St. Augustine by water

Tuesday, April 10, 2012, another gorgeous day on the water.

This island, right in front of our dock in New Smyrna Beach, had more pelicans (both brown and white) than we had ever seen gathered in one place:

We have taken a picture of Mary Frances 4 at every dock this whole trip....except this one.  Here's as close as we get-John is unhooking the shore power to prepare to get underway Tuesday morning:

Ponce De Leon Inlet Light:

The water is SO SMOOTH today!

Why you want to be sure to stay in the channel.  Our charts showed 3 feet just outside the ICW here.  Our boat draws 3 feet, sailboats much more:

We also saw an 18 foot powerboat aground today, with two people in the water trying to push it clear.  We didn't take any pictures because we didn't want to embarrass them and hope others will be as kind if we ever find ourselves in that position.  By the way, we have run aground once more than the St. Joseph, MI experience alluded to (much) earlier.  We were on the Banana River on our way into Patrick Air Force Base.  When John realized there was sand against the hull, he shifted to neutral and the boat luckily floated free.

We passed our first tug and barge since Pensacola today. We have been in many very wide stretches of water but, of course, that's not where this encounter occurred:

Do you see the red and green (against the bow of the boat) channel markers? Not only does this boat have to pass between them, but we have to pass him in that narrow channel.  John tries to turn around to get out of his way, but the water is too shallow even just outside the channel and the wind and current do not allow that maneuver.  The tow captain is as professional and just plain good at his job as most we've encountered and John does his part and we squeak safely by.  Mary was going to cope by closing her eyes, but there is just a little more room than the perspective in this picture shows.

Fort Matanzas from the water:

We saw a few dolphins today, not in yesterday's numbers, but fun whenever they deign to grace us (we mere mortals) with their presence:

We had three good passing experiences yesterday and 2 today, noteworthy because many trawler and sailboat operators profess to hate SeaRays, or "SR's" (all fast powerboats seem to be lumped into this designation) because they throw such a big wake and cause the other boats to roll and pitch.  Purist seagoers may insist on calling it "overtaking" instead of passing, but picture passing a slower vehicle on the road and you'll know what we're talking about.  All boats produce a wake, the faster and bigger the boat, the bigger the wake.  We slow down when approaching (from either direction) pontoon boats, small fishing boats, kayaks, etc. so we won't rock them too much.  No problem.  The problems arise when we pass a boat that can maintain a speed of 8 miles an hour or greater.  We throw a worse wave at non-planing speed, but trying to go fast enough to get by, than if we just stayed up on plane.  If we pass on plane, we join the ranks of those inconsiderate speed-boaters who either don't care or are ignorant.  We have treated this situation in the past by telling other captains that if they slow down enough, the pass will be gentle.  We figured that those who didn't slow down enough were making the choice to be rocked, as our speed must be close to idle to accomplish a "soft pass".  Perhaps those boats did not realize how much they should reduce their speed.  The "good passes" referred to here consisted of the slower boats (one trawler, two catamarans, two sailboats) slowing to idle speed so we could travel just fast enough to pass.  After we passed, they each turned behind us, into where our wake would be if we were on plane.  We could then both increase our speed with no issue, as they were directly behind us so would not be affected by our wake.  We may have each lost a couple of minutes, but we love being thanked for our consideration and say "thanks" in return for making it possible.

St. Augustine light from the water:

Mary Frances in her slip at St. Augustine Municipal Marina:

Manatee and dolphins

St. Augustine city gates:

Monday, April 2, we decided to drive to St. Augustine, our country's oldest city, as we'd never been there and weren't sure how much of the history we'd be able to access from the water.  We could have waited, as the historical section is right by the municipal marina and there are trolleys available. Oh well, we had a nice day there.

Castillo De San Marcos, the oldest fort in the US, was begun in 1672 and was still under construction during the Civil War:

St. Augustine light:

Flagler College, originally the Ponce De Leon Hotel, a part of Flagler's hotel chain along the east coast of Florida:

The entry:

Edison wired the place himself and Tiffany designed much of the living space.  This is the cafeteria used by students today, the dining room when hotel guests came for the season:

This is one of the original Tiffany chairs.  Although most have been replaced by reproductions, there are still about 30 around campus.  There are 5 in the dining hall and students use them every day:

The Bridge of Lions.  We'll be heading under it on the intracoastal in a few days.

