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Ft. Lauderdale to St. Augustine
"Water" music from a street musician in St. Augustine.
St. Augustine Easter Parade (Slide Show)
St. Augustine Easter Parade - A little history - "In the mid-1950s, a group of civic leaders decided St. Augustine needed an Easter celebration. Why not, they suggested, take a cue from New York City and its spotlight on Easter bonnets. They decided to do it with a twist. Put the Easter finery on horses. After all, it's the horse-drawn sightseeing carriages with which many identify St. Augustine. And thus was born the Parada de los Caballos y Coches, part of the multi-faceted Easter Festival in this oldest city." I have also included a selection of the antique cars (especially for my cousin John's enjoyment!)
Pictures from Cortez to St. Augustine (Slide Show)
Charlotte Harbor to Marathon
April 6, 2011
We left Charlotte Harbor last Friday and arrived in Marathon after motoring all night. The seas were flat and it felt good to be on the move again. The moon didn’t rise until early morning, but the stars glistened high in the sky. The sky seems so clear especially after living in Chicago where it was impossible to see the stars. We were alone on the water which somehow makes the evening more peaceful.
The last time we sailed through this area we were wearing several layers of fleece. Now the weather is in the 80’s every day and sunny. The solar panels are keeping our batteries completely charged. It is amazing. As part of another project, we had a lift arm for the 15hp engine mailed to Marathon and it is now on the boat. Tim, a friend from Chicago who visited for several days, helped us attach it to the radar pole. We can now lift our big motor which weighs 79 pounds and put it on the dinghy.
We enjoyed having Tim join us for a few days. We piled into the dinghy several nights to visit restaurants to listen to music. We were reminded how lucky we are when Tim prepared to go north to return to work. We still pinch ourselves because our lives seem unreal – no work and no snow.
The dinghy has recently been collecting water between its two floors. This happened before when it rained and water had collected in the dinghy. We fiberglassed part of inside floor but now it is leaking from the outside. We took it to a shop and had it looked at to see if it was worth fixing. The owner of the shop offered us $400 more than what we paid for it. We LOVE our dinghy even more now. Two holes were found on the bottom and patched, so hopefully we will get several years out of it.
Near our mooring ball there are several pods of dolphins that entertain us. Francie has tried to get their picture, but by the time she gets the camera they are gone. They must be camera shy. When she doesn’t bother to get the camera they stay around and play.
We are getting anxious to get on our way up north. Francie has tentatively routed a course back up to Chesapeake Bay and it will take a minimum of 22 travel days. We have plotted longer jumps on the outside rather than staying on the intercostal. We may leave next week depending on the weather.
April 11, 2011
We left Marathon yesterday morning. We sadly waved goodbye to Cheryl and Bill on Walkabout as we cut through the mooring field. We consider them our old friends because we met them on the Erie Canal. We both felt a little melancholy. It feels that we met people we like and then leave them. Sometimes we think it would be nice to travel with people on another boat rather than always by ourselves. Bill and Cheryl are staying in Florida for the summer. We plan to meet them in the Bahamas in November.
Our original route took us straight to Fort Lauderdale. We were going to sail all night. Instead we spent a lovely evening at Rodriguez Key watching the sun set and the stars light up the sky. The temperature was in the 70’s. Bed time was shortly after the setting sun since we planned to leave at 4:30 am.
We couldn’t ask for a nicer day, but the wind could be stronger. Sailors are never happy. The wind is too strong, in the wrong direction, but seldom is it just right. Today the wind is in the right direction and we could sail at 4 knots but we have over 60 miles before arriving at our destination, therefore we have the sails up and the engine on also. We can travel at 6 to 7 knots depending on the strength of the wind with the engine on low rpm. We hope to arrive before dark.
Fort Lauderdale will be home for a few days while we visit friends and then we are off to Fort Pierce to visit Patt, Mike’s sister.
April 14, 2011
The weather has been sunny and in the 80’s since we have arrived in Lauderdale. The boat really heats up because we are surrounded by homes. We are so pleased we brought a portable air conditioner with us. By the evening the temp in the boat is in the high 80’s. Our dock is in a very upscale area. The boat across the canal from us is a 100 foot power yacht.
We have enjoyed visiting with our friends. Ken, a retired teacher from Morton, has taken us shopping. We even went to Costco, which made Francie smile all morning. He took Mike to a clinic to get his 6 month blood tests. Kathy, who worked with Francie, took her for a dermatologist appointment and girl type shopping. We spend so much time in the sun that both of us have been seeing a dermatologist at least twice a year.
It is heartwarming to see friends from the past. The hardest part of living on the boat is missing friends and family. We are enjoying returning north because we can pick places that we would enjoy revisiting. We will also have the chance to visit places that we by-passed. Everything is not new, making our lives feel a little more settled. It seems that life feels more comfortable when things are familiar.
Tonight we have dinner at Ken and Steve’s and then in the morning we are off for Fort Pierce.
April 18, 2011
I am just coming off shift and Francie will be on until midnight then I am on until 4am. We left Fort Piece this morning after visiting my sister and her husband. We hope to arrive outside of St. Augustine in the morning. Francie has been talking to Boat US about the entrance to the city because it has a lot of shoaling and swift currents. We hope to get in without a problem. We are trying to time our arrival with slack tide.
