Thirsty manatee's
Ft. Pierce & Ft. Lauderdale
November 21, 2010
When we left Chicago, we made two promises. One was to be in Fort Pierce for Thanksgiving and the other is Sarasota for Christmas. We are in Ft. Pierce and it is Thanksgiving!
Yesterday we saw Mike’s sister Patt and her husband Mike. In fact they stayed the night since it rained so hard that we couldn’t take them back to shore in the “new” dingy. Yes, we have another dingy. Patch has left us and we now have an 18year old hard bottom dingy. Unfortunately it has dingy leprosy. The gentleman we bought it from included the parts that had fallen off. As a new part of our dingy infirmary, we are practicing gluing parts back on. Francie is afraid that the next part it will lose is the fiberglass bottom we sit in. The dingy has no name at this time. We usually wait to its demise to name our dingy. Hopefully it will last us a while. The other “extra” dinghy that had been donated to us has been regifted to a new and loving home as well.
Jim, our son came to see us last Wednesday. Francie took the truck and went grocery shopping. She drove off looking so happy. She was gone a long time obviously reveling in the opportunity to be by herself.
The next morning, I could hear Jim get up about 6:00 am. He is not known for as being an early riser. When he didn’t come back, I went to look for him. I found him near small body of water staring at what looked like rocks. When I got closer I noticed the rocks were moving and I realized they were manatees. There were probably about 20 of them enjoying the warmer water near a water inlet to the marina.
Francie, Jim and I watched for a couple of hours. One of the guys at the marina said that when he dives his boat to clean it, the manatees will take his hose or come over and rub up against him like a cat. They love human contact. We were told that they will leave the marina in a couple of weeks looking for even warmer water.
The marina housed a couple of fishing boats. One would go out clamming each morning. Jim, the marina handy man and part time manager, not only procured 100 clams but cooked them for us. We tried to get him to eat dinner with us, but he said he enjoyed cooking for others. The clams were delicious. The clam fest and good company made our evening.
The next morning we prepared to leave. While filling the water tanks, several manatees appeared next to the boat because I had some fresh water running over the side. The manatees started to drink the water pouring out of the hose. Soon there were two or three more.
November 26, 2010
Steve, a friend of Jim’s, and his two girls spent two days with us and shared Thanksgiving with Patt, Mike and their family. The day was special because it was the first Thanksgiving Patt and I have shared together since we were kids. This morning Francie and I reluctantly left the marina to continue our trip, but we are full of good food and fond memories.
We plan to be in Fort Lauderdale by Monday. Ken a friend helped us find a dock for two weeks. Mike is flying into Chicago on the 30th to pick up the car and drive it down. He is hoping to see his Morton friends on Wednesday. Francie is renting a car to go to Sarasota to see Jon and her parents. We will meet up a week later. After visiting with friends in the area, we will begin the last stage of this trip which ends in Sarasota where we will spend a month or more.
Francie and I kept saying to each other, “Do you believe we are in Florida? Thanksgiving in shorts; I could get use to this.”
November 28, 2010
We are anchored in Fort Lauderdale after traveling 85 miles on the Atlantic. Originally we were only going 30 miles, but the sea was calm and it was supposed to build later today and tomorrow so we decided to take advantage of the current weather and keep travelling. We found our way through Port Everglades inlet and to the anchorage after sunset. The anchorage is surrounded by large multimillion dollar homes. The house directly across from us has the palm trees decorated in clear Christmas lights and five fountains of gas flames, which reminded us of Olympic torches.
Anam Cara has come full circle. Four years ago, we bought Anam Cara from a man who lived only a few miles from here. We took the boat up the river system to Chicago and now we have circled around and retuned via the eastern seaboard. Our trip from Chicago so far has been 3000 miles long. We have done what is called the Great Loop
When we left Chicago, we made two promises. One was to be in Fort Pierce for Thanksgiving and the other is Sarasota for Christmas. We are in Ft. Pierce and it is Thanksgiving!
Yesterday we saw Mike’s sister Patt and her husband Mike. In fact they stayed the night since it rained so hard that we couldn’t take them back to shore in the “new” dingy. Yes, we have another dingy. Patch has left us and we now have an 18year old hard bottom dingy. Unfortunately it has dingy leprosy. The gentleman we bought it from included the parts that had fallen off. As a new part of our dingy infirmary, we are practicing gluing parts back on. Francie is afraid that the next part it will lose is the fiberglass bottom we sit in. The dingy has no name at this time. We usually wait to its demise to name our dingy. Hopefully it will last us a while. The other “extra” dinghy that had been donated to us has been regifted to a new and loving home as well.
Jim, our son came to see us last Wednesday. Francie took the truck and went grocery shopping. She drove off looking so happy. She was gone a long time obviously reveling in the opportunity to be by herself.
The next morning, I could hear Jim get up about 6:00 am. He is not known for as being an early riser. When he didn’t come back, I went to look for him. I found him near small body of water staring at what looked like rocks. When I got closer I noticed the rocks were moving and I realized they were manatees. There were probably about 20 of them enjoying the warmer water near a water inlet to the marina.
Francie, Jim and I watched for a couple of hours. One of the guys at the marina said that when he dives his boat to clean it, the manatees will take his hose or come over and rub up against him like a cat. They love human contact. We were told that they will leave the marina in a couple of weeks looking for even warmer water.
The marina housed a couple of fishing boats. One would go out clamming each morning. Jim, the marina handy man and part time manager, not only procured 100 clams but cooked them for us. We tried to get him to eat dinner with us, but he said he enjoyed cooking for others. The clams were delicious. The clam fest and good company made our evening.
The next morning we prepared to leave. While filling the water tanks, several manatees appeared next to the boat because I had some fresh water running over the side. The manatees started to drink the water pouring out of the hose. Soon there were two or three more.
November 26, 2010
Steve, a friend of Jim’s, and his two girls spent two days with us and shared Thanksgiving with Patt, Mike and their family. The day was special because it was the first Thanksgiving Patt and I have shared together since we were kids. This morning Francie and I reluctantly left the marina to continue our trip, but we are full of good food and fond memories.
We plan to be in Fort Lauderdale by Monday. Ken a friend helped us find a dock for two weeks. Mike is flying into Chicago on the 30th to pick up the car and drive it down. He is hoping to see his Morton friends on Wednesday. Francie is renting a car to go to Sarasota to see Jon and her parents. We will meet up a week later. After visiting with friends in the area, we will begin the last stage of this trip which ends in Sarasota where we will spend a month or more.
Francie and I kept saying to each other, “Do you believe we are in Florida? Thanksgiving in shorts; I could get use to this.”
November 28, 2010
We are anchored in Fort Lauderdale after traveling 85 miles on the Atlantic. Originally we were only going 30 miles, but the sea was calm and it was supposed to build later today and tomorrow so we decided to take advantage of the current weather and keep travelling. We found our way through Port Everglades inlet and to the anchorage after sunset. The anchorage is surrounded by large multimillion dollar homes. The house directly across from us has the palm trees decorated in clear Christmas lights and five fountains of gas flames, which reminded us of Olympic torches.
Anam Cara has come full circle. Four years ago, we bought Anam Cara from a man who lived only a few miles from here. We took the boat up the river system to Chicago and now we have circled around and retuned via the eastern seaboard. Our trip from Chicago so far has been 3000 miles long. We have done what is called the Great Loop