SANIBEL                   NICE STOP

Aaah, Sanibel.   It was a sigh of relief to be here.  We finally had privacy, no darn wakes and the scenery is beautiful.  So far, on this long trip, this stop tops the cake in my book.  Everything is neat, clean and polished and its done on a daily basis whether it needs it or not.  The marina runs like a well run ship. 

Flower beds are full with multicolored blooms.  Luscious hibiscus, impatience and bougainvillea were everywhere you look.  It felt like heaven after weeks of rough seas and crummy joints.   And get this…each morning, the dock master delivered the daily newspaper and two hot freshly baked muffins right to your boat!  It couldn’t get much better than that.  I immediately asked Larry if we could extend our reservations.

MARINA RESTAURANT GREAT TOO!

The little marina restaurant was a delight too.  It served up daily delicious fresh seafood along with  specials of the day, and every meal was lovingly prepared and presented with a friendly smile.  Each plate was garnished with orchids and chocolate fruit cups. This cafe wasn't a secret either.  Everyday at 11:30 AM, just like clockwork, the crowds start arriving to put their names on the waiting list even thought the cafe didn't open until 12:00.  It was comical to watch as it was the same scenario day after day.   

The customers didn’t seem to mind waiting as it’s such a nice place to wait.  You can walk the docks looking at some really nice boats  the marina  has for sale or gaze out the inlet as boats come and go squeezing through the narrow shoaled in entrance.  They also might be lucky to see the local dolphin taking their daily swim by the marina.  And, if they tired of that, they just seemed content to just sit and enjoy the flowers and pleasant surroundings . The crowds never stopped from before opening until closing time just after dusk.  This went on day after day during our stay. 

DISCRETION

You wonder did we have to wait to eat their also?  If so, that could be irritating day after day during your stay.  No problem as the marina office told us to make sure we told whoever was taking names that “we were here on our boat” and within a reasonable time and discreetly, you were seated at a table without having to wait for over an hour. 

QUIET AND PEACEFUL

The marina is a quiet place too.  There weren’t loud bands blaring into the wee hours of the morning or loud drunks stumbling down the docks in the late hours of the night waking you up.  Nope this place closed up early.  It’s a family run place and they do things their way and it’s too our liking.   

LIGHTHOUSE CAFE

We also found a quaint cozy breakfast place a few blocks away called the Lighthouse Café.  Their breakfasts were the best we’ve had in several weeks.   It too was a fun place to go because it was popular and most importantly, their walls were covered floor to ceiling with pictures of lighthouses sent and brought to them from all over the world, from people who had been to their little café and wanted to have their home town light house on display.  It made me want to send some of my dad’s collections drawings of lighthouses he did after he retired.  He sure would have liked that.

We asked the owner if he had a picture of Lime Kiln Lighthouse from San Juan Island and his eyes lighted up.  “No, but I once cruised up there.  I love that area!  I would love to add the Lime Kiln Lighthouse to our walls!” 

So, folks, maybe next fall when we come back you’ll see a picture of our local lighthouse from the Pacific Northwest hanging on the wall and perhaps one of my dad’s too.  It would be great to add those to this amazing collection.

QUIET SIDE OF THE ISLAND 

The Sanibel Marina is located on the south eastern end of the island near the Sanibel Lighthouse.  It’s just east of the bridge from the mainland and where luckily the majority of tourists that come to this island (and there are a lot of them) head to the west of the bridge as evidenced by the unbelievable amount of hotels and vacation rentals on this small patch of land.  The one main road through the island is one big constant traffic jam, the whole length, and very frustrating.  If you try to get anything done, like dining out, shopping for groceries, well just anything, it is an ordeal but on our side of the island it was completely different.  It was like we were on an oasis, protected from the multitudes of tourists and cars.   I think if we had come any other way than by boat to Sanibel we would have had a different impression, maybe not so good, as we would not have liked having to deal with the huge over population of people.  Here at the marina we were protected from the outside, nestled in a quiet, sane, and beautiful place.

