Punta Gorda to Ft Myers via Paradise ..

Today was spectacular.  No other way to describe it.  We are in Paradise.  Not a heavenly paradise but as nice a place as there is on this earth.  
We left Punta Gorda at 8am and headed south, west, south, east and south.   Yes, there's no straight way to get here..  Lots of charts to read and markers to carefully observe and navigate. 

We cruised south through Charlotte Harbor and Gasparilla Sound and took a left on the Intracoastal Waterway.   A few turns later and we happened on Cabbage Key.   Cabbage Key is the little island with no long term inhabitants but know well as the place that inspired Jimmy Buffet to write Cheeseburger in Paradise.  
Yes, the beauty is otherworldly.  
We had the mandatory cheeseburger (Katie skipped the cheese).  I had a small scoop of potato salad.  Katie has Cole slaw.   A bottle of water and one drink and .. $71 for lunch.  

Apparently paradise is expensive.  
The wild tortoises don't have to pay to be here though...
note the money on the ceiling.  Signed dollar bills from people all over - including Jimmy Buffett.   Not me though.  I'm dutch.  Lol. 
After Cabbage Key we cruised past Captiva and down to Sanibel Island where we dinghy'd ashore to shell a bit and watch the construction.  
the driftwood is huge... Mostly because they used to be full sized growing trees on the beach.  
The lighthouse was damaged but is back functional now.  The pier is still damaged badly and has no trespassing signs on it. 
Lots of warning signs. 
Here's how we got ashore.   We LOVE our new dinghy down here..   Without it there are just places we can't go or see. 
We are anchored tonight in the bay by ft Myers in pretty open water but the wind is from the north and northeast which are both protected here.   Hopefully it will be ok.  Right now it's very comfortable with water lapping on the hull gently (but no rocking).
We can see downtown ft Myers from our anchorage. 
We are right here .. (red arrow)
And our sunset was beautiful looking back at the Sanibel Beach bridge.  
Here's our voyage for the day.  We are officially at the end of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway.   Tomorrow we head out into open ocean (weather permitting) in prep for our crossing to the keys later this week...


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