Day 140 - February 18, 2013: Fort Pierce

It was in the lower 40s again overnight, and the winds were high with temperatures in the 60s again today. We are missing the warm days, but actually, sleeping is better when it is cooler.

We moved on north through Hobe Sound into Jupiter Sound. The homes here are older but very nice, are built out of wood and traditional siding, and sit on very large elevated lots. This area reminded us a great deal of our own Spring Lake environment (although there are some palm trees).

 A Jupiter Sound home, much like those on Spring Lake

Then we crossed the St. Lucie Inlet, which is where the St. Lucie River, coming from Lake Okeechobee, exits into the Atlantic. This is the east end of the shortcut across Florida that many loopers take from Fort Myers. The inlet is very wide, and as you cross it you enter Indian River, which is a very broad and long bay running up to Fort Pierce.

St. Lucie River Inlet looking east towards the Atlantic

We docked at the Fort Pierce City Marina, which has a gift shop and two tiki bar/restaurants on site, and took a short walk through the very nice downtown area. Brown Pelicans are very common throughout southwest Florida, and there are always many on the docks and surrounding waters in marinas. These birds feed by diving at high speed into the water to scoop up fish in their pouches. They are very gregarious birds, always seen in large groups, which seem to behave with a common purpose.

Brown Pelican

Anne prepared a dinner on board which turned out to be a culinary pleasure. We picked up a generous slab of sushi grade tuna at the farmers market in West Palm Beach, and with a quick searing on both sides and her custom sauce, it was fabulous and healthy.

Tuna culinary delight