Marianne & Ray With Anne - Suffering on Kismet

 

More Suffering With Richard aka Dick

 

Lauren & Adam Sailing The Gulf of Mexico

 

Watch Out QE 2 - Here Comes Kismet

Jim says our outfitting is complete! We now have a set of fine china aboard with service for 12! On Monday we rented a car and drove across Alligator Alley to Mom's condo in Pembroke Pines to complete the final cleanup of her place since she has sold it and moved to California to live near my sister (the good daughter)! One of the things that I had an emotional attachment to was the china - it was going to cost mucho bucks to ship it to our storage spot in New Berlin, NY, so on the boat it came! Surprisingly....with Jim's packing expertise, it fit like a glove in the aft cabin. Eventually it will get moved by car to upstate NY when we make a trip there. 36 hours later we were back on Kismet. Last week we enjoyed a visit with Lauren and her fiance Adam. The weather cooperated, and they spent time on the beach, going to the movies, drinking overpriced Rum Runners at The Top O' Mast (of course they got to keep the very heavy souvenir glasses)!, and we even went out for a day sail. Our plan is to leave Fort Myers Beach tomorrow, after spending a month here. We will cruise Pine Island Sound & Charlotte Harbor. Our plans include visits with Bob & Lauren Webber and Craig & Debbie Roser - time for more fun!

Funky Gallery

 

Canal in Matlacha

 

Elena at Elena's

 

Mom & Elena

 

Jim & Elena

 

Fun in Fort Myers Beach

Elena arrived on Tuesday for a visit from L.A. Fortunately, the weather has begun to warm up (but not fast enough!). We are still using Mr. Heater to heat up the cabin. We took a road trip with Elena, Marianne, and Ray to Matlacha; a funky town? with lots of art galleries with very unusual things. Had GREAT ice cream and browsed around the shops. Anne & Dick on "Greyhound" finally arrived in the mooring field late in the afternoon. It is great to see them. It should be 70 degrees today; so we will walk to the beach.

Dinner Out With Pam, Frank, Bill , Karen, & Ray and Marianne

 

View From the Condo

 

Sold the Boat - Bought A Condo

Just kidding! But for the past five days we have escaped the COLD & are living in a condo on Estero Island (on the 10th floor overlooking the Gulf of Mexico) thanks to the generosity of friends of Dick & Jan on "Cambia". We are sharing this comfortable space with friends Ray & Marianne from "Honalee", friends from Rhode Island that arrived in Fort Myers just before the cold snap! The weather is expected to improve in the next few days; so we will be heading back to "Kismet" by tomorrow afternoon. We have also had use of "Cambia's" car which has been great. We have spent time walking the beach, doing errands, cooking up great meals with Ray & Marianne. Last night we had a surprise visit from friends Karen & Bill from "Blue Moon". They are driving around looking to buy a new boat; so they will be in the Fort Myers area for a few days. What fun! We cooked up mahi-mahi, potatoes, squash, and salad for a nice dinner.

Freezing in Florida

We arrived in Fort Myers Beach on 12/30/09 - our destination for about a month. We picked up a mooring ball behind Estero Island for $275.00 for the whole month. We loved this spot last year & wanted to return again. The facilities are very nice; showers & laundry, and it is very convenient for groceries, a beautiful beach, and a nearby airport making it convenient for company to fly in. Elena will be visiting on 1/12/10 & Lauren & fiance; Adam, are flying in on 1/19/10. Also we will leave Kismet here while we rent a car to drive back to Hollywood, FL to help my Mom with her move to California at the end of the month. We also love this place because it is a gathering spot for many cruiser friends that we have met in the last year and a half. Upon arrival, we were greeted by Dick & Jan on "Cambia" & spent a fun New Years Eve with them, Pam & Frank on "Blackfoot" and several new friends. We actually stayed up to see the midnight fireworks. After a day or day, the temperatures have DROPPED! It has been in the high 30s at night and the 50s during the day - this pattern will hold on til the beginning of next week. BRRRRRRRRRRRR................(still better than up North)!