Fort Matanzas on the Matanzas River, built to protect the inlet:

Wednesday we drove to Fort Pierce to meet Francine and Wayne for lunch.  We last saw them in Fairhope, AL early in November where they stayed a while because My Way needed some repairs.  It was wonderful to visit with them and we hope to see them again as we all head north.

The marina at Patrick Air Force Base is called Manatee Cove and we had been told last year, as we drove some of the Great Loop route, that there were always manatee here in the spring.  We hadn't seen any before we went home, but spent a couple of hours each evening after our return sitting on the dock watching them:

This is a mom and baby.  They were sleeping, so only stuck their noses above the surface about every 15-20 minutes.  There is something peaceful about their gentle, slow ways.

Tuggsy back in place, awaiting new adventures:

Good Friday we went to a restaurant in Satellite Beach called Sun on the Beach.  The man who repaired our dinghy had recommended it  and it's a good thing we didn't try it right away, as we would have had to return often.  Mary had Gullah Benedict-fried green tomatoes with poached eggs and Hollandaise sauce with shrimp on top.  John's Greek omelet was also delicious and there were many more intriguing menu items.

Though we've enjoyed our time here, we're ready to move on.  Monday, April 9, this dolphin appeared to lead us out of the marina.  We traveled back up the Banana River and into the Intracoastal on the Indian River.

It was a glorious day on the water and we saw over 50 dolphins.  At one point John mentioned that, although we'd watched many manatee, we hadn't seen any on the water as we were boating.  Before he finished the statement, one surfaced right in front of us.  We saw another a little later.  This is the bridge over the Haulover Canal near the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.  Once under the bridge, the intracoastal enters Mosquito Lagoon.  Luckily, we were able to travel fast enough to outrun them.

One of the best things about this trip is the ability to change plans or not even make them.  We had thought maybe we'd go to St. Augustine or Daytona Beach today, depending on how much of the ICW was no or minimum wake.  At about 3 o'clock, we pulled out the Waterway Guide to decide which Daytona Beach marina to call.  Oh, look, New Smyrna Beach sounds interesting.  We call and they have room for us.  As we approach, John says, "Look who's here" and there is Passport in the slip next to the one we are directed into and John and Mary on the dock to greet us and catch lines. The wind and current require a second approach, but we tie up, go for a short walk, then join Mary and John and Ginny and Craig from Brown-eyed Girl on the dock for a visit.

Going home and a new Tuggsy!

We talked about what size rental car we needed-not much to take home, economy size should be fine.  We forgot about the comfort required by our older bodies!  Hertz is a better deal this time as, even with the charge to deliver, they offer a better unlimited mileage out-of-state deal than Enterprise.  We have a Mazda 2.  John proclaims his toughness, Mary aches for days and remembers why she has an old-lady car (Matthew's description) with comfortable heated seats and lumbar support.

When we arrived at Patrick Air Force Base we discovered that they only have 30 amp service at each dock. John built a y-cord to serve us in case this occurred. One small problem-we included that cord in the sale of our 30 foot boat.  Another, "Oh, well," and $220.00.  We can only run one air conditioner and have to switch off the hot water heater to use the stove.  We know-you feel SO sorry for us!

We thought we would just drive toward Orlando and get on I-75, but Gabby (our Garmin-you have to name them so you can talk back) directed us to stay on 95.  A pretty drive, plus we will actually travel on some roads new to us.  Time to stop, as we left Patrick AFB about 1:30.  Mary pulled out the military travel atlas and Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base is close.  This base is the east coast home of our Trident (nuclear) submarines. We decided to splurge and spent an extra $10.00 for a suite, instead of the $39.00 for a regular room.

