Northern Florida

Wabasso to Titusville, Fl included the first fuel stop.  Having internet access is quite valuable as I am able to get fuel prices by mile marker and surprisingly there are very large differences from one marina to the next.  I found one 3 1/2 miles off the ICW on the barge canal through Merritt Island that was $3.67/gal.  Prior to that everthing I had seen was over $4.00.  On 233 gallons, that's a big difference.  Geo contacted me as he was preparing to head north for the summer in Michigan and we were able to meet up for dinner on the boat in Titusville.  With the couple of tools he brought along we were able to finish up the stereo installation and add musical entertainment to Tranquility's ammenities

Let's see, I think that was Wednesday, so yesterday we cruised to Daytona Beach where we anchored near downtown.   The spot proved to be a good one for fishing as we landed about 10 catfish, just like on the Rock River, except these are sea cats and it wasn't raining, which it always has every other time Tom and I have been fishing.

Today we came to St Augustine, where we tethered to a mooring ball at the municipal marina.  I was wanting to try a mooring ball before Denise comes back so I know what to expect.  Its pretty windy and there is a strong current, so this should be pretty secure.  During this writing session, Tom has already started catching fish, so I think I'll join him on the back deck.

A little good news on the camera, it is working well enough to get the pictures from it, but other than that its still no good.  So, I'll catch up with a few pictures from earlier in the trip.

Sunset at Pine Island just before Denise took her leave

The parking job at Sanibel Harbour Resort.  Tranquility is the smaller boat.

                                            

Along the Caloosahatchee, where it becomes very rural with cattle grazing and orange orchards.  This must have been the head cow in the herd.

The locks on the Okeechobee waterway are different than most others in that the doors are simply opened to let water in or out.  Since this drains water from Lake Okeechobee, the first lock on the Caloosahatchee side and the last one on the St Lucie side only operate every 2 hours instead of on demand when the lake level is low.  Since we were through there, I have read that these two locks are now only operating 3 times per day because the lake level has dropped further.

It may be hard to see, but there is an alligator in the water.  This was on the Rim canal around Okeechobee and is the first of many we saw.

Unfortunately, there are no pictures of the many manatees we've seen.  Its nearly impossible to get a picture because they barely break the surface of the water and usually you just see their back or tail, but we've seen many.