Saturday, April 30, 2022. Canaveral National Seashore

Saturday, April 30, 2022.  

Thanks to Kathy and John’s power outlet, we slept very comfortably with our air conditioner keeping the temperature and humidity down inside.  While the temperatures outside were in the 70’s, it was quite humid.  Kathy and John treated us to breakfast, and then we toured the Canaveral National Seashore and an adjacent wildlife refuge. The Canaveral National Seashore is a long stretch of sandy beach with numbered parking lots.  There were lots of families and couples enjoying the beach and tiny shells for collecting.  

Surprisingly, for a National Park, there was a nude beach at parking lot #13.  

The wildlife refuge had a several mile driving loop through mangroves like in the Everglades where we saw lots of anhinga birds, egrets, herons, grackles and gallinules, including a brood of baby gallinules.  

While driving through the refuge, Kathy and John’s car developed a malfunction in the power windows where the rear driver side window couldn’t be raised after it had been lowered so we could look out the windows at the wildlife.  They had been having some intermittent problems with the window switches not working over the last year or so.

We stopped at a Mims Southern BBQ for take out since we couldn’t get the window back up.  We went back to Kathy and John’s home to eat the BBQ for lunch.  

Then Ben and John went to work to remove the driver side door panel to access the power window switches.  Ben made a temporary fix by laminating the keypads with aluminum foil to get the window back up, but with the switch out of the car, Kathy was able to search the internet and found that the switch box was available at an auto parts store  in an adjacent town.  So Kathy and John ran out and got the new replacement switch.  The new switch was installed and the door panel was then reinstalled.  Now all the windows work properly and reliably.    As a token of their gratitude, Kathy and John very generously gifted us with a bottle of their select Barrel of Jack Daniels, a 25th wedding anniversary gift.

With the car windows now fixed so that they could be properly closed to secure the car, we drove to the Playa Linda Brewing Company for microbrews and dinner.  The staff knew John and Buddy quite well because John and Buddy frequent a near by park in the mornings and then stop in for a microbrew and pretzels.  

The selection was excellent.  Ben had a pour of a nice red ale with his roast beef, caramelized onions and cheese sandwich while Janet had an excellent root beer with her Cuban sandwich.  We then stopped at the Moonlight drive-in for a Key Lime milk shake.

Friday, April 29, 2022. Naples to Mims FL

Friday, April 29, 2022. Naples to Mims FL

We packed up and saw Jack and Sharon off early in the morning.  Since we were up early, Ben checked to see if he could get an Apple store appointment closer to Mims where we will spend the next two nights.  Waiting for the noon appointment at the Naples store would have put us in Mims late at night.  Fortunately, Orlando is en route and there are two Apple Stores there.  Bonnie suggested the Florida Mall location as more convenient for our travel route, and fortunately, Ben was able to make an appointment for 1:30pm.  

His iPhone had deteriorated overnight to the point where the screen digitizer was completely non-functional, along with the FaceTime camera.  He was lucky to have been able to coax it to complete an iCloud back up last night before the digitizer was completely dead.  The Apple store recommended replacement rather than attempting repair since it was most likely damage from salt water intrusion.  Ben upgraded to the iPhone 13 Pro, which adds 5G cellular capability, more storage, 3 camera lenses including a super wide angle, and better battery life, as well as MagSafe charging and accessories.  The wide angle lens will come in handy, as well as the more advanced camera modes.

The drive from Naples to Orlando was characterized by extensive pine forests on flat terrain, as well as “love bugs” spattering the windshield and front of the RV by the hundreds.  

Love bugs, Before and After

We ran into plenty of dense traffic as we approached the Disney properties near Orlando.  

We arrived in Mims and were greeted by Kathy and John, whom we had played trivia with during our 2018 60 day South America circumnavigation cruise just in time to step into their back yard and watch a Space Ex Starlink satellite launch.  During broad daylight at 5:23pm, it looked like a brilliant flare streaking upward into the clouds.  There is a stand of pines behind Kathy and John’s back yard so we had to look for the rocket through some tree trunks and branches, but it was a unique sight.  

