Sanibel Island is just a few miles away. Always a fun spot for a few hours on the beach and some shell hunting.
I love the look on this little girl’s face.
The Sanibel Island Lighthouse, lighting the way since 1884.
Hard for her to get her nose out of a book lately.
Off to the pumpkin patch to get ready for Halloween.
I always enjoy envisioning the scenes that prompt these sorts of signs.
See, kids never outgrow getting hauled around in a wagon.
Outboard engine repair is a new one for me. We’ve always had Yahama 15hp 2-strokes which basically just require that you run some dirty fuel—gas, diesel, bacon grease, whatever—through it, and pull the handle. This boat came with a Honda 10hp 4-stroke, and it’s not nearly as forgiving. We thought about just dumping it and finding ourselves a Yamaha, but we’d still have to fix this one before we could sell it, anyway. And it’s not really something we need, it’s just something we want—big difference. So, the tear down began.
I actually ended up just replacing the dirty carb. It was one of those things that I had to weigh the cost versus my time, and how reliably I could trust the original even after I thought I’d fixed it. Changed the oil, the lower unit gear oil, the plugs, the thermostat, and cleaned out the water jacket. Runs good sitting on the boat. We’ll see how it goes once we get ourselves out of the marina in a few more days.
Seeing as how we were within a couple hours of my brother, we called up Grammy and told her it was time for her to fly across the country to hang with her boys. We got a condo on Ft. Myers Beach and spent a quick visit hanging out together as a family. We don’t often get to have everyone together at the same time.
This giant inflatable pizza we found in the closet there was the surprise hit of the weekend.
Too windy for an umbrella? Just drape towels all over your body.
Ouest likes to let her teeth come out on their own. We got to watch this one hang out of her mouth at weird angles for a few days. It was almost too obvious how this would end.
While we were walking around Fort Myers Beach we saw a sign saying the Clydesdales were going to be at a park down the road. This seemed totally random, and Grammy was delighted—so off we went, arriving just as they were unloading.
Grammy was thrilled to see the Clydesdales in person.
Missing tooth, now in her belly with some pretzels.
A windy send off for Grammy.
It took some searching—most of these things are ridiculously expensive—but I eventually tracked down the Optimist sailing dinghy I’d promised Lowe for his birthday. He fell in love with the idea of a sailing dinghy while we were in the Bahamas this year and he met a boy about his age who was whipping around the anchorage in one.
It was fun to see how excited Lowe was about this. When he came up to me later in the afternoon, completely on his own, hugged me, and said, “Thank you for my boat, Papa.” I about melted. It won’t be long before the kids are off on their own adventures.
Thanks again to our buddy, Blizz, for lending us the Travelall while we are in Florida. He has made our life a lot easier.
17 Comments on “Florida Family Fun”
Wow! What a nice deal for Lowe, he’ll be sailing around in no time. I learned at the same age along the beaches in Venezuela. Looking forward to watery adventures…
Yes, he was excited! Ouest too, as we don’t care who uses it, as long as someone does. Maybe Pat will learn to love sailing….nah, who am I kidding.
This is such a beautiful post, guys. I love all of the photos with Grammy. She is such a classic beauty and I can tell from your commentary about her and your story in general that she is kind-hearted and loving. Can’t wait to see Lowe sailing around! My four boys would flip for a boat like that!
Nice meeting you on Captiva
You’re car is amazing – so glad we stopped
Really neat idea on the opti. I’m sure you know that ethanol in fuel is one of the problems. I seem to do okay with our 4 stroke by religiously disconnecting the fuel supply and running it dry at the end of each day. You probably do this also already.
family, fun, sun and smiles…Goodonyas!
delightful, really!
blessings,
scott
Ditto Mark’s comment about ethanol. It is hell on carburetors. We replace one in our dinghy Yahama as well. We stayed at the Edison Beach House last November. It was nice being right on the beach and have everything within walking distance. Fun!
Had a good laugh when I read “…Outboard engine repair is a new one for me. We’ve always had Yahama 15hp 2-strokes which basically just require that you run some dirty fuel—gas, diesel, bacon grease, whatever—through it, and pull the handle.”
I ride an Aprilia Scarabeo 50cc two stroke to work daily. 1.2 miles of long pulls up a couple hills (thus not walking) and it gets 125 mpg and will carry all the groceries two people need. Just bought a place on a mountain lake in GA… came with a tri-hull with a Yamaha two stroke 150cc engine. SWMBO is worried about it; I just smile.
Hey Pat,
We had a Honda 4 stroke that would give us difficult starting. A friend recommended that, when we were done using it for the day, we let it run with the fuel line disconnected until it quit for lack of fuel. This prohibited any fuel varnish buildup and the thing started first pull every time. Hope that helps. Love the blog, been following you since the very beginning and even met you briefly when you stayed in Pacifica just south of San Francisco.
Safe travels,
Ken
When I found out my friends’ new lake house came with an Optimist, I insisted we break it out immediately so I could take it out on the water. I’m 6′ 4″, a bit bigger than what the Optimist is built for. Still had a great time and his boys learned to sail in it. A great little boat!
It’s so nice to see you, your brother and Grammy together again, Pat. I’m sure there’ve been other occasions, but I can’t recall that happening since . . . wow, was it Bora Bora on your RTW cruise? And Lowe sincerely thanking you for the boat – yeah, that would put a lump in my throat, too.
So, a couple of thoughts. Sanibel was one of the only places charging for parking. Ticked us off.
I drove all the way to Reno to get a 2 stroke — then prohibited in California.
Glad they’re readers! Mine started out Montessori and so are voracious readers. So impressed you’ve kept them away from Minecraft and Fortnight so far!!!! 🙂
You have such a beautiful family. Just love Grammy !
One of the unintended consequences of reading your blog and others who cruise/travel with young kids is what I call the “grandfather effect”. At first in awe of your children and you two as parents has now turned into something analogous to pride. I find myself thinking, “I can’t believe how big they’ve gotten” and “Isn’t Ouest the prettiest little girl.” It is to the point that I show friends pictures like a proud grandfather. I know, it must be indicative of a sick mind but I don’t care. Living vicariously through your travels is enhanced by the feeling of kinship.
Your mom grows prettier with each year. So happy you could all spend some time together.
Haha! I’m the same way. My husband will ask me how my “imaginary grandkids” are doing.
I love Sanibel, such a pretty spot. We’ll have to look around Ft Myers when we move back to Florida. I was looking for a change of scene from Clearwater.