QC11-07 The locks and south

February 1, 2011 (Tue) Ortona Lock CG (2) 62/82° - We spent the day just enjoying the weather we came to Florida for - finally. After some chores (laundry for Joy and expense tracking for Mark) we rode our bicycles out the access road, a tough go because of a brisk headwind. In the late afternoon we walked over to the small stream where we have seen otters at play in the past. They weren't there this time but the fellow in the campsite close by said they had been there earlier. Other than that we sat on our patio by the Okeechobee waterway and read. The boat traffic was light but the few going by were interesting to watch.

February 2, 2011 (Wed) Ortona Lock CG (3) 63/84° - This turned out to be a good day to go over to the lock. As we walked across the dam, a lady came up to us obviously excited. In a heavy accent she said something about two babies. It turned out she was talking about manatees. There were at least three adults, and two juveniles taking advantage of the lock to make their way up stream toward Lake Okeechobee. The lock operator held the single boat in the lock until the manatees were away. Three large motor yachts (from Annapolis, MD it turned out) were waiting to go down stream and we watched them proceed through the lock. Later a working boat went through as we walked back home. We spent the rest of the day relaxing and enjoying the warm Florida weather on our patio by the canal. Only one other boat passed on its way to the lock, a small personal fishing yacht.

February 3, 2011 (Thu) Ortona Lock CG (4) 66/82° - 82 degrees for the high is an estimate. It could have been higher - the thermometer read 80° at 5:30pm when we got home and was going down. It seemed to be even higher where we were. We had gotten up early and headed for the Ding Darling Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel Island over on the west coast where met Don & Libby (friends from Fair Haven) at the visitor's center. We spent 4 hours or so walking through the refuge taking pictures of osprey, roseate spoonbills, pelicans, herons, anhingas, a wood stork as well as several species of ducks. We were surprised with the lack of alligators, as were many people we met along the trail who asked if we'd seen any. There was one though, a big one, sunning himself (herself?) on the bank two miles up the trail. There was also one lazy and determined white heron hitching a ride through the refuge on top of a camper van. The ladies in the van said he had been there for some time. They had tried to shoo him away but he wouldn't leave.

Before leaving the island we had lunch at The Hungry Heron restaurant - crab cake on english muffin sandwiches. Very good. It was a long day but well worth the trip. It was good to see Don & Libby.

February 4, 2011 (Fri) Ortona Lock CG (5) 67/80° - Yesterday morning Alligator Alley (I-75) was closed all the way across Florida - from Naples to Miami - due to fog. There wasn't much fog here. This morning Alligator Alley was open but we couldn't see across the canal. We heard a small motor boat heading for the lock but we couldn't see it. By the time we had finished breakfast we could see the buildings on the other side of the canal and not long after that there was no trace of fog. It turned into a beautiful sunny day.

February 5, 2011 (Sat) Ortona Lock CG (6) 66/82° - This has been another restful day watching the boats go up and down the waterway. There have been more today because it's the weekend. Those going west, up stream, sit just off our site waiting for their turn to go through the lock. We get plenty of opportunity to "check them out".

February 6, 2011 (Sun) Ortona Lock CG (7) 66/76° - We've been told that there are lots of places to bike on the other side of the lock so today we took our bicycles over to see. Going across the dam on the narrow cat walk was an interesting experience. The space between the guard fences was only a couple of inches wider than the bicycle handlebars. It's hard to walk a bike with no place to walk beside it - to say nothing of trying to ride it. What we found over there were roads - good for biking because there was hardly any traffic. The scenery consisted mostly of orange groves with a couple of barely surviving "bar and grills" along the way.

The waterway has been surprisingly quiet for a Sunday.

Tomorrow we head further south to Monument Lake in the Big Cypress National Preserve just north of the Everglades. We are hoping for good weather and no mosquitoes.

Q073244 Ortona Lock Campground #40 w/e $12 A+ (x7)