February 6, Day 226 – In Everglades City

In spite of being at a dock we didn’t sleep great last night. It was quite windy and the boat kept tugging at its lines, bouncing against the dock and then stretching the lines as it went the other direction. However, we did get to sleep in so we took advantage of that.

Around 9:00 we headed to the pancake breakfast. It was sponsored by one of the local churches. They had all you could eat pancakes, sausage, fruit cup, orange juice and coffee for $6 ….. and it was good.

We spent much of the afternoon walking through the various booths at the festival, eating and listening to the entertainment. Gerry ended up buying some Maui Jim sunglasses. They were quite expensive but he rationalized the purchase by saying it will help with his fishing and with being able to see the color/water depth changes in the water in the Bahamas (very important for not running aground). We called family and friends in Maryland to check on weather conditions. Seems they got 30+ inches of snow. Glad we’re not there.

The weather is supposed to improve here (less wind, but cooler temps) so we plan on heading out tomorrow.

Early morning scene. This was the view across the channel from us in Everglades City.

In front of the bandstand at the festival there was a big section of chairs for people to sit in. However, it was obvious many people were regulars and brought their own chairs and put them in front of the chairs provided. Later on in the day this area was packed.

This is one of several eating areas. During the early afternoon it was difficult to find a seat.

Here is a picture of the Swamp Buggy Queen and her court. It was a scholastic contest sponsored by local groups.

Here's one of the bands that performed at the festival. They were a country western band called Blackwater.

In addition to buying sunglasses, Gerry also bought an alligator. This is it -- he hangs his glasses from the mouth. A very unique glassholder.