FOR THE BIRDS!

           

             We rated our winter boat trip pretty much a “bust.” First of all, last year’s hurricane season wiped out our Caribbean cruising plans.  Then, we both came down with the flu and jumped ship in Gulfport to spend 5 days in a cheap (read, “run down dump”) hotel.  Finally back on board, we left the marina to anchor out just off the main street in Gulfport, a truly great location.  Then the troubles began.  Our house batteries wouldn’t keep the fridge running all night.  Everything was OK as long as the sun was shining or the engine running. We decided to toss caution to the wind and head for Ft Myers Beach.  The trip down was an easy trip—flat seas and light to non-existent winds. 

Great anchorage offshore in the Gulf.  Only problem, the engine battery didn’t always provide power to turn the starter until we had an hour or two of sunshine.  We got a mooring ball at Ft Myers Beach and deployed the dinghy and looked forward to a pleasant reprieve from our troubles.  The dinghy motor which had started on the second pull when it was on the stern pulpit refused to run in the water!  Cleaned gas lines and carburetor and thought we fixed it, but still no go.  We bummed a ride from friends (Mark and Patty on s/v Tumbleweed) into shore to check in for the mooring ball.  Dinghyless, we decided to head for Indiantown on the Okeechobee.  It was really a nice trip, but we weren’t in the mood to enjoy it.  So yeah, the trip was a bust, “for the birds”.

            We did see lots of birds.  It began while we were still in the pod and watched a pair of bald eagles hunt and feed.  There was a cormorant that came everyday to the marina to dry its feathers or cool off or whatever.  An egret visited one of the boats on our dock.  We saw plenty more of them on the Waterway.  Ospreys were everywhere.  It was nesting season so we saw them carrying nesting materials to their nests on platforms atop tall poles.

            So, yeah, a bust!  But, as they say, a bad day on the water is better than a good day anywhere else.” We left the boat on the hard at Indiantown and headed for Kentucky—BRRRR! We got home and the forsythia was in bloom.  Kathleen said that in Ohio they say, “Three snows after the forsythia.”  I’d never heard that but sure enough, we saw 2 snows before we escaped again and a third snow fell—in March! Really?