813 October 7-8, 2022 South Bay Florida

On Friday, we journeyed from Ruskin to South Bay.  Our route took us inland away from the storm ravaged coast and the city of Fort Myers.  We thought that we were going through Arcadia, the area inland that flooded when the Peace River overflowed, but we were re-routed.  We saw some vestiges of Hurricane Ian; blue roof tarps and large swaths of broken and downed trees but the area we crossed was largely unscathed.  It’s amazing what a difference just a couple of miles make.  As we were coming from Georgia, we saw lots of power company trucks headed north and took that as a good sign that power was being restored to those in need.  We also saw tons of trucks with building supplies; roof shingles, plywood, pipes.  We saw trucks carrying generators.  Our thoughts go out to those who have suffered devastating loss.

We stopped in Clewiston to gather groceries and supplies.  We arrived at South Bay RV Park in late afternoon.  It was 89 degrees in the RV and so we ran AC for a while.  We prepared a simple dinner of grilled chicken, asparagus, and raspberries.  We need to get back into a healthier eating routine.

We rode our bikes out onto the levee and watched the sunset.  It felt really good to be moving; cycling.  There  was a nice breeze in our faces as we road out and that same breeze pushed us back to the campsite just before dark.  The moon was almost full and very bright.

First gator sighting.

We had such a quiet night.  We had a few mosquito companions…

In the morning, we tried out the new washer with positive results. 

I walked about 3 ½ miles in and around the campground. 

We packed lunch and cycled 6 miles to John Stretch Park. This flock of cattle egrets flew in front of us for a couple of miles. They would light on the asphalt path and then as we approached they would take off and land further along.

While enjoying our lunch in the shade of a big live oak tree, Joel and Emily called so the we could FaceTime with June. It was such a great surprise and we were all happier for the chance to talk!

Our trip back to the campground was a little more labor intensive as we encountered a head wind. It was good hard work and we were tired after riding 12 miles. If I look a little bedraggled…I had just fought the wind!

This evening we took the Jeep to check out the nearby towns of South Bay and Belle Glade. We ended up riding through farmland; acres of of sugarcane.

We took our dinner back to John Strectch Park. There was a Latin American family having a huge party with live music just across the lake. We enjoyed listening to their celebration.

It was too cloudy to enjoy the sunset. We had also hoped to see the launch of Spaceex Falcon 9 but the clouds would have made that impossible as well.

We are getting back into our groove.