Lorenzo & Delois Johnson

We arrived in Ft. Pierce on Wednesday, after a very windy travel day.  It was a short day, only 25 miles, but very challenging.  We had high winds and lots of shoaling in the narrow channels.  Docking was also a challenge; very close quarters and a 30 knot wind on the beam.  Lil’ David has won another round against the elements!!!

We had planned to stay only two days at this maroina, but we liked it so much we decided to stay until Monday.  On Saturadays, the Farmers Market is located in the park adjacent to the Marina.  It is the biggest and best farmers market I have ever seen.  By 0700, vendors are selling breakfast, cooked on the spot, and coffe.  The food was very good, and the prices were very competetive.  The offerings were very impressive;  lots and lots of local vegetables, citrus products, and potted plants.  A large arts and crafts section had lots to offer.  The park overlooks a beautiful bay leading to the Intercoastal Waterway, so it was a very beautiful setting.  We really enjoyed the farmers market, and it was by far the best I have ever seen.

Every evening, there seems to be some form of entertainment in the  close by downtown area.  Thursday night, there was a motorcycle display.  Friday night, there was a great antique car display.  This has been a great place to spend some time, and we are making the most of it.

We are in Stuart, Fl. ready to join the Atlantic ICW.  This is the waterway that will take us home.

We  spent Monday night in Moore Haven, Fl.  We had a short travel day (15 miles) and really enjoyed ourselves in Moore Haven.  We walked to the grocery store pulling our grocery cart behind us, and went grocery shopping.  We did not break any local laws; we stopped at every ice cream shop that we passed. 

The highlight of the day was the water cannon fight between Bill and Bob.  They showed their age and had a ball on the childrens play ground in the city recreation area. 

Today was a good and very memorable day.  We left Moore Haven early, and had a good crossing of Lake Okeecheebe.  The lake level is low, around 61/2 feet, and we wanted to complete the crossing before the evening winds arrived.  We had 10-15 in the morning, with a prediction of  20-30 in the afternoion.  Our 5′ draft made this crossing very interesting, but it was uneventful.  If the wave heights had increased to more than 18″ we would have been in trouble. 

 We were disappointed in the small number of alligators that we saw, but we did spot a few.

We passed through our last lock today when we transited the St. Lucie lock on the St. Lucie canal.  This was lock #145 for this trip.  We are glad to have completed all of our locks, but saddened by the reality that this means the trip is almost over.

Tonight, we are tied to a mooring ball in the St. Lucie river.  This is a very scenic and peaceful location.  Every evening should be this good. Tomorrow, we will  go back to Ft. Myers and move our automobile to a new location, probably to some point 50 to 100 miles ahead.  This has given us the oportunity to see a lot more of Florida than we would have seen by boat only. 

We are on the move again.  We left Ft. Myers this morning, and we are spending the night tied to pilings at the Ortona Lock.   We really enjoyed our stay in Ft. Myers, but it is time to move on.  It was really nice to hear Portia and Starrie singing their sweet tunes.

We had a real good week.  On Thursday, 3-19, there was a memorial for the Florida soldiers lost in the Iraq war.  Their boots were displayed in the park in orderly rows.  It was a touching memorial marking the sixth anniversary of the Iraq war.  I have a son who is presently serving in Iraq, so this memorial was especially meaningful to me.

On Friday, we visited the Thomas Edison, Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone Estates.  These three great men were close friends, and owned adjoining winter homes in Ft. Myers.  Their combined estates are now a very popular tourist attraction.  It was one of the most interesting exhibits I have ever seen.

One of the most interesting plants on the property is the Banyan tree. This tree is native to India.  The single tree covers almost one acre in area.  The tree grows air roots which grow to the ground, and mature into large supports for the branches.  Some branches are supported by air roots growing to and attatching to other branches.  It is really a truly amazing tree.  The largest banyan tree in the world is in India and covers over 16 acres.

