Cabbage Key to Punta Gorda

Thursday morning, we took off at 8:00 from Cabbage Key in order to make the 30 mile trip upriver to Punta Gorda in time to have lunch with our friends from Warsaw, Barb & Mark Yoder. We decided to spend a couple of nights at the Fisherman’s Marina in Punta Gorda and we’re glad we did.

We made it to our slip a little after 11:00 which was just enough time to clean up and get ready for lunch with our friends.

The marina was nice and clean with many live-aboards and had its own heated pool. Had we stayed longer, we might have taken advantage of it.

We were right next door to a large series of shops and restaurants that all faced into a beautiful covered court that stretched more than a city block - - wow!

We had a wonderful lunch outside on a deck overlooking the Peace River which connects to Charlotte Harbour. Fortunately, the sun was out, the wind was down and it was finally starting to warm up.

Mark & Carol had a most interesting  and unusual Japanese Mojito. The mulled garnish was a tasty but sort of spicy and citrusy Japanese herb of some kind. Mark & Carol both said it was excellent.

After lunch, our friends headed back to their AirBnB in Sarasota to prepare for their drive back to Warsaw on Saturday. We had fun exploring the plethora of shops in the mall/village.

Friday morning dawned bright and clear with promises of warmer weather. The perfect time to tour the city by bike. The marina had free loaners so we grabbed a couple instead of unpacking our bikes.

We hadn’t gone very far before we decided that shorts really are the better way to go today. Whoopee!

There was a wonderful bike trail that started at our marina and wound around the river and into downtown.

This section was through a mangrove tunnel!

We thought this painting under the highway bridge was stunning. It was all painted on rough concrete. However, the artist gave it a 3D look that even made the painted boards look real.   

There were many beautiful murals throughout the city. We climbed up a parking garage to take this picture.

This wooden sculpture was dedicated to the Caloosa Indians who originally inhabited this area.

Even the city building sported an attractive mural.

After lunch back at the boat, we headed the other way for a 2 mile jaunt to a park and wildlife center. We had heard it was worth the visit so we decided to investigate.

As it turns out, the wildlife center is a rehabilitation center for injured birds. All of the residents are permanent as they all have some kind of issue that keeps them from being viable in the wild.

This is Luna. He was a gentle, stunning little guy.

He’s a “leucistic” eastern screech owl. You can look that one up. 

This barred hoot owl was amazing!

Notice the lime green coloring near this guy’s eyes. It means he/she is nearing mating time. It gets more intense and the lovely umbrella feathers reach the ground when it’s “time”.

When we got back to the boat, this big guy pulled in for dinner at the fisherman’s warf. Just because you can doesn’t mean you should! Wow, what a lot of horsepower for a small, light boat!

Tomorrow, we head out early for a remote state park for a couple of days and then up the intercoastal towards Venice. See you in a few!