Day 191
We were planning to leave Fort Myers on Sunday and cross Lake Okeechobee eastbound on Monday, but the weather said it would not be a good day to cross on Monday, so we decided to stay an extra day. We spent the day going to Palm Sunday Mass and getting the boat ready to travel. We used Uber for the first time to go to Mass since the free city trolley does not run on Sunday. It went smoothly, so we'll use Uber again.
When we arrived at Fort Myers several days ago we were given a slip at the marina that was right on the main dock near the fuel dock. Consequently, we had a steady stream of visitors knocking on our hull to introduce themselves. Most had seen our AGLCA (America's Great Loop Cruisers Association) flag and stopped by to introduce themselves as "Loopers", pet Jake and Kimi, and ask about our Loop so far. They offered their experiences and tips for our journey. Since we will "cross our wake" (come full circle) near Fort Myers to complete our Loop, I had to tell everyone we just technically just started our loop when we moved the boat from Fort Myers Beach to Fort Myers on March 17th, even though we have already traveled over 1200 miles. If you need a refresher on what the Great Loop is, here is a link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Loop
Over the weekend, two more PDQ 34s, "Rising Tide" and "Abbotsford III", stopped at the marina. They were heading across Lake Okeechobee as well, so we will have companions on our trip back across to the east coast of Florida.
Update to above:
We were planning to go up the Caloosahatchee River from Fort Myers to Lake Okeechobee on Monday and cross the lake on Tuesday, but we awoke to much higher winds than originally predicted. In addition, the updated forecast did not encourage a Tuesday lake crossing, so we decided to hang out in Fort Myers for another day. A woman on a nearby boat told me that if NOAA was her boyfriend she would have kicked him to the curb long ago for lying to her! Rising Tide left here Sunday and Abbotsford III left Monday in spite of the wind, hoping to go around the rim of the lake instead of straight across on Tuesday, but we thought the ride up the river would be too uncomfortable and we would still not be able to cross on Tuesday anyway, so we stayed put. Our reward for waiting a day was this sunset at the marina, so someone apparently approved of our new plan.
We finally left Fort Myers in our wake this morning (Tuesday). Temperatures were in the 50's and we were running 15 knots into a 15-knot wind, so we were bundled up as it was quite chilly on the flybridge. It was a little choppy at first but smoothed out as we got further up the river where it was not as wide.
We went through two locks, this one went up 8 feet and got a little rough in the lock as the gates opened.
Finally, we got to Moore Haven just outside of Lake Okeechobee and tied up at the City Dock.
When I checked our batteries this morning, the generator start battery showed completely dead, which I thought was strange as I had just started the generator to recharge the battery a little over a week ago. After we tied up I pulled everything out of the generator compartment and checked breakers, fuses, connections, etc., but everything seemed fine. I tested the battery with a multimeter and it was stone cold dead, zero voltage. I pulled it out of the compartment and discovered that the battery was marked March of 2006, making it the original battery for the generator. Amazing, Since we had no ground transportation I called the local NAPA auto parts store and told them what I needed, and they were kind enough to deliver a new battery to the boat at the city dock. After a brief install, the generator started right up and we let it run for a half hour to top up the new battery.
After the generator battery replacement, it was time for dinner. Earlier, Doug from Abbotsford III called to let me know the status of one of the locks ahead of us that we thought was on a limited opening schedule. It actually was not so that was good news. Doug told us that they had stayed at Moore Haven last night and had walked to a nearby Mexican restaurant for dinner. Since he said it was worth the walk we decided to walk there for dinner.
Imagine our disappointment when we arrived at Antojitos Mexican Restaurant around 6:15pm to be met with a "closed" sign and a locked door. As we were walking away trying to decide where to go from there, we heard a knocking on the window behind us and saw a woman inside motioning us back. We went back and a young man unlocked the door for us. He asked if we were boaters and we said we were, so he said, "Come on in, Mama says she will feed you even though we normally close at 3:00pm on Tuesdays." Well, we were the only people in the restaurant and the son Eric served and his mother cooked.
They have an extensive menu of Mexican specialities and even though they were opening the kitchen just for us, nothing was off limits as far as the menu was concerned. I had shrimp fajitas and all of the ingredients were fresh and cooked perfectly. I had 10 huge shrimp in the fajitas, a small side salad, and yellow rice and black beans. Saron had two Pastor tacos with Mexican rice and black beans. She loved hers as well, confirming what Doug had said earlier, it was worth the walk. I have to admit, I've never had a restaurant opened for me as a stranger before, it was an unexpected surprise. Eric was personable and gave us outstanding service, and his mom's food was fresh and wonderful. We will definitely go back when we pass this way again. When I told Eric I would write about our experience on this blog he said to make sure to let everyone know that they close at 3:00pm on Tuesdays, so you have been warned!
Sitting all alone in a restaurant opened just for us!
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