It was hard leaving all of the friends we had made here and those we had been traveling with. The liveaboards at the marina made us feel at home. We have not lived that close to any neighbors since we have been married. It was a really pleasant month. I spent the entire month in shorts and surprisingly there were no annoying insects. No flies, gnats, mosquitoes or noseeums!
Thursday, March 24th
Annie talks to a dolphin
The water in Florida Bay is clear and blue. It was very calm today. Annie detected a dolphin swimming alongside and tried to talk to it. The dolphin does not understand dog and Annie does not speak dolphin so her barking went unanswered. It did listen to her for about 3 or 4 minutes then got bored and swam away.
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| Flat Water Narrow Channel |
We are running in skinny water again. Only 2-3 feet under the keel most of the time. So it is shallow and clear and we can see the bottom easily. It can get scary when you can see the leaves on the plants at the bottom.
With the wind behind us at 7 mph and we travel at 7 mph so there is no wind over the boat. I actually got hot. Carole moved a fan on to the flybridge to keep her cool while steering.
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| Shallow water on the right |
The anchorage was about 3/4 mile from the nearest place to walk Annie. By now the wind had picked up and there was a chop on the water. It was a very wet ride in to the dock. The dock was in a nice park with concrete steps up to the grass. The return trip was quartering in to the chop and was even wetter. If it is like this in the morning Annie is going to have to hold it.
Friday, March 25th
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| Florida Bay |
We headed out and the State Park where we intended to stay does not allow any pets ashore. I did some fast navigating and we headed for No Name Harbor. It was a bit further then planned and we ran out of fuel in one tank on the way. I switched tanks and we were fine. Saw a frigate bird on the way, first of the trip.
Biscayne Bay is flat and the water is crystal clear. With Polaroid Sunglasses on we feel like we flying 10 feet above the ground. We can see the sand and grass clearly on the bottom.
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| Miami on the horizon |
We arrived at 4 instead of 2 so tomorrow will be a shorter day to Ft. Lauderdale.
The wind kicked up a bit as we entered the harbor. $20.00 to anchor and there are no facilities except a trash can. There is a concrete wall at the dinghy dock and Annie had to climb a ladder or jump 3' to the top of the wall. She jumped it. We are still working on the ladder climbing shtick, give her six more months and I think she will be able to do it.
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| Sunset at No Name Key |
Saturday, March 26th
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| It must be Saturday in Miami |
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| Miami |
We arrived at New River in Ft. Lauderdale and joined the boat parade up the river past 10 million dollar boats and 5 million dollar homes. We tied up along the river wall which is actually part of the city docks. It was much too far from everything so we moved to the Cooley Landing City Marina. We were just in time to be invited for happy hour.
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| The start of the New River |
Ft. Lauderdale 100th Anniversary Celebration today. It was held on the waterfront - all of it within 10 blocks of our dock. Lots of food, people and music, all free (not the food)– dance performances, singers, old and restored cars from a Shelby to 1958 & 9 Chevy Impalas, and a 1932 Ford Model A. Sunday was topped off with a short fireworks display we watched from our back deck.
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| Only a few columns |
We stopped in Delray for the night. We pulled in just as it started to pour. Good timing.
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| Large Yacht |
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| Toy Box on the Yacht |
Tuesday, March 29th
Heading north again Carole found a 44 column house.
We passed the Rybovich Boatyard with about 25-30 boats there, none smaller than about 150 ft.
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| The current column Champion |
Arrived in Lake Harbor Marina, just north of Lake Worth Inlet earlier than expected. Met up with Felix and Margaret and talked for a while. They are friends of my sister and really nice folk. They are headed for the Bahamas on their TriMaran. Hopefully we will meet them this summer in Lake Champlain. We also met Thelma and Fuzzy (my cousins). They were the main reason we stopped here. It was a nice evening.
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| Never know what you'll see on the waterway |
Wednesday, March 30th
Slightly hazy this morning with a south wind at 10-12 mph.
One O'Clock - St. Lucie Inlet
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| Showing the Gold Burgee |
That means we completed the loop, about 6000 miles, which we actually started when we brought the boat north from Florida. Mentally we will feel that we have really finished when we arrive home which we left last May.
We arrived in Ft. Pierce at 4:30 – the weather is looking pretty heavy. While walking Annie through town we came across a Big Restaurant Taste Fest. It looked interesting with about 20 restaurants participating. We wanted to sit down and celebrate, so I took Annie home and we went out for Thai & Sushi.
We planned on visiting one of Carole's friends by staying in Daytona. Their scheduling did not work for the time we would be there, so we made our car and boat reservations for Titusville, Fl.
The weather does not look good tomorrow.
Thursday, March 31st
Tornado watch this morning. It will make the three day run to Titusville difficult. We switched destinations once again. This time to Cocoa, FL. It will be easier to reach by noon Saturday.
We spent the day working on taxes and sewing. The wind never did show up, but we got stuff done.
Friday, April 1st
April Fools Day.
Underway early (for us) about 8:15. Cloudy with a 10 mph wind from the Northwest. It was cool this morning. I actually needed long pants and a long sleeve shirt in the morning, bummer. We headed up the Indian River with only a light chop.
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| Anchorage in the Bannana River |
We pulled in to the Banana River and found an anchorage above the bridge. The bridge tender told us where we could take the dinghy in to a dock so that I could walk Annie. I had to avoid some Kayak racers practicing their starts. We also watched some racing Kayaks and Canoes practicing in the river. Otherwise it was a very quiet night.
Saturday, April 2nd
Clear and Calm this morning and we got an early start. We need to be in Cocoa by noon to pick up a rental car. Annie did not get a walk this morning so she is a bit antsy. We should be at the dock by 10:30 so she will be O.K.
