Great Day on the Water

Thursday, March 3, was a great day for us out on the water. We took the outside passage from Ft. Pierce to Port Canaveral. It was a little bit of a rough day, but the weather was pleasant.

It was a great day for wildlife. We saw a large pod of dolphins. One even leaped out of the water right in front of the boat. But, the most exciting part of the afternoon occurred at 2:45. Michael spotted a whale. At first, he was unsure. But, he called the crew out. And, the whale performed on cue. It spouted and it leaped out of the water. He jumped out, did a pirouette, and fell back into the ocean on his back with a big splash. It appeared to be a juvenile, because it was not all that big. But, it was impressive. Too bad the crew was so awestruck that no one thought to take a picture.

The approach to Port Canaveral is quite exciting. It's narrow, and lots of boat traffic can be found plying its waters. It's also quite the industrial area.

But, it is also renowned for being a cruise ship departure port.

Luckily, they were still loading passengers when we passed them. We were at the bridge when the Carnival ship started out. We could hear the partying as we went through the opened bridge.

We had decided to get to the ICW for the passage today. The weather out on the ocean was not going to be favorable for our route, so comfort controlled our plans! Yay for that bit of reasoning!

Once you pass under the bridge, there is a lock in order to get into the canal. Rest assured that the lock is closely patrolled.

While waiting for the lock to fill, we were privy to a white pelican meeting!

They were all huddled together, discussing the day- or some other weighty topic. They did not share. In fact, they seemed to think we were eavesdropping, so they took off walking up the hill.

Once in the canal, we were treated to another wondrous sight. OMG! We thought we saw a space shuttle!

No, Dear Readers, it was merely a replica that used to be in front of the Astronauts Hall of Fame as a display. It has been taken to be refurbished. It will live on the barge, and it will travel the waterways as a floating educational exhibit. In this fashion, people of all ages might have the opportunity to explore the space shuttle and to learn about what it meant to space exploration.

We anchored out last night. This morning, we were up bright and early to get on our way north.