Kathy and John had recently moved from Miami to Mims to escape some of the urban craziness and crowding.  They have a 7 year old golden retriever “Buddy” who was very excited to have house guests to play with him.  We did some catching up while Kathy made a fabulous shrimp and grits for dinner that Ben will have to try to duplicate when we get back home and start to get some fresh spot prawns.

When we were on the South America Cruise, we saw Kathy frequently working on a very intricate Disney Sorcerer’s Apprentice cross stitch, so it was rewarding to see the finished product hanging in a picture frame in their new home.  

Kathy and John have a similar sized class C RV but it doesn’t have any slides.  They were gracious enough to allow us to park ours in their driveway and hook up to power, so we can run the air conditioner.  We should sleep well tonight.  

Thursday, April 28, 2022. A Tarpon, At Last.

Today, Jack, Ben and Dave got to the boat as the sun was just starting to rise over the horizon.  There was just a sliver of moon in the sky.  The water was calm and the air was still and warm.  The tide tables showed that the bottom low tide was happening as we hit the water.  Instead of motoring over an hour to get back to the spot where we had seen more tarpon, and caught sharks, Ben suggested we at least try to fish the spot near the marina during the 1-2hrs around the bottom of that low tide, and then move to other areas if there was no action there.   After anchoring and putting out the lines, just like we had two days earlier, but with the sun just staring to climb into the sky, Jack’s rod took a hard strike and line started screaming off the reel.  Suddenly, about a 100’ from the boat, a huge tarpon shot out of the water and into the air.  That tarpon had jolted the line repeatedly while Jack struggled to get his thumb on the spool and then turn off the clicker, a backlash had developed on the reel from the way the tarpon had repeatedly jerked the line before the drag could be engaged. Then as Jack tried to engage the drag to prepare to set the hook, the tarpon threw the hook and disappeared.  

Everyone was both stunned and astonished by the sudden and violent presentation that ended almost as quickly as it had erupted.  But then, within 5 minutes, Ben’s reel began clicking rapidly.  Ben jumped on the reel and got his thumb on the reel to apply a little pressure to prevent a backlash.  The fish then started to pull line of the reel rapidly.  Then as instructed by Captain Teddy, Ben kept the rod straight up facing the running fish, and slid the drag forward.  Sure enough, the fish pulled the rod tip down, and then Ben set the hook.  The line then went limp, but Ben reeled to pick up the slack and then reset the hook.  This time, there was an explosion in the water 300’ out, and the tarpon shot 3’ out of the water into the air, and the back down with a splash. 

YouTube clip of setting the hook 

And there was no question then that the fish was well hooked and on the line as it raced from the port side of the boat to the starboard side, jumping a few more times trying to throw the hook.  Ben then had to buckle down and match wits and muscles with the tarpon for a half hour, Ben periodically gaining on the fish, bringing it close to the boat, and then it turning and running back out, pulling line back off the reel and pulling the stern of the boat around.  Captain Teddy pulled the anchor early in the fight to allow us to move with the fish.  The fish eventually tired to the point where it could be brought along side the boat where it lay on it’s side rather than upright.  Captain Teddy motored slowly into 2’ of water and dropped the anchor while Ben kept the fish along side the boat.  

YouTube clip of tarpon at the gunnel

He then climbed down into the water to unhook the fish and get it ready for us to take pictures.  As soon as he grabbed it’s lower jaw, it decided it wasn’t done and made one more run of about 30’ before Ben got it turned back around and by the boat.  Captain Teddy then got a firm grip of the jaw and cut the leader.  The hook was deeply imbedded, but he uses hooks that will rust out within a few weeks.  He then had Jack and Ben climb down to hold the fish while Dave took pictures.  Then Dave joined Jack and Ben to lift the fish out of the water for a group picture.  It took the three of us to lift it out of the water.  

We measured the fish, which was 34” in girth and 76” in length.  Captain Teddy said it looked like a 160# fish, but there is a calculation you can use to estimate the weight (girth squared times length divided by 800= 110#).  By measurements, that fish had the same girth as Ben’s waistline, and it was 9” longer than Ben.  