GAZILLIONS OF SHELLS

Not too far away, you could say, just a short bike ride away, was the most amazing beach, mile after mile of it, and literally covered in shells.  There were possibly more shells than sand.  They weren’t the big prized kinds of shells but the little kind, and gazillions of them. It gave us great joy just walking the beach and searching for that special color or shape of shell and that's when the collection began and continued to grow throughout our stay, shells of all colors and shapes.. 

OUR ONLY LIMIT

You put all the above mentioned together and this was a fine stop, a good place to relax and regroup so it was understandable why we immediately extended our stay in the marina a few days.   Our only limitation was the holding tank as oddly there was no working pump out in the marina.  They had one but they said they were "having electrical problems” or so the story went.  So, to us it meant, as long as the tank wasn’t full we were good to stay.

FREE TIME

We three, that includes Ziggy always, spent our days walking this lovely beach; me searching for the perfect little shells, Zig wading through the water trying to spy a seal, fish or dolphin and Larry helping both by carrying the shell bags, lending an extra eye to spy that specific color of a shell I wanted that was never to be found and most importantly keeping a watchful eye out for beach ranger as Zig ran freely but illegally enjoyed himself running about without a leash.  Zig and I also spent hours each afternoon kayaking in the canals by the marina.  We’d paddle over to the sandy shoal by the entrance and Zig would jump off on it, run around on the sand and then swim in the protected water nearby scaring the mullet fish as they escaped in a flitter across the water.   When he felt he exhausted any possibility of catching anything, he hopped back on the kayak and off we went.

WILD LIFE

We also enjoyed the wild life that hung around the marina.  Each day we had a pair of dolphin that swam by the boat.  There were also several exotic birds that called the docks home which included a family of almost tame egrets and herons who seemed just too human in their antics.  They had figured out all the good perching spots on the marina boats, you know the best spots to spy a good gulp for dinner and they never missed a local fisherman that would come back with a catch.  They were talented beggars always assured to get some scraps from the nearby fish cleaning table. 

Uh Oh!

We also laughed each day at the timely arrival of a little black bird.  We don’t know the name or identity of this little character but he would come perch on a flag pole by our boat and mimicked listening to our conversations.  The funny part was he liked to comment every once in awhile by saying what sounded like a very loud “Uh oh!”  He sounded just like a person and it soon became a favorite word in our vocabulary as we couldn’t help but mimic him back much to his surprise.  There were a lot of “Uh oh's!” going on during our stay.   

We also rented a car during our stay just for the convenience of going to the grocery store and sightseeing the rest of the island.  We also used it for another quick visit to the eye doctor in Palm Beach.  Yep, we had another long drive back across Florida to see the doc in Palm Beach and interestingly we following almost the same path we soon would be taking in the boat heading up the Caloosahatchee (what a mouth full) River to where Knotty Dog will be stored in a week or so for the summer while we head home to Friday Harbor and get the Protector out.   

We also drove the entire length of the island exploring some other possible ports and marinas.  This area has so much to offer in the way of beautiful beaches, nature and amazing wildlife and it thankfully hasn’t lost its old Florida charm like parts of Fort Lauderdale and Miami.

“CLEAN MARINA?”

We loved this place and would have liked to have stayed longer but as I mentioned earlier we had one problem that prevented that.  It was the limits of the holding tank as hilarious as it sounds.  It’s ironic as everything in this marina was perfect, clean and worked like a charm except the one important element.  Mysteriously the pump out didn’t work.  Personally, it didn’t make much sense to me as the owner was such a perfectionist.  Everything that he touched was in perfect running order.  It just didn’t go along with his modus operandi way of doing things.  They proudly flew their flag “Clean Marina” along with several other national flags on posts at the end of the piers of their docks  but sadly there was no working pump out and we certainly weren’t going to change their status of being a clean marina. 

