Saturday, February 23, 2013 – Pelican Bay:

            Woke up to hot and humid – Bob has turned on the air conditioning!  I made a great breakfast of scrambled eggs with salsa and shredded cheese.  We will definitely have to go for a walk on the beach today.

            After breakfast, I couldn’t wait to do our favorite boat activity – pay bills – this morning I only tore my hair out a little bit, and I have abided by my previous decision to just pay the total and not worry about having a hard copy until I get the real mail.  If I had to do this all over again, I would definitely find another way.

            So as I was paying bills, and we were thinking of taking the dinghy to shore for a walk on the beach again, Bob got entrenched in working on our itinerary.  We had plans to go on to Boca Grande and had made a reservation there for Monday.  But – after a few weather checks, Bob decided to make a chart to see the best travel days, weatherwise, to get from here back across Lake Okeechobee.  I’m telling you – the papers were flying, the calculator was smoking, and I think he may also have been using a slide rule!  We got so busy that we never did take the dinghy in to shore, and then the wind came up, and we decided to put the dinghy back up on deck rather than have to do that chore in the morning before we leave.

            So – the bottom line is – tomorrow is TURN AROUND DAY!  I can’t believe I am saying these words.  We have completed half our journey!  We have travelled 1,508 miles.  That means we will have travelled 3,016 miles by the time we finally get home!  Yikes! 

            Tomorrow we will head back to Ft. Myers.  We plan to stay there for a couple of days and then leave to make our way back across Lake Okeechobee either Wednesday or Thursday as they seem to be the best weather days.  I will really miss not going to Boca Grande – our friends told us that it was not to be missed, but I think you always have to acquiesce to the weather.  There have been many places that we had wanted to explore, but felt we had to change our plans because of Mother Nature, and you really can’t argue with her (or the Sea Gods!).

            The cat is really glad we are going back to Ft. Myers.  She has been counting the cat food cans, and I’ve been starting to get the look that I better seriously start thinking about replenishing her stock of food.  Maybe this time in Ft. Myers we will be able to visit the Edison House although it is supposed to rain like crazy again!

            The final first half of our journey couldn’t have been better.  It was great to be with friends for a whole week and to wind up in this beautiful anchorage.  Tonight, we didn’t hear the canon, but someone was playing bagpipes, and a lone conch shell announced that it was time to lower the ensign.

            I don’t know if the second half of our journey will be as "nerve wracking" for me as the first half, but I am sure we will have many stories as we start the voyage home.

Our last sunset in Pelican Bay