Friends come for a visit

In my last blog post I promised photos of the Lakeport Community Sour Orange Festival. Following are some that I took of the event. It was perfect weather and the turnout was pretty good I think, because the large parking lot was full. More and more cars were pulling up for the event that now had to park along the street and that is where I ended up.

lots of concession stands

A whole room full of quilts from local artists

Patricia Rich will crochet you any animal of your choice and ship to you
Custom Crochet Stuffed Items 561-693-7576

here you could bid on the large tractor sitting out front

There was a $2 entrance fee and raffle tickets were also sold at the table that was manned by folks from our RV park. They recognized me instantly as the two cute dachshunds mom. Since I never got a phone call later congratulating me for winning the jack pot, I presume I didn’t win anything on the raffle, but all contributions went for a good cause.

The following week it started to cool off considerably. It’s not Florida like weather for sure, but it will warm up soon to more seasonable temps. At least we don’t get snow down here like in Northern Florida, but the rain is coming down and keeping everyone indoors. 

Scott and Heather in our RV

Yesterday we had visitors! During our cruising years we made several friends for life. One of those are Heather and Scott from formerly "Scott Free." Yes, it has been quite some time since we last saw them and we think it was perhaps in the Saintes just south of Guadeloupe that we both shared an anchorage although we travelled to many of the same places like Bahamas or Panama, but not always at the same time. Click this link to read about my blog entry from 2010. Heather and Scott live now in Vermont and are also RVing part of the year. They had been visiting friends at Ft. Pierce and were on their way to Naples. Just two days prior they had met up with mutual cruising friends Linda and Ed, formerly “Dreamtime” in Jacksonville, Fl. So when they learned where we were, they came for a short visit.  It was lovely to see them again and hear of their traveling plans. The weather kept us indoors our RV and I improvised a sit-down lunch for us all. 

Heather in The Saintes

It looks like we have to endure another week of unseasonal temps and in preparation for it we went to get a propane bottle filled today so we can stay toasty warm.

That bottle of propane should last us for a while

Thanks for dropping in again and stay warm y’all!

Fisheating Creek

From our RV park it is about a 10 minute drive to the Banana Grove Road off Hwy 78 that leads to the Fisheating Creek Wildlife Management Area. After another day in Bradenton last week, we were ready for some leg stretching exercise and that is where we went yesterday. 

From the highway turnoff a sand road leads to the main parking area and FWC (Florida Wildlife Conservation) office. There are pavilions for picnics, and an observation stand overlooking the Fisheating Creek. At the interpretive kiosks are pamphlets of the Fort Center Trail Map and Recreation Guides.

Our dogs were excited to come along with us on the interpretive tail, sniffing and running enjoying themselves. Their pace slowed down a bit the further we went, as did ours. Now I knew it was a 4.5 mile trail and we had best intentions, even resting at several kiosks, reading up the legends on the boards, we gave up two thirds of the trail and turned around. Next time we will bring some water with us.

Of course our eyes were on the lookout for some wildlife. In the distance at the creek we saw ibis, egrets and herons and a hawk up in the trees. However this time there were no other creatures except for a lone cow lazily observing us and the dogs.  

Back at the start of the trail we were rewarded with a photo opportunity of a suntanning alligator and while I stood there taking his photo, I got bit by a nasty bunch of ants crawling onto my feet and legs as I stood amid their nest. Boy did I jump! It was more than an unpleasant experience, I can still feel the itch, just thinking about  it!

The brochure said to give the alligators some respect
so I think no petting is recommended

There is more to the Fisheating Creek. Another entrance to the recreational area is from Palmdale which also has a boat ramp. From there you could paddle downstream to Fort Center or to the channel to Lake Okeechobee, upstream are more campgrounds. There is also a campground and lots of opportunities for hiking. I am sure we will explore more of the area in the coming weeks.

Today I went to the Lakeport Community Sour Orange Festival, but that is for another blog post, so stay tuned.

Thanks for dropping in again!

Success

After a day of driving around and visiting, followed by a couple of days staying put has become the norm for us or so it looks like. The weather has something to do with it also. Today we have a forecast of 28C/82F and at 11 a.m. it already feels too hot and I have no desire to drive or go anywhere.

In my last blog entry I said let’s see where we will go next. Benno had a list of propeller distributors in the area that we footslogged. One told us that they only manufactured ones for mega yachts, another would ship them in from Michigan, just across the border from us. And then all the quoted prices were hard to swallow. In the end we went back to the Marine Connection where we took home the Nibral propeller we had looked at a few days ago. Nibral metal cost almost double than that of a Bronze propeller and is stronger. Being in the store I spotted something else very interesting in a shelf. On our previous boat we used inflatable fenders that we really liked as they did not take up much room when not being used and packed away. I spotted those in neat carryon bags of different sizes and colours complete with a compact air pump included in the shelves for a fraction of the price other Marine stores carry them. They too came home with us. 

