Bob did get naked. And, you can't hold a good boat down!!!

For those of you who have been following our adventure, you may recall that our friend Bob said that he wanted to relax and get naked. Well he did "Flash" and put the pics on his blog. See http://septembersong-bobandstephanie.blogspot.com/. Now, this has a rating of XXX, so view at your own risk.

In another part of Florida, Tide Hiker's injectors were reconditioned and we were off and running again on Saturday. While waiting for repairs though, Norm took the "Red Titanic" out for its second maiden voyage and did not get wet. Vicki also took the "green machine" out for a while too. Lynnie also took the green maching out for a short "spin". We even had some time for a quiet Vicki-Norm supper on the boat deck and to appreciate the scenery at this nice quiet site.

We could not leave Franklin Lock, however, without a fond farewell to John and Nell Wagner our new friends. The Franklin Lock is also a campground and John and Nell were camped pretty close to us. Well, Vicki and Lynnie went from camper to camper asking if anyone was going to town (what courage) and if they could go with them. Nell, instantly offered to take them; but after a couple of hours of friendly chat, they kind of adopted us and we became friends very quickly. They graciously loaned us their car to go to town. They joined us and the Tierneys for dinner aboard Tide Hiker's boat deck (Vicki make a scrumptous pot roast). They departed Franklin on Saturday too and waved to us as we went by the next lock. What a great couple and we hope lifelong friends. [By the way, for our loyal readers who do not know what a lock is: It is a chamber that moves boats up and down in elevation by increasing or decreasing the depth of water in the chamber. These are required where the elevation in a waterway differs. A boat drives in one level. The doors (gates) ahead are closed. The ones behind the boat then close, making it kind of a bathtub. The water level is then increased or decreased to match the level at the other end of the chamber. The front gates open and we drive out into a new water elevation. Norm had to negotiate 147 locks on the Great Circle Route or also known as America's Great Loop.]

As you can tell, we are still in the Okeechobee Waterway making way for the east coast of Florida. If you take a look at a map, you will see that this waterway traverses this great state between Ft Myers (west coast) and Stuart (east coast) crossing the huge Lake Okeechobee. Last night we were docked in Clewiston and tonight we are in Indiantown. Our buddies Rick and Lynnie aboard Rickshaw won two free nights at the Clewiston Marina at the 2007 DeFever Cruisers Meeting. Unfortunately, it expired; but, they decided to try to use it anyway. Believe it or not, the marina honored it and gave our two boats one free night. A very nice treat. Thanks Rick and Lynnie.

As I write this, I can see an aligator out our back window. It's about 15 feet from our stern. Here's a pic. We have seen lots of small aligators on this run and a couple of bald eagles.