Jenny & Danny's Great Loop Adventure on "The Other Woman"

Where do we go from Captiva...  Marco Island or Everglade City? February 10, 2023 We left at civil twilight from Captiva Island and Tween Water Marina- 6:42am to make the tides work for us.  Our decision is to go to Marco Island where we have reservations versus pushing through to Everglades City which is 88 miles.  The winds are to pick up this weekend starting later Saturday afternoon and last through very early Monday morning.  We decided to see how well we were making with time and make a decision mid morning.  We decided to push on to Everglade City.  Going down the intracoastal, we saw Sanibel and at its southern tip, Sanibel Lighthouse.  By binoculars, it appeared that beach was closed and tall fences were up but the Lighthouse still standing! Danny and I noted some wind picking up even before we got to turned into the Ten Thousand Islands just past Marco Island.  There were also signs of "red tide" which is the presence of a special bacter...

 Captiva in Pine Island Sound... February 8, 2023 We noted these houses in Pine island Sound which we found interesting.  After researching, we found these houses are called the Fish Shacks of Pine Island.  They are listed in the National Register of Historic Places and you can boat and kayak around the homes but not go into them as they are privately owned.  They lie on an oyster bar close to Captiva Pass.  In the early 1900's commercial fishermen lived in these homes with their families.  A boat would come out to deliver ice to the houses and pick up any fish caught and another boat would come out to pick up children for school which they would attend on Pine Island.  Around 1950's they homes were abandoned and some deteriorated from repeated storms and hurricanes.  There are 6 homes left.  In the 1980's, Florida considered them a navigational hazard and began to burn the houses.  One of the owners heard about the National Register of ...

 On Our Way Going to Cabbage Key... February 6, 2023 Great trip down to Cabbage Key and timed bridges we had to have lifted for us perfectly!  We saw lots of wildlife while coming down the Gulf Intercostal including large numbers of white pelicans.  They have a special feature in their bill that looks rather odd.  You can see like a raised area on a very short segment of their bill, it appears during breeding season and falls off after mating season. The night before each day we travel, we review the route, look at the weather to see if there is anything to create a problem so we are good for the following day.  The data said we had 2 options going to Cabbage Key- on the inside or the intracoastal waterway or the Gulf of Mexico.  Danny asked what I wanted to do and I said the intracoastal way as this went through Venice a town south of Sarasota and I wasn't aware of where this waterway went.  Once we made the turn, the iPad stated we needed to turn aro...