The Okeechobee Water way passes through rual Florida connecting the Gulf coast waters to the East coast waters at Stuart Florida.  The route crosses Lake Okeechoeebe, the second largest fresh water lake in the Continental US, second to Lake Michigan.  The route travels through flat farm land and cattle ranches.  The primary crops are citrus fruits and sugar cane.  Florida is a large producer of beef, and there are lots of large cattle ranches along the Okeebechee Waterway.

We are taking our time, and traveling only 4 to 6 hours /day.  This gives adequate time for sightseeing in the towns we past through.

We have had a good week.  We spent a few days catching  up with our routine maintenance and cleaning, including doing some bright work.  The weather here is quite hot, in the 90’s, with a lot of humidity.  We moved the boat to a diffetrent slip in the marina, to take advantage of the shade from a nearby highrise building.   We have to keep the A/C running 24/7.

Sunday morning, We went for a long drive.  We drove to and toured the towns we will be traveling through on our way to the Intercoastal Cooastal Waterway, at Stuart, Fl.  It was quite nice to be able to see the marinas and towns we will be stopping in as we make our way North. 

We continued to travel toward Orlando, Fl. in order to watch the Shuttle launch at 7:43 PM.  We stopped and had ice cream, and found a good vantage point by walking to the top of a bridge.  We were joined by lots of other shuttle watchers.

The shuttle launch was quite a SIGHT TO BEHOLD.  It was mind boggling to see the power that was being expended to accelarate this vehicle into space.  We felt as we were participating in a historical event, and we were truly humbled to have had this experience.    

We will leave Ft. Myers on Sunday, and start our travels toward the North.

We are back home again.  This week , we travelled by car to the Florida Panhandle.  We went to  Pensacola, Fl. some 600 miles from Ft. Myers.  It was a very good trip, and we really had a good time.

We were guests of Joe and Rae Marie Schmidt.  We really enjoyed their company and their hospitality.  It seems as if we had known them forever.  There was lots of laughter, good food, and absolutely great companionship.  Rae Marie is Bill’s Sister, and it is really obvious that they both came from a great family.

Thank You, Joe and Rae Marie for the really enjoyable time we spent with You.

We visited the National Naval Air Museum.  It was a great place to visit, and made me really proud of the years I spent in the Navy.  The museum is staffed primarily by volunteers, and often they are the people who flew these planes many Years ago.  They had great Sea Stories to tell as part of their tour guiding duties.  The restoration and maintenance work is also performed by volunteers, mostly retired military.

Pensacola is home to the Navy’s stunt flying team, the Blue Angels.  They are very popular among the local residents, and we regretted that we would not be able to watch one of their practice sessions.

I have enjoyed our stay in the Ft Myers area, but I am ready to hear Starrie and Portia playing their tunes.  We have approximately two more weeks here before we move on.  We have lots of other places we are planning to visit before leaving this area.

We are going to stop in Titusville, FL. for a week to visit Disney World.  It will be strange to be in Disney World and not having any children to watch and worry over.

We had a really good week.  On Wednesday, We drove down to the Fl. Keys to sightsee and visit with friends.  We stopped at Key Largo to visit with Dave, Bill and Kathy on Cats Cradle.  We took the backroads through the Everglades, and counted more than 100 alligators sunning alongside the highy in a 30 mile stretch.  We really enjoyed the drive through the everglades.  We stopped at one State Park, and the wild alligators were plentiful.

We drove to Key West on Thursday, and really enjoyed visiting this City.  The trip down was incredible; Often the Gulf of Mexico was visible on one side and the Atlantic Ocean was visible on the other side.  We played tourist, and went to lots of the attractions.  Really enjoyed ourselves.

We are now back at the boat in Ft. Myers.  We are going to relax and take it easy, while trying to get in some needed boat chores.  The exterior needs a good cleaning to remove the acumulated salt, and the moist air is not helping matters any.