Stuck near muck

We are stuck near the Big Muck (everglades), held up by weather as it were. The long predicted strong northerly winds have finally overtaken us, but at least we are in a well protected haven here in Everglades City. Even so, the wind is literally whistling through the rigging of the mast, thin lines playing the high notes to the lower counterpoint of thicker things like the mast.

The bad part, as far as Mary is concerned is that she has no car (!!), and there is little likelihood Enterprise will bring one from Naples, 35 miles distant. I tell her that the enforced idleness is good for her and that she can catch up on her knitting. It's a darned good thing we didn't get to the electronic wilderness of the Little Shark River where her cell phone would have been useless and internet access is non-existent. Right now she is sitting contentedly at the other laptop cruising through items of interest to her on the internet.

For our major activity today, somebody had the bright idea of riding bicycles to the historic Smallwood trading post four miles away in a burg called Chokolsokee. It was connected to the rest of the world in 1955 by a three-mile long causeway, and if it hadn't been for the thin curtain of mangroves on either side of the road, we'd have been blown over by the winds. The town itself appears to be sustained by a series of condominium RV/travel trailer courts. We were told waterfront RV lots can go for $400,000 over there (with accompanying condo fees of around $800 per quarter) - go figure.

We toured the old trading post set up by Mr. Smallwood about a hundred years ago to trade with the Seminoles. The place was chock full of period items, and the man in charge was quite a talker. He and Mary engaged in a lot of talk about old time patent medicine cures, and he would open old bottles of the stuff to give us a whiff. Smells, being very evocative, brought back instant memories.

To fortify ourselves for the return ride, we stopped off for lunch at a Cuban cafe and then celebrated our successful return to Everglades City with a stop at the Everglades Scoop for some well-deserved ice cream - it's tough being on vacation, but somebody's got to do it. :)

We returned to the seawall at the Rod and Gun Club to find a 36-foot Grand Banks, the Great Idea, moored there. I wandered over there to introduce myself with the intention of inquiring as to which direction they had come from and what water conditions they had experienced. It turns out they had been at anchor "around the bend a few miles" in Russell Passage and had come over here because the winds were making them uncomfortable about being anchored out.

We were told at check-in by the desk person at the Rod and Gun Club that we would have to vacate by tomorrow PM because the Sarasota Boat Club had the whole seawall reserved, and I so informed the crew of the Great Idea, a couple from New Hampshire who keep their boat in Florida. Upon being informed that they had been told no such thing at check-in, I marched over to the office and extended our stay two days. Otherwise, we'd have had to go anchor some place out in the Ten Thousand Islands waiting for the winds to abate. It seems nobody in charge at the Rod and Gun Club now has any exprectation the Sarasotans will plow through stormy seas to make their schedule.

The winds do bring dry and coolish air to this neck of the woods, meaning we don't need air conditioning, AND there are no bugs. Nada, zip, zilch, none - hard to believe. Must be the captain's prescient planning and general all around handsomeness....

As it is, we have high winds predicted for a day or two more and uncomfortable wind speeds and directions into the foreseeable future after that. We may be faced with a small pounding Tuesday afternoon IF we head for Little Shark River. Running close to the coast to avoid some wind-generated waves may not be doable for the simple reason that the already shallow areas may be too shallow for us to run in due to the wind blowing the water out of Florida Bay. If it looks really ugly, we'll seek a sheltered anchorage for another day or two.

Meanwhile, we cope as best we can.