Our Spring Break cruise aboard "Capella II" was so much fun! On Monday we departed for Useppa Island, an island near Ft.Myers. The whole time we were looking for dolphins so that they would come and swim in the wake of our boat. We finally saw some! We called them over by knocking on the hull of the boat and whistling. Four of them came and put on a show for us! After a while we saw two more dolphins. They came and were swimming at the bow of the boat. They moved back and we got another private show! When we got to Useppa, we decided to go to Cabbage Key for dinner. Cabbage Key was a lot of fun. We had great food, too!

On Tuesday, we got up and went to the pool at Useppa. The pool is always so nice because it is never crowded and it is quiet. After that, we went to the museum where we got headsets that told us about the history of Useppa while we walked around and looked at all the information they had. There were artifacts from the Calusa Indians that lived on the island 10,000 years ago. Then we went back to the boat and took our little chase boat to Cayo Costa Island. On the way there we followed two dolphins that were swimming in very shallow water. They were only a few feet in front of the boat! We got to the beach from the back of the island and walked through the "jungle". The beach had barely any people! Tuesday night, we ate a wonderful dinner at the Collier Inn.

On Wednesday, we went to Gasparilla Island and went to Boca Grande for lunch. We rented a golf cart and found a place called "South Beach" that was at the very south end of the island on the water. The food was great and it was a fun place to go with the whole family. From Boca Grande we went to Cayo Costa and went looking for sand dollars and seashells. We saw some dolphins very close to shore and followed them far down the beach. It was so interesting to just look at them. That day we saw so many dolphins, it was hard to count them all. When we got back to "Capella II" we ate dinner on the bridge of the boat and watched a beautiful sunset!

Thursday morning we got up early and went kayaking around the marina and out to two sandbars. While we were out there, two dolphins came up just a few feet away! I followed them around the marina before they swam away. They were beautiful! Then we decided to go to Cayo Costa again. This time we went fishing and shelling even more. We went to North Captiva for lunch. When we were back near the little marina we saw something hard to believe... a boat that could fly! It was a little rubber dinghy that had a hang glider attached to it. At first, it was just cruising around like a regular boat, and then it was flying in the air! The restaurant at North Captiva, "Barnacle Phil's", is a fantastic place. Under a thatched roof with picnic tables, you can get sandwiches and famous black bean soup that are the best you have ever tasted! After lunch we went back to Useppa to cool off in the pool. Dinner that night was at the beautiful Collier Inn restaurant on Useppa.

On Friday morning, sadly, we departed from paradise! This cruising vacation was full of adventure and fun. Being on a boat is something that everyone should do! At Useppa, Cayo Costa, Boca Grande, North Captiva, and Cabbage Key there is always something to do for the whole family!

Editors Note: On the cruise, Annemarie was joined by her Mom, Dad, Sister - Aunt & Uncle, Barb & Vic!