What the heck, the boat's on the beach

so let's have a party!
Today we are taking a little break and waiting out the weather in Goodland (home of "Spammy-Jammy"). Paul, the dockmaster took us to the grocery store today and we've filled the water tanks. We'll do some laundry and relax a bit before the big jump from here to Marathon.
We are not planning any stops once we leave here and it's 102 NM to Marathon. We might anchor once along the way, but other than that it's a straight shot the rest of the way. We will have to sail through the night, so we have to wait for the weather to be just right.
Since our last update we stopped at Lemon Bay, Boca Grande, Pelican Bay and Naples. Our stop in Pelican Bay included a get-together with the West Coast trailer-boat club. We pulled the boat right up onto the beach and joined the party. Bolger said the boat could be beached, but up till now we haven't had the guts to try it. The contour of the sand bar we beached at was just right for us to get the nose of the boat dug into the sand and the rest of the boat still floating free. When the time came to leave the beach, Bev just gave her a little push and off we went.
At the party we also saw another Bolger boat, a Bobcat. See the picture here. It's the one with the blue tarp for a cockpit shade.
Most of the other boats were a type called "Sea Pearl," a very elegant little sharpie. Some had outriggers to make them trimarans, and some even had tents built onto them so they could be "camp-cruisers." We met some new friends, had a few beers and some munchies. It was fun.
In Boca Grande, we saw hundreds of rented golf carts ferrying big shots around. It seems that some friend of Oprah Winfrey was getting married so she was there along with Tom Cruise, John Travolta and others. Security was tight, so we didn't get to crash the party, Darn it! We also ran into the good folks from Suncoast Humane Society. We met a few of their former "clients" including Ruffin, a 200 lb Newfoundland who shared Bev's ice cream. There was also a Portuguese Water dog puppy and a portly Border Collie.
The trip from Big Carlos to Naples was all sail. The wind was out of the east so waves were small. It was a great day to be on the water.
From Naples we motored inside to Goodland to avoid going around Cape Ramano. The cape can be treacherous in weather because the shoals go so far out. The weather has started to turn a bit ugly, so we're just waiting here for the right wind to finish the trip.
We also want to say, again, thank you to Julie and Tim and Pat and Peter for all you've done for us. And Tim and Julie...remember...we EXPECT to see "Love is All" in Marathon this winter. You are running out of excuses. The standing rigging is done, the motor should need only one more "tweak," the deck is painted and the head is just about done. So hang some sail and get out there and do it! (Morgan says that she misses you...or is it he? We still don't know.)
We hope you are enjoying the SPOT updates. Make sure you click the satellite link on Google Maps to get the best image.
Once we leave Goodland, we will send a SPOT update every few hours. This way, you will be able to track our progress during the long crossing to Marathon. We will be out of cell phone range for most of the crossing, so SPOT will be our only link to civilization. Wish us luck.