We went out on the boat yesterday. It was the usual skiing, snorkeling and drinking. It was a pretty cool day but the "this is cool" moment came that night. We headed up to the quirky "real florida" restaurant up the Peace River called the Nav-a-gator.. even saw a very large alligator on the way... for some food and probably another drink... or two.

On the way back the tide had gone down and navigating the river became a little more tedious. Usually that means being careful to run aground in the soft muddy shallows. Last night however we did more than run aground.. we ran over a crab trap. One prop was completely encased in chicken wire and for some reason a beer can.

This wasn't as devastating as it could have been. It meant we had to limp back to the dock with one engine at idle speed. It also meant our captain was going to hang over the back of the boat with dull wire cutters freeing up the engine. After seeing the huge alligator nobody was too excited about jumping in at night and helping out.

We've been up and down the river several times but this slow pace made for different perspective. The shoreline had a few campers so from time to time we'd see a light twinkle through the trees and one or two campfires. The water was as smooth as glass in most places and there was enough ambient light to reflect the trees. It felt more like floating through a jungle river in South America than in the retirement capital of the US.

To accent the effect clouds high up were giving a lightning show. Not the kind that strikes the ground but the type of lightning that flashes across the sky in veins and lights up the entire landscape. It was a very "this is cool" moment... except for out Capt who was still straddling the motor face down wrestling with a ruined crab trap.