We got up bright and early. Linda P. and I had booked a Dreamlander boat tour of the Ten Thousand Islands. These are islands off the coast of southwest Florida. The part just south of Marco Island is called Cape Romano. Almost all of these island are uninhabited.
When we were getting ready to leave Linda P. could not find her wallet. She looked everywhere to know avail. Finally we had to leave, but we asked our two friends if one of them would call Joey’s when they opened to see if they had found a wallet. Linda decided not to worry. Hopefully the wallet was there. Linda H. promised to message us if it was found.
Arriving at the Goodland Boat Park, we walked to the docks. Brandon, our driver, greeted us and helped us climb aboard. We were the only folks on this two hour tour.
After playing with the dolphins, Brandon took us on a tour through the Ten Thousand Islands which are mostly full of mangroves. We eventually came to Cape Ramona and the Dome House. The Dome House is an abandoned modern house that is located south of Marco Island. It was built in 1980 by Bob Lee, a retired oil producer as a vacation home. The house was made up of six wide domes which made up the rooms of the house, some of which were two stories. It had three bathrooms and three bedrooms and was 2,400 square feet. The house was self sustaining, with solar panels for power and a back up generator. The home was hit by a hurricane in 1992. Lee sold the home in 2005, but shortly thereafter is was hit by Hurricane Wilma which disabled it’s foundation. Hoping to rebuild the house, that owner failed to get the needed permits. The ruins now serve as a reef which attracts a variety of marine life. After Hurricane Irma hit in September of 2017, two of the western-most domes fell into the ocean. We could see the dome tops just below the water’s surface.
There is ocean now below the dome house. Brandon pointed out a beach in the background behind the domes. He explained that the sand has all relocated there after the hurricanes. It really made an impact as to the fragility of these islands and shore lines. Guess there is merit to that saying that a foolish man builds his house upon the sand.
Returning from our boat tour, we found a message on my cell phone. Linda’s wallet was at Joey’s! Boy, were we relieved! We celebrated with drinks- a Diet Coke and beer. (Guess who had the beer?) We stopped at Joey’s for the wallet on our way back to the condo. Everything was still in it! Hooray!
That afternoon we spent some time at the beach. I found more shells and even two sand dollars right along the water line.
After cleaning up, we went to DaVinci Italian Restaurant for dinner. Several waiters came simultaneously to deliver our four meals. My linguine with red clam sauce was delicious as were the meals of my companions. After dinner, we explored a few shops. Our greatest find was this beautiful sunset. What a great way to end another day on Marco Island!
