Raven's Cruise Log: Five weeks at Burnt Store

Go to Florida, they said.

It’ll be warm, they said.

Hmph.

Okay, it is warmer than anywhere else! I admit that. But, wow, the northers just keep coming. We had a lovely burst of 70+ and blue skies just last week. Our month was up! So we were all ready to shove off, but a look at the weather app showed another series of cold fronts this week. With no on-board heater if we unplug from the dock, we just sighed and pulled out the coats again. Cruising is supposed to be fun, and huddling in a cold cabin doesn’t make my list. The good news is, we are ready to leave, so the next break we get (hopefully next Monday), we will unplug and boot-scoot down the west coast toward Marathon and the Keys.

The trip has another variable besides temperature, which is the short days of winter. Hops you can make in daylight shrink radically at this time of year. I would much prefer not to do any more overnights, both from a comfort and a safety standpoint. We know that Hurricane Irma wreaked havoc here a few months ago, and there is no telling what is floating around off the coast. I’d rather have a shot at seeings detrius before I run into it. David has laid a course into the GPS for 10 to 40 mile hops which can hopefully be done in the daylight hours, so all we need is a little cooperation from the weather. Fingers crossed.

Meantime, here are some photos from our stay in this area. Enjoy!

Peace River Wildlife Center

The first place we visited, courtesy of Joe and Ruth, HAMS David met on the net here, was the Peace River Wildlife Center. The Center takes in wounded birds and rehabs them to return to the wild. If they are too injured to be released, they have a lifetime home here.

A barred owl, I think.

The most famous of the Center's lifers, this is Lola the white (not albino) screech owl. Because she is white, she'd make a great snack for any number of predators, so she lives at the Center and has her picture taken by everyone.

Feeding time! Not only the residents, but also entrepreneurial interlopers, show up at dinner time.

Everglades City

A long car trip down the West Coast of Florida, past Naples, took us to Everglades City. It's worth the trip, just to see what "old Florida" looked like. "New" Florida is a pile of retail and suburbed planned developments which gives me a rash. Everglades City is art deco and old Florida homes. All of Florida is wall to wall visitors this time of year. The city has a fascinating history, which you can read if you click on the link above, which takes you to Wikipedia. The City was devastated by Hurricane Irma (8 feet of water), but has dug itself out and is open for business.

House on the water.

Art deco bank, which is now a B&B.

Everything is blooming!

Bradenton Beach

We met my cousin, Jan, for a delightful lunch in Sarasota. Afterwards, we drove around trying to find beach access among the zillion dollar condos. Finally, at Bradenton Beach, we found a lovely public park with beach access.

Sugar sand dunes.

The park, where we were surrounded by squirrels who zipped up to us for handouts. Utterly fearless and a bit scary!

The Gulf with the shimmering Florida light on the water.

LaBelle, Florida

Long time cruising buddies, Dick and Libby, honored us by driving all the way down from their home to scoop us up and show us around. We drove to LaBelle, Florida, so see the sights and to satisfy Dick's craving for good BBQ. LaBelle is away from the coast, on the Peace River, and so is a bit insulated from the planned community frenzy. It's a lovely town, with old homes and native Floridian residents. One of its attractions is its honey shop (from orange blossoms, of course). There is also a nice park and public docks for those who arrive by boat.

They have all sorts of honey, from orange blossom to mangrove, and they'll let you taste each kind. I'm embarrassed to say I couldn't tell any difference.

We enjoyed wandering through this park, looking at all the wonderful Floridian flora. There's a bench by the Peace River where you can just sit and veg.

Docks on the Peace River at LaBelle.

J.N. "Ding" Darling Nature Preserve, Sanibel Island

Mr. Darling was an early government conservationist, who is the original architect behind the National Nature Preserves in this country. Also the author of some pointed environmentally oriented cartoons. A new hero of mine.

Mangrove roots. A mangrove island is covered in these roots. You don't walk, you climb!

Mangrove islands.

Ibis, looking for lunch.


White pelicans in their winter stomping grounds. I have seen them on Lake Dallas and in Wyoming, but not on the Texas Gulf Coast. I guess they go straight from Florida to Wyoming, with a stop off in the Metroplex.

Lake Okeechobee

The trouble with renting a car is that you feel compelled to use it! So one day, we drove clear across Florida to see Lake Okeechobee. It's not as easy as it sounds. The lake is surrounded by berms that make it impossible to see from the road, so you have to find an access point. Once you do - wow! Big lake. Check out the wikipedia link above to see the lake from space.

From the visitor outlook. It's amazingly shallow and wide.

Along the shore.

Along the edge of the lake.

And finally, our home for the last five weeks, Burnt Store Marina.

Not a lot to do here but walk around. Punta Gorda is 8 miles away, so unless you have a car, you do a lot of walking. Fortunately, my dear friend Martha rescued me a number of times and took me to her marina where I learned to play mahjong (the real deal), did water aerobics, and toured the area. We also sampled a number of the local restaurants and just generally enjoyed catching up. We met Martha and Terry in 2006 in Maine and they are wonderful folks. Thank you, Martha and Terry!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here are some of our everyday sights, for the car-less days.