In like a lion
So. Suddenly we're deep into March. I've been away from this blog awhile, which is weird.
We left on the next leg of the journey -- Northward across Florida Bay and into the Everglades. Flamingo is a truly lovely spot, an outpost of refrigeration and ranger station near the Southernmost point of the Everglades National Park (at least, the land part). Before the hurricanes of 2005 it had a lodge and restaurants, but now just a convenience store. Docks were damaged, but are still useable in spots -- so the three boats that traveled there together took the three best spots and stayed more than a week. Met a couple of new friends as other boats came in.
Discovered that it's still possible to be 'out of reach' of both internet and cellphone -- which I hadn't even imagined. That is, I knew it could be problematic, but I didn't expect 'No' for an answer. After much asking around, it turned out the nearest wi-fi was a Hostel 45 miles / 60 minutes away by car. Having arrived by boat, though, we didn't have a car -- two dinghies and a kayak, but ...
The nice ranger offered to drop me off at the Hostel on her way home from work. So that's what I did for my on-line-live seminary class -- got dropped off at the hostel, got on the internet from 9-10 for class, stayed on the internet catching up on e-mail until midnight, went to bed in my dorm room. Got up the next morning and took the bus down the keys to pick up the car we'd left at our starting point.
This simplified things a bit the following week, since now I could leave after supper, sit with my computer in the hostel's garden, and drive back, arriving at the dock after midnight.
Friday we left for the next leg -- which was supposed to be continuing North up the coast, eventually to Sanibel Island. But then I picked up a crab pot and wrapped the line around the prop, stopping the engine dead. By the time we'd got that cleared and were free to move, it was the next morning, and we were 18 hours and 15 miles behind schedule. This would have been no problem, except that 'weather' was developing. Ended up that we headed South again, back to the keys, arriving in time to watch the Full Moon rise during the full Lunar Eclipse. Wow.
We got to Sanibel, though; we just took the car instead. Also, we visited Everglades City, a charming tiny town of 'old' Florida, complete with high-toned old hotel built for the rich vacationers in the 1920s, and a museum in what used to be the town laundry. Also several amazing artists in residence, lots of alligators nearly tame enough to talk to, airboats, and fishermen. And marvelous seafood.
Drove back to the boat today -- feels like we've been gone more than a couple days, and good to be back. Last night's hotel room felt weird -- the bed didn't rock the way it should -- so tonight should be much easier now that I'm back aboard, swinging on a mooring. Good to be back in internet contact as well.
Love and light and lots of laughter to all
We left on the next leg of the journey -- Northward across Florida Bay and into the Everglades. Flamingo is a truly lovely spot, an outpost of refrigeration and ranger station near the Southernmost point of the Everglades National Park (at least, the land part). Before the hurricanes of 2005 it had a lodge and restaurants, but now just a convenience store. Docks were damaged, but are still useable in spots -- so the three boats that traveled there together took the three best spots and stayed more than a week. Met a couple of new friends as other boats came in.
Discovered that it's still possible to be 'out of reach' of both internet and cellphone -- which I hadn't even imagined. That is, I knew it could be problematic, but I didn't expect 'No' for an answer. After much asking around, it turned out the nearest wi-fi was a Hostel 45 miles / 60 minutes away by car. Having arrived by boat, though, we didn't have a car -- two dinghies and a kayak, but ...
The nice ranger offered to drop me off at the Hostel on her way home from work. So that's what I did for my on-line-live seminary class -- got dropped off at the hostel, got on the internet from 9-10 for class, stayed on the internet catching up on e-mail until midnight, went to bed in my dorm room. Got up the next morning and took the bus down the keys to pick up the car we'd left at our starting point.
This simplified things a bit the following week, since now I could leave after supper, sit with my computer in the hostel's garden, and drive back, arriving at the dock after midnight.
Friday we left for the next leg -- which was supposed to be continuing North up the coast, eventually to Sanibel Island. But then I picked up a crab pot and wrapped the line around the prop, stopping the engine dead. By the time we'd got that cleared and were free to move, it was the next morning, and we were 18 hours and 15 miles behind schedule. This would have been no problem, except that 'weather' was developing. Ended up that we headed South again, back to the keys, arriving in time to watch the Full Moon rise during the full Lunar Eclipse. Wow.
We got to Sanibel, though; we just took the car instead. Also, we visited Everglades City, a charming tiny town of 'old' Florida, complete with high-toned old hotel built for the rich vacationers in the 1920s, and a museum in what used to be the town laundry. Also several amazing artists in residence, lots of alligators nearly tame enough to talk to, airboats, and fishermen. And marvelous seafood.
Drove back to the boat today -- feels like we've been gone more than a couple days, and good to be back. Last night's hotel room felt weird -- the bed didn't rock the way it should -- so tonight should be much easier now that I'm back aboard, swinging on a mooring. Good to be back in internet contact as well.
Love and light and lots of laughter to all