So the last few days of our stay, the yellow light of the holding tank went on and we knew it was time to get going.  The little yellow light is our early warning signal to get the tank pumped but there was no way to get it pumped here.  Each flush was becoming a concern.  Would the red light come on and then if it did, what next????  I worried about it but Larry as usual was more mellow and said it would be fine.     

And by golly, that trusty tank was fine.  That red light never came on the entire stay.  Maybe it's a polite way for the marina to limit length of stay as there aren’t too many transient slips.  Could be true, it’s just my guess.

“ANOTHER FRONT…”

During our stay we sat out another storm Front. So what’s new?  There has been nothing but fronts ever since we’ve been boating down here.  It seems like a new one blew through every week. 

We also enjoyed watching the boats come and go from the marina, or maybe I should say squeeze in to and from the marina entrance.   It was a narrow entrance past that white sandy shoal.   One day a big catamaran came out of the residential canal and only had inches to spare.  It was fun to watch.  And soon it was our time to squeeze back out and fight the wakes and winds heading to our next stop which was going to be a place called Useppa.

Some Additional Photos of Sanibel

USEPPA, THE NEXT STOP

We had heard a little about Useppa.  It was supposed to be a beautiful unique place, remote and quiet but sadly it’s not open to the public.  It’s a private island and marina and you have to be a member, land owner or invited by one of the owners/members to dock or stay on the island. 

PRIVATE ISLAND

So how do we get in we wondered?  Well, remember the nice man that we met in Palm Beach several weeks back?  The guy that lived in one of those big mansions overlooking the water?  Well, he got us in to Useppa.  He said when we got around to this area to give him a call.  I felt kind of funny when Larry called him thinking he surely won’t remember us after all it seemed like a life time ago when we met him.  But, no, he remembered us and even asked how Larry’s eye was doing.  He made “the call” to get us in and wished us an enjoyable stay.  Now that is a nice man!

TIGHT SQUEEZE

So, after several peaceful days in Sanibel spent relaxing, walking the beach gathering shells, paddling with dolphins, listening and talking to birds, waiting out a windy front, we sadly sad goodbye to this little paradise.  So a off we went, maybe wider and certainly heavier than when we arrived as we were loaded with more shells, a few extra pounds from eating some good food and a nearly full holding tank, we actually managed to squeeze out past the narrow shoaled in channel.

ROUGH SEAS   

Wow, it is rough out here.  It was like we came out of our protected ideal world at Sanibel Marina and plopped into another chaotic batch of seas as we headed up the length of Pine Island.  We had Pine Island on our starboard and Sanibel on our portside.  The winds were still blowing 20 plus or minus knots and the seas were retching up on our beam again making for another uncomfortable ride.  There were white caps everywhere.   It was becoming the usual scenario.  It's a wide patch of sea between the two islands and the depths are shallow so it doesn’t take them long to get ugly and unfriendly when the wind decides to blow.  We had to stay within this crazy narrow dredged channel following the markers precisely so had to take the seas as they threw them at us.  It was a bit scary since again there was the few crazy boaters out here and they still, even in these seas, think they must race within feet of you, waking you.  There sure are some crazy nuts around here. 

NEW BOAT?

I told Larry if we lived here I think I’d want to have a completely different boat.  He didn’t know what I meant.  I said I think my priority would be to have a fast boat big enough to wake these jerks back instead of having to take it all the time.  That to me at that moment would be the only way to survive these nutty boaters here.  Then I suddenly realized I was becoming just as bad as they were.  Naw, couldn't give up this cute little boat but for a moment after a big unnecessary wake it sounded good.

WHAT HAPPENED HERE?

Just then, we passed a marker that was bent over almost a good 45 degrees.  The Coast Guard put a new temporary green nun beside it so boaters would still be able to see the marker and therefore stay within the safety of the channel.  Wow, it was quite a sight especially to imagine what happened here.  We wondered, “Did someone run into that and bend it over?”

“It more likely was bent over from high winds or even a hurricane” Larry said.  If it was a hurricane you’d think it would be replaced by now.  I think it more likely some crazy boater ran into it. 

