Friday, Feb. 22 – Saturday, Feb. 23

The fog was lifting as we headed out from Fort Myers toward Marco Island, Florida, just after 9AM.  It was a fairly uneventful trip with a handful of dolphins seen along the way. The most excitement came when we spotted someone in what looked like a tiny boat way out in the middle of nowhere. We thought maybe this person was in need of help, so we checked out the situation with the binoculars. We confirmed that it was a guy on a jet-ski and he was not in any need of help - he was out there fishing! So there was no rescue at sea to report about.

We arrived at the Marina at Factory Bay on Marco Island around 3:45pm. The name is in honor of the first business in the area which made a significant economic impact on Marco Island, the Doxee Clam Factory. It was a pleasant marina with a very helpful dockmaster named Craig. We tied up at the end of one of the docks (at the “T”) which meant we had a few more waves slapping into us than we would have experienced if we’d been able to tie up between two dock fingers. Fortunately, most of the waves were from other boats going by rather than the bay itself, so the night wasn’t too rocky.

Marco Island is home to a bald eagle nest that has been occupied by various pairs since the 1970s! The nesting area is in the Marco Island Nature Preserve and Bird Sanctuary. Since the nest is very high, it is best seen from the Eagle-Cam: https://marcoislandnaturepreserve.org/eagle-camera/

Nesting is from Oct-May and there are 2 little eaglets in the nest right now!

One afternoon we biked a couple of miles to the Marco Island Historical Museum … against a 15mph wind – ugh! – but the ride back was really easy!  The museum opened its doors 9 years ago and has a wealth of information about the original occupants of Marco Island and southwest Florida. The Muspa Indians were here in the Archaic period but were eventually absorbed into the Calusa culture which are the Indians that existed in southwest Florida when the Europeans arrived in the 1500s. The Historical Society is very excited to have an exhibit of the “Key Marco Cat,” on loan from the Smithsonian, plus several other artifacts from the same period of 500-1500 AD. These items haven’t been here together since being excavated on Marco Island in the 1890s. The cat is about 6 inches tall, half cat and half human, and is considered one of the most complete artifacts of pre-Columbian art found in North America.

Another exhibit explained the planning and development of Marco Island. There are many canals throughout the residential areas that allow each home to have its own dock and boat(s) right in their backyards which they can hop on and take straight out into the Gulf anytime! (How cool is that!)

Speaking of that, our whole family spent a week at Marco Island 19 years ago for sailing lessons when we got our first sailboat in 2000. We lived aboard the instructors boat in his “backyard” with daily lessons that certified both Brian and Sue in Basic Keel Boat and Basic Coastal Cruising. We’ve noticed that in the past 19 years there’s been a tremendous change in the landscape with many more high rises than before. But the backyard canals and access to the gulf is still here!

Sources:

https://www.naplesnews.com/story/entertainment/arts/2018/04/21/year-cat-key-marco-cat-returns-time-home-built/523476002/

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/sponsored/more-9-lives-preserved-against-odds-key-marco-cat-returning-marco-island-florida-180970215/