On our way back we made a quick stop at the India

ntown Marina, located on the St. Lucie Canal of the Okeechobee waterway, to have a look. Our friend Richard, who had visited us at home back in August has his boat there in the yard and he was busy working on it, as it will be upcoming for sale. We said hi also to his son and daughter-in-law who had come down from Canada for a week to give him a hand. We’ll be back for more visiting soon. Of course while chatting we forgot to take photos, but I’ll rectify that next time.

Indiantown Marina from Google Maps

So our next outing, except for a grocery run, should provide more fun and things so see around here. Sorry I’m short on photos today but I’ll try to remember to take some next time.

I'm so glad you are sticking with my blog and please drop in again. 

Not what we had hoped for

Well, the cooler weather has also crept into southern Florida for a few days. It’s cooler now but not cold by Canadian standards so instead of hanging around the RV we might as well sit in our heated truck and go somewhere. This time Benno wanted to check out Don’s Marine Salvage in Clearwater and that is what we did yesterday. Yes, another boating related outing!

Dan's Internet/Facebook ad

We took a route diagonally through Florida. Just a mile or so from our park we turned into the Brighton Reservation area where they also operate the Seminole Casino. From there we merged into the highway 70 that spans all the way across Florida to the Tampa Bay. It was a long way but pleasantly to drive with not much traffic at all. We stopped at a rest area just before the Toll station on the toll road part of I-275 toward the Sunshine Skyway Bridge which spans over the lower Tampa Bay and connects from Bradenton to St. Petersburg, so I could take a photo. 

Just a quick photo of the casino. I heard they have good food!

The bridge is quite impressive and it was our first time driving cross it. The toll was $1.75 one way. It was easy to find Don’s Marine Surplus yard although we had it programmed into our GPS. 

A view of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge

The view to the other side from the parking lot

driving over the bridge on our return trip

A view from where we came from

As per Don’s Facebook and Internet advertisement the place consists of 17 acres of marine surplus, including boats. Benno had a few items on his list he hoped to find. Enthusiastically he went on his hunt. I took care of our dogs and gave them their deserved walk after their naps and truck ride. A while later I too went into the yard to find Benno and see for myself. 

This is the entrance to the store and yard

Lots of propellers but mostly for outboards

In the yard

Good luck looking for a decent mast and boom

This place might be a treasure trove for some, but soon we realized that this outfit was more a scrapyard  and did not have anything we were looking for or wanted.  However, we eyed a lot of stuff and wondered who would take the time to sort through merchandise that appeared to have been carelessly deposited in heaps. Benno said, “sh.t,” a waste of gasoline!

The goats are to the left of Don's entrance

Chickens, geese, sheep and goats all greet the customers

Overall, we had a great day. I was surely impressed with the Tampa Bay area and can imagine that during warmer days the beaches will be hopping with tourists. The drive home felt shorter, although it wasn’t. Let’s see where we will go to next. Stay tuned.

Thanks for your visit.

A trip to Fort Pierce!

Yesterday looked like a nice day to visit Fort Pierce to us so we took the dogs and headed out. I’m sure there is lots to see in this town, but we only managed to visit a few locations that were on our list. There is always another time, right. 

First on the list was "The Marine Connection Liquidators"it is a huge place selling surplus marine supplies. Well, we spent quite a bit of time there perusing their inventory and because this place is over 30,000 square feet, it took us a while! Benno is hunting for a 3 bladed 17 or 18 inch diameter, RH propeller of certain pitch, since installing a new diesel engine of less horse power in our boat, the original propeller is LH, four bladed and 20 inch diameter, definitely too big and cannot be used to drive our boat! Propellers cost big money! I’m sure we will be back before heading home to Canada.

Then, just around the corner from this warehouse there is the "Riverside Marina". By Canadian standards I would call a big place. It is mostly a boat storage marina that allows the owners to work on their boats while being piled up. However, they don’t allow anyone to live on their boats on “the hard” (a term for a boat cradled up) while working. Only boats in the water tied to docks are allowed to live on. We strolled through the yard and I obtained their prices from the office. While walking through the marina I spotted a few yachts from Canada and the “Star Spangled” sailboat that belongs to our friend Leszek from back home in Canada. Leszek is a fantastic sailor who rounded  the storm punished Cape Horn and did as well the treacherous East - West Passage in Northern Canada in a sailboat, without sinking or being eaten by a polar bear.

On our return trip I popped into the Ross (Dress For Less) outlet and came out with a couple of items that were a real bargain! And, a quick stop at another Aldi Food Store that was twice the size from the one they have in Okeechobee also had me carry out a shopping bag. I might take advantage of the opportunity when I can and we benefit from the savings.

For the folks home, you probably haven’t seen crabs this big. This Gigantic Land Crab ran by our parked truck at the marina and I followed it to the beach. I didn’t dare to touch it as its claw looked mighty big to me. 

Today we are relaxing. It’s sunny but cooler with only a high of 20C/68F so a good day to get back to my book, “Proof of Life” by J.A. Jance, a page turner.

Thanks for dropping by again.