Feb. 25, 2023 Silver Glen Spring to Morrison Island

 Sat. Feb. 25, 2023  Silver Glen Spring to Morrison Island - 7 miles

We watch as a multitude of boats head for the entrance to Silver Glen Spring throughout the morning as we go about our normal rituals of coffee, checking emails, weather reports, route planning and finally breakfast.  These unseasonably warm days, even by central Florida standards, seem to have everyone with a boat out and about today.  We finally hoist anchor around 11 and begin the short trip across the bottom third of Lake George and back onto the river. Martha takes control of the boat for the entire trip - anchor up until anchor down.  This area is the start of numerous no wake manatee zones, and we duck into one where an oxbow forms Morrison Island just short of the town of Astor. Not quite as natural a setting as we had hoped. Plenty of boats speeding by in the main channel. Several homes and docks on the oxbow but supposedly none further back. It's just too shallow for us to anchor back there.  We'll just spend the day here chilling and out of the way of all the weekend warriors zooming by.

Martha threads the needle thru the narrow channel and armada of boaters

Morrison Island - we heard gator grunting all night from the bank

Sunset over the homes and canals of Astor

Fun facts about Astor - Timucuan Indian settled land originally, then early 1800 was a sugar cane and orange plantation that failed.   Finally, William Backhouse Astor Jr. of the NY Astor family bought up about 12,000 acres and developed the town of Manhattan.  Served by steamboat. Logging became an industry. He built a railroad, hotel, church, school, etc.   When William died it passed to his son and the town was renamed Astor to honor his father.  Williams son - John Jacob Astor - was a victim of the Titanic sinking leaving the property to his son - William Vincent Astor.  He had no interest in this venture and sold it off.  It survives today on tourism, local vacation property, hunting and fishing, and winter visitors.

Journey for Feb. 25, 2023