Docked
Gasparilla Marina
Placida, Florida
Thursday, December 17
Pachamama has been signed, sealed and stored, until January 8.
This last week has been made satisfying and enjoyable by old friends, Ron
and Sharon McGuire. Ron was a past local and state president of The
Indiana Jaycees. (John was past local presdient and state vice president.)
26-45.619N
082-03.474W
Docked
Burnt Store Marina
south of Punta Gorda
Florida
Saturday, December 11
The Intra Coastal Waterway from The Caloosahatchee to Charlotte Harbor is
narrow, requiring constant attention. The helmsman/navigator must look
forward to the next set of markers, then check to the stern to be certain
that the boat has not crossed the invisible imaginary line between the markers,
for on the other side of this line is shoal water. To emphasize the
seriousness of this endeavor, a portion of the route is called "The Miserable
Mile." For us, though, all was well, and we made it first to an anchorage
south of York Island, then to another next to Cabbage Key, without problems.
We had planned to spend two nights at Cabbage Key, but the death of John's
client, Helene Maier, caused a quick change in plans, travel to this marina,
a rental car from Enterprise, and a day's round trip to Miami.
For us, this marina is high tide only. Unless we go in and out on
high tide, our bottom will take a scrape or two, or worse.
Hurricane damage in Punta Gorda is profound. Buildings gone, homes
without roofs, mobile homes destroyed, business structures completely wiped
out, trees blown down. We never before have seen nature's wrath of this
magnitude. Hurricane Charlie visited this beautiful land on Friday The
Thirteenth (August).
26-32.260N
081-59/808W
Anchored
Glover Bite
Near Tarpon Point Marina
Cape Coral, Florida
Sunday, December 4
That long arm of friendship that brought us together with Ted and Gayle
Nering (see last log for November) now brought us together with Kathy McClanahan
and Tom Gruhl, she a former account executive with Dean Witter and other
firms, he former president of the lead bank in Zionsville. Good memories
make good times, which we enjoyed together at their home, at a restaurant,
and on Pachamama.
Kathy and Tom live on Sanibel Island, previously known to us as a very
comfortable, upscale island community, for tourists and retirees. Now
we know it also is home to one of the nation's most important wild life
refuges, the J.N. "Ding" Darling refuge, named in honor of a fine syndicated
newspaper cartoonist who persistently spoke on behalf of our speechless
friends. He was so effective that President Roosevelt named him to
lead a national effort to protect wild life refuges. Hundreds now
dot our beautiful American landscape, providing places for migrating birds
to rest and to feed.
Up the Caloosahatchee River from Sanibel is Ft. Myers, "The Palm
City," where Thomas Edison made his winter home. On leaving, Chichi
said, "It makes you feel small." John had known about the incandescent
light bulb, the motion picture projector, and the phonograph, but he knew
nothing about Portland Cement. Henry Ford bought a place next door,
but visited only a few weeks a year when Edison was in residence, and never
following Edison's death. The two homes are fine, but the laboratory
and museum are worth lots of time. We also took at 45 minute ride on
an electric boat, a replica of Edison's own electric boat, powered by batteries
of his design.