Another Failure of the DWD. She did make it to the dock O.K.
Picked up a rental car and we went to the Merrit Island 14th annual marine flea market. It was a good market, lots of marine gear both used and new. I was able to pick up a few items.
We ate at the Black Tulip and had a really good dinner.
Sunday, April 3rd
Warm and Clear with a light breeze. We left by car this morning to visit with Joni and Len at The Villages. Joni is a high school friend of Carole's and she wanted to visit her at home to see what this “Villages” was all about. She wanted to see a development that had its' own ZIP code.
It was a two hour drive. After we passed Orlando we saw a pair of Sandhill Cranes by the side of the road.
We had a good visit. Len gave a great tour of the Villages. It is like a Disneyland Setting. Everything is staged with theme decorations at all of the clubhouses. There are separate golf cart paths along all of the major streets with underpasses at the crossroads. Each area has its own clubhouse or recreation center. The centers are large with multiple meeting rooms, pools, bocci courts and tennis or pickle ball (don't ask) courts. NOTE: Pickle Ball is played with paddles and a wiffle like ball on a court similar to a tennis court. It is very popular down here. There are lots of golf courses that are free to residents plus some championship courses that they pay $50 to play. All of the residents have their own golf carts, some with air conditioning or at least fans. Two large shopping areas called Village Centers have just about every chain store and all of the fast food restaurants you can think of . There is a large Hospital – kind of necessary for a 90,000 person retirement community.
We had a really nice visit.
Monday, April 4th
It was clear with a light wind. We pumped out, dropped off the car and got underway about 9:45. We hope to make it to North Smyrna Beach today. The wind behind us will help, but make steering a bit of a chore.
DWD is going to be renamed DDWD – Defective Dolphin Watching (Warning) Device (Dog). Lots of false alarms and the she misses the real ones.
We arrived at New Smyrna Beach about 5:00 and did not find any room at the anchorage so we tied up at the town dock. The docks are really strange. They(there are two) are semi circular. So only one spot of the boat is touching the dock. Tying up was rather tricky, but once I figured it out it was quite secure and safe. Overnight docking is not allowed, but no one said anything, and a local told me that boats sometimes stayed for days, so we stayed for the night.
Tuesday, April 5th
Thunderstorms predicted but they should not last long – Mitch's prediction. Checking the radar I hoped to get to Daytona before they hit. I missed by 1/2 an hour. By the time we reached Daytona the worst was over. I then made my mistake at one of the bridges. I went through the wrong opening and ran aground. After fighting with it for a while and being stubborn I finally called Tow Boat US. One hour later we were off – with a lot of vibration when I tried to run at cruising speed. We turned around and went to Aqua Marina for a haul out and a propeller change (we carry a spare). They took us right away and in 1/2 hour and $300 poorer we were on our way again. Of course that does not cover repairing the old propeller.
The rain has now stopped and it is mostly cloudy and cool. We pulled in to Palm Coast Marina for the night. We realized we had stayed here before on the trip up after we bought the boat in 2008. It is a nice marina with a large grassy area where Annie can chase a Frisbee and get some exercise. There is a new shopping and restaurant area that seems pretty nice. We did not try any of the restaurants as dinner was already planned.
Wednesday, April 6th
Clear and Cold with the wind and current against us most of the way. We needed sweaters – well O.K. maybe only a long sleeve shirt. The ICW here runs behind the barrier islands. There is a marsh on the inland side and homes on the islands.
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| St. Augustine Mooring |
Carole, Annie and I walked through the town historic district, mostly just looking and checking out the restaurants. I would call the historic area “quainty”. Much of it is old – 1550 to 1800's – and either preserved or restored. What does not fit these two categories has been created to look “as if”. The streets are either pedestrian only or one way, one lane. We thought that we would stop for several days the next time through.
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| Street in St. Augustine |
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| Carole and Annie on the Bridge of Lions |
Later as we were thinking about dinner (I was, Carole was napping) I got a call from Bill, a friend we met in 2009 on the Erie Canal. He lives in South Jacksonville which is not too far. Bill offered to come to St. Augustine and join us for dinner. He took us to Cap's a place so far away we could never have gotten there without a car and could not have found it even if we had one. It is an excellent restaurant. We sat outside on the deck and had steamed oysters, panko coated triggerfish and Key lime pie. All with some great company.
On the way over we passed a large castle - stone with four turrets. Bill said that two builders wanted to build a castle – so they did. It is not occupied and has no electricity. Bill thinks it can be rented for parties – daytime only probably since there are no lights.
Going home we drove through an old live oak covered street, and then through the Howard Johnson Hotel parking lot that had the Gran Daddy of all Live Oaks. It had seven main branches each of which was as thick as the main trunk of any oak I have ever seen. The main trunk looked to be 10-12 ft. in diameter. A really good evening. Thanks Bill.
Thursday, April 7th
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| On the way to Fernandina Beach |
We lucked out and carried the current most of the way. We arrived at 4:00 - an hour earlier than I thought we would. We were able to refuel at the commercial dock before they closed. Then we moved to a mooring.
I had been trying to locate a friend that I worked with 17 years ago. Jerry and Cheech bought our previous boat and they lived in Fernandina Beach then. I somehow had lost his email and the phone numbers had changed. Three years ago when we were passing through I tried to call and even on the radio with no success. This time we were stopped and I asked the dockmaster if he knew them. He did and He got me their phone number. I called and Jerry came down and we went back to their house for a glass of wine and a lot of talking. We went out to a Mexican Restaurant that night and had a great time. It felt as if we had only seen them yesterday. We stayed out late and it was worth it. Fortunately we do not need an early start tomorrow.
We leave Florida Tomorrow!
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