Tuesday, March 5, 2013 – Ft. Pierce (Mile 966):

            Poor little kitty had a hairball in the middle of the night, but due to our diligence in covering every square inch of the inside of the boat with towels and washable bedspreads before we go to bed every night, “clean-up” was easy!  Somehow, the sound of a cat hacking up a hairball wakes you up instantly and therefore “damage control” can be handled right away!

            That kind of woke us up for awhile, but we did go back to sleep and woke up again around 7:30 a.m.  This time it was to the sound of the boat next door getting ready to be hauled out of the water.  Well, it was finally time to get up anyway and stay up. 

            We were scheduled to go to the Ft. Pierce City Marina today.   When Bob called to make our reservation, the marina office requested that we call them on the phone before we got there because the channel into the marina was being dredged, and they were unsure of what time this would start.  They advised us to get there before 1:00 p.m., so after breakfast, we got ready to leave, and we left the dock at Whiticar by 8:30 a.m.

Strange looking boat covered with solar panels

            We left the St. Lucie River and turned left back into the Indian River heading north.  The weather was beautiful, there was practically no wind, and the water was almost flat calm.  It is still a little cool, but the temperature is starting to warm up again.  There wasn’t too much boat traffic – we passed a couple of barges, and there were a few sport fishermen on the water, but no problems of any kind.  We are back into condo-land on the ocean side, but the shoreline is still pretty nice.

            The dolphins caught up with us again and played and splashed in our wake for quite a long way.  I really don’t know how they swim so fast – we were going almost 9 knots, and they kept right up with us, having jumping contests.  I think they could have flown past us if they wanted to!

...and more dolphins!

            We finally got close to Ft. Pierce, and I called the marina.  They informed us that there would be no dredging of the channel today, and to come right on in.  As we got closer, we realized that there used to be two channels into the marina, but one of them had shoaled in, and was no longer on the chart.  It was really hard to see the correct marked channel until you got right up on it, and it was really narrow, but once you got in the “basin” there was plenty of water.  We found our slip right away, and got tied up with the help of the dock manager who also gave us some suggestions for lunch and dinner.

            It was close to lunch time, and we decided to go check in at the office and then check out the options for lunch on land.  The office, which had a very nice gift shop, was right next to the “Tiki Bar Restaurant”, and we decided to have lunch there.  It was just ok – I had a Caesar Salad, if you can call lettuce and croutons dressed with Thousand Island Dressing a Caesar Salad.  I guess they think if they dump enough grated parmesan cheese on it, it’s a Caesar.  Bob had a chicken salad sandwich, which he said was just ok.  In all honesty, the dock manager did tell us that the Tiki Bar Restaurant was really good for cocktails, but to eat at the Cobb’s Landing Restaurant. 

            Fort Pierce is one of the oldest communities on the east coast of Florida. The city has a rich history, and is also known as “The Sunrise City.” Fort Pierce is the county seat of St. Lucie County, an area well known for the Spanish explorers who came here and whose Spanish galleons with their treasures sunk off the coast of St. Lucie in the 17th and 18th centuries.  Ft. Pierce is a well known spot for manatee sightings and is also home to the Manatee Observation & Education Center.   Speaking of manatee sightings, after lunch, Bob and I were strolling back along the dock and noticed that there were several people looking at something in the water.  We went to see what they were looking at, and there were OVER 20 MANATEES lounging in the water among the boats!  So my desire for manatee sightings has been fulfilled!  We hurried back to the boat for the camera and took entirely too many pictures of these strange brown lumpy objects in the water, and that’s exactly what they look like – some even have barnacles growing on them.  They didn’t seem to be doing anything except floating around.  Once in a while one would stick its nose up out of the water and take a breath, and one might lazily wave its tail in the air for a second, but then they would go right back to being a strange brown lumpy object in the water.  But – I am so glad I got to see them!

Manatee - a strange looking creature

Giving us the "eye"

            After that activity, we decided to walk downtown and see what was there.  It is a very nice walkable town, but unfortunately, there were several stores closed and empty.  They do have a great theater, and their attractions looked great, and I could spend more than just one night here.  We did find a lovely little bakery, where we bought some cookies and, yes, some pastry for breakfast, and after that we strolled back to the boat.  On our way we did make dinner reservations at the Cobb’s Landing Restaurant, and I’ll let you know how that turns out later!