We know Tom & Monica Evon from Church of the Holy Spirit in Schaumburg. They were nearly snowbirds during the cold Chicago months, living in a house in Marco Island. When we told them a year ago that we were going to be there in early December, Tom told us we’d have to get together out on his boat. We went once with the kids early in the week, but it was cool and the water was choppy, so we didn’t stay out long. Later in the week Madeline and I went again on a beautiful sunny day. Both days were fun, nonetheless.

Boating with Tom & Monica

The houses in Marco are all really nice, but a good number of them are beyond nice. I liked this one that was being built because of its curved roof.

We motored over to Goodland, a little fishing village on the island. Tom told us everything on the menu was good, and we had a very nice lunch.

On our second trip out, we went around to the gulf side of the island and posed in front of the Marriott Crystal Shores (left). We also went to Cape Romano, where this unusual domed concrete figure loomed out in the gulf. The thing was, this used to be a house on the beach built in 1980 (see old photo below right), but due to Hurricane Wilma in 2005 and coastal waters rising, the shore washed away the land and some of the foundations sunk. The house was solar-powered and self-sustaining.

Other nice houses and docks

We saw dolphins on our trip, including the one above having a feeding frenzy and the one to the left playing in another boat’s wake. Thanks Monica & Tom for a lovely day!

“Um, why is Madeline steering the boat?”