Everyone’s adrenaline levels were spiked by the excitement of the landing that tarpon.  Captain Teddy plucked a couple of scales off for souvenirs and then spent 10 minutes reviving the fish before it could swim off under its own power.  

In all the excitement, Ben forgot that he had his iPhone and AirPods in his shirt pockets when he got in the water to hold the tarpon.  Fortunately, the AirPods worked fine, but unfortunately, the FaceTime camera and screen digitizer on the iPhone were functioning erratically, making the phone unusable. Although the iPhone XS is supposed to be the first water proof iPhone, it apparently isn’t fully IP-67 waterproof, especially if you squash it with a big tarpon.

With the two strikes in rapid succession that lead to Ben’s landing the first fish, everyone was expecting Dave to get his fish shortly, and then Jack would get the next.  Unfortunately, the rest of the morning was a repeat of 2 days earlier, with no more bites.  We moved again to two other spots just outside the marina entrance where several other boats were fishing for tarpon, but alas, we had no more strikes on our baits, and we didn’t see anyone else catch one.  

We called it at 2pm and returned to the marina.  We went to settle with Captain Teddy, who was expecting all cash or check.  He wasn’t equipped to accept credit cards, and we weren’t equipped to pay by all cash or check (who carries checks around these days?).  Jack had failed to inquire about terms when he booked the charter.  So Jack and Dave drove to the nearest CitiBank where Dave could withdraw the cash necessary to cover the bill, leaving Ben as collateral.  They fortunately returned before Ben had to swab any decks, gut any fish or do any of Captain Teddy’s book keeping in barter for our charter.  

Janet, Bonnie and Sharon did a nature walk, learning about the local flora and fauna. It started off very pleasant, but the temperature and humidity rose quickly through the morning, so everyone was glad to get back to the air conditioned Air B&B after the walk. 

In the evening we returned to the Seed to Table The menu was diverse enough, and the prospect for Jack, Sharon, Dave and Bonnie to dance again were the primary factors for returning there.  Captain Teddy had suggested another venue called Cooper’s Hawk, which is a winery venue which has a very fine restaurant, but the $40 entree prices and emphasis on expensive wines was a little too uppity for us.  Tonight, there was much less of a crowd, although it was by no means uncrowded.  We still had trouble finding a place for the six of us to sit together.  Tonight we ended up downstairs, which meant we had to place our own food orders and pay for them at the venues, and get our own drinks.  But we didn’t have to leave a tip.  The food was still delivered to our table via the food carriers being able to track the physical location of the beepers they handed out with each order.  They must have tracking devices like the Princess Medallions that allow them to pinpoint the location of the numbered pagers with a couple of feet precision.  Another unique bit of tech involved the beer counter.  The draft beers are dispensed not from a conventional tap, but from a bottom tap which pokes up through a hole in the bottom of the plastic disposable cups fitted with a metal washer and magnetic flap.  As the beer fills the cups from the bottom up, there is little head and perhaps less mess.  At the least, it looks very weird to see the cups seeming to fill spontaneously.  The magnetic flaps on the bottom of the cups are collectible.  

The dance band and venue was a little different tonight.  They had a small rock band playing upstairs, but there was much less room for dancing.  Dave and Bonnie ended up dancing the imported dry goods department as we worked our way to the door.  Jack and Sharon had left earlier to take care of another errand that needed to be run before checking out of the Air B&B in the morning.  

When we got home, Ben got out a blue tooth speaker.  Jack and Sharon were able to show off their new Tango moves.  Dave and Bonnie also did a little dancing in Air B&B’s great room, which proved to be a better dance venue than the imported dry goods aisle anyways.  

Tomorrow, everyone checks out of the Air B&B.  We have loaded most of our stuff back into the RV.  Ben was able to get the RV air conditioner working by swapping the 15A garage circuit breaker for the 20A dishwasher circuit breaker since there was no dishwasher ever installed in the kitchen.  Ben did make a Apple Store Genius Bar appointment in Naples for tomorrow to get his iPhone replaced.  After that, we head north east to visit cruise friends from our 60 day South America Cruise Kathy and John, who live in Mims, close to the Kennedy Space Center, about 5 hours away.