We completed what seemed like a long last leg of the 30 mile trip today.  It was tiring having to stay within this long narrow channel that stretched across a big open stretch of water that had no wind protection.  The waves were hitting us on the beam and it was uncomfortable.  It was really rough but we were doing fine.   A couple boats passed us riding the big waves, some flying almost completely out of the water as they’d ride up over a tall wave and almost completely across the trough.

STOIC OSPREY 

Each marker we passed seemed to have an osprey perched on top feeding on a fish they had just caught or tending a nest.  After all it was spring and birds everywhere seemed to have babies even out here in this wretched windy god forsaken stretch!  Their talons were grasping the fish tightly and their sharp pointed beak was ripping the flesh from the dead fish.  It was a little eerie looking at them as they looked fierce birds.  They seemed undeterred by the extreme elements of nature and I think we all could learn a bit from their nest building skills that would with stand what goes on out here.  The wind and seas seemed like the norm to them even though it blew their feathers in strange ways making them look a bit punky.    

We saw some stilt houses on the gray windy horizon to out in all this chop.  They were built out away from the land and they too were used to withstanding this retching body of water.  Wow, who would want to be there with no protection?  Fishermen I guess. 

OUR PORT IS WITHIN SIGHT

Finally we spy the turn taking us between Useppa and Cabbage Island.  The waters between the islands looked amazingly calm and protected, like the light at the end of a tunnel.  We made the turn and began to feel immediate relief from the terrible ride today.  We slowly head in watching the markers and depth sounder as again we are unfamiliar with these waters.  W

e see what looks like an old fashioned ferry boat ahead.  It looks like it’s going from one island to the next.  We also see several boats anchored just off shore in the protection of southern end of Useppa Island.

We eventually come to what looks like the channel entry marker and sign for Useppa.  We hail the dock master and he gives us directions to come in. 

USEPPA!

What a beautiful place!  We see several beautiful cottages on shore facing the harbor along with lots of trees and foliage.   As we slowly head in the channel, the ferry we saw earlier is following in behind us.  We are directed to another finger pole slip, and surprise, the ferry captain begins docking on the end of the T right next to us.  It was a bit nerve wracking docking the same time he did and Larry did well fighting the strong back wash he put out.   

As we were tying up our lines and positioning fenders, about 30 people unloaded from the ferry and marched down the dock.  Larry asked the ferry captain where the ferry goes thinking we might be able to get a ride over to Cabbage Island.  He says he comes from Captiva Island each day bringing a load of tourists, half of the load he drops off at Cabbage Island for lunch and the other half he drops off here at Useppa to have lunch in the old famous lodge.  He said he then picks them all up after an hour and a half and takes them back to Captiva Island. 

CABBAGE ISLAND VISIT WITHOUT YOUR BEST FRIEND

We were curious about Cabbage Island but the guide book says, and in very bold type face, “NO DOGS ALLOWED!”  You couldn’t be any clearer than that, so guess we won’t be going there.  It looked like a neat stop as we went by.  Maybe I can kayak there during our stay to check it out.. 

GETTING TO KNOW THE ROPES

There were only a few boats at the docks.  Looks like this place will be another lovely quiet stop for us.  The boat was covered in salt but our stomachs’ were crying out louder for attention so we decided to see if we could get some lunch and then wash the boat.   We headed up to the marina office, checked in and then began to explore the island’s walking path which we were told leads eventually to the old lodge and the only dining available on the island.

It soon became evident that this is a truly unique place.  There is just the right amount charming cottage homes and the landscaping looks so natural.  Some of the cottages looked old but  sturdy enough to withstand all these years of hurricanes.  The newer cottages were built in the tradition of the older buildings.  That’s what made the place so special.  They were what you would imagine a perfect beach village of the past to look like.  Most had white metal roofs, wooden storm shutters, lots of thick decorative moldings dripping off the eaves and equally decorative railings that wrapped around long porches.  The path meandered its way under enormous ancient banyan trees, verdant ferns and velvety orchids and peeking out from under tropical leafs here and there were curious eyes and what we discovered to be tortoises.  They were everywhere, old ones, young ones, big ones, little ones, all sizes.  Maybe they should have called this Tortuga Island instead because they were the majority population here.

