Happy 65th Anniversary, Mom and Dad! It’s a very special milestone and not many people can claim it. We had a leisurely morning since we were in no hurry to leave in the heat. Around noon, we threw off the lines and headed south down the ICW. It would be a 14 mile ride to our anchorage at Cayo Costa. Normally, we would have the Boca Grande Bridge open for us, but now that they rebuilt it, we can go right under it.
It made our trip easier since that bridge only opened every 30 minutes. There were times when we had to wait unless we timed our arrival perfectly. That won’t happen anymore. We made plans to hook up with our friends from Cape Coral while we make a stop for fuel and a pumpout in Ft. Myers on Friday. As we passed the Boca Grande Bridge, a group of dolphins joined us and played alongside the boat in our wake. They were having a great time and we always enjoy watching them.
Nearing the Boca Grande inlet we spotted lots of boats fishing for tarpon. The Boca Grande lighthouse stood guard at the entrance.
We entered Pelican Bay at Cayo Costa Island. At the entrance to the bay, this guy was flying a TRUMP flag from his boat. Boats honked as they motored by.
We followed the deep channel along the sandbar at the entrance to the bay and moved in to choose an anchorage. On the sandbar, we saw these two wire-haired dachshunds romping on the beach and even took a dip in the water to cool off after chasing a white egret. They were so fun to watch.
We dropped anchor near the dock at the state park entrance and settled in.
After awhile, we launched the dinghy and took a ride to Cabbage Key.
We motored down the channel to the marina and beached the dinghy in front of the restaurant.
As we walked up the hill to the restaurant, we crossed paths with this gopher tortoise who was definitely on a mission. This was the closest I’ve ever been to one in all my encounters with this interesting animal.
In the famous Cabbage Key bar, where the dollar bills hang from the ceiling and the walls, I spotted this bill with our name on it. What are the chances?
We had a beer and took the short dinghy ride back to the boat. It was quite warm by then, so we just hung out in the shade. As the sun set below the trees and it started to cool off, we took Auggie to shore for his evening walk. We had the park to ourselves except for one other boater who was walking her dogs. The sunset was beautiful over the glassy water and we had an amazing evening.
