Cayo Costa Pine Island Sound

Radeen and Hayden on the Beach.....

We love it here at Cayo Costa where there is plenty of anchorage area, a Florida State Park, zero development, no services but water, just a beautiful beach with friendly volunteers. Who could ask for more? Not us. Life is great on a cruising sailboat.

Sunset over Cayo Costa as seen from our boat at anchor

It is wonderful to be back living on anchor and living on our sailboat. Life slows down. Life gets so easy (when all systems are working) and life is very peaceful. Yes, we have digital TV, but it has not been on for many days. Yes, we have satellite radio and, of course, listen to the Jimmy Buffett channel. Yes, we have connectivity via Verizon cells and our app PDAnet+  for our WiFi hotspot and, yes, we share via Facebook and this blog. Even with all this connectivity, somehow life on a sailboat is just simple and basic. Days run together, and you are lucky if you even know what month it is, let alone what day of the week it is. You just live, relax, read, laugh, enjoy, explore and discover.

Cayo Costa in Pine Island Sound is one of those places NOT to MISS on the west coast of Florida.  It is located just south of Sarasota and north of Fort Myers Beach. It is a great location with a deep ocean inlet to the north, providing an easy exit if you want to go to sea. For now, we may just stay here for days, after all.....why not?

My favorite way to share this adventure is though my photos. Please enjoy these.

Radeen walking the 1.2 mile trail to the beach

Sunlight illuminates a beautiful palm

Natural Florida with interesting sun light

Wild flower blossoms abound

Welcome to the REAL FLORIDA, Cayo Costa

Prickly Pear Cactus on the sand dunes

One of the many types of seagulls on the beach

7 miles of beach, and only sand, shells and birds

Vegetation running across the dunes

The vast, uncrowded beach

Spanish Moss in the trees along the trails 

Our home, Island Spirit, at anchor

The original DOLLAR BAR, Cabbage Key, FL

Sunset at anchor, calm harbor

Typical "Selfie" on the breezy beach at Cayo Costa

Look at the crowds! This is crazy!

The best shell found today, there are so many.

This is where Cayo Costa is located on the west coast of Florida

While our family and friends suffer through yet another Northeast Snow Storm, we count our blessings every day and reflect on this dream we are living and sharing. We wrote down and outlined this dream in 1992, hoping we could make it happen. Now, in 2014, we are three years into living it. Yes, Claire, B.E., we really DO know how LUCKY we are.....thank you for the lesson. :-)