Vero Beach to St. Lucie lock

I'm We left Vero at 0730 today. Once again we had rainy weather. At least the rain kept many weekend boaters at home. We covered 51 miles in 7.1 hours, including several low bridges that had to open for us and a 30-minute wait for the lock. 

We left the Atlantic ICW and entered the Okeechobee Waterway at the Crossroads near Stuart. This major intersection of the ICW, the Okeechobee waterway and the Stuart Inlet was not nearly as busy as it was the last time we passed by, even though several small boats were scurrying in from the sea in a race against the approaching thunderstorm.

15 miles up the waterway we locked through the St. Lucie lock, a 14-foot lift today. We immediately pulled into the St. Lucie campground. There are 8 slips here  and the 2 that were available were too narrow for us. A kind couple in a smaller vessel untied and moved to an adjacent slip to make room for us. Sweet! With a senior national park pass, a night's stay here is only $15! Much easier on the pocketbook than $83 tab last night. 

Mark is in his socializing mode (when isn't he??) and quickly met a couple from West Point, IA, 10 miles from my hometown. Ben and Leah joined us for docktails- the first time they ever set foot on a boat! They are here in their motor coach. We discovered similarities and differences between these 2 modes of travel. 

Another good day!