1/21/16   Thursday   Ft. Myers

At last! We've crossed FL, through the St Lucie Canal and Lake Okeechobee and the Okeechobee  Waterway and the Caloosahatchee (say that word, it tickles your tongue) River, 3 locks and numerous bridges that opened "on request" and... here we are in Ft. Myers! This, too, has been a long journey.

Today we did about 50 miles which doesn't sound like much but at 8 knots it took a while. We finally got the anchor up around 8:00 this morning. Anchor had buried itself very securely in what looked like limestone mud. Aah, security. Morning was beautiful. Sunrise was nearly as beautiful as last night's sunset. But we were on a mission to get to Ft Myers before nightfall so who had time for photos?

I did a sewing project (by hand!) while David took the helm early. Later in the day I took over while he took a turn at stripping......varnish. The locks continue to fascinate me. Here in FL, unlike VA experience, the locks have lines/ropes hanging down into them every 4-6 feet. So, the lock provides the dock lines that we secure to the boat to keep it in place as the water fills or discharges. Seems to me a better and more efficient system. Curious, too, though appreciated, that the locks are also "on request" from about 6 AM - 5 PM rather than at specific, scheduled times.

Our travel was mostly through a wide channel throughout the day but the terrain and vegetation kept changing.

These photos don't do justice to the color and texture and beauty of this landscape

...but here they are

For a while the banks would be pasture land with palm trees (odd in itself), then there would be large tracts of open, cultivated or fallow land with fences and drainage ditches, and, finally, an orange grove. There were stretches of open land contrasted with 1950's grid developments (like my grandparents bought into and which I really sort of like), or single, beautifully manicured mac-mansions...or more modest but more contemporary than 1950's houses on short canals with boats tucked alongside the houses. Beautiful fantasy-provoking tour of FL canal living.

Ft Myers is busy (and shallow) water with lots of bridges, and traffic. Our mooring is a bit away from the marina and it is supposed to rain relentlessly for the next two days. Sheldon met us around 4 PM. He and David did grocery shopping while I paid on-line bills and caught up with Freeport Players biz. We all brought Grace out to the mooring, had dinner and made play and travel plans for the next several days.

Hoping the rain holds off until we get the extra mooring lines on in the morning (in case of high winds) and get into shore for a driving tour of Ft. Myers. Seems we won't make the planned/hoped for trip to Sarasota, given weather. Maybe Murray will come visit us here...or not.

Full lives.