The sun just set and there is a beautiful orange glow on the horizon. We are about 8 miles off shore from Cape Canaveral. The launch pads are visible from out here. They are the only tall structures on shore. Someday maybe we will be out here when a shuttle takes off.
We have sailed and motor sailed most of the day. It is one of those perfect days - sun shining and good wind. It was even more perfect when I called my mother in Michigan and they were having snow. We even watched some dolphins play, but (as usual) they disappear as soon as Francie pointed the video camera in their direction. I swear the dolphins are just teasing her with their appearance and then disappearing again.
April 20, 2011
It is a small world. Yesterday in the early morning, we spotted a sailboat behind us. They were faster than us and drew up near so they could see the boat’s name. Moments later they hailed us on the VHF. “Anam Cara, can you tell us where on the ocean we are?” The name of the boat was Outlaw and they were headed to Fernandina, and then further north. They had lost their navigation during the night. Francie gave them the coordinates and chatted a moment. As they passed us, I could see their home port on the back of the boat. “Francie, they are from Chicago.” More chatting and past home locations were mentioned. When Brookfield was stated, the gentleman exclaimed that he graduated from Riverside Brookfield High School. We just looked at each other after the conversation, shook our heads in amazement, and went back to our duties.
Coming into St. Augustine went smoothly. We are on a mooring ball and plan to spend a week. We enjoy the city and have a number of places we want to visit and show Jim and Lisa when they arrive today.
While coming back from town, Francie mentioned, “Did you see the man that just walked past you?” We followed where he had gone down the dock. Sure enough, it was Dean, who we had met on the Erie Canal. We spent some time catching up on our travels. Again it is a small world.
April 23, 2011
The week has flown by. We have certainly enjoyed our time in St. Augustine. Jim and Lisa visited for several days and once again experienced boat life. Francie and I made countless trips up and down St. George Street, the main street for tourists with shops and restaurants. We enjoyed music and happy hours. There were several street performers, but the most unusual was a man who played classical music on glasses filled with water. Francie made a video of him. We also visited the Castillo De San Marcos Fort with Jim and Lisa. The fort is rich in its history and certainly well preserved by the National Park Service.
Our goal was to spend enough time to absorb the atmosphere of the town. We feel that was accomplished and look forward to time in other cities along our journey.
April 24, 2011
Happy Easter!!! Our Easter morning started at the oldest Catholic Church in North America. We celebrated their 447th Easter. The Church, which was built in 1564, was exactly what you would expect from church built by the Spaniards. It was ornate with lots of gold and beautiful statues and stained glass.
Later in the afternoon, we attended the Easter parade in the main section of town. We were reminded of our home town of Brookfield where we would watch the Fourth of July parade from our deck.
The dinghy is up on the davits, everything is stowed, and we are ready to continue our journey north.
We left Charlotte Harbor last Friday and arrived in Marathon after motoring all night. The seas were flat and it felt good to be on the move again. The moon didn’t rise until early morning, but the stars glistened high in the sky. The sky seems so clear especially after living in Chicago where it was impossible to see the stars. We were alone on the water which somehow makes the evening more peaceful.
The last time we sailed through this area we were wearing several layers of fleece. Now the weather is in the 80’s every day and sunny. The solar panels are keeping our batteries completely charged. It is amazing. As part of another project, we had a lift arm for the 15hp engine mailed to Marathon and it is now on the boat. Tim, a friend from Chicago who visited for several days, helped us attach it to the radar pole. We can now lift our big motor which weighs 79 pounds and put it on the dinghy.
We enjoyed having Tim join us for a few days. We piled into the dinghy several nights to visit restaurants to listen to music. We were reminded how lucky we are when Tim prepared to go north to return to work. We still pinch ourselves because our lives seem unreal – no work and no snow.
The dinghy has recently been collecting water between its two floors. This happened before when it rained and water had collected in the dinghy. We fiberglassed part of inside floor but now it is leaking from the outside. We took it to a shop and had it looked at to see if it was worth fixing. The owner of the shop offered us $400 more than what we paid for it. We LOVE our dinghy even more now. Two holes were found on the bottom and patched, so hopefully we will get several years out of it.
Near our mooring ball there are several pods of dolphins that entertain us. Francie has tried to get their picture, but by the time she gets the camera they are gone. They must be camera shy. When she doesn’t bother to get the camera they stay around and play.
We are getting anxious to get on our way up north. Francie has tentatively routed a course back up to Chesapeake Bay and it will take a minimum of 22 travel days. We have plotted longer jumps on the outside rather than staying on the intercostal. We may leave next week depending on the weather.
April 11, 2011
We left Marathon yesterday morning. We sadly waved goodbye to Cheryl and Bill on Walkabout as we cut through the mooring field. We consider them our old friends because we met them on the Erie Canal. We both felt a little melancholy. It feels that we met people we like and then leave them. Sometimes we think it would be nice to travel with people on another boat rather than always by ourselves. Bill and Cheryl are staying in Florida for the summer. We plan to meet them in the Bahamas in November.
