Departure and Arrival

We have arrived back in the northeast after a pretty uneventful road trip. It was warmer in Virginia than it was in Florida so we slept fine this time, in the back of our van (if we had left the day before it would have only been 42 degrees!). We did play car tag with a couple in a vehicle as they passed us three times waving like crazy and pointing. We weren't paying attention to the people, but were more concerned about what the passenger was pointing to (we even stopped in Jacksonville to make sure sure our kayak on the roof was ok, which it was). On the the last pass, Dave said that the woman looked like his sister, and a few seconds later my phone rang and it was her! What a coincidence and we all had a good laugh about it. Now our house in the woods is opened up, heat and water are on, groceries are restocked, and the rain has begun. Hopefully soon we can get to the yard work, but that amazingly looks to be minimal since we did a lot of leaf removal in the fall. We will be busy though, so for now I will leave you with a cute picture of me and my namesake tugboat that we saw in Fort Pierce before we left. We were head navigator and deckhands for our 90+ year old friends Al and Gloria, who rented a pontoon boat for the afternoon, just before we left the Treasure Coast. What a surprise to see this tug come up behind us...

What a great memorable winter it was!

Day Of The Birds

Yesterday was our final kayaking outing for the season. We launched at the Sewell Point Park beach and headed down the shoreline. We intended to cut over to Boy Scout Island and have a picnic lunch, but first we had to pass by Bird Island, which is a protected bird sanctuary and nesting area. Last time we paddled by there earlier this year, only a few pelicans were in the trees. Today was totally different since it is nesting season. The sights, sounds...and smell (!) were something we had never experienced before. The trees were loaded with adult and juvenile roseate spoonbills, wood storks, cormorants, pelicans, herons, egrets, and even frigate birds. The beautiful pink spoonbills were what really caught our eye...

Frigate aka Man-O-War birds...the males have red throats and the females and juveniles have white throats.

We even saw an oyster catcher hunting for lunch on the rocks.

After we observed from a safe distance, so we didn't disturb all the birds (there are signs on pilings in the water surrounding the island for no public access), we continued on to Boy Scout Island. We decided to skip landing there since there were other boaters, and went to the islands to the south. The tide was low and the only footprints for the day were ours. 

Hard to believe in the above photo that we had just paddled through the cut between the islands, where Dave was now walking with water only up to his ankles. This tri-colored heron below, was in the mangroves and unafraid. I don't think I even had to zoom in for this photo...

Although the day was grey with rain predicted, we beat the odds. We are really "going out on a high note" with this, our final Florida paddling adventure. Now it's time to start packing up, storing boats, and heading back north early next week. 

Playing With The Tide

We have been taking advantage of the timing of the incoming tides, making the water blue and clear near the inlets. Today we launched the kayaks in Fort Pierce and headed into the tide, paddling like crazy. To add to the current, we had to avoid several tugboats maneuvering a barge. These tugs were moored just outside the main channel.

Today's picnic lunch was a quick one on on Wesley Island, where we usually stop with Coqui. However, we had to rush back into the water and kayaks due to no-see-ums, which is the only disadvantage of the windless conditions. Instead we headed towards the north shore, paddling out the inlet. We passed by this massive range marker, which ships use to line up the entrance of the inlet and channel. 

The tide was really getting strong against us, so we decided to scoot across the inlet and ride the current back to the launch ramp. Luckily (and surprisingly), there was very little boat traffic. With the 80+ degree weather, we also took advantage of the causeway beach and stopped for a swim before flying back to the ramp. The water color sure looks like the Bahamas.

With this kind of weather it is really hard to think about heading back north, especially since we heard it snowed up there today! 

One More Peanut Island Trip

The top of an incoming tide was the ideal time to see the clear water of Lake Worth Inlet, from both above and below. 

After launching the kayaks under the Blue Heron Bridge (where there were about 100 snorkelers and divers on the man-made snorkeling trail off the beach), it was bliss to arrive at Peanut Island where there were very few people. Dave had a phenomenal snorkeling adventure, while I explored the island by land. After our picnic lunch we headed over to the western shore to see the megayachts.

Unfortunately, the south wind had picked up and was opposing the now outgoing tide, so the kayaking conditions became challenging and we were unable to paddle through the Port of Palm Beach. Instead we crossed the main channel back to the island and went in the back waters behind the small marina and docking area. 

The bridges got lower so it was limbo time!

Then there were the iguanas, always guarding the entrance. I saw quite a few of them in the morning, because there were so few humans around when we first arrived.

As the day went on, more boaters did show up, including this floating motorized tiki hut. 

We flew back downwind back to the launch area, and despite the rough water, we still called this another 10 day!

Southern Style Cruisin'

One of the perks of living in Jensen Beach is that every Tuesday evening there is a car cruise-in at the Elliott Museum. We don't go every week but when we do, we usually go with Barry and Barb in their latest Beach Cruiser, a gorgeous 1963 Chevy Impala Super Sport. 

