Kayaking the Canal

When I checked the weather forecast last night, the prediction was for showers in the morning and a steady rain after noon.  This morning, that had been downgraded to occasional showers after 1pm.  We decided to go on a shorter trek today to beat any rain that may happen to fall.  Today’s target was the Dora Canal.  This is a one-mile waterway that connects Lake Eustis and Lake Dora and is described by some as “the most beautiful mile you will ever experience”.

In the late 1800’s, this waterway was dredged to accommodate steamships, today it accommodates lots of powerboats headed to the lakes, so traffic can be rather high. One guide advised avoiding this during weekends and holidays as it can be very busy.

Today, however, I think the weather worked to our advantage.  It was overcast and cooler, in the lower 60’s, so we only saw a couple of tour boats. Most of the boats plying this waterway were fishermen, almost all of them in rather small boats with very large engines, and there were quite a few of them.  When we got to Lake Eustis, several of these boats could be seen quietly sitting near the shore, looking very much like fishing was going on, but there were others that were rocketing across the water at very high speeds.

We put in at a tiny boat launch at Summerall Park in Tavares.  The town of Tavares sits between the two lakes and the canal cuts through a portion of the town before going into swampland.  So for the first quarter mile or so we were paddling past trailer parks and rental cottages, each having a dock or small boat slip on the canal.

Then the town abruptly ended and we were paddling in tall Cypress trees with Spanish moss draped all over them.  The wildlife here, especially the birds, is abundant.  Over the noise of the nearby city could be heard a constant chittering and chirping of many different birds and we saw numerous herons, egrets, ibis, and other birds, almost running into them at times.  We even caught a glimpse of a river otter.  But no alligators.  Maybe they don’t come out on overcast days.  One bird that I couldn’t identify was a beautiful tall white bird that looked a little like a heron, but when opened it’s beak, the noise we heard sounded more like a burp than anything else.

Imagine what this place looks like when the trees are green in the summer.

A one-mile trip doesn’t take very long, even when done in both directions, so we were back to the RV by a little after noon.  After lunch we visited a couple of thrift stores and also stopped at the Tavares Seaplane Base, a park on Lake Dora that has a launch site for sea planes.  Probably due to the season, there was only four planes there, but there was room for a lot more.  

We drove into the town of Mount Dora, but couldn’t find a place to park. This appeared to be a touristy town, with narrow streets and even narrow parking spaces; no room for an RV.  And there was something going on which packed the town with cars, even on the side streets.  The drive there and back was pleasant, however. It was raining on and off by this time, so any further outdoor activity was done.

On the way back, we stopped at the Butcher Block, a small restaurant in Groveland.  It was recommended by one of the other SOWERs, who had breakfast there.  The breakfast may have been amazing, but the dinner was ... well ... average.  Nothing to write home about.

When we parked the RV in Groveland, we saw a Chinese New Year event being held at the park near us.  We watched for a bit.  They were having tug-of-war and releasing Chinese lanterns.  Today is the eve of Chinese New Year.

Meanwhile, back home, our kids planned and cooked up a Chinese New Year party of their own, at our house.  We video-chatted with them for a bit.  Good to see them enjoying themselves and interacting together.