We drove on 40, so once again traveled past the site of the rock slide that closed the road in 2009.  We both enjoy driving through the mountains-so pretty any time, but it reminds us of many spring breaks with our boys when we looked for signs of spring. We both thought our northernmost trees with leaves would be in Tennessee, but the winter has been so mild that we arrived in Michigan to the same 80 degree temperatures we left in Florida.  Fields are green, daffodils are blooming.  By the time we left, after a couple of days of freeze warnings, there was concern about the fruit crop, as trees had already blossomed.

We have missed Tuggsy-Tug since we had to give the badly damaged blue and yellow plastic toy a burial at Boca Chica.  Matthew had been monitoring any possible sites for a replacement and called Mary when one became available on E-Bay.  John was surprised and delighted to find one waiting when we arrived home:

The one that decided to become a ghost ship on this trip was blue and yellow and had been Matthew's Tuggsy.  The new one Matthew found for us is red and yellow-the color of the boat that had belonged to Benjamin and had broken many years ago.  John at first decided that we wouldn't leave this Tuggsy on deck and exposed to the sun where the plastic could deteriorate in 20 years.  Mary said, "Will we care if Tuggsy gets brittle in 20 years?" and we decided our new little boat will travel on deck in the same place of honor the other Tuggsys have held and Baby Tuggsy (a gift from Shannon) will once again ride on Tuggsy's smokestack.

We both passed our physicals with flying colors (we've been riding our bikes enough to keep the cholesterol in check despite all of the dinners out) and our glasses are straightened and cleaned.  Joanne invited us to join her for dinner and we were MOST grateful to accept, as we have only a couple of freezer skillet dinners in the house.  Besides her delightful company, she actually let us take home some leftovers!  We had a terrific visit with Sarah's mom, Kim, during a dinner date at the Fireside Grille-the new Shepherd golf course restaurant we tried with Sarah in August.  She was leaving early the next week for a visit with Benj and Sarah in Boston (we're just a little jealous!).  John visited with former co-worker Fred and we drove to Tawas to see Sue and Denny's wonderful new house in East Tawas and visit with Mary's parents.  We really enjoyed our visit with Denny (glad the yard work and moving is your job, Denny, and not ours!) and look forward to visiting the Wymans at their new castle.  Mom and Dad, we love you and wish our time together was longer-so glad you came to the Keys to enjoy the sunshine with us.

Mary did laundry and dusted and vacuumed, in spite of John's insistence that there will just be MORE dust when we get home in August or September.  John ran some errands, paid for the couple of driveway plows this mild winter required, picked up sticks in the yard, rolled the lawn (darn moles!), and arranged for the mowing to commence when necessary.  Our teeth are clean and shiny and it's time to travel back to our 2nd home and continue the adventure.

We took our time on the trip back-didn't leave home until noon and spent 3 nights on the road.  Our dentist appointments were late morning and John's coat was left in the Mariner, so we went back to Shepherd to get it and picked up our mail.  We actually managed to have our decision to stop for the night coincide with the location of military bases twice this trip.  The first military housing stop was at Fort Jackson in South Carolina.  Temporary military lodging is for military personnel being transferred to the base whose housing isn't ready and for temporary assignments (like the Canadian and national guard/reserve troops who trained at Naval Air Station Key West while we were there).  If space is available, retirees and active military on leisure travel (vacation) can use it.  Our cottage at Fort Jackson was called "Lee Cottage", named after "Lighthorse" Harry Lee, a revolutionary war hero, not after his son, Robert E.  Here is a picture of the cottage and the view:

We visited an airport in South Carolina that was one of 4 places where Tuskeegee airmen received combat training and we stopped at this Low Country visitor center, the Frampton House, which was rebuilt in 1868 after Sherman's march to the sea.  The live oak is more than 250 years old and there are Civil War earthworks in the back yard.

