MIDORI ADVENTURES

When we awoke this morning at anchor at Peck Lake (not a lake, but a widening of the waterway that creates a bay off of the channel), we were bombarded by no-see-ums and mosquitoes, so it didn't take us long to pull up the anchor and be on our way!

We were only a few miles from the junction of the St. Lucie River, where we turned west at red buoy #2 which is actually mile 0 of the Okeechobee Waterway. The Okeechobee Waterway is 165 statute miles from this point to Fort Myers. We traveled another 7.5 miles to the Sunset Bay Marina in Stuart, arriving at about 9:30 a.m. Before going into the anchorage, we stopped at the marina and filled up with gas, water and ice. After picking up ball #13, we lowered the dinghy and went in to register and have a shower and start the laundry. This is one of our favourite places. It is a beautiful facility with all the amenities and within walking distance of the old downtown with shops and restaurants.

Our cruising friends Verne and Rose on ROAMALOT have a slip at the dock here and the four of us walked to the nearby Pelican Restaurant for hamburgers. That evening there was a reunion with "Lobster Bob", another old cruising friend and we met his new friend, Claudia.

On Tuesday, we got together with Canadian friends Jeff and Jackie who invited us to their condo for supper and we caught up on all the news while enjoying a wonderful home cooked meal! They are getting ready to head home to Canada within the next few days.

On Wednesday and Thursday we rented a car and drove over to Clearwater to visit Brian's Mom and Dad and see their new condo, before they fly home to Canada.

We were hoping to depart on Friday, but predictions of thunderstorms held us back. We would prefer not to be crossing Lake Okeechobee in thunderstorms. The forecast for Saturday was even worse.

It is Sunday morning (April 14) and we will depart this morning for the Port Mayaca Lock - which is the lock that raises us into the Lake. We will anchor outside of the lock until tomorrow morning and catch the first opening. This way, we hope to be across the lake before afternoon thunderstorms.

Stay tuned,

Co-captain Lynn