The island of Useppa was small, narrow and very walk able.  There was a small boat harbor on one side where we were and a lovely white beach on the other side.  The beach was sprinkled with bright striped colorful canvas sun shells with chaise lounges snuggled in under their protection much like hermit crabs poking out of a shell.  There were no waves splashing up on the beach just gentle water lapping the white sandy shore and moored just a few yards off were little sailboats.  The scene looked like the perfect ad for a great escape. 

THE OLD LODGE

The walking path weaves its way the length of the island meandering past both modest and impressive beach cottages, and old middens, large mounds of them and signs not to remove the ancient shells.  We passed decaying docks the last remnants of the turn of the century distillery that once operated here.  Eventually you reach the wonderful old lodge which overlooks the beach. 

The lodge is stately and beautifully decorated and you immediately wonder how could possibly have been built here such a long time ago, in such a remote place when things weren’t so easy.  Large tarpons, the likes of which we no longer see, are stuffed and mounted on the lobby and bar walls along with many interesting old photographs of famous people standing beside more humongous catches.  Those were the days.  Who would’ve thought back then that we would’ve fished out the big ones?  Very sad.  The photos date to around the turn of the last century, the late 1800s to early 1900s.  This island was the play ground for many of the rich and famous, those that spent their leisure time hunting and fishing big game in a true remote location but obviously by the immediate surroundings, lacking no luxuries.  It was all very charming.

The bar and dining room was absolutely lovely too.  The big U-shaped wooden bar flanks and reflects the same shaped U- shaped bay window overlooking the pool and patio area.  It’s all very clubby and cozy.  There is a formal and casual dining room and the dress is your choice, dressy to meet up with the sometimes stuffy traditions of the East Coast or extremely casual to meet up with more contemporary lack thereof. 

HERE COMES THE “ATTITUDE”

As I attempted to see more of the lobby on my way to see about getting a table on the terrace for lunch, (as we met someone along the pathway that said we could have lunch out on the patio with Ziggy) I was immediately met with an uppity attitude and a very snoopy “Can I help you?”   It was soon obvious that you weren’t allowed to freely poke your nose around admiring the décor.  “Yes.” I answered, “We want to have lunch out on the terrace.”  

“Well,… are you a member?” 

Surprised at this attitude, I answered “Well, no, we’re here at the marina on a boat.”

“Are you a guest of a member?”

“Oh,… well… yes, of course.”  Okay, I forgot this was “the private island” and remembered the guy from Palm Beach got us in here.

“What is their name?”  Now I was beginning to feel like I was being interrogated.  What the heck was the name of that guy from Palm Beach that got us in here (I nervously wondered).

“Well… I don’t remember right now, my husband knows.”

I felt like a convict about ready to be shuffled out the front door when just in time Larry shows up and asks what’s going on.  He immediately sets them straight with the magic name and then suddenly they couldn’t have been nicer as they escorted us to the terrace but that’s when all the hospitality ended again as they realized we wanted to sit outside with Ziggy. 

“Sorry, no dogs are allowed on the terrace!”

Well, why in the heck did that person along the path say we could sit out with Ziggy?  Now I felt ridiculous.   Oh well, what did we expect anyway?  It all sounded too good to be true.  It didn’t matter as we really didn’t expect to be able to eat anywhere with Ziggy.  We just got our hopes up when that person gave us dubious information, but hmmm… it sure would have been nice. 

