ST. LUCIE LOCK AND DAM, ST. LUCIE, FL

St Lucie Lock's resident alligator

St. Lucie Lock Recreation Area

Resident alligator

Resident alligator again

Rare flying animal, St. Lucie Lock area

The Buccaneer below the pavillion and fire pit

The Buc in its slip

The Buc again

Roxanne as Popeye

The Buc inches from the rocks

Roxanne being dinghy

The Buc AGAIN

Some sunk boat nearby

Johnny B making hamburgers

Roxanne jamming out

Michael being stoic

Michael still being stoic

2 to 16 January, 2005. Once again, our Golden Access Pass comes into play. As far as we know, this is the only Army Corps of Enginners Boat-In campground on the entire east coast. We got half price with the Pass ($8 / day) and stayed for the limit of 14 days. This place is immediately after the lock, with 8 docks. We met several people here, including Richard, we helped us dock. His catamaran was docked next to us for most of the time we spent here. I began to wonder just how much standing room he could have in his boat since the center of a catamaran is so far above the waterline. When he left, a very unpleasant man and his wife took the spot. This man treated his wife like dirt. Rocky and I were both on the verge of speaking up on several occasions. One day, his wife was in the dinghy, scrubbing the tow line and he told her to pull the plug to drain the water out. She informed him that water would come in if she did that but he insisted so she pulled the plug. When the water started coming in, he snottishly commented, "well, what do you want me to do about it?" I did hear her tell him one day that she felt sorry for him for being such a miserable man. It was nice to know that she wasn't completely beaten down. It was a great day when they left.On the other side of us was George. He was very cool but we didn't see him much- usually just when he came and went to shower. Another guy named Rich was on a double-masted sailboat that he never sails. He was a nice enough guy but very negative and basically unhappy. He came to build fires at the common fire pit in front of the docks.

There was also 2 young couples who were also on a 27 foot sailboat. I really only met Jeffrey from that group. I couldn't imagine 4 people on a boat this size. They would sail around the small body of water there to pass the days while waiting for engine parts. One night, after sitting around the fire with Rich, Jeffrey and I walked the 2 miles to the convenience store for a 12 pack of beer. Jeffrey had a small bottle of 140 proof liquor with him that he sippped on during the walk. When we got rung up at the convenience store, Jeffrey offered the cashier $5 instead of the $5.89 (or whatever) that the beer actually cost. She didn't appreciate it much. After taking the beer behind the counter, she told us to leave before she called security. I tried to apologize for Jeffrey but she wouldn't listen. When I stepped outside, Jeffrey had slammed the rest of the liquor and threw the bottle behind him. Not good. He was already too drunk before that. I managed to apologize to the cashier and she finally sold me the beer.

On the way back, Jeffrey got a little wild. At one point, he grabbed the open 12 pack and began running through people's yards. When he returned, the 12 pack was three beers short- he had dropped them somewhere. From there, I had to hold him up while we walked back. Suddenly, he just took off running ahead. I tried to find him all the way back to the campground with no luck. I went back up the road to search for him and found him laying in the grass just as a cop rolled up. His face was covered in blood and there was a puddle of blood on the sidewalk nearby. The cop was totally cool. He called the paramedics and they took Jeffrey to the hospital. I informed his boat mates and they got himk back to their boat either that night or the following day. He didn't have a cuncussion or anything but some pretty nasty scars are sure to persist. Rocky and gave them some aspirin, acetominophen, ibuprofen, naproxen and some bandages. There is an alligator that hangs out on the other side of the dam and I got a few pictures. It's about 7 to 8 feet long. Michael, Natalie and Roxanne came out for a few visits and we took the boat a few miles west for the fun of it. They enjoyed the trip, as did we. It was nice to stop somewhere for 2 weeks.