Departed Smokehouse Bay @ 10:40am December 23. Some good swells out in the Gulf outside Marco Pass. Marco Island beach is beautiful.

We ultimately turned West and had a nice following sea. The last hour, our sea was super calm. We pulled into the channel toward Everglades City and went past an island with a ton of white pelicans.

This area is part of the Ten Thousand Islands, and is gorgeous. We went to Russell Pass and dropped the anchor. Took a dinghy ride and “touched” bottom…again. Mike didn’t have to tow us off this time. Damn this water can get “skinny!”

Had a lovely sunset.

The next morning, we hopped in the dinghy and went about 5 & 1/2 miles into Everglades City. We wanted to do some soundings prior to bringing the mother ship in. Super charming town.

Went back to Forever Friday and lit the fire under our Cummins. We departed Russell Pass ~2:00 as we wanted to come in near high tide. (Hoping we’ve learned our lessons!) Arrived Everglades Isle Marina @ 3:30. Met with the manager, Bill, who was absolutely delightful! We were berthed next to The Lower Place with whom we had chatted on the VHF a couple days prior. Bill and his lovely wife Goldie hosted a cocktail reception in the gorgeous Clubhouse that night for Christmas Eve. Met some fun folks.

This marina was beyond fantastic. The grounds were impeccably maintained and there were so many amenities. Everglades Isle is a five star RV park that happens to have an excellent marina to boot. We’re not talking 5th wheels & trailers here…they accept only “Class A” coaches over a certain size and only a few years old. The closest coach to our boat was valued at $2.2 million! The thrifty couple on the adjacent pad had to get by with a $750K coach…poor paupers! Unbelievable!

On Christmas day, a group of boaters, and a couple RV folks, had happy hour and pupus in the above gazebo. Super fun. One couple took us on a tour of their RV. They were really, really in the Christmas spirit and I’m sure turned a few heads when they walked into this small town of 400.

The airboats are a way of life in the Everglades. Some people complained about the noise. We thought they were absolutely charming. Also, they only ran from 9-5.

On Wednesday, Mike and I, along with the crew from Misty Pearl, did an airboat tour. Had an absolute blast! The mangroves were fascinating, the birds incredible, and the gators!!!! The gators were so cool!

At the end of our boat ride, the captain scooted us toward two good sized gators. He turned off the engine and got pretty damn close to them. One scurried into the water with a splash, scaring the S**t out of everyone on the boat! The other, bigger, dude just opened his mouth and hissed. He was so awesome!

Thursday, the crews from Misty Pearl, The Lower Place and Forever Friday decided to dinghy the 6 miles to Chokoloskee to hit a recommended Cuban restaurant. We were heading into a ~20 knot wind in super shallow water. We touched bottom more than a few times and were completely drenched with salt water by the time we reached a dock. We got some funny glances during our 10 minute walk into town. Went to Havana Cafe of the Everglades and had an exceptional meal.

Friday was chore day. Cleaned the boat, flipped the mattress, did laundry and visited the smallest grocery store ever. Did Happy Hour with Bill and Goldie at the Clubhouse. December 28 is my parents’ wedding anniversary, and we opened a bottle of champagne to toast to their 59th!

Was sad our visit was coming to an end. We absolutely loved Everglades City. Everglades Isle Marina is an incredible venue. Hoping more folks heading south go visit this gem.

Departed after the fog blew off to sunny skies, hot & humid weather, and gloriously flat seas!!!! Every day in the Everglades, you see incredible nature.

Had a beautiful, and calm, day on the Gulf…finally! Went to Little Shark River where we dropped the hook. It was getting close to sunset time, so I stayed inside the boat. Pretty anchorage, but we heard horror stories about the bugs.

Because the moon was waning, and there was zero light around us with the exception of our anchor light, I knew the stars would be magnificent. We had all the other lights inside the boat turned off, and had for a couple hours, so I quietly stepped into the cockpit to check out the sky. It was spectacular for sure! The area was an absolute black hole for cell service. Our Sirius radio came through for us though.

The following morning, you could see billions of no see ums outside the boat. We, stupidly, left our shower porthole open with just the screen (we never close this). Well, when we turned the light on in the head, a shit-ton of those little bastards came through the screen. I shut the door with poor Mike in the head. Handed him down a big can of Off. Once that was somewhat resolved, Mike had to go pick up the anchor. We sprayed him, put sleeves on him, and taped a towel around his face, neck and ears. While he was up on the bow picking up anchor, he was swatting all around him. It was awful. Once we got about a mile out, we opened everything up on the boat and gave her some throttle. For a couple hours, Mike went around the boat with our handheld Oreck and tried to suck those puppies up. I believe we got most of them out of the boat. Unfortunately, our bodies were not so lucky. I probably have 40+ bites on me. I HATE BUGS THAT BITE!!!!!

Insert from Mike: As Mary mentioned above…these damned “noseeums” were so thick it was like smoke. I have never, ever, pulled up 100′ of chain as fast as I did at that moment! Did anyone mention how we hate bugs that bite? On a funny note…after racing out of the bay & opening up the boat to *hopefully* flush those little peckers out, we see a cruising sailboat anchored about 2 miles straight out from the bay’s entrance (water was still only about 12 feet deep there). We commented on how smart they were for avoiding the bugs. A few minutes later, we received a call from the sailboat, “Magic,” who inquired as to whether it had been “buggy” inside the anchorage. We let them know that they had made the right call! They responded that they awoke to find their boat surrounded by crab pots…oh well, trade one for the other, I guess. Think I’d rather have the crab pots.

So, we sailed about 45 miles south to Marathon in the Keys. We had really nice seas until about 10 miles north of the Seven Mile Bridge. We had more crab pots than I’ve ever seen. Was a tiring trip trying to play Frogger while maintaining a course while killing No See Ums. Once we got under the bridge, we were met with the Atlantic Ocean angrily kissing the Gulf of Mexico. Thankfully, this was short lived. And, the water was stunning!

Came into Skip Jack Marina where our friends Kent & Heather are. Great to see them, and Penny dog too. They had an interesting guest on one of their pilings.

Heading to Heartbeat for dinner. Will be in the Keys for NYE. The itinerary is unknown after that. Wishing everybody a healthy and Happy New Year! Cheers! M&M