Saturday April 22 to Wednesday, April 26

All was fine when we landed at the fuel dock in Naples for fuel and a pump out. Before we could get away from the fuel dock, the threatening sky broke loose and poured buckets of water on us. Gerry had his rain gear and he was in a relatively protected position. Jean put on the rain gear bought when she and Gerry cruised the Pacific Northwest with the Mills. Roger put on his rain gear and out into the storm we went. The wind was high and was pushing us around, the turn was too tight under those mounted anchor on a power boat which was sticking out into the channel. Finally we were off the anchor and into the slip. It wasn't pretty, but we tied up without any major damage to our boat or to any other boat. Jean and Roger were a sight. Jean was pretty dry except for her woven palm visor and boat shoes, which were soaked. Soaked to the skin best described Roger. No doubt new rain gear will be on his list of boat gear to buy. After fortifying ourselves with contents of the spirits locker, we went to The Dock Restaurant for dinner and to Napoli's for ice cream.
The next day Sara did laundry and then she and Roger walked to Wynn's Market for groceries. They got an Uber ride back with the groceries and Gerry helped them bring the groceries to the boat. Jean was doing laundry. Gerry, Jean, and Roger walked up to Napoli's for lunch. Sara was tired and elected to eat a little something on the boat. After a nice nap, Sara fixed some taco soup and then we went back to Napoli's for more ice cream. After the regular card game, we said good night and went to bed.


Second Day:
Roger made his famous banana and/or blueberry pancakes. Then, Roger and Jerry headed for the fishing pier on the Gulf....just to see what was happening. Neither are really avid fishermen.
Jean and Sara went exploring in the Historic Third St District brimming with elite clothing and home design shops. Naples is where the rich and famous hang out. The brightly colored capri's, blouses and skirts that seemed to be the local uniform costs hundreds of dollars. Lamps made of giant slices of gemstones were in the thousands.
The large pictures made of real sea fans and seashells captivated Jean. They were truly works of art, not the usual kind you see in coastal galleries and shops. One 3X5 vertical composition was made just of identically-sized sand dollars mounted at three different depths, creating a 3-D pattern.
Sara was taken with two pictures of penguins, which her granddaughter Jessica loves. These penguins were made out of feathers and were stunning. While we love her lots, the $2200 each cost was a wee bit more than we could consider.
Sara ended up with the grand purchase of two packages of cocktail napkins.
The guys joined the girls for lunch at Jane's On Third Garden Café for sandwiches and salads. We returned to the boat for a nap.
On Tuesday afternoon we took an Uber to our three o'clock reservation to tour the historic Palm Cottage. Built in 1895 of thick tabby mortar construction, it is the oldest Naples house in existence. Its appearance is very similar to southwest Florida cottages today. Originally built as an annex to the hotel, it had seven bedrooms and no kitchen or bathrooms. The gardens featured an oval lawn and lovely jasmine trellis. We had already noted the beautiful tropical landscaping of the homes and condo complexes in Naples. We later learned that there were something like 490 landscaping companies in the area!
We were close to the pier, so the guys insisted we see it too. The pier was built as a gift of the Norris family with the caveat that the Pier be free to the public and that no fishing license would be required. Jean got her sample of beach sand to add to the samples she has collected in many exotic and not-so-exotic places.
We walked back to the boat. Jean and Jerry went for supper Napoli's. Roger and Sara snacked and lounged on the boat.