Anam Cara Sail
  • Anam Cara
  • 2023
    • Not April Fools!
  • 2021
    • A Hopeful Spring
    • Feels good to travel!
    • Waterfalls & Summer!
    • Ending & Beginning
  • 2020
    • Surreal Spring
  • 2019
    • July already!
    • Fall Travels
    • Ho Ho Ho!
  • 2018
    • Texas winter to Arizona spring
    • National Parks & California!
    • Midwest Summer
    • End of Year Travels
  • 2017
    • St. Petersburg & Cuba
    • Sweet Home Alabama
    • Spring into Summer
    • Black Hills & Nebraska
    • Colorado
    • New Mexico to Texas
    • Texas
  • 2016
    • Transitions
    • Spring in the Land Yacht
    • Back home in the Midwest
    • Travels to Maine
    • Prince Edward Island
    • Southbound
    • December
  • Cruising 2015
    • St. Petersburg
    • Southbound in Gulf - Northbound in Atlantic
    • Summer in Beaufort
    • September on the road...
    • October on the road...
    • December
  • Cruising 2014
    • Winter in Stuart
    • Key Biscayne to Great Harbour Cay
    • Green Turtle Cay to Cumberland Island
    • Beaufort, South Carolina
    • Land travels
    • Ireland and Scotland
  • Cruising 2013
    • March
    • Cortez, FL to Beaufort, NC
    • Back to Deltaville!
    • Back to Washington DC
    • A Capital 4th!
    • The rest of the summer . . .
    • Heading South
    • Merry Christmas
  • Cruising 2012
    • Winter in Marathon
    • Bahamas
    • Bimini to Exuma
    • Exuma to Abaco
    • Getting home
    • New Bern, NC >
      • New Bern Summer
    • New Bern to Ocracoke
    • Myrtle Beach to Marathon
  • Cruising 2011
    • Cortez to Charlotte Harbor
    • Ft. Lauderdale to St. Augustine
    • The Carolina's
    • Chesapeake
    • Washington DC
    • Deltaville & Solomons Island
    • Hurricane Irene
    • Leaving the Chesapeake
    • The Carolina's
    • Savannah to Marathon
  • Chicago to Florida 2010
    • Cortez
    • Marathon
    • Ft. Pierce & Ft. Lauderdale
    • St. Augustine
    • Charleston to Cumberland Island
    • Beaufort to Charleston
    • Hampton to Beaufort
    • New York to Hampton
    • Hudson River
    • Erie Canal
    • Port Clinton
    • Port Huron
    • Charlevoix to Port Sanilac
    • Manistee to Charlevoix
    • Holland to Manistee
    • St. Joe to Holland
    • Hammond to St. Joe
    • From the Boatyard to the Water
  • Summer 2009 North Channel
  • Summer 2008 Lake Michigan
  • Summer 2007 To Chicago
  • April 2007 Sarasota
  • Buddies for Bob
  • Mike's Motorcycle Journals
    • How it all began
    • 2000 Seattle & Vancouver
    • 2001 Maritime Provinces
    • 2002 Wandering West
    • 2003 Oregon
    • 2004 Bar Harbor, Maine
    • 2005 Blue Ridge Mountains
    • 2006 Alaska
  • Contact Us
  ​A distance of 74 miles took us from the shores of Flagler Beach to Silver Springs in Ocala National Forest in central Florida.  The two places couldn’t be more different.  The RV spent 3 weeks at Lake Waldena while we travelled to and fro.  Francie had a sibling reunion in Washington DC and went to Ohio for Thanksgiving.  Mike spent time with his son in Orlando and Thanksgiving with family in Fort Pierce.    

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​Ocala, Florida, the largest town near Silver Springs has a horse training, racing and breeding history which we were able to experience on a horse farm tour.  We visited a thoroughbred training facility where we watched horses running on a track, a farm where Arabian horses were breed and sold, and a stud farm where we received a horse shoe worn by the stud Khozan.

​Here are just a few facts that we learned on our tour: Calcium from the limestone in Ocala’s soil helps build strong horse bones. In addition to Ocala - Lexington, Kentucky and Chantilly, France are the world’s top racehorse breeding regions. Of the 70,000 acres viable for racehorses in Marion County 60,000 are in production today.  


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​Months ago we make reservations to go to Steven Foster State Park.  We were there last year and watched the rangers and volunteers putting up hundreds of lights preparing for the Festival of Light on the first Friday of December.  We couldn’t think of better way to begin the Christmas season than to attend the Festival of Lights, and we were not disappointed.

Christmas lights in Florida

​After arriving in St. Petersburg, we have been extremely busy catching up with friends whom we last saw in the spring.  Also Mike, our friend and new owner of Anam Cara was here from Chicago.  We have been helping him get the boat put back together after being stored for the summer.  It has been fun helping and going sailing.  Mike signed up to sail in the St. Petersburg to Cuba Race at the end of February and asked us if we wanted to crew.  Traveling to Cuba was something we always wanted to do when we owned Anam Cara, now we get to do it!
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Another year traveling is once again coming to an end.  It has been a pleasure for us to share our experiences with you.  Thank you for writing and keeping us informed about the things happening in your lives.   
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We wish you all a very Merry Christmas, joyful Holidays and may the coming year bring you happiness and good health.