Saturday: Boca Grande
The morning dawned clear and warm on our first day in Florida. Chelsea and Ginger were sleeping in, so Richard and I went out on the boat for some fishing and general cruising around:
My view from the boat generally looked like this:
I caught a couple of ladyfish - not terribly edible, alas - after calling the state wildlife commission from the boat and buying myself a temporary fishing license. Richard and I spent an unhealthy amount of time trying to get our various Blackberries and cell phones to find the right phone number, before breaking down and calling the girls for help.
After dialing for licenses and harassing the local fish population, we headed back to the marina and then went back to the condo to pick up Chelsea and Ginger. We decided to head down to Cabbage Key, on the far southern side of Charlotte Harbor from Boca Grande, for lunch.
Back closer to Boca Grande, there is an uninhabited island called Cayo Costa that has been preserved as a state park. This area took a direct hit from Hurricane Charley in 2004, and some of the damage lingers in haunting fashion:
We dropped Chelsea and Ginger off at the beach on Cayo Costa, and then cruised around a bit more fishing and taking in the scenery. Both Chelsea and Ginger are (barely) visible onshore in this Where's Waldo picture... Chelsea is wearing a black bathing suit, if that helps:
We picked them up again after a fashion, and I jumped off the boat to swim to shore. I had said throughout the day that I intended to swim, and indeed the water temperature was not far off what we would get at the Jersey Shore in summertime - about 74F/23C that afternoon. Even so, it felt a little chilly when I got in. No photographs survive the event, sorry to say.
With sunset approaching, we headed back to shore for the evening. Chels and I then learned that there is a wonderful family tradition among our hosts - you always go for ice cream after going out on the boat! So we picked up cones from the Loose Caboose on Boca Grande and then headed back to the condo to clean up for dinner.
Tomorrow: Lighthouses, gloomy weather, and lunch in a power outage.
My view from the boat generally looked like this:
I caught a couple of ladyfish - not terribly edible, alas - after calling the state wildlife commission from the boat and buying myself a temporary fishing license. Richard and I spent an unhealthy amount of time trying to get our various Blackberries and cell phones to find the right phone number, before breaking down and calling the girls for help.
After dialing for licenses and harassing the local fish population, we headed back to the marina and then went back to the condo to pick up Chelsea and Ginger. We decided to head down to Cabbage Key, on the far southern side of Charlotte Harbor from Boca Grande, for lunch.
Back closer to Boca Grande, there is an uninhabited island called Cayo Costa that has been preserved as a state park. This area took a direct hit from Hurricane Charley in 2004, and some of the damage lingers in haunting fashion:
We dropped Chelsea and Ginger off at the beach on Cayo Costa, and then cruised around a bit more fishing and taking in the scenery. Both Chelsea and Ginger are (barely) visible onshore in this Where's Waldo picture... Chelsea is wearing a black bathing suit, if that helps:
We picked them up again after a fashion, and I jumped off the boat to swim to shore. I had said throughout the day that I intended to swim, and indeed the water temperature was not far off what we would get at the Jersey Shore in summertime - about 74F/23C that afternoon. Even so, it felt a little chilly when I got in. No photographs survive the event, sorry to say.
With sunset approaching, we headed back to shore for the evening. Chels and I then learned that there is a wonderful family tradition among our hosts - you always go for ice cream after going out on the boat! So we picked up cones from the Loose Caboose on Boca Grande and then headed back to the condo to clean up for dinner.
Tomorrow: Lighthouses, gloomy weather, and lunch in a power outage.
