The Journey for the Sojourner Permit

Today is another beautiful, blue sky day in Ft. Myers.  We spent five hours going to pay our sojourner tax at the Lee County government office.  At least two of those hours were waiting on the bus.  We walked to the trolley and rode it to the bus stop.  Darn!  We had just missed the bus and had to wait an hour.  Looking around, we spotted the Sunflower Cafe.  Their sign read "Home Cooking and Cocktails."  This is no surprise in Florida, where most folks you meet away from the beach are elderly.  We went in and had fruit and juice - no cocktails at 11:00 am - and killed some time.  Then we took the #130 bus north, following its route on the iPhone.  I had expected to exit in a town.  No, we were out on a busy four lane highway.  There was a sidewalk, but the blocks were long.  How far were we from the tax office?  Not too far.  It seemed as if we were in trouble, but the walk was maybe a half mile.  We waited there for 30 minutes to see someone.  She did know about the Sojourner Permit.

The Sojourner Permit is a way for Florida to tax boaters.  Even though Aunt Aggie is registered both by the Coast Guard and the state of Georgia, we have to pay this tax.  There's been lots of discussion on the AGLCA forum about whether to pay or not.  The consensus is that you'd rather pay upfront than be stopped on the water and fined.  Our tax was $122.  This gives us permission to stay in Florida for more than 90 days and spend more money here.

We walked back to our bus stop and waited in the sun for 40 minutes - no bench and no shade.  Then we rode back to the trolley stop.  We ate lunch at Perkins Restaurant across from the trolley lot.  This leads to our next topic: Restaurants in Atlanta are really good and reliable, and we have taken them for granted for years.

We do not eat at fancy restaurants usually.  We like to eat out on the weekends at Los Loros on N. Decatur Road, Thai Chili on LaVista Road, Community Barbecue on Clairmont, or Chris's Pizza at Toco Hills.  We always get a tasty meal.  The service is quick and friendly.  The food is reliably delicious.  Now we are eating out in similarly priced places around the south and having meals that are at best ok.  Yes, we eat them, but we don't really like the food.  It is bland or too salty or not really hot.  Sauces remind me of school cafeteria meals.  We really didn't know that our palates were refined.  The only meal I can think of that measured up was my fried shrimp basket at Ft. Myers Beach for Sunday lunch.  The shrimp were lightly battered and fresh.  That meal was yummy.  So we are looking forward to returning to eat in Atlanta in a few days.

Our slip is beside a nature preserve, so there are birds all over the docks.