Friday, November 26, 2004

Left St. Mary's around 8:00 am.  Lots of current at all of these inlets.  9:00 am crossed into Florida.  Anchored behind Pine Island just north of St. Augustine.  A very quiet night.  "Changes in Latitudes" and "AB Seas" were also there.

Saturday, November 27, 2004

Left anchorage around 8:15 am.  A short trip today to St. Augustine.  Lots and lots of current at all the bridges - never saw so much current.  Arrived St. Augustine around 11:00 am. Went to the fuel dock and filled up.  Took a dock slip and went ashore to explore the town.  A beautiful warm day.  St. Augustine is the oldest  European inhabited town in the US - settled by the Spanish in the early 1500's.  Discovered by Ponce de Leon looking for the fountain of youth - heard that it's here - we'll look for it tomorrow!  We walked around town and found three museums that we want to tour tomorrow.  So much history here and so much to do.  It's a really beautiful town - reminds me of  Albuquerque and Santa Fe NM - very Spanish with a plaza and old Spanish architecture, Governors house, etc.  Had a late lunch with our friends from "Changes in Latitudes" and "AB Seas"  and new friends from "Messing About" at a local establishment.  Started raining pretty hard so we headed back to the boat.  The town is all decked out for the holidays and the lights are beautiful at night - palm trees (instead of pine trees) covered with lights. 

Plaza and Christmas lights

Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine and the oldest street in the  US

Sunday, November 28, 2004

Went to 9:00 am mass at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine, the oldest Catholic parish in the US with a history dating back to 1565.  A very nice service with a great music ministry.  Spent some time touring the cathedral and the grounds, and examining the beautiful architecture and art.  Went to breakfast at a small cafe and started our tour of the town.  Toured the Government House museum in the morning and then in the afternoon the fort, Castillo de San Marcos, first built in 1672.  Saw a neat demonstration of the firing of a cannon (six pounder)  from the top of one of the Bastions - very loud!  The day was sunny and cool but very pleasant. 

When we got back to the boat we measured the height of the mast to make sure we can get through the bridge on the Okeechobee canal and decided we can make it with 2 feet to spare - should be exciting!  Also met a couple from Trenton, Ontario, Wendy and Joe from "Off Call" who know our old friends from Lake Ontario, Barbara and Karl Hisey - small world. 

Courtyard inside fort and entrance over the moat

Alan in the signal tower and view to bridge and marina

Firing of the six pounder

Monday, November 29, 2004

Left St Augustine around 7:30 am.  The waterway is straightening out, no more meandering around bends - just following the coastline of eastern Florida.  As a result we're now making much better progress getting south!  Another warm sunny day - weather has been perfect.  Anchored about 10 miles south of Daytona Beach in Rockhouse Creek just behind the Ponce de Leon inlet.  A very peaceful place with lots of wildlife and plenty of no-see-ums.  Had to put the screens on around 4:00pm.

Tuesday, November 30, 2004

Left the anchorage around 8:45am - a short trip today to Titusville - only 30 miles.  Long straightaway through Mosquito Lagoon.  Saw lots of people out fishing in little boats and plenty of dolphins again.  Could also see the structures of Cape Canaveral in the distance.  Anchored in Titusville around 2:00 pm.  Took the dinghy to shore and went to a small market.  Not a lot here.  On the way back to the boat the propeller shear pin on the outboard broke - row, row, row your boat!  Alan got a bit on unscheduled exercise.  Fortunately we knew that these pins go so we had a spare on board - an easy fix for a change.

Wednesday, December 1, 2004

Left Titusville anchorage around 7:30 am.  Another short day - 35 miles - but another straightaway so we made 35 miles south.  Anchored just off the intra coastal outside of Melbourne.  Spent a quiet afternoon at anchor reading and working on a new knitting project - very relaxing.  It's getting warmerr every day and we're really enjoying it.  Tomorrow is another short day to Vero Beach.

Thursday, December 2, 2004

Left the anchorage around 7:30 am.  Another warm and sunny day.  A nice short trip to Vero Beach.  Saw lots of dolphins again.  Three came along side and I played with them for over 15 minutes.  They would surface on one side of the boat, roll on their sides and look at me, smile as if they knew me and then go under the boat to the other side.  I was like a kid in a candy shop - just kept going from one side of the boat to the other, talking to them and reaching out to them - could almost touch them!  It was amazing  - as long as I played with them they kept it up!  Alan spotted out first manatee this afternoon just off the starboard side of the boat.  Arrived at Vero Beach around 1:00 pm.  Took a short walk into town and the beach and looked at the devastation left by the hurricanes.   Just about every hotel/resort on the Atlantic beach has been devastated. Had lunch outdoors in a little restaurant right on the beach looking out over the Atlantic and the surf and basking in the warm sun!   Vero is a very cruiser friendly place - they have a free bus service that will get you to just about anyplace you want to visit.  We took it out to the Publix market and the bank.  Got back to the marina and found a bunch of our cruiser friends were there and visited with them in the evening.  This is the life.

Playful dolphins on the Indian River, Florida