We had a nice trip to Cocoa with Vicki and Tom (Grand Baron) and Carey and Nancy ( Tug LeeLoo). Here they are departing Fort Pierce in their new boat with Grand Baron taking up the rear of our "wagon train"
There were lots of manatee areas to navigate. Here is what one sees in the channel to navigate around! Just a nose or a tail, water is too murky to really see them.
We anchored south of the power lines and bridge at Cocoa and celebrated Carey and Nancy's purchase of the Tug LeeLoo and their first day cruising in their new boat. Tom and Vicki provided dinghy service and everyone came aboard Sum Escape for a cocktail and then banana cream pie that Julie had made on the way to the anchorage. Well it was actually banana cream pudding as the pie didn't set with non dairy milk....but no one cared as it was very tasty!
Our 22'+ foot clearance is just enough to squeeze under many 23' bridges! Low tide helps too!
The next day we moved on to Daytona Beach, Halifax Harbor Marina.
DeVere and Carole aboard Job Site were already at Halifax and after they finished visiting with Carole's sister and brother in law, were also ready to move on north.
BTW, they actually finished the Great Loop here as they bought their boat new here 16 years ago! Congratulations Carole and DeVere!! As they said, they really did not know what the Loop was then. Now they can enjoy the travels on the East Coast at a more leisurely pace than they did years ago "delivering" the boat to northern Michigan.
So on Wed the 18th we left Halifax with them and moved on to St Augustine for two nights. Took the trolley tour over to the Fountain of Youth that Ponce de Leon made famous. Here we are getting young by drinking from the fountain! I don't think it is working though....
The Ponce de Leon Memorial:
Replica of the 1587 Mission of Nombre de Dios Church, the first Christian church built in the US
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Toured the Catholic Cathedral Basilica in St Augustine. This is America's oldest Catholic Parish and was built in 1797.
Toured the Hotel Ponce de Leon opened in 1888, now Flagler College since 1968. All these sites are just fantastic displays of period architecture and design.
A medallion on the ceiling, the two dates are Ponce De Leon landing in Florida and the second date is the date of construction of the hotel.
Also toured the Castillo de San Marcos fort which was built in 1672. It is an amazing place. It was never taken in battle and all changes in flag were the result of treaties or other deals, not military action. It is really hard to fathom the engineering and labor that went into this. Really worth touring.
The entrance to the city of St Augustine
We had a great dinner at Centro Piano Bar and Restaurant with Carole and DeVere. Good food and company once again! I have to keep reminding myself to behave when out to eat or the weight gain will certainly follow! So far so good, our walking and boat chores at least get us some good exercise.
On Thursday night a nasty thunderstorm moved through. One couple told us a sailboat in the mooring field was hit...they saw it happen. We stayed under the boater's lounge roof as we were on our way back from dinner when it hit. Lots of lightning.
The Bridge of Lions sculpture on the bridge approach.
On Friday we departed for Fernandina Beach (Amelia Island). Here is a shot of Castillo de San Marcos from the water on the way.
Thunderstorms were forecasted so we were watching the radar the entire trip as they were coming across the state from the west. A we were nearing Fernandina we cranked it up to 20MPH for a few miles to try to beat the storm.
We got checked in and the rain hit, but the storm went south so all we got were a few sprinkles of rain.
The town here has a really nice shopping district. We like this store's chalkboard....
Saturday night we went to David's Restaurant on the recommendation of a local. Looked like not much from the outside, but the inside was very nice and the food was very good. Haven't had such a good steak since leaving the Chop House in Grand Rapids! This was our farewell dinner with DeVere and Carole as they were leaving for Hilton Head early Sunday. We hope to catch up with them again next winter in the Bahamas as they are planning to come south again for the season too.
On Sunday we walked to Mass at St Michaels about 8 blocks away. Very nice church and friendly parishioners too. Then we broke out the folding bikes and pedaled over to Fort Clinch. What a beautiful bike ride. Once into the state park it was three miles of tree lined shaded riding...just beautiful.
Entrance to Fort Clinch
Then we got on A1A and went south to Seaside Beach and the famous Sliders Seaside Grill to rehydrate and refuel for energy!
Then we hit Publix on the way back to the boat....it was at least a 15 mile trip on the bikes today and it felt good to be back on them. The last time we used them we were in the Berry Islands back in March! But they don't take much room in the lazarette and they sure are nice to have. Good exercise too!
On Monday Tom changed the generator oil, Julie did cleaning, laundry and organizing, we booked airline tickets to go see all of our kids this summer and we also rode the bikes to Wal Mart for a couple items we needed. Sunset from the boater's lounge while waiting on laundry.
Tomorrow we cast off for Cumberland Island National Seashore. We'll anchor out and spend some time hiking the sights on the island for a couple days. Hopefully we see the wild horses! Just taking our sweet time migrating north.....
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