how busy this place would be but it has lots of visitors. Nice little Grill with sandwiches and ice cream.
Rental canoes, kayaks, etc.

Key West on Adventure III, 2017

 Christine says we are loaded and ready for Key West and points in between.

We will be on this trip with Dave and Michele Sylver along with Dave Crannell on his beautiful Power-Cat yacht called "Adventure III".

FOLLOW ALONG BY CLICKING THIS LINK
https://share.garmin.com/JerryChafton


Saturday..April 8, 2017
"Mystic Lady" will be resting up for her next adventure to the Bahama Islands when we get back. Many thanks to Dave for inviting us to tag along part way, before him and his crew head for Cuba.

Dave is clearing the lines as we leave Legacy Harbour Marina in Ft. Myers.

Two fairly good days of weather ahead, enough to get to Marathon then it's super windy for the remainder of this trip.

Seems the winds are being relentless this season.

Cruising past some of SW Florida coastline..with Michele taking it all in.
This gal loves the water as much as anybody I've met. Her and Christine would rather be on a boat than anywhere.

The Sylver's are a great couple to cruise with.

Looking forward to the week in the Keys.

First stop is Marco Island for fuel before we start the long ride to Marathon.

It was a bit tricky getting up to the fuel dock because the night before we arrived the entire dock that houses the fuel station fell into the water. The concrete pilings had crumbled from deterioration.

They had a temporary fuel truck backed up to a floating dock for fueling purposes. However, Captain Dave backed her in between the docks with no problem.

Just another trawler from the fishing fleet as we cruised the coast line.

Not a bad day to travel, winds 10-15 kts, seas 1-2 with occasional 3 footers.

Gonna get much rougher as the week goes on.

Jerry takes a break and enjoys the forward deck as we make our way through the little community of Goodland.

We haven't been thru this cut in about 11 years. The last time we were thru here the place was run-down but today it is booming with boaters and new additions have been added to the old facilities.

The Old Marco Inn in the background has been around since the 1800's...

Saturday Evening...April 8, 2017

After our fuel stop and sightseeing journey thru Goodland we pulled into the "Ten Thousand Island" area of the Everglades for the night.

We chose a place called Panther Key to drop the anchor.

Annie is returning from her Potty Stop at a nearby island.
Some local folks had set up tents and were boat camping on the beach with their kids. Good to see kids getting a taste of Mother Nature's lifestyle.

A great shot of "Adventure III" as we arrive back from our dingy trip around a nearby island.

It was a long ride so we were ready to get back to the "Mother Ship" and cook some supper.

Tomorrow will be a long day as we dodge crab pots and windy conditions all the way to Marathon.





Sunday..April, 9, 2017...Marathon

A Full Moon setting as the sun comes up behind us.

This shot is from the front deck of Adventure III as Christine and I sip our morning coffee.

Our slip location gives us a beautiful view of Moonsets and Sunsets....

We all took a dingy ride over to Burdines  for lunch on the water.

The winds were picking up so we took a table a little more sheltered but the pics were not good.

Lunch, however, was great. Especially the fries.

"High Yo Sylver"..............Dave and Michele "Sylver" are waiting for Capt. Dave to do some dingy cruising around the Marathon area.

Christine and I will wait here and start some projects on Adventure III.

"Dave and his other brother Dave" have a long list of projects for their resident mechanic.





April 11, 2017

Waiting on a cab to take us to the grocery store.

$5.00 to anywhere on the Island....not bad.
It would be $25.00 in the Bahamas.

Expecting some rain showers today so walking ain't gonna happen.





After the taxi ride Jerry, Dave and his other brother Dave took a little walk down to "Faro Blanco" for a drink and to check out the new marina. WOW, it is really nice but I wouldn't want to dock there if the winds are over 5 kts.
They had 1-2 ft. rollers inside the marina. Very exposed to North and East winds.

Boat Outing with Christine's Bible Study Group

Christine and JoAnn on the Forward Deck as we pull out of Legacy Marina on Gene and Kathy's beautiful 1987 68 ft. Ocean Alexander, "Front Page"......

A perfect day for a 15 mile cruise down the river to their favorite Waterside Restaurant called "Marker 92"...

We have about 20 people on board and looking forward to a great lunch with friends.

Seems the dolphins wanted to follow along on our little expedition to Marker 92....

We had a pod of three for quite a while, then this gal started showing off with beautiful "Antics" like this one.
She would turn her head sideways as if saying hello as the ladies would call out to her.
They love to surf along with the boat wakes and sometimes follow for miles.

Some of the group chose to ride at the Upper Helm (or Flybridge) to get a better view and feel the air in their face.

Also easier to spot the dolphins and  boat traffic....

Kathy (in blue) is the Bible Study Group Leader and she does a fabulous job with the Studies according to all the Ladies.

Her husband Gene is Captain but today he has lots of help....

Well, we arrived safely at this beautiful location at the mouth of the Caloosahatchie River just across the bay from Sanibel Island.

A super nice marina with condos all around and a great place to dine.

Only a few miles from Legacy and perfect for an afternoon cruise.

Would have been a perfect day to eat outside on the patio but our Gang was so large we had to go inside to get a table big enough to serve 20 people.

A very upscale dining experience and I would recommend it to anyone visiting the Ft. Myers or Cape Coral area.

ThankYou, Gene and Kathy, for providing this cruise for the group.

"Front Page" making her way back to Legacy Marina after a wonderful trip down the river.

Gene and Kathy are in the Newspaper Business and that might explain the name of their yacht.

She is a 30 year old yacht but is in impeccable condition. They completed a year long cruise down to Trinidad in the Caribbean just last year...
Great Friends, we are truly blessed.

The Antics of "Annie and Oscar"

FEBRUARY 2017

Annie and Oscar (our marina neighbor the Golden-Doodle) love to play tug-of-war at the Marina.


Annie is getting toughened up for her trip to the Bahama's in a few weeks. She will do a lot of beach running and swimming as soon as we arrive at the first island.

She wishes Oscar could come along cause she "Loves" Oscar.

Our friend and neighbor "Ken" is having some heart issues and may not be able to make the trip to the Bahamas this year.

He was all set to go over in his brand new 50 ft. Tiara Yacht but had a stroke on New Years Eve and the doctors will tell him next month if he is good to go...we are hoping for the best for Ken, Sandra, and Oscar.
They are great people, like so many here at Legacy Marina.

Annie and Oscar were playing on Mystic Lady and it was time to take a Pee break.

No, there eyes aren't floating....I just didn't bother to remove the bright eyes...