Here are some of the other cars that were at the show last night...

A 1964 Impala convertible.

Anyone want to go for a 'sled' ride? It is a 1949 Mercury, chopped and shaved.

A 1973 Pantera which is a regular at the show. It has a mid engine, Ford 351 driving the rear wheels.

This Roadunner is also a regular and it parked right next to Barry. This one is really special. It is a 1970 with a Dodge Viper V-10 engine. It looks factory built and sounds unbelievable. 

A rarity...a McClaren. It was so cool but we don't know anything about it.

This 1949 Pontiac convertible was a big hit and so detailed, complete with its signature Indian hood ornament and a replica on the engine. It is powered by a 421 tri-power V-8. It is built on a highly modified Corvette C4 chassis with independent suspension.

Wild paint jobs. Notice the 1959 Cadillac taillights on the Chevy SSR. 

We think this is a 1934 Ford Roadster...

This is a Pontiac Solstice Cabriolet restomod with a Chevy LS 3 V-8 engine. 

Here is a nice 1940 coupe and Dave really admired the serpentine belt drive

.

What really made the night special was a new feature hosted by the museum where they bring out one of their historical cars to give rides around the parking lot. Last night was this 1914 Packard touring car that used to be owned by Ralph Evinrude, and we hitched a ride for a lap. Evinrude used to keep a home in Jensen Beach.

Can you tell we were having fun? Thanks Barry and Barb!

Storm Of The Season

We had quite the storm blow through yesterday afternoon, with torrential rains, and very high winds. It was reported that there was a gust of 79 mph, but we must have had sustained 35+ mph wind for quite some time, at least over an hour (or maybe it just seemed that way in our trailer). 

When we saw the squall line on the radar, Dave was smart and did a quick tie down of our carport to the van, just in case the wind got under it (he has a more elaborate system for hurricane season). If we saw the van lift up, then we knew we were in trouble!

After the main part of the storm subsided, Dave went on a tour of our park to see if there was any damage. Several metal awnings on houses were twisted, mailboxes down, a palm tree broke and fell, and lots of branches and leaves were, and still are, everywhere. As I am writing this, the maintenance crew is driving by with a trailer piled high with palm branches. In the storage yard, the boat owners that left their Bimini tops up, will be in for a surprise because the tops are wrecked. A neighbor who left his motorhome's roof vents cracked open to air it out, had the wind blow them completely open. With the heavy rain, he must have a mess inside. I saw on Facebook that there were three boats that broke loose that were anchored by the Jensen Beach Causeway and ended up next to the fishing pier and in the boat launch area. This morning we took a ride down to take photos, but they had already been towed back out into the anchorage. We headed to the US Sailing Center to see how the boats made out there, since we knew they kept all their Hobie Cats lined up on the beach on the Indian River. Some had already been moved, but these two did not make out too well. 

It was definitely a wild time, and I hope it is our first and last of this season. We sure are thankful for the much needed rain though!  

Tortoise Haven

We are expecting storms and much needed rain this afternoon, but wanted to get out and about this morning before the weather became too dynamic. We really enjoy going down to Twin Rivers Park at the convergence of the ICW, Indian River, St. Lucie River, Manatee Pocket, and the St. Lucie Inlet. Gopher Tortoises abound here and there are quite a few burrows cordoned off to protect their habitat. Today they were all out in the sun at the entranceways of their homes. We saw more than the photos below, but they all start to look the same, except the first photo which the tortoise was huge and barely fit in his burrow that is shaped like his shell. Enjoy...

The Week On The Water

We took advantage of the nice weather this week to be out on the water daily. Besides the trips on the past posts, yesterday we explored way up on the North Fork of the St. Lucie River. We launched the kayaks at a nice park in Port St. Lucie called River Park Marina (it also has a couple of short walking trails and their own tour boat).

We weaved through the backwaters of ferns, mangroves, and overhanging palm trees.

At first I thought this uprooted, but still growing, palm tree had its trunk sticking out of the water, until I realized it was an alligator.

It sank down as we passed by with first its body, then its head. Very stealth, with no swish at all.

We saw this poor old boat on a lift that obviously hadn't been used for a long time. There was a mangrove growing out of it, complete with roots coming out of the drain plug hole.

We didn't go too far, because it is quite a maze of water trails and oxbows. Looks like a good place to get lost easily.

Today, after a a great Hope Town West get together in Fort Pierce, we took our friend Judy for her first kayak trip in salt water. She had only been paddling in the northern lakes a long time ago. She was a natural though and had no problem. She rented a kayak at Jim Island and our colorful threesome headed into the mangroves and along the sandbars, watching all the different waterbirds.

This great blue heron looked to have "bitten off more than he could chew" and was trying to get the huge fish lined up properly to slide down his throat. Meanwhile the seagull was standing by in case he failed.

I couldn't resist taking a picture of the rental storage container and its sign...

Now it's the busy weekend, so we will hide until next week when we can hopefully go boating all over again!