Last Boat's final trip until the New Year

We were awake by 6:00 Saturday morning so we started getting the boat ready for our trip over to Marco Island. As Nelson was checking the oil, he noticed that all our engine coolant had leaked out and was in the bottom tray under the engine compartment. We begin checking and found that the hose to the radiator had rotted and had come off the engine. So, Nelson quickly repaired this problem and we pulled the anchor in Little Shark River around 6:45 with very little water depth and slowly moved out into the gulf for our day to Marco Island. Yea! We did find enough water and did not run agound. It was a much better day on the water as the winds were only blowing 10 knots most all the day until late afternoon. We had to go way out into the gulf because of shallow water so it took us longer to get into Marco than we expected. We did arrive around 3:00 and anchored at the Factory anchorage. It was a pleasant place to anchor and there were two other boats anchored there also. We had drinks and a snack, later had dinner, and watched two movies before going to bed.
Sunday, November 27, we pulled our anchor for the last time in a while and headed out into the gulf for Cape Coral, where we plan to leave the boat when we go home for Christmas. What a wonderful day on the water! The weather was perfect! I actually lay in the sun for two hours while we motor sailed most of the trip. We made it there in less time than we had expected. We were tied up to Nelson’s brother, Ike’s dock by 2:30. We are so thankful for the wonderful trip we have had coming south. We hope to be back in NC by the first of next week. Ike is letting us drive his car back home for Christmas. He and Babs are so kind to let us leave our boat at their house and then use their car to drive home. Plus, they are feeding us so well while we are here and we also are doing our laundry. Better than Marina life! Thank you, Ike and Babs! We are looking forward to seeing our friends and family when we get home.