Wednesday, April 27, 2022

Jack, Dave and Ben headed out early for their second day of tarpon fishing with Captain “Teddy” Naftal.  Today, they actually motored through many different channels and waterways between the islands that surround Marco Island, settling off Helen Key, on the exposed side of Marco Island.  They initially anchored in a channel in front of some multimillion dollar mansions with mangroves on the outside.  The mangroves reminded us of the mangroves in the Galapagos with brown pelicans, snowy egrets and cormorants in the mangrove trees.  There were cow rays chasing each other and leaping into the air all around us, and we actually were seeing tarpon rolling on the surface nearby.  Despite the “fishy” circumstances, we weren’t able to raise one bite.  After a couple of hours of no bites, we moved further out in front of Helen Key to where we could see Cape Romano.  At one point, we were approached by the local Marco Island Police on jet skis.  

It seems like everyone knows Captain Teddy, as they just stopped to chat.  They normally patrol in a 22’ center console powerboat, but they had just done maintenance on the jet skis and since the water was flat, they took those out for a spin.  

We anchored out in a little deeper water (5’).  We did see more action because within a few minutes, Dave had a good strike which he was able to set the hook on and land.  But it turned out to be a 4’ black tip shark, not a tarpon.  Jack had two strikes that went limp as soon as he picked the rod up out of the rod holder so we never knew what had generated those strikes.  Ben had a good strike and hook set on what turned out to be a larger 6’ black tip shark.  The leader broke at the hook when that shark finally took a leap out of the water 200’ from the boat.  Then Dave hooked an 8’ bull shark which required all three fishermen to work really hard for over an hour on getting the shark to the boat.  That steel leader got sawed off as the shark was along side the boat just under the gunnel.  All 3 fishermen were experiencing lactic acidosis in their arms after that.  We fished for another couple of hours without further strikes and called it a day.  At least today, we saw a few tarpon and saw leaping rays and mangrove life.

The same day, Janet, Bonnie and Sharon had booked a Cape Romano dome house and shelling tour.  

Sea Slug

Dome Houses

Naples Skyline

Shelling treasures

We could see Cape Romano, but the dome houses and their tour boat were on the opposite side of the cape, so we couldn’t see them.  They had a very pleasant boat ride and beach walk where they picked up shells and egg cases.  Janet likened it to agate hunting back home, but much warmer and sunnier.  

In the evening, we drove to a unique grocery store in North Naples called “Seed to Table”.  

It’s hard to describe it fully but if you could cross a Whole Foods Market with a fancy food court and add a wine bar, conventional beer and cocktails bars, several dance floors and multiple bands on two levels, you might begin to get the feel of the place.  Throw in “Lady’s night” featuring free drinks for women at 8pm, and you have a recipe for an overflowing parking lot, packed dining venues, throbbing music, gyrating bodies, food and alcohol and near total sensory overload.  And all this dispersed through a huge supermarket complete with refrigerator cases, prepackaged convenience meals, domestic and imported dry goods.  It was very confusing at first, but we eventually figured it out.  The upstairs had a dining area with waitresses who could take your food and beverage orders and bring your food to you, while the down stairs functioned more like a traditional food court where you went to the prepared food venues to place your food orders, and to one of the bars or other beverage venues for your drinks and didn’t have to leave a tip.  The food was pretty decent in quality and serving portion size.  It was certainly a much better value proposition than Tin City.  Jack, Sharon, Dave and Bonnie spent several songs dancing after we ate dinner, but they came ill prepared for dancing, wearing the wrong shoes.  Otherwise, we likely would have been there until the bands shut down.  

We did need to get to bed early because Jack had told Captain Teddy we’d like to get out a half hour earlier at 6:30am.  