Our original route took us straight to Fort Lauderdale. We were going to sail all night. Instead we spent a lovely evening at Rodriguez Key watching the sun set and the stars light up the sky. The temperature was in the 70’s. Bed time was shortly after the setting sun since we planned to leave at 4:30 am.
We couldn’t ask for a nicer day, but the wind could be stronger. Sailors are never happy. The wind is too strong, in the wrong direction, but seldom is it just right. Today the wind is in the right direction and we could sail at 4 knots but we have over 60 miles before arriving at our destination, therefore we have the sails up and the engine on also. We can travel at 6 to 7 knots depending on the strength of the wind with the engine on low rpm. We hope to arrive before dark.
Fort Lauderdale will be home for a few days while we visit friends and then we are off to Fort Pierce to visit Patt, Mike’s sister.
April 14, 2011
The weather has been sunny and in the 80’s since we have arrived in Lauderdale. The boat really heats up because we are surrounded by homes. We are so pleased we brought a portable air conditioner with us. By the evening the temp in the boat is in the high 80’s. Our dock is in a very upscale area. The boat across the canal from us is a 100 foot power yacht.
We have enjoyed visiting with our friends. Ken, a retired teacher from Morton, has taken us shopping. We even went to Costco, which made Francie smile all morning. He took Mike to a clinic to get his 6 month blood tests. Kathy, who worked with Francie, took her for a dermatologist appointment and girl type shopping. We spend so much time in the sun that both of us have been seeing a dermatologist at least twice a year.
It is heartwarming to see friends from the past. The hardest part of living on the boat is missing friends and family. We are enjoying returning north because we can pick places that we would enjoy revisiting. We will also have the chance to visit places that we by-passed. Everything is not new, making our lives feel a little more settled. It seems that life feels more comfortable when things are familiar.
Tonight we have dinner at Ken and Steve’s and then in the morning we are off for Fort Pierce.
April 18, 2011
I am just coming off shift and Francie will be on until midnight then I am on until 4am. We left Fort Piece this morning after visiting my sister and her husband. We hope to arrive outside of St. Augustine in the morning. Francie has been talking to Boat US about the entrance to the city because it has a lot of shoaling and swift currents. We hope to get in without a problem. We are trying to time our arrival with slack tide.
The sun just set and there is a beautiful orange glow on the horizon. We are about 8 miles off shore from Cape Canaveral. The launch pads are visible from out here. They are the only tall structures on shore. Someday maybe we will be out here when a shuttle takes off.
We have sailed and motor sailed most of the day. It is one of those perfect days - sun shining and good wind. It was even more perfect when I called my mother in Michigan and they were having snow. We even watched some dolphins play, but (as usual) they disappear as soon as Francie pointed the video camera in their direction. I swear the dolphins are just teasing her with their appearance and then disappearing again.
April 20, 2011
It is a small world. Yesterday in the early morning, we spotted a sailboat behind us. They were faster than us and drew up near so they could see the boat’s name. Moments later they hailed us on the VHF. “Anam Cara, can you tell us where on the ocean we are?” The name of the boat was Outlaw and they were headed to Fernandina, and then further north. They had lost their navigation during the night. Francie gave them the coordinates and chatted a moment. As they passed us, I could see their home port on the back of the boat. “Francie, they are from Chicago.” More chatting and past home locations were mentioned. When Brookfield was stated, the gentleman exclaimed that he graduated from Riverside Brookfield High School. We just looked at each other after the conversation, shook our heads in amazement, and went back to our duties.
Coming into St. Augustine went smoothly. We are on a mooring ball and plan to spend a week. We enjoy the city and have a number of places we want to visit and show Jim and Lisa when they arrive today.
While coming back from town, Francie mentioned, “Did you see the man that just walked past you?” We followed where he had gone down the dock. Sure enough, it was Dean, who we had met on the Erie Canal. We spent some time catching up on our travels. Again it is a small world.
April 23, 2011
The week has flown by. We have certainly enjoyed our time in St. Augustine. Jim and Lisa visited for several days and once again experienced boat life. Francie and I made countless trips up and down St. George Street, the main street for tourists with shops and restaurants. We enjoyed music and happy hours. There were several street performers, but the most unusual was a man who played classical music on glasses filled with water. Francie made a video of him. We also visited the Castillo De San Marcos Fort with Jim and Lisa. The fort is rich in its history and certainly well preserved by the National Park Service.
Our goal was to spend enough time to absorb the atmosphere of the town. We feel that was accomplished and look forward to time in other cities along our journey.
April 24, 2011
Happy Easter!!! Our Easter morning started at the oldest Catholic Church in North America. We celebrated their 447th Easter. The Church, which was built in 1564, was exactly what you would expect from church built by the Spaniards. It was ornate with lots of gold and beautiful statues and stained glass.
Later in the afternoon, we attended the Easter parade in the main section of town. We were reminded of our home town of Brookfield where we would watch the Fourth of July parade from our deck.
The dinghy is up on the davits, everything is stowed, and we are ready to continue our journey north.