We visited the the 8th Air Force Museum near Savannah.  John plans to return some time with Matthew (who lives only 90 miles away) and stay longer.  He took this picture of St. George the Dragonslayer, as he is the patron saint of Armor:

We visited Fort Pulaski and stamped our national park passport, as we won't be close when we travel on the intracoastal.  We'll come back next year when we drive to the keys, spend more time at the fort and climb the 2 lighthouses, Cockspur Island Light and Tybee Island Light:

We stayed at Fort Stewart.  Our experience has been that the Air Force usually has the nicest housing, although we've stayed in some great rooms in historic buildings on navy bases and army posts.  The Patriot Cottage here wins the prize.  Unpreposessing on the outside, the amenities, comfort and decor were unsurpassed:

The cost for the cottages was about the same we would pay for a Holiday Inn Express.  Back at Patrick Air Force Base, we made arrangements to have our dinghy picked up so the second davit (the other one was reglued in Mobile Bay) could be reaffixed.  We decided to keep the car a little longer, since we're "stuck" here until Patches is returned to us.

Jupiter to Patrick Air Force Base

Friday, March 16

We had a very pretty run today. We are out of the congestion and there aren't as many "slow" zones.

Jupiter Inlet Light:

A pretty stretch of the ICW:

Patrick Air Force Base is close to Cape Canaveral and part of its mission is to support NASA.  John says it's a pretty base and the commissary and exchange are close to the marina.  Mary will check it out when we return from Michigan, as she twisted her ankle when she slipped off the step getting on the boat when we first arrived and spent the first afternoon with her foot elevated and ice on her ankle.

Mary Frances settled in for a long stay:

Saturday, March 17

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Gloria is decked out for the occasion:

John went for a bike ride while Mary rested her ankle then we had a corned beef dinner at the little marina bar.  The meal cost $3.00.  We paid $2.75 per foot for dockage at Jupiter, $2.50 in Marathon (each night), and $2.00 in Miami.  The cost here is 95 cents a foot per day.

Sunday we both read and discussed that we should finish our taxes and pack up the things we're taking home (like Christmas decorations) but got no further than talking about it.  John rode his bike to the beach.  We'll get a rental car tomorrow and start home.

Miami to Jupiter

Thursday, March 15

If a rainbow yesterday morning was a good omen, what about 3 rainbows this morning?

Look closely at the second picture-it's a double!  Of course, those clouds in the first picture reflect the 2 hours of rain we traveled in.  It rained hard.  We've never been on the water in so much rain for so long, but the skies cleared and the afternoon was pleasant.  We called the marina at Patrick Air Force Base, near Cape Canaveral, to see if they have room for us to leave the boat when we go home next week.  The harbormaster said he would check and call us back.  He called back and said if our boat is not too tall we can have a covered slip as one of the seasonals is away for a month.  We think we can make do!

Traveling the waterways in our vast and varied country is much like driving the highways-surprises and amazements.  Doesn't this fisherman look as though he could be in a quiet cove on any river?

Here is that same boat in the foreground:

Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse:

Many different styles and sizes of boats belong to the family of "loopers".  Regularly, someone new to the America's Great Loop Cruisers' Association asks on the forum about the "best boat for the loop".  A  few members always respond and the newbie is also advised to check the archives.  The truth is, no one else can answer something so personal.  You must choose the best boat for you.  We love our boat.  The elegant, yet cushy and cozy cabin fits us well and has room for company.  We like the canvas top rather than a hard top so we can take it down on sunny days.  We like the speed because when your home waters are the great lakes, it's often a long way from point to point and the speed allows us to reach our destination before weather conditions change and gives us a chance to outrun unexpected bad weather.  Our shallow draft (the amount of water needed under the hull) allows us access to areas some others cannot access.  We were reminded emphatically of another favorite feature on today's trip-we ran under 34 bridges and only had to wait for 3 to open.  Mary did stand on the side and "eyeball" to make sure we'd fit under one of them (fines are charged if you request an opening when you could fit under) and we probably looked as if we squeaked through as closely as this one:

There are many large buildings, homes and boats

as well as commercial shipping.

This is the former Coast Guard Station and JFK bomb shelter on Peanut Island, a park and environmental restoration area in Lake Worth.



Hey, Christine, here's a boating version of "Rainbow Row"!

Tucked in for the night in Jupiter:

Paul, you are not allowed to comment on the stains until you've had your boat in salt water for 5 months.