Adventures in Naples (not Italy) - Days 112 to 114 - Naples, FL

Great weather, great restaurants, great ambiance and great times characterized our time in Naples.

Thursday (1/20), was the first day since leaving Chicago when we had all the camper windows off.  The temperature at 10:00 AM was in the mid 70s. 

Diana and I waiting for Jim and Jane.  Note all of the camper windows are off

Today we were joined by Jim and Jane Fotopopolis, Sophocles's uncle who were snowbirding on Marco Island.  Jim and Jane arrived at 1:00 PM and we dingied off to lunch at the Tavern on the Bay.

Approaching the dock at our destination, The Tavern on the Bay

Jim, Les and Jane

The group in front of the Tavern on the Bay

Jim and Jane graciously spent the afternoon helping us resupply.  We started with a visit to Whole Foods in North Naples on US41, the Tamiami Trail.  We got everything we needed, including some bottles of Mount Veeder 2007.  Surprisingly, Whole Foods dd not have my favorite LaCroix bubbly water.  We then we visited Wynns, a Whole Foods type market.  Surprisingly, they did not carry LaCroix.  We then back tracked to Publix where I got the last five 12 packs, which were hidden before the flavored versions.  Hurrah.

We returned to the boat, relaxed and had some wine.  Jim wanted me to try a $10 bottle on wine called Menage et Trois that he bought at Whole Foods.  Rarely do I enjoy cheap wine but this one was a surprise.  What's not surprising is that Jim was onto this wine.  He owns two liquor stores back in the Chicago area.

Dinner just down the dock at the Wharf Restaurant ended a very enjoyable day.

Note the boat in the background

Friday and Saturday we relaxed and enjoyed our marina and the Naples area.  Activities included long walks with Kodi, a dingy ride exploring the canals off Naples Bay (with Kodi) and a spectacular dinner at Vergina on 5th street where we dine alfresco (without Kodi) and watched the heavy iron cruise down 5th Avenue. 

Kodi in her favorite position on the dingy

Speactacular architecture on one of the canals

Here are a few photos of the Naples Boat Club, one of the nicest marinas we've visited:

The marina is part of the condo development

Wharf Restaurant

The walk to the dock from the Wharf Restaurant

The heated pool

Club house with full size PRISTINE pool table

We also completed defrosting the refrigerator, a task required every 90 to 120 days.  What made it easy was the ability to store our stuff in the club house's refrigerator.

We awoke Sunday (1/23) to 44 degrees at 7:30 AM.  By 10:00 the temperature was in the 60s.  Kodi and I took another 4 miles morning walk.   This was followed by a 19 mile bike ride to Whole Foods.  Turns out I forgot to get my favorite fresh ground peanut butter. 

Our bike ride took us north on Gulf Shores Boulevard, which is lined with large homes with a Gulf view; one more spectacular than the next.  We had lunch at Whole Foods and then bicycled back directly south down US41 (which had a bike lane).  The trip back was 8 miles as compared to the scenic route north that was 11 miles. 

Our next activity was a dingy ride south down Naples Bay to explore a section called Port Royal where we heard their were some spectacular homes.  We were not disappointed.

Magnificent Port Royal home.  15,000 square feet????



Another spectacular Port Royal home under construction

Lazzara yacht tied up in Port Royal channel

As we approached the Naples Boat Club I took a photo of Mega Byte, a large over 100 foot yacht tied up just down the dock from us.  This is the largest boat we saw in Naples.

The evening ended with dinner at Handsome Harry's where we had dinner last Tuesday when we arrived in Naples. 

Tomorrow we plan to cruise to Key West if the apparent weather window holds up.

Written by Les.