January 4-9 2008 Englewood

Ron the diver man was there on the day before we arrived to pull the props on the boat, clean the bottom and inspect the sacrificial zincs. The boat had developed a slight vibration at about 1800 rpm. Mitch hooked me up with the diver and his store is a drop off point for props to be repaired and tuned up. His marine manager at the store called General Prop in Bradenton and made arrangements for me to drop off the props on Friday so I could pick them up on Monday. Enterprise has an office next to Mitch's store so that was an easy car rental pickup. Judy and I ran the props to the prop repair place, first thing Friday morning and then it was back to Englewood where I got a haircut from an actual barber (not many around any more), but Jim the barber had been cutting hair in Englewood for 47 years and now both of his sons are cutting hair with him. Busy season for them as the "snowbirds" are starting to arrive. Judy got her nails (and toes) done then it was back to Mitch's house for cocktails on the veranda and another one of Barb's great dinners. Mitch and Barb had a golf date on Saturday so we called up our friend Al Fleming who lives nearby. He treated us to lunch at the Fishery restaurant. We spent the afternnon at his house. He also lives on the ICW and the dolphins play right in front of his house. Later that evening we had dinner with Mitch and Barb and their friends Homer & Julie Hoe their neighbors. Homer and Julie have been retired for 8 years (retired at 50) and Homer has climbed mountains all over the world, so the evening was delightful and the conversation was interesting. Sunday was reserved for watching football as we were in Tampa Bay Bucs country. Our presence must have jinxed them--Giants and Eli were the victors. Our props were ready Monday so Judy and I made the 45 minute drive north to Bradenton to pick them up. Stock up time at the grocery--if you have a car stock up on the heavy stuff. The beautiful weather continues. Tonight the four of us went to Jams, a great italian restaurant nearby. Ron the diver was there Tuesday morning to put the props back on. It took him about an hour and he gave the running gear and boat bottom a clean bill of health. Cocktails on the veranda again and steaks on the Weber which is going to be our farewell dinner. Unfortunately we must shove on down the waterway. The stay has been great and the hospitality incredible. On Wednesday morning we will shove off at 8:30 in the morning so we can make the Gasperilla swing bridge opening at 9am. We will travel a short distance to Charlotte Harbor and then make our way to Ft. Myers at Legacy Harbor Marina. The ICW ends just before the Caloosahatchee river. After leaving the ICW you turn up the Calloosahatchee and wend your way through about 13 miles of a marked channel in the river. Some places have lots of water depth outside of the channel and in other places it is very shallow outside the channel. Motto-pay attention at all times! Arrival time at Legacy Harbor was about 3pm. We quickly got tied up and joined a meeting that was being put on by a captain that had traveled to the Bahamas many times. The picture is of Mitch and Barb in the distance waving goodbye to us as we left their dock. The other picture is of Judy, myself and Barb.