Palmetto to Stuart, FL

Yesterday we spent the day packing the travel trailer and getting the boat and house ready to leave for 3 weeks. Today turned out to be a bright, sunny day with temps in the low 80’s. It was perfect for traveling! We closed up the house and were on the road by 10:15. Auggie took his “perch” on the center console and enjoyed his ride looking at the view out through the front windshield. We were going 150 miles today, taking just under 3 hours to get across the state to Stuart. Our destination would be the St. Lucie Lock Campground. (If we had come by boat, we would have passed by this same way and gone through the St. Lucie Lock, but by boat it would have taken us 4 days and 250 miles.) The ride through the middle of the state on SR 70 took us through farm country—mostly cattle ranches, orchards, sod farms, and tomato fields. At times, it took us through wooded areas where we encountered MILLIONS of love bugs, as evidenced by our windshield and the front of the truck. 

Vehicles passing us in the other direction were also covered by gooey black spots. What a mess they made! Once we passed over the northern shore of Lake Okeechobee, we crossed over the Okeechobee Waterway where we would have traveled with the boat.

 It brought to mind good memories of other boat trips we’ve taken down the waterway, but sadly not this time. We had lunch on the road and arrived at our destination around 1:30. We pulled into our campsite, set up camp, and were relaxing in the shade under our awning by 2:00. 

We had a great campsite along the Waterway with a view of the St. Lucie Lock and were able to watch a few boats pass through the lock on this warm, breezy afternoon. 

We spoke to a woman who was returning from a trip up to Tampa in her sailboat. She had her sewing machine with her and was repairing some of her canvas for the boat while she was on shore. 

She and her husband were docked here at the lock and heading west on the Waterway to La Belle where they would store their boat for the summer. We enjoyed relaxing the afternoon away. Bob commented that “at least we were able to get more than 10 feet away from the house, nothing broke down on the way, and if it did everything was still under warranty.” We were glad to finally be on our way after 3 wasted weeks. We enjoyed a beautiful sunset after dinner and took some time to wash…. no scrub….. the love bugs off of the truck and trailer. As the sky changed from blue to orange and pink, we walked Auggie around the campground while darkness fell. It would be a peaceful night!