The Adventures of Monk's Vineyard - The Great Loop and Beyond: February 5, Day 225 – Russell Pass (near Everglades City) to Everglades City

The weather forecast for the next few days was a little “iffy” for traveling out in the Gulf. The huge snow storm that was hitting the mid-Atlantic region (our home in Maryland) was also affecting the weather in Florida. While not cold here, there were rain and strong winds predicted. We decided maybe the best course of action would be to head for Little Shark River early in the morning, thus making our planned anchorage before the weather got too bad. We headed out by 9:00 a.m. and were almost out of Indian Key Pass when our buddy boat, Second Star, called to say they were having alternator problems and were going to turn back. To be truthful, Linda really was not too keen on venturing out today anyway, so we turned around with them and headed for Everglades City. They figured they could check out the alternator there and, if need be, order a new one by express shipping for delivery tomorrow.

We tied up to the seawall in front of the Rod and Gun Club. It is a very impressive old building. We decided to stay for 2 nights, waiting for the weather to settle down before heading out again.

We washed down the boat – lots of salt after traveling and being at anchor for a week – and then cleaned up and walked through the seafood festival area. Quite a change from yesterday. Today there were aisles full of scrumptious looking food. We were overwhelmed. All the vendors were busy cooking and most were ready to start selling their food. In addition to the food, there were lots of arts and crafts and, of course, the carnival rides and games for the kids. There are also several bands scheduled during the festival. This is really a big event here in this small town and they expect 70,000 visitors during the 3-day period.

Early in the evening we joined Michael and Jana and walked through the booths deciding what we’d have for dinner. We selected several items and shared so we could sample a wider variety of the different types of cuisine. Around 7:00 the wind really picked up and it starting raining. There was even a tornado warning for awhile. We finally dashed back to the boats and called it a night. Tomorrow …. pancake breakfast at the local church.

The rod and gun club. We parked at their marina --- which was the seawall in front of the building.

Inside the club

Lots of fish mounted on the walls

The pool room

We wandered through a small part of the food tents. Here's some frog legs (and celery??)

Fish and veggies

Coconut shrimp on a skewer and crab legs

Some of the food even looked healthy -- stir fried veggie mixture

The biggest container of paella we've ever seen. Gerry loves this stuff, but unfortunately can no longer eat it because of his allergy to shellfish (Linda will have to sneak some later)