St Petersburg to Cape Coral
After leaving St Petersburg and passing under the graceful Sunshine Skyway bridge, we were joined by playful dolphins as we cruised south. They played around the boat, swam on their sides in order to get a good look at us (we think), and dallied so close to the propellor that we were concerned for their safety. When we reached docks near Venice, we walked into town along its wide boulevards with beautifully planted median strips. Not a single strip mall along the way! That night we dropped anchor in the Boca Grande yacht basin, thus annoying a nearby osprey on its nest. We enjoyed seeing the mega-yachts of Boca Grande, including a 75+-ft boat that entered the narrow channel and then turned within its own length to back neatly into its mooring.
After breakfast the next morning we explored some of the Boca Grande canals and, having found a small restaurant dock, moored there and walked into town to mail some of our last Christmas cards. Boca Grande is a lovely small town with an “old Key West” flavor. In its center is an old railroad station tastefully converted to stores and a restaurant.
Shortly after midday we navigated the canals of Cape Coral to arrive at the dock of Captain Len Susman, who had very kindly offered to let us leave the Cosmic C there until we return in late February to begin Leg 3 of our trip. That afternoon, we rented a car and visited the winter homes of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford in Ft Myers and, in the evening, dined at the Rum Runners restaurant in Cape Coral. The food was excellent and the setting superb, with gaily decorated boats moored right next to our table...all in all a fitting finale for Leg 2.
On Saturday we flew back to Philadelphia and were relieved to find the house and garden in good shape, despite a month of neglect. We also appreciated an e-mail update from Capt. Len assuring us that the Cosmic C was resting contentedly at his dock back in Cape Coral.