Marco Island was a quick and relaxing stop. We stayed just two days, long enough to go to the local publix, change the belt on the alternator and get some needed rest. We walked around town and visited the local "farmers market" which was predominately arts and crafts, and had a most interesting lunch at the Speakeasy, where we met a lovely couple from Tulsa and Boston, visited for a long time and ended up in a conversation with another group at an adjoining table. Meeting people from all over the world is one of the great benefits of this life style, and we hope to have another "memorable" lunch with Ray & Joan in the future.

We left Marco for a one day sail north to Ft. Meyers, the winds were light and generally out of the south so we motor sailed most of the way. Arriving mid-afternoon, we took a mooring on the Matanzas River behind Ft. Meyers Beach. We planned to stay a few days and visit with Dick and Carol Muckler, friends from St. Louis who spend the winter here. Ft. Meyers is a busy harbor, seems like a million boats, all going in different directions, and the mooring field is packed. As always, we got to meet more new cruisers on the moorings around us. Paul and Malinda Gebert came to the boat for a tour, they live on a Morgan Out-island, one of the classic blue water cruisers, and just had to see what our Catalina Morgan was like. After arriving Dick & Carol picked us up at the dinghy dock and we went to dinner and an opportunity to catch up. Saturday we spent the morning in town, and walked to the beach. It was sunny, with a mild breeze and the beach was packed, you couldn't find five square feet for a blanket, and of course all the shops and restaurants were busy. Back to the boat in the afternoon and Dick & Carol again picked us up to go to their condo for dinner.

Prep for the Storm
The forecast has been for a strong Low to bring in a cold front with rain and heavy winds on Sunday and Monday. Sunday morning still looked reasonably mild, so we went to town to do laundry, have breakfast and prepare for the storm. Walking to the beach was completely different, the building winds were already developing a wild surf and there was almost no one on the beach. On getting back to the boat, we removed any loose gear and added to our mooring lines, had dinner aboard and prepared for the storm projected to really begin around 9 pm. Sunday night and Monday produced high winds with gusts into the 30's and clocking to the north. Not too much rain, but it has been pretty wild watching all the boats around us. We delayed our departure for Bradenton due to the storm, now intending to leave Tuesday if conditions settle down.