Florida: Cape Coral to Naples

Day 193
No travel

Wednesday was a busy day for Clark and a not-so-busy day for me. When we arrived at Kitty's place, she had a package waiting for us. The replacement inverter that Clark ordered had been delivered before we got there. As soon as Clark got up this morning he started work on installing the new inverter. He worked on it until lunch.

Wiring in the new inverter

After lunch we said good-bye to Joe on Firebird as he left port to head on to Fort Meyers. Around 2:00 Clark left to go to his eye doctor's appointment which was the impetus that brought us to Kitty's in the first place. Although his eyes were dilated, making his vision less than clear, Clark went back to work on the inverter installation as soon as he got back from the doctors. By dinner we had the boat electric operating as per normal. Yay!!

Day 194
NM today: 30
NM Total: 3652

Clark said we had a long way to go today, and he was not exaggerating.  We left Kitty's dock at 8:30 - a little behind Clark's target time of 8:00 a.m. We arrived in Naples, Florida at 3:30. We have been spoiled recently with the short, less-than-two-hour hops that we have been making since arriving on the West coast of Florida. Today felt very long in comparison.

We stopped along the way to Naples to pick up fuel at Ballard's where we were told we could find good fuel at a great price. The only catch was that they only accept cash or checks. Fishing boats and pelicans were prevalent near the fuel dock. I was surprised to also see an Osprey nest full of birds.

Fishing boats near fuel dock area

Very Busy Osprey Nest

Towns along the west coast of Florida are similar and yet different in appearance. They all have palm trees. House designs differ. Naples presents itself as an affluent city.

Approaching Naples, Florida

Near Naples, FL

Clark decided that we should jump on our bikes and have a look around the immediate Naples area before sunset. Since it was already after 5:00 before we decided to head out, we did not have much daylight left to explore. I reminded Clark we needed milk so we used that as an objective for our little trip around town.

At the Naples Town Dock -
fish cleaning time and the pelicans are ready

Naples, FL near the town dock

Looking at "night life" down a busy street in Naples Florida

Cambier Park in Naples, FL

We found Winn's Market where I was able to buy milk, eggs, and cereal for breakfast tomorrow. Unfortunately we forgot to bring the backpack. With some rearranging of contents, I was able to get the 1/2 dozen egg package in my bike bag. I was able to get the milk to slide into the pouch on Clark's bike that he normally uses to hold his bike cover, and he hung the grocery bag with the cereal on his handlebar. It's a good thing I took the eggs on my bike because when he briefly parked his bike to get a picture at the park, his bike fell over with a crash.

I am glad we at least got a bit of a look around town on our bikes today. The weather forecast for the next couple of days is not ideal - rain Friday and high winds Saturday. We plan to ride out the less-than-favorable weather conditions here in Naples and depart on Sunday.

Video at docks for online viewing: