Sunday, March 18 - Okeechobee Waterway Day 2 and Home Port Fort Myers!

A calm morning greets us on our last day of the Florida "Mini-Loop".

If you're crossing the state through the Okeechobee Waterway, there really is no reason to go through the Clewiston Lock unless you want to go to Clewiston! 😄

We're glad we chose this as our stopping point, however, as "Roland & Mary Ann Martin's Marina" sure knows how to show a boater a good time, especially on St. Patrick's Day!

As we pull away from the dock tie-along, we see that we have a green light to  . . . 

 once again, go right through the lock!

 If we go straight, we will head right back out onto Lake Okeechobee,

 to the right, a beautiful sunrise,

 but since we want to get to the Gulf side, we turn left and begin our 

travels on the Caloosahatchee Canal.  

 It is at this intersection that Route 1 joins Route 2 and is just about our halfway point.  The canal is fairly wide and deep.  The variety of growth ranges from grass to scattered clumps of bamboo, melaluka, and cypress, plus a few small tress with melon-like fruit, including the papaya.  We are also told that this stretch of the canal is one of the best places to see alligators sunning themselves on shore if it is a sunny day!

We don't get very far when we have three boats pass us.  

Maybe being a Sunday the OCWW will be a busy waterway.

 Hmmm . . . not so much, this is our view for the next three miles.

 Okay, once in a while we might see a tree!

Right before our first lock today, there's a nice picnic spot at this park.

 Most of the locks have these wooden posts strapped together, which are called "dolphins".  They're used to create a mooring for commercial boats and tugs with barges to use in case of any delays, so they have priority.  However, if the dolphins are available, a boat can tie up, but we have been told it can be tricky.

 This boater seems to know what he's doing.

 To our left is the Moore Haven Dam, but Captain Dave is looking for our passage way . . .

 just a little further west, and we see the Moore Haven Lock.

 The "rim canal" continues on well up the west side of Lake Okeechobee and provides some sheltered anchoring areas.  Several facilities for small fishing boats are along the way, and at times, fishing activity can be intense!

 Since we're not interested in fishing, we take the left turn to enter the Moore Haven Lock.

 Unfortunately, we can't simply cruise through this lock.

 As I watch the doors in front of me open slightly, we are only being dropped three feet, so the lockage goes rather quickly and swiftly (thank goodness!).

As we exit the lock, we are greeted by the town of Moore Haven.

 Moore Haven's town sign reads:  Big Lake, Small Town, Great People!😊

Wish we would have had some time to visit; maybe next time!

We continue on the Caloosahatchee Canal.

 It's pretty quite except for this lonely sailboat that passes us, and . . . 

 this lone cow!  Still so strange to see cows here!😄

Of course it wouldn't be a typical day on this trip if we didn't see a boat wreck!!!

On our navigation screen you can see exactly where we are in the state of Florida.

Next we pass the quaint town of Lake Hicpochee,  . . .

 which is home to "The Glades Marina" that has  "Glades Boat Storage, Inc." with a 40-ton lift.

Further ahead, a beautiful "Marlow" passes us.

 Shortly after the "Marlow", we see our boat's home for the summer; "River Forest Yachting Center" at LaBelle.  This is owned by the same people who own the River Forest Yachting Center on the St. Lucie River.  This facility is just like the one on the eastern side of the lake, except it is twice as large (at over 100,000 square feet), and has an 82-ton lift.  This marina has also been constructed to withstand hurricane winds (something our insurance company wanted).

A half-mile ahead, we come to our next lock . . .

 Ortona Lock.

 We wait for the east-bound traffic to exit the lock, 

 and then we enter.

 The gates in front of me open just a little to slowly let the water drain out; this time eight feet!  I think I'm finally getting the hang of these locks on the OCWW!

