Depart: Captiva South Seas Island Resort 10:50
Arrive: Edison Ford Marina Fort Myers 2:15
Distance: 25 nm
We waited until the rain stopped before leaving this morning. Blue Moon and Black Swan also waited for the weather to settle down. After the two of them left the docks, we had a clear path to back out from our dock without causing Seafarer to shift their position. We had a send-off committee consisting of those who planned to leave later.
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| Waving goodbye to fellow KE owners |
Having never stayed there, Clark decided we should dock at the Edison Ford Marina in Fort Myers, Florida. When we arrived, we found Black Swan whom we had met at the rendezvous plus Sum Escape whom we met while doing the loop in 2016. After securing our lines, we walked over to say a quick hello.
Afterwards, Clark had some tax-related items to take care of, so I went to the supermarket on my own. I could see Publix from the marina parking lot. Even so, Carly, who works at the marina, told me I could get there for free with the Nickel Ride in town, and Ann from Black Swan offered me the use of her car. I declined all offers, grabbed my Trolley Dolly Cart, and set off to get provisions by foot.
When I got back with my cart filled to the brim and overflowing, I found Clark still up to his ears in paperwork. I stashed my groceries, and then, feeling restless, I went for a walk to check out the Legacy Marina where we stayed a year ago January. I felt pretty sure I could find someone I knew there if I looked hard enough. Given most gates have a key pad and combination to enter, I had a tough time when I got there checking out the boats on the docks.
I did, however, make an amazing discovery that I could not believe! In the end slip of one of the docks, I found a boat named rPad. The last time I saw this boat, the owners planned to take it back by trailer to their home base to restart the loop at some point in the future. Now here they were back again! I wanted to see them to hear their story.
Being frustrated that I could see rPad but not get there to see if anyone was home, I hung around by the gate until someone walked by. The woman who let me in through the gate was not staying at Legacy Marina either, but her husband knew the gate code. We broke in together!!
Libby, as I discovered, is a looper traveling on a Ranger Tug named Tug O' My Heart. She had stopped over to look for others in Legacy as well. I found no one home on rPad, so I slipped my boat card into their boat by unzipping their full enclosure. Then I joined Libby as she knocked on the side of another Ranger Tug, Looper boat named Miss Norma.
The story behind the naming of the Miss Norma vessel is very interesting. The story of Norma, for whom the boat is named, can be found at this website. After talking to Ramie, who has even appeared on the Today Show, I felt like I had met a real celebrity. Ramie, however, claims that Norma, who has now passed away, was the true celebrity.
Norma, a woman in her 90s diagnosed with cancer, traveled the country with Ramie, her husband Tim, and their dog Ringo in a motor home for 15 months. During that time, Ringo visited 48 states - that's a lot more than I! I was excited to tell Clark about the interesting loopers I had met and the fact that I had seen rPad.
While I was gone seeking out loopers, Clark finished his tax work and managed to grab a couple of sunset pictures from the docks at Edison Ford Marina.
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