Day Trip to Ft. Myers and Punta Gorda

(Wauchula, FL) Hi 84 Lo 58 -- We took our time reading our emails and blogs then headed out for a day trip to the Gulf coast cities of Ft Myers and Punta Gorda.  We’ve wanted to go for quite some time but every time we planned a trip something came up to delay it.  I wanted some good seafood and it’s always a plus to be around water.  The Gulf is just fine.
 
Just east of Ft. Myers is a Fla. Power & Light power plant.  Manatee Park is across the highway from the plant at the reservoir where the cooling water drains.  The warm water attracts manatees, and the park has some nice viewing stations set up along the reservoir.  We stopped and spent an hour there and saw three manatees.  This is the reservoir next to the power plant.

There are three swimming around but we had to wait till they come up for air to get a picture.


The park has a place to rent kayaks so you can be in the water with the manatees.


After about an hour we drove to Punta Gorda, just north of Ft. Myers.  Punta Gorda and nearby Port Charlotte were hit directly by Cat. 4 Hurricane Charley in 2004.  They've recovered well, there's no sign that they suffered such devastation.

Our destination was Fisherman’s Village, a restaurant and shopping area on a pier that juts out into Charlotte Harbor.

It’s two blocks long

Lots of boutiques and fun shops.

We had a late lunch at the Village Fish Market Restaurant


We both had the grouper sandwich, and it was excellent.


At one end of the village is the Military Heritage Museum.  It's a small but surprisingly comprehensive museum that has memorabilia from World War I to the Iraqi War.




We then headed home.  We got home right at sunset after a total trip of 144 miles.  It was a fun and entertaining day.  Tomorrow is movie day.

I want to pass along another blog about living full time.  The Great RV Escape.  This is geared for those that are thinking going fulltime.