Tuesday, April 26, 2022. Tarpon Fishing- Not Catching

Tuesday, April 26, 2022.  Tarpon fishing, not catching

Jack, Dave and Ben got up early and met Captain Teddy Naftal at his boat at the Rose Marina.  The boat has an interesting history.  It began its life as a drug smuggling boat in the 1980’s with an 800 gallon fuel tank down the center line and a small steering console in the stern just ahead of the motor well.  It was owned by a nephew of Teddy’s, but after a few close encounters with law enforcement, the boat eventually began a second career when one of Teddy’s uncles acquired it and converted it by removing the giant gas tank, and installing a center console.  Teddy then acquired it in the 1990’s and has been using for guiding and crabbing ever since.  It is about 24’ with an 9’-6” beam with a foldable Bimini top.  

It is powered by a single Yamaha 250HP 4 stroke, which seems to provide adequate power.  We didn’t really get it up much beyond planing speed because we ended up fishing very close in to the Marina in just 3-4’ of water.  We motored just a little bit more than 2 miles total.  One place where we anchored was within casting distance of a dock in front of Condominiums on Marco Island.  

We had perfect weather for a day of fishing.  The temperatures started close to 80˚F, and by noon it was 92˚F, but there was a light wind, and the Bimini top provided adequate shade.  

The gear was very simple.  Just a 7’ boat rod, medium capacity lever drag Shimano reels spooled with 300yds of 30# mono and terminal tackle consisting of a 1/2oz egg sinker slipped over the main line with a barrel swivel tied to a 32” coated wire 160# test leader with a 7-0 single barbed hook.  The bait was some kind of local cat fish with the heads and pectoral fins cut off, leaving a body through which the hook and leader were threaded using a wire from tail to the body cavity.  The hook was left curled around the open body cavity.  

The technique was very simple as well.  Captain Teddy simply cast the lines a short distance from the stern of the boat in a fan, set the drags on minimum with the clickers on, and set in the rod holders.  The theory was once a Tarpon took the bait, the clickers would scream to let us know the fish was running.  We were then to pick up the rod, turn off the clicker, and slide the drag forward with the rod held vertically.  Once the fish had taken all the slack out, we were then supposed to set the hook and then be ready for a big and long fight.  

Well, that was the theory.  We got on the water at 7am with a 2.6’ tidal exchange with high tide at 10:30am.  We went less than 1/2 mile to a shoal just outside the marina adjacent to Stingaree Island where the tarpon were known to frequent.  We were surrounded by crab pots for commercial blue crab fishermen.  After setting anchor in 3.5’ of water and casting out the lines, we waited.  And waited. And waited.  After over an hour, one of the reels started clicking, and it looked like there was a fish on.

  Jack went to pick up the rod, but just as he lifted it to a vertical orientation, the line simply went limp.  Reeling it in revealed a slight curl at the end of the line, indicating failure of the knot to the barrel swivel.  

After another hour with not so much as one nibble, we moved a half mile closer to the harbor entrance and did the same thing, but with no action.  We then went another half mile out along the channel near the “12” day marker, but no action in over an hour.  We were surprised with the kind of bait that was being used not to have had a small shark or skate ever take the bait.  

We then motored 3/4 mile to near a partially sunken sail boat wreck off Coconut Island.  We saw bottle nose dolphins here, who came very close to check us out.  

One of the reels began to sound like we might have had another fish on, but as soon as Jack turned to pick the rod up out of the rod holder, the line went limp.  This time, the bait was intact, but looked to Teddy as it had been picked up by a Tarpon, but avoided the hook.  Tarpon apparently don’t have teeth like sharks, so a Tarpon strike may bruise the bait, but not shred it.  

We did see a huge flock of white pelicans slowly ascending a thermal before heading off on their migration while brown pelicans were diving on bait near by.  There are also a few Frigate birds soaring in the area.  They apparently hunt on one side of the island, but nest on the opposite side.  But as far as any fishing action, it was non-existent.  We didn’t have so much as a single nibble over the next several hours.  We called it quits at 3pm as we had gone a full 2 hours past the peak of the tide change.  

