There go the photos

My lovely wife and I took the boat out but there won't be any photos from that trip. I took plenty of them, but my old cell phone took a dip in the water. At the end of our trip I was loading the boat on the trailer and slipped and fell. The boat ramps in Florida get a bit slick from algae growth. I was careful to not let the back tires of the van hit the slime. However, I made the mistake of diverting my attention while pulling the boat up on the trailer and stepped on a slick spot. Then I went for a ride down the ramp on my knees. Skun them up a bit, but I'm fine. The cell phone, however, did not survive.

It was an old cell phone without a service contract, but I used the camera feature and Kindle reader all the time. Right now it's buried in a cup full of rice on the long shot that the rice will absorb the moisture out of the phone.

The launch went well and I rowed the boat through the canoe trail in the mangroves until we got to John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. After poking around a bit we decided to quietly tie the boat to a dock and check out the park. The dog was ready for a walk and we hit the concession stand for a light lunch.

While it was tied up we tried to see how sleeping on the boat would be with the two of us. From our land tests we knew we'd fit, but hadn't tried it on the water. My lovely wife didn't like the motion of the boat with the two of us in the cabin. So much for my idea of some cheap marina time. Better to find out before we rent a slip.

After that we put the electric motor on and zipped around the mangrove islands. The park has a small mooring field, but there was only one boat in it. I took a lot of photos of the beaches and boats, and wish I'd not lost them.

We had a mishap while going under a bridge. The tidal current was moving us along but then a strong gust of wind turned us sideways and we smashed into a bridge timber, knocking chips off both the bridge and the boat. Damage to the boat was pretty light considering how hard we hit the timber. I had a little epoxy and now all it needs is bit of paint. No structural damage was done, so that's a good thing.

Since the marina plan was a bust I decided to pay for a couple more nights in The Key Largo Kampground. We are lucky they had a few openings left and we don't even have to move sites. Next Sunday we have 4 nights books in a Federal campground upstate a bit. Federal camping is really cheap for us, half price, as my lovely wife got her All Access Pass this year.

Price wise, private campgrounds tend to be the most expensive, followed by state, federal, then the occasional free night in a Walmart.

I've never seen the Keys this booked up. Usually there are enough last minute cancellations that it's possible to get into parks further down the Keys. Not this year. Such is life.

Going through my gear I found an old digital camera, so maybe there's be some photos soon.

I'm 'in shorts in February, so all things considered things are going pretty well.

-Sixbears