February 5, 2007

Today I started off my day in Moore Haven where at eight this morning I paid for last nights stayover. It rained quite hard during the night. When I finally woke up this morning it was a very cold day for here and the wind was very blustery out of the northeast. Oh well, I was only going to move about 22 miles to Clewiston and Roland & Mary Ann Martins Marina. He is famous for his bass fishing expertise and has established this marina on the southern shore of Lake Okeechobee.

The first thing I had to do though was go through the lock at Moore Haven. So I slowly approached the lock hoping that the doors would be open and I could simply pass on through. No such luck the light was blinking red at me so I called the lockmaster on the radio and he said, “Come on in and grab the first available line on the side of the lock. I did and he called down that he was only going to raise me four inches. A piece of cake and after about 10 minutes I got my first look at Lake Okeechobee itself. Immediately ahead of me was the channel which went immediately to the right. Do you remember in years past that in one of the dry years the swamp part of the lake caught fire. It left all these dead trees which are now coming up again and some of the older trees are being covered with a flowering vine which should make for some good voodoo shapes on a moonlit night. This was also the section in which I should have seen some alligators but I think it was cold enough they were all hidden from view. But it would have definitely been a day for the birders because there were all sorts of water birds which I did not recognize. I passed what I believe was an eagles nest in one of those trees but did not think anything about it until a minute or two later I saw something that looked like an eagle and then another. I believe that they were the young and are just in there teens because they weren’t big enough but had the eagle features. Even though it was a very cloudy day it was still beautiful to see the wildlife and the tall grass in its fall and winter colors. On the other side of the channel were some plantations which were probably very large and the grass along that side was trimmed immaculately like a lawn and there was a fish camp and some ramps different places along the way. It just hard to believe that at times you could be just a few feet from shore and in ten or more feet of water. As I sit here typing it is raining again, just showers off and on.

I provided the show again today when I arrived here with the wind blowing from the Northeast it meant that I would have to get into the slip with the wind broadside and blowing me away from where I wanted to go. After several misses they finally settled for putting me on the very end where everyone comes and goes and I should be rocked to sleep well. There are a number of people waiting to go across and for the first time I met some more people who are doing the Loop and that was exciting for me. We visited some and I did my laundry with a lady who also was originally from Iowa and lived at Independence and knew about the Amish and all. All the people I meet, even the very kind man from the marina office who was very patient with me and didn’t yell, but he could have and would not have blamed him. Some of the Loop people have lived aboard for as much as four years and more. Two of the boats have Colorado as home base and one of them was in Crystal River when we were there and he had been to all of the places in the Panhandle of Florida on his catamaran and another said they scratched on the bottom coming into Cedar Key.

I keep looking out my window as I write looking for the big 82 foot yacht they are expecting here at any minute and as rough as it is out on the open lake 3 boats took off who were somewhat smaller to help guide them in through the channel. I hope they make it before dark because I have my camera ready. It is supposed to be a huge steel hull all painted white. I personally think it would be easier for them to go to Moore Haven because I had some as big as that docked with me there the last few nights. I just checked the weather and it is supposed to be blustery for another day and then we will have one day of sunshine and light winds and it will be time to move again and I imagine everyone will be wanting to go east at the same time. I may go with them because at this point it is costing me more in marina fees than it is in fuel. I have a black bird right now sitting on a post three feet away just giving me the what for. He is refusing to move and is very annoying. I met some bass fisherman on the go that were going out on the lake fishing and they were dressed like Eskimos. I think I would have personally given the fish the day off and stayed in my condo.

And, by the way, I am refusing to dig out my long pants in honor of the cold weather. Today I washed them and it will have to be a very special occasion for me to get them back out to wear. But I am not hesitating to wear my holey sweater as long as I am not seen in public in it.