Day 173: Sunday, February 24, 2013

Port to Port: Fort Myers, Florida

Underway: 0:00 am      Motor Off: 0:00 pm      Miles Traveled: 0      Stayed At: Marina

Mile to Mile: When we woke up this morning we had no plans except to go for another long walk and explore Fort Myers. Our plans quickly changed after I met Rick from the motor vessel Uff Da. We struck up a conversation as I was returning to the boat (he was walking his dog) and it started with him noticing our boat was from MN and he had a coffee cup that said Uff Da. It turns out he and his wife Lanna are high school sweethearts from Wilmer, MN and have lived for many years in Flagstaff, Arizona. They are spending the winter here on Uff Da – their beautiful 43’ Mainship.

One thing led to another and we were soon taking a road trip to our favorite places – Walmart and Costco. We didn’t “need” anything but we thought it would be fun to tag along and chat. We had a blast and, more than $100 dollars and many stories later, we came back to the boat and spontaneously made plans to have an ebleskiver party for dinner. (We had to move fast because they were leaving in the morning to cross the lake and head down to Marathon for a few weeks of exploring).

We, of course, had to walk down to Publix to get the fixin’s for our party – buttermilk, bacon and juice – but we needed the exercise today so it fit into our plans just fine.

By the time we finished our walk, cooked the bacon and prepped the ingredients, it was time to start our party. They knew about ebleskivers but hadn’t ever made them. Except for the orange juice concentrate shower that Cindy experienced (after I squeezed the cardboard orange juice can too hard), a great time was had by all. After dinner, we stayed to watch the Oscars on their big screen TV. Several hours and many more stories later, we finally made our way home on a humid, foggy and warm night. Sometimes the days without plans turn out to be the best – just like today.