Left Boca Grande with some windy weather so we decided to take the inside route (ICW) and when than ran out, we hugged the coastline. Naples Yacht Club is on the Gordon River and the entrance from the Gulf is pretty direct. We were met immediately with gorgeous homes vying for the nicest water views. Fort Lauderdale has nothing on Naples! It might be the economy or just that there are more open lots available, but there definitely was a building boom going on.
Cleo and Jim arrived with lunch! And then we moved to Jim and Cleo’s condo in the Wilderness (more about that in a minute). A treat for Ann and Cliff was to get off Dot.Calm and sleep in a real bed! Dinner at Naples Yacht Club that night was terrific with Cliff declaring he had the best grouper ever.
We hosted a sunset cruise on our second night in Naples with Cleo and Jim, Cleo’s dad Ed and his friend Peggy and Wilderness and Glen Ellyn friends George and Nina. The water in the Gulf was very bound-y, so Cliff opted to anchor in a protected spot just off the main waterway. We got to see lots of boats cruise by and to think smugly of the rocky ride ahead of them. And we had a perfect view of the sunset.
Staying at the Wilderness is like walking back in time. You turn off a busy road and you immediately encounter a landscape of old, beautiful trees, lush plantings, peaceful ponds and narrow winding roads. The widely spaced condo enclaves seem an afterthought. Cleo and Jim have a pond view and a wonderful array of birdlife. An eagle has taken up residence in a far tree, but we did not see him/her. We did spot osprey, woodpeckers, blue buntings, yellow bellied sapsuckers, heron, anhinga, cormorants, kingfishers and a couple of unidentified small songbirds that migrate through the area at this time of year.
From Boca Grande, the view from the port side of boat once you are in the Gulf is pretty much this the whole way.
The starboard view is also constant….non-stop development all along the coast.
Beautiful homes crowd the shore as you enter Gordon River toward the Naples mooring areas.
Mornings spent on the patio with amazing variety of avian visitors and an alligator or two!
Enjoying the bridge deck with friends!
A beautiful sunset enhanced with clouds and silhouettes of boats.
A stop at the Ritz Carlton beach bar for a margarita. Yum.
Sunset view from Jim and Cleo’s patio. Wow.
Can you spot the alligator?!