January 23 I awoke to the sun rising. Having not relished the idea of a cold shower the previous evening (The restroom had no water heater.), I had crawled into my sleeping bag with all the dried on sweat from the day’s 11-mile row. I had not slept well because of it and in spite of the chill decided I had to take that shower. It is only the idea of getting into the cold shower that is unpleasant. Once wet it was a great way to wake up and I felt like a new man after drying and putting on my last clean clothes. I should substitute this for coffee every day!

We left the dew soaked tent to dry while we went for a civilized breakfast. The north winds had begun to blow again and I was glad I was not racing toward Key Biscayne against it with no safe haven to put in to. I probably would not have made it. I had rowed almost as far as I would have needed to go on our excursion in the Everglades but without the anxiety of worrying about getting stuck and missing our plane. I reminded myself again that this was a vacation not a mission. After the very civilized breakfast we returned to pack up the still soggy tent and get on the road to Ft. Lauderdale.

About 30 miles after leaving Flamingo we saw a sign to the Everglades Alligator Farm. Contrary to Heather’s impulse, I turned down the road to this privately owned attraction advertising airboat rides and views of the alligator feedings. It turned out to be a great stop. 1500 alligators in a breeding pond! We took the boat ride, which was well worth the $14.00. After slowly touring the farm seeing what we had seen in the wilds the day before, we turned off into a channel headed for the open swamps and cotton balls were handed out for our ears. The propeller revved up to a high speed and the boat loaded with about 15 passengers started flying across the grassy water only about 3 to six inches deep. Since when we were all asked if we wanted the calm ride or the wild ride we had asked for the wild one, our driver made several 360s in some of the wide spots which sent water spraying over the group. I supposed that this was all quite safe but certainly this kind of activity would raise havoc with the wild environment and I was glad to hear that these tour boats are not allowed in the park.

I had called Pete Gallo at Adirondack Rowing who had arranged to have our boat delivered to Key West asking for help in getting it shipped home. He had put me in touch with the driver who suggested we might be able to leave it at the University of Miami’s Water Sports Center with their Crew Coach, Adam Wilson. I called Adam’s cell phone and left a lengthy message about what I hoped he would do for us. We had already passed Miami by the time this plan was made so we had to find the boathouse coming from the North. This was no easy task and while lost in some residential streets each seeming to go nowhere but to a gated community in frustration I made a turn and probably pushed the pedal a little too hard. Blue lights immediately lit up and a policeman directed me in toward the curb behind his parked cruiser. "Drivers license, Registration and proof of ownership please." Uh oh. I had no idea where the Thrifty contract was since we had thrown everything into the car planning to pack more carefully after leaving the boat. He said I had reached 30 mph in a 20 mph zone. Heather started to go through various bags and piles of papers and charts. He watched and waited as we reached panic stage. Finally when Heather started to threaten to unload the car on the side of the street he nudged my shoulder, handed me the driver’s license, shook his head and said I had better not ignore their traffic signs and had better get organized. He got in his cruiser and drove away. I don’t know if he heard me thank him or congratulate Heather on a job well done. We continued on our way with the directions he had given us and pulled into the Miami Boat Club’s lot minutes later.

The Miami Boat club seemed like a large and very active rowing club and I was made to feel at home immediately by Carlos who was one of their coaches. He thought our plan to leave the boat there would be all right if it was not for too long. I had been told that Affordable Boat Transport would be there within the week and would move it to their warehouse for consolidation. We unloaded, packed the RoWing in the stern position so that the oar bags with oars would fit in the bow and tied everything securely into place. As we were leaving Adam arrived and very pleasantly agreed with Carlos’ decision to help us out. His interest in what we had been doing was refreshing compared to the many marina employees who considered our boat a canoe! On a future trip the Miami Boat Club will surely be a stop. I noticed a motel across the street! The nice low dock designed for launching rowing shells would surely be a welcome treat. This was one of the nicest rowing facilities I have seen.

So we said goodbye to the boat and drove to Ft. Lauderdale with no boat overhanging the hood, watching for speed limit signs, and finally found the Hampton Inn near the airport after many wrong turns. Before attacking the repacking job dinner was in order so we found the nearest, not the best, restaurant. A hot shower and the first shave in three days brought me closer to the truth that we were on the way home. A day with no rowing made it harder to get to sleep not to mention the thoughts that were starting to arise in the back of my mind about three weeks accumulation of mail, business email and faxes that have reached my office!