Thursday, February 28, 2013 – Moore Haven to Indiantown Marina (St. Lucie Canal):

            We didn’t have a very good night last night.

            First – there was the incident with the cat (yeah, I know – another one – well, it’s a cat).  This is a complicated story, but I’ll try and make it somewhat concise.  Usually after we stop for the night, Bob reads the engine hours for his maintenance log.  You have to read the engine hours with the engines running.  Kitty Cat seems to know when we have stopped for the night – maybe because we have turned the engines off and everything gets relatively quiet – I don’t know.  Last night, Bob forgot to check the engine hours before he turned off the engines – probably because it was starting to rain, and we were in a hurry to get everything closed up.  So he decided to check the engine hours long after we had turned the engines off for the night.  We had actually finished dinner and were playing cards when he got this brilliant idea to check them NOW instead of waiting till the morning when we would naturally turn the engines on to leave.  Well, Miss Lucy happened to be sitting right next to the hatch of the engine room when the “buzzers” sounded.  Not to be too gross, but this literally scared the @#$% right out of her as her little feet scrabbled on the floor to get away from the “buzzer monster.”  Unfortunately, we didn’t realize this until sometime later in the evening when we stepped in it.  We now have a new rule – no turning on the engines until two-legged and four-legged critters are prepared.  So that was the start of the “Sleepless in Moore Haven” night.

            After the cat incident, we couldn’t sleep, so we got up and decided to play cards.  That’s usually a calming activity, and sleep comes pretty easy after that.  Nope – not this night.  Now everyone who has read this “blog” knows that I love the sound of trains in the middle of the night.  However, at Moore Haven there is a train trestle right past the marina.  As a matter of fact, we have to go under it on our way to the Moore Haven Lock in the morning.  More on this later…

            There is nothing remotely distant or romantically imaginative about the trains that run in the middle of the night here.  Nope – there is this ear-splitting discordant horn like shrieking whistle that is right in your face and could possibly wake the dead as they rumble through at all hours.  Besides the train, there is the U.S. 27 bridge that is also right next to the marina, and this must be a favorite (or maybe only) route for the truckers driving their semi’s with their tandem trailers who roared by all night long.

            Bob thought this was a great marina (I think it has something to do with the cost of only $1.00 a foot), but, I don’t know why, I just couldn’t sleep.

            In the morning, the sky was gray but no rain.  Again, we have a relatively long way to go today plus we cross back over Lake Okeechobee again, but the weather is not supposed to be too bad.  We have a quick breakfast and start getting ready to go.  Miss Lucy has already headed for the covers.  We are tied up between two other boats, and I am thankful that there is no wind and the water is flat as a pancake for the moment.  We don’t have any trouble getting away from the marina.  As we leave we have to drive through a sea of water hyacinths.  We don’t know why more of this stuff doesn’t get tangled up in the propeller’s of boats.  Bob calls it “water kudzu.”  It’s pretty though.

            So after we leave the marina we have to go through the Moore Haven Railroad Bridge, which is usually open.  Now I really don’t understand why it’s open as the trains seem to run constantly – at least last night they did.  You all know how I feel about going through open railroad bridges especially if you read the “blog” yesterday.  So Bob is meandering up to the bridge (and I like meander speed – it’s my favorite), but when you approach railroad bridges, especially open ones, I call it dawdling.  So I am making my case for not “dawdling” through the bridge, and Bob says to me, “Stop worrying about every little thing.”  Well, I guess he didn’t sleep as well as I thought he did last night, either!  Well, excuse me, but he has known I worry about every little thing for about 20 years, and my worrying has often kept us out of a jam.  So there.  I just don’t feel like there should be enough time to have a snack and a drink while you are going through a raised bridge (especially knowing the train schedule in Moore Haven.) Well, needless to say, we got through the bridge just fine, and it only took about thirty seconds, and probably the train engineers’ “tour of duty” was up and they were having breakfast somewhere anyway.

            So now we move on to the Moore Haven Lock, and again drive through another sea of water hyacinths.  We get in the lock right away with no waiting, and the lock only goes up about 3’, and out we go again with no trouble at all, and we are now in the rim route of Lake Okeechobee. 