After we got off the boat in Rose Marina, we could see several enormous Tarpon milling about in the open slips between Captain Teddy’s slip and the marina bar.  They were hanging around with a bunch of brown pelicans hoping to feed on leftover bait.  

We hope that’s not closest sighting of Tarpon we will have on this 3 day charter.  

Captain Teddy Naftal’s boat has no frills, so we had to stand in the motor well to urinate.  It was essential to not need to attend to a #2 if anyone books a charter on this boat.  

We got home hot and ready for naps.  

While the boys were fishing, Janet, Sharon and Bonnie explored the Marco Island Museum and historical sites around Naples and Marco Island.  The Marco Island Cat is perhaps the most famous artifact from Marco Island.  

The museum had a wealth of information regarding the indigenous peoples of Marco Island in the pre-Spaniard and post-Spaniard times.  Those who managed to survive small pox and other European diseases ended up as slave labor in Cuba.  

The girls managed to find a historically protected out house and an example of architectural use of shells in their explorations.  

Everyone got together to have dinner at the Tin City neighborhood of Naples, which were a cannery site at one point in time.  

We had dinner at The Riverside, which was another example of an expensive mediocre Naples area restaurant catering towards tourists.  After dinner, Ben, Janet and Bonnie got to see the sunset on the beach in Naples while Dave sat in the running get-away car double parked in the “residential permit only” parking at the beach access.

Tomorrow, the boys return to Captain Teddy Naftal’s boat for another day of tarpon fishing while the girls have signed up for a scenic cruise, so everyone will be getting up early tomorrow.

Monday, April 25, 2022

Monday, April 25, 2022. Casperson Beach and The Perpon Residence Air BnB

We disconnected the RV from its umbilicals at Craig and Melody’s, bidding them a grateful farewell for hosting us in our RV so graciously.  We headed south to Casperson Beach and found a nice free parking spot in the shade.  We got into swim suits and unpacked our floating sifting screens and beach scoop/rake and beach chairs.  

We set up on the beach and spent a couple of hours sifting for fossilized sharks teeth.  Jason had mentioned that the lack of rain or storms might lead to slim pickings but it’s still a fun outing.  The surf was pretty significant, jostling us around quite a bit and threatening to topple us over if we weren’t really careful with our footing, or wandered too deep.  We did manage to find some small fossilized sharks teeth though.  We probably ended up finding more than we had the last time were were on this beach with our former neighbors the Stanfords several years ago when we had also visited Wayne and the Manatee viewing platforms, but a little earlier in the year (February).  

Jack and Sharon joined us on the beach for about an hour, and then it was time for lunch and time to head on down to Naples to get set up for our Tarpon fishing charters.  We had lunch in the RV in the parking lot.  

We stopped for diesel and also at Costco to air all the tires up to 70psi warm before meeting Jack and Sharon at the Air B&B house in Naples.  The house is a large 3 bedroom tract home with granite counter tops, a huge great room, but surprisingly, no dishwasher.  

There was a small washer and dryer so we were able to get a load of laundry done.  When Jack and Sharon arrived earlier, the ice and water dispensers in the refrigerator didn’t work, and the TV also didn’t work.  The wifi was also down.  Ben eventually determined the Roku remote had dead batteries and the LG TV’s remote couldn’t control the Roku which was the main TV interface.  Jack and Dave ended up watching YouTube videos on catching Tarpon once we got the TV figured out. We went to a local Mexican restaurant (Amigos) for dinner, which was expensive and generally forgettable fare.  We also stopped at Walmart to get groceries to stock the Air B&B refrigerator with provisions so we could pack up breakfasts and lunches for the fishing trip.  We met Dave and Bonnie, Jack’s friends who had taken Jack’s log building class and have two cabins in WA and a house in Melbourne FL.  When we had returned from dinner, the host had fixed the refrigerator water and ice dispenser.  

We discovered that the only electrical outlet in the garage was on a 15A circuit, which wasn’t enough to run our air conditioner (20A is more usual), so we will take the 3rd bedroom instead of sleeping in the RV.