Return to the "glades"

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February 12, Thursday

Morning hot showers, another confab with Mike and his maps, and we packed up for departure. We had been warned at Flamingo by a Ranger to find a spot this day and stay "hunkered down" due to the 3 day weekend of President's day. There was plenty of room at Flamingo, so we headed there for a four night stay. A pleasant but slow ride north on Route 1 through the keys brought us back to the Park entrance, and we continued on to Flamingo after a short stop for groceries, a small tent peg hammer, and coffee. We met a gentleman in an RV in the Home Depot parking lot who was from Vernon BC and knew some of the folks that Deb knows. Small world. We were allowed free entrance to the park, this time due to the credit card machine being out of service. I paid for 4 nights camping $64 total, and we set up in site B5. The grounds were pretty empty this evening so we gazed at the stars - no lights for about 40 miles while a thick fog rolled in around midnight that wet down everything in sight.


February 13, Friday

This was another do-nothing day, so we eventually took a stroll on the Guy Bradley trail along the coastline of Florida Bay, to the marina for coffee. I noticed a sweet little two masted 24' lap strake sailboat and went over to investigate. I was very intrigued, and met Bob and Marilyn Osleeb, designers and builders. He has a website www.BigJennyExpeditionBoats.com and sells the plans. This is a great little camping boat, with jib, main and mizzen sails, plus a centrally fitted outboard motor, 9.9 hp. It draws 1 foot with a flat bottom and centerboard up, making it marvelous for shallow waters. A boom tent with sides makes it a floating campsite, and pressurized water and gimbaled propane stove gives it all the comforts of home. I spent quite some time talking to Bob, enough that Deb headed back to the campsite on her own. That evening after supper, Bob and Marilyn walked over to visit us. We had a great time together chatting about things around the campfire. They are from BC as well, and have children in Kelowna and Victoria, with one son in Trail. They are also heading west after sailing along the gulf coast for a while, so we may run into them along the way. Bob mentioned that he was interested in sailing the Gulf of Cortez with two of these boats, and it sounded a bit like there might be a possibility of becoming part of the crew. I would love that chance.

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