Always an adventure.... we Meander in Slow Motion and Lingerawhile.: 2/13/13

February 13, 2013

Monday 2.11.13

It was windy most of the night but finally settled down around 3 am. We were up at 5am….had our coffee….ship shaped things for travel and as soon as there was enough light to see our way down the run, we headed out.

The North American Coots like the river run. There was a big flock in the springs. It was dark when we went to the ramp to walk Raisin and dump trash and they were bunched tightly together and moved as one. It was like this all the way to the lake and it’s 4 or 5 miles.

The sun was coming up as we got to the entrance to Lake George.

Looks like we’ll be staring straight into the sun all the way to the south end.

You’d think, since we had the wind in our face on the crossing to the N that it’d be at our backs as we headed S….nope….another lumpy ride with a head wind.

We are beached at G3, Lungun Island. We wanted to try out Jims swim ladder…turned bow ladder. Works great at either end of the boat.

In the photo above….do you see the light colored branch above the lily pads? Jim was looking out the head window and spotted this gator under the trees. Just his head is out of the water….you always have to check out your surroundings in Florida. This spot we are beached at is a popular swimming place for those who camp on the island or just beach for the day.

It’s only 30 or 40 feet from the boat.

There is such a wind blowing down the cut behind the island that we had to put out two lines to keep us straight and we even have a stern anchor out that we dropped on the way in. Guess it’s a good thing we got across the lake early…it would be pretty rough now.

We tied up around noon….had our lunch….Jim is napping. I’m catching up the blog and will hike the island later.

Had a nice call from my daughter, Tammy and son Dave, in VT. Sure glad I’m not up there enjoying 2’ of snow and sleet. This is Tammy’s first winter in awhile, though she was born in VT. Asked her is she was going to be a “snow bunny” or a “snow bird”….her answer was “bird”. She’ll spend summers in VT and winters in FL.

Can’t beat a warm day on the water.

Sun 2.10.13

When it’s cool at night the 72* water creates fog. Here is an early morning Manatee enjoying the peace and quiet.

A lot of people came out to enjoy the beautiful weather and watch the Manatees. There were several swimming around our boat and the kayaks.

The kayaks came in for lunch….and Jim was kind enough to put on a show and create some laughs. He was showing me how much water his shoes held and brought into the dingy when he lost his balance and fell into the water. He’s still trying to convince me I yanked the dingy out from under him….he laughed as hard as everyone else. Those with kayaks do it all the time, trying to get in and out….so they were especially appreciative.

Our friends, Karen, Mike, Tony and the ever faithful, Walker showed up and we went for a ride in their boat. It started taking on a little water so Mike hauled it out and checked the plugs. I guess the one in the live well was leaking. After everything drained they relaunched and went fishing.

Mike caught 7 or 8 in a short time. This White Heron watched and every time Mike reeled one in…. it flew to the boat and hovered …waiting for him to throw it in the water. It never took any of them…but came back each time.

Here it is…..standing on our boat waiting….

Nice little boat….and it can fly!!! But no sleeping room, so I’ll keep ours.

We had a Manatee swim up and under Mike and Karen’s boat. It hung out for quite awhile. Karen was able to get a close up look at one. It’s always amazing to see how big they are.

Mid afternoon they loaded up and headed home.

Tony and my Dad raced horses together and have been friends for many years. Mike and Karen now have a place in Florida and they’ve be come “snow birds”.

It is a nice warm night. Wine on the back deck and fun watching all the boaters pullout or load up their kayaks and canoes.

Our fridge quit on us today…… we’ve loaded it with ice. I remember “iceboxes” from the old days. But blocks of ice last much longer than cubes or this chipped stuff. Managed to save most of the meat and plan to stay out till Thursday…guess we’ll have to see how it goes.

Sat 2.9.13

Spent a good night at anchor. Up early and headed for Lake George. We’ve had a head wind since we started…today will be the same. The lake was a little lumpy and we got a free window wash every now and then…but not a bad ride.

We’ll get fuel at the Georgetown Marina. $4.79 a gallon, tax included. Non-ethanol with additives. We saw $5.20 and $5.34 at a couple of places on the river, and passed them up.

After fueling we headed to Salt River Springs. Lots of boats on the run and in the springs.

Supper, glass of wine on the deck and we were ready for bed.

St Johns River 2.8.13

We checked the depth at Lake Jessup and decided we shouldn’t try launching there until we’ve had a bit of rain, so we headed to Lake Monroe.

Once the boat was in the water, I got things stashed while Jim visited with a gentleman who was interested in our 1928 Buick.

Decided to carry the dingy aboard, and inflate it later. That is it in the bow.

The docks here are a popular spot for fishing.

There is a low railroad bridge near the launch ramp. A small houseboat was waiting for an opening but we are low enough (since Jim removed the tall railing), that we could get under. A few minutes later it was passing us. It looked small, but is actually a 26 ft boat.