So Long Flor-ee-da!

Hearing someones engine rev to life can work as an excellent alarm clock. It's a way of saying get up sleepy head!! Well, we heard that engine roar to life about 6:30 in the morning and you guessed it, UP and AT EM!  Shortly after seven we dropped the lines and began our days journey. Hey we're retired what's with this early morning rise thing? The first mate in the mean time brewed a delicious pot of coffee and served it on the bridge while travelling , accompanied by a warm and hearty breakfast.
We passed under the Bridge of Lions and set out to pass the St. Augustine Inlet.The tides and currents were in our favor that makes for a great day for fuel economy. Lo' and Behold we crossed the St. John's River which meant we had already travelled 40 miles for the day. At this point we were approaching Sisters' Creek bridge and spotted a trawler approaching from the other side. We heard the bridge tender talking to the captain and it turned out to be Driftaway. A couple who blog about their life aboard a Choy Lee with their 3 dogs.You have to have patience to have 3 dogs on your boat .Well, this would be a great photo op time, but somebody hadn't charged the battery enough. After the first shot, the camera went dead!!
Normally we plan our stops or possible stopping ports and how far we're going to travel and today we were going to try a new to us spot, but by the time we came upon that spot, it just seemed to early to stop. So once again, we shrugged at each other and asked further? Ok, further... how much further? Our favorite saying is 'play it by ear',, if either one of us says stop, we stop. Well, neither one of us said stop until we crossed the Florida border and anchored down for the night at Cumberland Island.That was a total of 70 miles travel in 8 hrs. Ok, we need a day of rest!!
That's just exactly what we did, we rested for the next day. Ok,  to be honest, not voluntarily rested. Cumberland Island is a beautiful island to explore. Google it! We planned to dinghy to shore, but as luck would have it the Evinrude motor for the dinghy just wouldn't keep running. In the past 4 years, it's rarely given us trouble but darn it why today? So, after a few choice expletives from the Captain, we just relaxed for the rest of the day.

 St. Augustine Mooring Field

St. Augustine

Driftaway

Ameilia Island Mud Flats

Cumberland Island Wild Horses

St. Augustine, Fl

We rose fairly early in the morning and raised anchor. We timed our departure to give us a nice push up the Halifax River and made great time for arrival at St. Augustine, 60 miles, 6 hours, thats 10miles/hr, not bad for a trawler. The Summer Wind felt like a 'go fast' (power boat).
Our plans included staying  2 nights in a nice marina up the San Sebastian river where the manager arranged for a fuel truck to come to us for a fill. WOW. $3.54 a gallon including tax. That was the cheapest we had spent for many months. For you not so faint of heart, we put in over 210 gallons. You do the math!
Spent a nice day in town and even purchased a couple of pieces of art for our home. Also did a good deed today. We were in line at the Fort Castillo De San Marcos waiting for tickets and I (Dick) remembered I had a Senior Golden Pass which gets me in free to any national park with 3 others. Behind us was a young couple with 2 small children and asked them to join us  for free tickets. They were very grateful and couldn't thank us enough.
Back on board for a nice meatloaf that Elle is starting so just relaxing for tomorrow. Hope to hear back from many of you and also hope you enjoy reading about our adventures.

Flagler College

Flager College Entrance

Lightner Museum

Lightner  Museum Tower

Heading Down King Street 

Castillo De San Marcos 

View of Bridge of Lions from the tower

Looking North 

Castillo Moat Entrance

Well Guarded

Cathedral Basilica St. Augustine

The Sea Breeze and the Summer Wind

Our Second day and the weather is just glorious. There was a refreshing gentle sea breeze which kept us rejuvenated and deciding to go a little farther as the day progressed. Finally dropped the hook about 80 miles at Dragon Point near Eau Gallie, FL. We turned and said to each other,"are we crazy". This trip is supposed to be easy. We sat on the back deck for a short period watching the dolphins fish around the boat after dinner.
One of the best things on the boat is a nice hot shower after travelling all day. Navy showers are a definite must. For you land lubbers that means, turn on water,wet down quickly, turn off water, soap hair and body, rinse thoroughly but sparingly.

This guy was enticing us to come play as he swam along our wake!

Approaching Melbourne, Fl

Osprey caught fresh fish dinner!

Mother nature was being incredibly generous with the weather, providing warm sunny skies with a nice gentle sea breeze to keep us cool. Our third night we dropped an anchor just passed Ponce Inlet in Rockhouse Creek. Another 70 plus mile day and we just shake our head at each other, 'we did it again?!'
Rockhouse Creek is a small anchorage where we watch egrets, heron and ospreys hunt for food. It's close to the Ponce Inlet lighthouse.  We normally go into the New Smyrna municipal marina to meet our friends Fran and Al, however they were already heading north by car. Sorry to have missed you this time guys, see you on the return trip.