From the West Coast to the East Coast

Honey Bees 

If you look at a map of Florida you'll see Lake Okechobee in the southern part of Florida in the middle of the state.  The 2nd largest freshwater lake in the US.  The Okechobee Waterway, a series of natural and man-made rivers/canals connect the west coast of Florida to Lake Okechobee to the east coast of Florida.  Upon this waterway is where we have spent the last week.  Most of waterway is lined with some of Florida's agricultural products:  oranges, sugar, and honey.  And there are a series of locks on the canal that ascend or descend (depending on your direction) from 1 to 15 feet.

A lock along the Okechobee Waterway.

The locks on the Okechobee raise and lower the water in the chamber by simply opening the door a crack to let water in or out to the proper height.

Orange groves along the Okechobee Waterway.

Sugar Cane fields along the Okechobee Waterway.

Town dock at LaBelle, FL.

La Belle town docks.

 We stop for the night at LaBelle town docks.  The library is right across the street, groceries and the laundromat within a block.  As you can see, people travel and live in a variety of sizes and types of boats, ours being a bit smaller than our neighbor to port.

 

While tied to the town dock fellow Albin owners spotted us.  We were invited to join them farther east on the Okechobee.  Here are 4 Albins in Turkey Creek.

4 Albins on Turkey Creek on the Okechobee Waterway.

The Okechobee Waterway ends in Stuart, FL.  We anchor in our favorite 4 foot deep bay in Palm City and have the whole bay to ourselves (except for the pile drivers who are constructing a new bridge connecting Palm City and Stuart at the end of the bay).  We enjoy the sunshine and watching the small fish jump out of the water.  Our friend Dale, who lives nearby, comes out to visit and have dinner before we continue up the river to Manatee Pocket.  More old friends, Arno and his daughter Bene, live on their boats here in Port Salerno.  Bene has been in Dominica studying to be a doctor so we have not seen her in a while. 

Bene shares her homemade juice made from cactus.

More Pictures

Pizza for dinner tonight made in the dutch oven on the stove top (no oven on board).  Yum!

And our Christmas present cookie monster t-shirts on North Captiva.

1/15/12

Haven't had a chance for internet in some time so here are a few pictures of our travels to bring you up to date. 
We anchored in Palma Sola Bay for New Years a few blocks away from Mrs. Church, Jerry's buddy Bob Church's Mom. 
(For our sailor friends - don't try this anchorage....as a matter of fact all of the anchorages we've been to aren't recommended for sailboats- not enough water!) 
With Mrs. Church, her daughter and son-in-law Wendy and Tom with their kids Clayton and Caleb we visited Longboat Key and Lido Key via bus.  Jerry, Mrs. Church, Wendy and Tom reminisced of times spent together in Bradenton and Anna Maria Island years ago.

Then, Jerry, Mrs. Church and I spent a couple of days together working on projects around her house.  Dishwashers, fans, lights, switches.....small projects interspersed with meals together at Mrs. Church's dining room table.  Mrs. Church would drop us off at the public beach in the evenings where we'd dinghy back to the boat.  We had a brisk night or two with the cold front - especially having to take off sock and shoes, roll up pant legs and wade through the shallows to launch the dinghy!  Thanks to Mrs. Church we have added another bike to our pile on the aft cabin.
When we left the anchorage we were surrounded by dolphin jumping, diving, swimming next to us and then THUD!  We've never had a dolphin miscalculate before but it definitely bonked the boat and probably ended up with some blue bottom paint too.
We meandered south on the ICW to Venice and then on the Gulf of Mexico from Venice to Gasparilla Pass where we followed a local fishermen's directions to come in the pass with no buoys marking the way through the shallows.  After a quiet night anchored along Gasparilla Island we found our friend's Mike and Liz's house in Port Charlotte.

We tied up and made ourselves at home.  Jerry and Mike spent some time working on the yard sprinkler system.
The International Disabled Sailors were having their championship races in Charlotte Harbor and we went to watch.

Mouse at the races taken from Mike & Liz's friend Sue's boat.

Canada pulls ahead of USA & Finland.

Liz at the races.

Germany

Mike and Liz took us to a park where they have a bird sanctuary.  Injured birds are tended to and on display.

Mike and Liz check out the birds on display.

Feeding the birds.

Outside the bird sanctuary we walked along the shore.  A man was standing in water up to his chest with waders on fishing.  Then I spotted this.........

Shark!

The fin was making a direct line toward the guy who decided it best to not take any chances and get out of the water.
On one day Mike and Liz took us to Punta Gorda and another to Siesta Key - rated #1 beach in the US.

Mike, Liz and Karen on Siesta Beach

The sand was as white and fine as talcum powder.  We took off our shoes and enjoyed the long walk up and down the beach.
After thanking Mike and Liz for everything we were on our way to Cayo Costa - an island along the Gulf that is a state park.  Jerry found a tidal pool along a sand bar with plenty of depth and just enough room to anchor.  Our neighbors: pelican, crane, osprey, and dolphin.  The dolphin came in to feed when the tide changed.  We'd hear splashes and go out and look alongside to see the feeding.  One dolphin entertained us by tossing its catch a few times before eating it.

Mouse anchored at Cayo Costa.

Lots of trails and beaches to explore here. 

A chilly  breeze as we walk the beach at Cayo Costa.

An osprey in a nesting area on Cayo Costa.

Wild Boar running from the trail (Jerry was talking about how he could spear dinner.)

Boca Grande lighthouse taken from Cayo Costa across the Boca Grande Inlet.

After spending a few days at Cayo Costa we made a 6 mile trip south the North Captiva Island.  More walking the beach..........

North Captiva Island looking south.

We meet a tortoise along the trail on the island.

Next stop  is Captiva Island then Sanibel Island and slowly to Fort Myers where we'll head for Lake Okechobee. 
Hope all is well with you..........send news to me at the e-mail address.   Would love to hear from you!