The weather called for 15 to 20 knot winds but seas of only 2 ft, so I figured we would be okay on the Gulf. That was not a wise choice. We made a wide sweep around Cape Romano in order to avoid the shoals there and end up about 15 miles off shore. For about 2 hours we were in waves 6ft +. It was just like being back on Lake Michigan. We made way for the nearest safe harbor, which was Everglades City. We docked at the Rod and Gun Club, a famous historic inn where a lot movies have been made. (first 2 pics). The narrow Barron river offered a great view from our boat (next pic). We took a bike tour with a ranger from the Everglades National Park (next pic). We learned about Edgar Watson (next pic), who was a successful farmer. But, apparently his success was partially due to some foul play: instead of paying his employees, he often killed them before pay day (final pic)! When that was found out, the entire town of 32 men got together and they opened fire on Mr. Watson at the Smallwood Store. Everglades City was colorful in other ways: 1) around 1979 the entire adult male population (except 2 persons) were arrested for drug smuggling, and 2) it is now the stone crab capital of Florida ! So, we had to have some stone crabs, yum.
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