I wasn’t going to let their “looking down their nose at you attitude” make me miss out on eating in the lodge that night regardless of how insulting and silly this was.  So I ignored their arrogant attitude and made reservations, this time without Ziggy, for dinner that evening.  After all this was the only place to eat on the island and I was not planning on cooking in that galley tonight, no way.  So we made our reservation and headed back to the boat, fixed some lunch, washed the salt off and relaxed the rest of the afternoon waiting for dinner time. 

It all seemed a bit silly this snooty attitude especially when they shuffle in a load of tourists each day at noon to fill up the lodge for lunch.  I think the reason we got the stuffy attitude is because they must have thought we were part of the tourist group that comes daily on the ferry and were wandering around instead of following the pack.  Supposedly the lunch group is not allowed to wander around the island freely but only are allowed to have lunch, then are quickly shuffled off the island.  I guess it’s their way they keep the dining room profitable and paying for itself as the small population on the island surely couldn’t support it. 

What we did find out though to my relief is if you come and dock here “legally and according to the rules,” you are free to walk anywhere on the island and use all the amenities otherwise, we're out of here.. 

  I really really looking forward to enjoying the ambience of the old lodge so it was suck it up or eat on the boat.  We ate at the lodge the two nights we were in Useppa and the food was delicious and it was a great experience that I will cherish in my memories.   

ISOLATION IS THE DESIRE HERE

Useppa is a very lovely place to visit but to stay here for any length of time could be challenging as it’s a very isolated life.  There is no grocery store or anything else for that matter.  If you happen to need a cup of sugar or something from the hardware store you better hope your neighbor is willing to share with you because it’s a long trip to the mainland and the nearest mall.  The only other amenities here except for the beautiful natural surroundings is the pool, tennis court and exercise room.  There is a small museum by the lodge that is said to be worth the visit and probably is on the itinerary of the lunch tour group.  You  have to be satisfied with having only one place on the island to dine out. 

We asked a local how they get their groceries and etc., and they said you have to take your own boat to Pine Island where you must keep a car and then you drive a good distance to Target, Publix or whatever and of course lug it all back on the boat and then down the dock to your golf cart and then to your cottage.   I’m sure some of the wealthy here have people that do all that for them though otherwise it would be a lot of work..

HELL TO PAY?

I really can’t imagine eating in the same place each night, seeing the same people over and over.  I think it would drive me a little nuts.  That same friendly couple we met said they lived here all winter and then in SW Harbor, Maine during the summer.  We met them when they were drawn to our boat saying it looked like a Maine boat.  We confirmed their suspicions by saying it was a lobster boat hull and probably built in SW harbor but finished by Campbell Custom Yachts  in Oxford, Maryland.  We got to talking and they said the social circuit here is exhausting as there is nothing to do but have social get-togethers.  She said sometimes she just wants to spend an evening alone but it’s next to impossible.  We kind of picked up on that when we had dinner in the lodge dining room as everyone seemed to know everyone.  It was like one big country club and get together at dinner time.  It is a small tight knit community and hopefully you get along with everyone or there might be some hell to pay.

A HIDDEN PEARL

Anyway, we had a very relaxing time here.  We took lots of nice walks all over the island and kayaked in the surrounding waters and one morning again Zig and I were lucky to paddle along with two dolphins.  The island is like an oasis, a hidden pearl in the midst of the otherwise chaotic world we now live in.  It’s amazingly quiet and refreshingly dark at night.  You feel like you have been transported into another world, a dream world. 

NOT A MEMBER? TIME TO GO

But bottom line that you can’t forget and that is, we weren’t a member and it was definitely time to go.

ANOTHER GRUELING RIDE AHEAD

Next stop is Fort Myers, one step closer to putting the boat in storage.  It will be a convenient stop to get the boat ready and do laundry and also to see Edison’s Winter Home before we head up the river almost to the middle of Florida by Lake Okeechobee.

Again during our stay at Useppa the winds continued to blow.  One side of the island was wind swept and water choppy and the other side where we were in the marina it was positioned in the protection of the island mass and was calm and relaxing.  We soon realized that once we left the protection of the island is was going to be another grueling ride.   

More Useppa Photos