Manatees have the right of way

Well it's pretty exciting here on the locks and canal. There are loud speakers on the lock and we can hear the conversations between the boats and lock master. If it's a big boat coming we frequently walk over and stand on the side of the lock and watch the process. Yesterday morning a large barge and tug came down the canal from Okeechobee and requested passage. They opened the lock gate nearest him and 3 manatees swam into the lock headed toward Ft Myers. The lock master told the captian he couldn't come into the lock until they went through the whole cycle of lowering and raising the water to get the manatees through. The captain was upset and said he had a schedule to keep, but they made him wait for about a half hour to get the manatees out.

You can only stay in this park for 2 weeks so we are always getting new neighbors. We had the privilege this week of meeting Bob and Bette Buchheit from Kentucky and having 3 nights of conversation with them, with refreshments, while watching the sun go down. The night before last while sitting on our patio with them we were visited by a little armadillo who casually searched for bugs to eat in the grass about 6 feet from us. Wanted to grab him and pick him up but with my luck he would have probably bit me. We get old neighbors here also, one fellow came up to me yesterday and said hi Halsey, we met last year here, so we did, nice to see Jack again.

Well that's about all the news from the locks, no telling what will happen today. Oh, we did have to change sites this morning, this place is so popular that it gets booked 6 months in advance, so late comers depend on cancelations to get in and have to move to different sites to string together a stay here, no big deal, only take a few minutes to move.






Manatee in the lock





Little visitor





Valentines day potluck