Tending the lines in the lock

The Moore Haven Lock opening

  It’s 9:00 a.m., and we seem to be making good time already.  The water is totally calm in here, but again, the landscape looks prehistoric. 

View along the rim route of the lake

  It is 13 miles to Clewiston where we turn left and head out into the Lake.  The temperature is getting chillier and the wind is picking up, and the sky is steel gray – we take turns driving and putting on warmer clothes and a jacket.  Once in the Lake, I don’t know what’s happened to our nice weather, but the waves are about 3’ and it’s cold – the boat is getting a real wash down, and the spray from the waves is actually hitting the flybridge.  I started singing the lyrics to The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, but Bob just frowned at me, so I shut up.  I was glad I had retrieved some crackers when I went down below to get warmer clothes because that was going to be lunch!  I was getting concerned about what we would do when we got across and had to get into the Port Mayaca Lock, as the Waterway Guide indicated that it could be rough for eastbound boats to tie up in the lock, but lo and behold! once we got most of the way across, the skies cleared up, it got sunny again, and the water became nice and calm, and the best yet – the lock was open, and when I called the lock tender on the radio, he said just come right on through!! 

            We are back again in the St. Lucie Canal, and pretty soon we are ditching jackets, and I can go down and make lunch.

In the St. Lucie Canal

            We had a flock of seagulls follow us all the way across the Lake, chirping and chatting with each other the whole way in our slip stream, but as soon as we got to the lock, they flew off and left us.

            So now the cat does another strange thing.  As I have previously stated, she never comes out from under the covers of the bed until we tie up in the evening and turn off the engines.  But of all the strange things, when I went down to fix lunch, she came out, and meowed for her lunch.  Now this is really bizarre because the engine noise is really loud in the forward head where she eats, but it didn’t seem to bother her at all this afternoon.  I really can’t figure her out.  I would love to know what she is thinking, and what kitty cat memories she is storing in her little prehistoric brain, and wonder if she can retrieve them and think about her adventures.  She has been very friendly today, so maybe she is trying to apologize for her little “accident” yesterday. 

            The weather in the St. Lucie Canal is back to summertime again – clear blue skies and warm.  We open all the curtains on the flybridge and have lunch as we drive down the canal toward Indiantown Marina.  At one point, Bob says, “Look – there’s an alligator!”  But when I go for my camera, he changes his mind, and says it was just a duck.   Well, sure – ducks, alligators – they look alike don’t they?  (I know he didn’t sleep any better than I did last night!)

One of the birds "showing off"

            We go through the Indiantown Railway Bridge with no trouble, but guess what – they have a traffic light that is clearly visible.  What genius!  Why don’t they all come with a traffic light?   We got to the marina and were tied up by 2:30 p.m. – a perfect time.  The engines are off, and the cat is happy.  We plan to spend tomorrow here and then tackle the St. Lucie Lock (the last one until we get back to Virginia!!) and the Indian Street Bridge, which has closed the waterway from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. every day until March 8 due to construction.

            It’s a beautiful evening right now, and I think we deserve that glass of cold wine after today!

           

Wednesday, February 27, 2013 – Ft. Myers to Moore Haven (58 miles):

            Yesterday afternoon, after I had gone to take a shower, and then Bob had gone to take a shower, and we were both back on the boat, and I was getting ready to make a salad for dinner I heard this frantic plaintiff meowing.  I started looking around for the cat (I knew she wasn’t readily apparent as I could tell by her meowing that she was in a closet or something), and I thought that since we had gone to take showers she had managed to get inside the head or a closet when we were getting our clothes and shower stuff.  But I couldn’t find her anywhere.  I finally looked outside and there she was – meowing at the door to come in.  I guess she had gone out one door when we were leaving, and walked around to the other door.  By that time we had closed both doors, and she couldn’t get back inside the boat!  Once back inside – everything was fine again!

            We had a long day ahead of us today, so we got up early and were ready to leave Ft. Myers at 8:15 a.m.  The water was perfectly calm, it was warm and there was hardly any wind.  I was hoping it would stay that way all day and tomorrow also. 