 Ten miles later we come to the quiet old river town of La Belle, which dates back to the early 1800s.  Each year this town has a Swamp Cabbage Festival.  Swamp cabbage, also known as heart of palm, is the growing part of the sable palm.  Another local delicacy is alligator . . . this guy better be careful!  This is the first of three alligators that we see along this stretch of the canal.

La Belle is also known as the "Honey Capital".  The Harold P. Curtis Honey Company maintains about 1,000 beehives and will permit you to sample different types of honey.

 Need a place to stay in La Belle?  Just pull your boat up to this hotel!

 Hyacinths and water lettuce can clog the channel, as well as your prop and rudder; I hope this couple can get out safely (though it probably is a great fishing spot)!

Between the towns of La Belle and Olga, are the scenic headwaters of the Caloosahatchee River.  Once a major transportation artery in the settling of Florida, today you will rarely encounter tugs and barges, as over-land trucking has diminished the commercial importance of the river.  The Calusas used this river as a highway.  So did early settlers to Fort Myers.  Today, powerboats and sailboats traverse the 67-mile-long river, which is an important link to the OCWW.  The river is wide enough to accommodate everyone including the abundant wildlife.  The Caloosahatchee River and its meandering tributaries are bordered by lush, towering leather ferns, stately oaks dripping with moss and verdant vegetation along every shore.  So wonder these homeowners have chosen this place to live!

 If you're interested, a lot on the Caloosahatchee River can be yours!

If you do decide to build, be sure to be like this homeowner and build your home out of cement; the big, bad hurricane hopefully will not blow down your house, then!!!

Twelve miles before our last lock, we come to the Fort Denaud Swing Bridge; 

a hand-operated bridge.

 Here you see the the bridge attendant walking out to the center of the bridge.

 We pass safely to the right of the bridge opening.

 And thank the bridge operator as we see her at the control station when we cruise by. 

One of those beautiful oaks dripping with moss.

Next we see quite a VERY nice motor home park!

 Each deluxe motor home has its own sun cover and beautiful mini cabin!

We start to realize that we are really on a "river" now as we see many people out 

enjoying various water activities on a beautiful Sunday.

Rowing

Jet-skiing

Jumping Captain Dave's wake!

Rope swinging

Paddle boarding

Sightseeing

At the party cove!

In the midst of all this fun, we still see an orange tree grove, and . . .

 a nursery.

As we get close to the last lock, we see this estate?!

 A helicopter?!?!?!  Can't believe we haven't seen that yet!

 I think this might be the helicopter's garage!😜

 Oh, and did you see the mega-motor-home behind the helicopter?!?!  WOW!!!

And here we are; the W.P. Franklin Lock - the final lock 

on the Okeechobee Waterway at the town of Olga.  We are only lowered one and a half feet.  

What a nice lock!

There's a park with a boat ramp and nice beach.

 As we leave the lock, these gentlemen were enjoying 

casting their fishing lines into the "dam" waters.

 We don't go far, and go figure, yet another crab pot!

 Some nice homes are here, especially this one that has . . .

 a yacht with its own storage building!

 Yet another beautiful yacht!

We know we're getting close to our home port when we see Captain J.P's Paddle-wheeler.  

This boat ports out of downtown Fort Myers and has many lunch and dinner excursions.

Here's our local power plant which puts out warm water for all of the manatees 

to come and enjoy during the winter months!

 Here's the manatee sculpture to tell you where to turn to go and see the manatees.

 The turn is right on the Orange River.

Our last railroad bridge that we pass through.

 Pelican Island!

 In the distance, home-sweet-home!

 Downtown Fort Myers!

 HOME-SWEET-HOME!💗

Thank you for sharing in this fun journey with us!  We now only have from Jensen Beach, Florida, to Annapolis, Maryland, to complete "The Great Loop"!  Our tentative plan is to begin the last leg of the Loop in the spring of 2019.  We hope you'll follow us on our final part of this journey!

Until then, signing off from 

"Johnson & Johnson"

⚓