We were on the tender at 8:30 for our excursion to the Peace River Botanical and Sculpture Gardens, which, like so much else in the area, had been hit hard by Hurricanes Helene and Milton during the fall. Despite the hurricanes and their accompanying storm surge, it was a beautiful place – most of their sculptures survived, many of the plants are recovering and they are doing new planting, and there are butterflies in the butterfly garden again.

Our docent, Jeanette, took us on a walk around the grounds. Here are some highlights.

Between our excursions, we had a tasty lunch at Village Brewhouse in Fishermen’s Village instead of taking the tender to and from the ship. Staying ashore also let us do a little shopping and see rescued owls from Peace River Wildlife Rescue.

We also got to see them removing one of the boats sunk by Hurricane Milton from the water; I guess they’ll haul it away sometime soon.

Our second excursion was a guided walk to see a few of Punta Gorda’s murals; there are more than 30. The first one we saw is doomed to destruction fairly soon because the former bank building it’s on was damaged beyond repair by…you guessed it…hurricanes.

The other murals we saw were on buildings in better shape, so they should be here for a while.

While we were at the “Ladies Remembered” mural, one of the honorees made a personal (if ghostly) appearance to tell us the real story of her life…meet Helen Cornish Wrobbel, a fire fighter and firebrand.

We also saw the real “Fountain of Youth” (it taps an artesian well), but it has a small problem…the water is radioactive!

We sailed away from Punta Gorda before dinner; it seems like it’s going to be a bumpy ride tonight.

The American Glory arrived at Punta Gorda around lunchtime and anchored about a mile offshore. The water here is very shallow – back in the 19th Century, the Florida Southern Railroad built a “Long Dock” (4000 feet) so that ships needing 12 feet of draft could load and unload cargo; the Long Dock is long-gone, so we had to tender to shore, landing at Fishermen’s Village. Lots of boats were moored there; some had been destroyed by Hurricane Milton, and I guess they’ll be there until insurance matters are settled.

Our excursion today took us to the History Park and Artisan Market, which houses local non-profit groups specializing in fabric arts, pottery, woodworking, and glass. The demonstration of marbling was fascinating – it almost seems simple enough for me to try!

Diane and I walked back to Fishermen’s Village; the path was paved and busy with walkers and cyclists, with a mangrove strip next to us and a clear sign that we were in Florida.

The tender ride back to the ship was slow because the water had gotten very choppy; everyone in the front half of the boat got wet anyway, including us. We survived.

Happy New Year!