            As we left Ft. Myers behind us, Bob caught sight of a manatee “circle”.  That’s the look of the water as they swim.  They leave this big, flat circle looking spot.  Bob swore he could actually see the manatee, but upon further intensive questioning, he said he only maybe saw it!   I didn’t see it at all!

Leaving Ft. Myers

            However, other wildlife sightings included another alligator swimming by us, a huge turtle, several cows, horses, and sheep – but – no dolphins.  As we passed by the giant power plant that is just past Ft. Myers, we looked for manatees (as they apparently like to congregate around this area for the warm water the plant discharges), but we still didn’t see any.

A manatee circle

Horses on the shoreline

            We have mostly a straight, well-marked channel on our way to the Franklin Lock at Mile 121 on the Okeechobee Waterway.  Just before the lock, we have to go through the Beautiful Island Railway Bridge, which is always open unless there is a train due.  Personally, I think this is cause for concern as I always wonder when will they let you know a train is due to arrive, and what happens if you are approaching the bridge with no time to stop or turn around as the bridge comes down.  So far that has never happened, but there’s always the first time!  We have another boat for company in the Franklin Lock, but we only have to go up a couple of feet.   One thing I have now learned about locks – you can’t have out too many fenders!  We got in and out of the lock without any waiting and on our way again in no time.

            There are two bridges that we have to go under that the clearance is questionable.  Both bridge tenders told us they had a clearance of 25 feet (we need 23 feet), so I closed my eyes and held my breath, but we made it under both of them without any trouble.

            Except for a few small fishing boats and a couple of “fast” boats going as fast as they possibly could, we were completely alone as we made for Moore Haven.  As I probably wrote in a past “blog”, there is hardly any development on the Caloosahatchee Waterway and Canal, and the shoreline on either side is mostly scrubby landscape – not terribly exciting.  The weather is starting to deteriorate – the sky is turning dark and the temperature is dropping.  We both put on jackets.  Our plan is to tie up at the Moore Haven City Dock, and it is on a first come, first served basis.  I decide it would be a good idea to call them and see how many boats were already there.  If we don’t get a spot there, I’m not sure what our other choices for the night will be!   The lady at the City Hall says there are two boats tied up already, and we have about an hour to go.  As we finally approach the dock at 3:00 p.m., we breathe a sigh of relief as there is plenty of room for us to tie up, and just as we get tied up, it starts to pour rain!  The Moore Haven City Hall is very small and right on the water where the dock is, so we checked in and then settled down for the night. 

Shoreline along the Caloosahatchee Waterway

Moore Haven City Hall

            Tomorrow we had planned to cross Lake Okeechobee, but Bob says if it is raining we are staying right here.  However, the forecast is for only 20% chance of rain – here’s hoping the Lake is not in the 20%!

            As we travel back and follow the course where we’ve been, I still follow the Waterway Guide, but it’s weird reading it backwards!

             

            

Tuesday, February 26, 2013 – Ft. Myers:

            I know everyone who reads this “blog” is probably sick and tired of me extolling the wonderful qualities of Publix, but Bob and I went to a Publix in Cape Coral this morning that outdid them all!  I probably should have taken pictures of all the Publix grocery stores we have visited!  I never in all my life saw a grocery store this humongous.  It put all other grocery stores to shame!  We only went in for a dozen eggs that I realized I needed and hadn’t gotten yesterday, and, besides, the cat asked me to get her some more dry cat food, but we walked around agog!  It was also the cleanest, brightest store I have ever seen, but there were hardly any people in it.  I’m not sure who they catered to, but it didn’t seem to me that the area would have supported a grocery store like that one!  And we found it by accident!

            The weather this morning was sunny, but the wind is picking up, and we had to find a Verizon store to get Bob’s phone fixed again, and return the car by 11:00 a.m.  So after breakfast, we found a Verizon store in Cape Coral and hopped in the car and headed over that way.  We have heard it is supposed to be a very nice area, but we only hit the main drag, and saw mostly “strip” malls.  Unfortunately, when we got to the Verizon store, it had moved!  So Bob pulled up the handy GPS app on his phone, and we found the next nearest one (which could have been the one that moved) and headed in that direction.  We got to the store, and they showed Bob how to fix the problem he seems to keep having with our e-mail account when he gets the e-mail on the phone, and that’s when we discovered the “Gucci” Publix next door. 

            Well, enough of grocery stores – actually, I think we will have withdrawal when we finally get home to Maryland, because those stores just won’t “cut it.”  Once Bob realizes he isn’t going to get those “bear claw” pastries, he may consider moving down here!

            We turned in the car and got a ride back to the marina.  The weather is starting to go downhill, and the wind is really blowing and gusting.  The sky is turning dark and cloudy, and we may be in for a storm.  We have some boat chores - I washed two more loads of clothes, Bob did the “pump-out” thing, we put water in the tanks, Bob checked the fuel and the engine room, and now we can spend the rest of the afternoon doing whatever we want.  We are tied up next to the face dock, and the boat is rocking around.  I am glad we are not out on the water.  We are still planning on leaving tomorrow, and I think the latest word is that the wind will die down.  We will be on the Okeechobee Waterway, so hopefully, the weather won’t bother us too bad. 

            Well, it has started to pour like mad.  I don’t think anything exciting is going to occur for the rest of the day, so I am going to sign off for today.  Bob says if it is like this tomorrow, we are not going anywhere!

Stormy skies over Ft. Myers

 

Monday, February 25, 2013 – Ft. Myers:

            The cat decided that we needed to get up a little earlier this morning, but we had a lot to do, so we got up to find beautiful sunshine streaming into the boat.  Then after a light breakfast I decided to try and beat the crush for the washing machines and do some laundry.  Surprisingly, I had all the machines to myself and never saw another soul in the Laundromat.

            The water was dead calm, and I remarked to the dock manager that I wished it was like that all the time, and he said that it was always calm in the summer, and that the tide was always high, and you could take your boat almost anywhere.  I asked him if the temperature wasn’t awful, and he replied that he didn’t think so.  I guess it’s not that much worse than in Maryland.  I wonder if he was telling me the whole truth and nothing but the truth?

            After I finished the laundry, it was almost 11:00 and time to call Enterprise and get the car.  We were given a fire engine red Kia Forte – well, at least it’s easy to spot in a parking lot. 

            Bob was looking around on the internet for a spot for lunch, and he discovered this little place relatively close to the marina called The Wisteria Tea Room, and lunch was lovely and delicious.  It was in a typical little Florida 1900’s bungalow that the owner and her husband purchased and fixed up a year ago.  It was painted in bright pastel colors, and there were white tablecloths on the tables.  They served any kind of tea you could think of, and had a delicious little menu.  There was a gift shop with all kinds of interesting little “notions” you could purchase to make your meal even more memorable.

            After lunch we had plans to tour the Edison and Ford Winter Estates, which was just a short drive away.  This was a great tour, and we didn’t have enough time to do all the exhibits justice.  Thomas Edison purchased his property in 1885, and built Seminole Lodge in 1886-87.  There was a guesthouse and a caretaker’s house on the property in addition to gardens and his botanical research laboratory.  In 1914 Thomas Edison invited Henry Ford for a visit, and in 1916 Ford purchased the property and home next to Seminole Lodge.  In 1947 Edison’s wife, Mina deeded the Edison estate to the city, and in 1988 the city acquired the Ford estate.  We spent about two hours poking around and finally decided we had put off grocery shopping long enough, and left houses and gardens for Publix.

Thomas Edison's house

Henry Ford's house

            Back at the boat around 5:00 p.m., we called it quits for the day.  The cat was certainly happy as we brought two cases of cat food back, and she seems to have returned to completely normal – here’s hoping there are no more psychotic cat episodes!  We decided to have an easy dinner and bought a rotisserie chicken for ourselves.  Here’s hoping we won’t have to go to the grocery story for a while now.

            Tomorrow Bob wants to find a Verizon store as his phone still insists of having a mind of its own, then who knows where we’ll go or what we’ll wind up doing on our last day in Ft. Myers.  I think I have some more laundry to tackle, though.

Part of a garden at the Edison House

Fig tree with these fantastic roots

Moonlight Garden