Welcome to Warm Sunny Florida???

Thursday December 16th-  We crossed the Georgia/Florida border... Normally we've anticipated shedding of jackets, sweaters, mitts, and donning of tees and shorts. Alas, this was not to be, in fact as we were heading into our slip the winds had picked up immensely. The captain pulled us in nice and smoothly and even the dock master complimented him on how well he controlled the Summer Wind. Our destination today was the Fernandina Harbor Marina on Amelia Island where we would spend 2 days getting our land legs back and getting off the boat to explore. Working together we made short work of laundry, cleaning up the boat and getting ourselves showered. That night we enjoyed a lovely relaxing dinner at Guaranno's Italian Restaurant.
We've been told that nothing 'exciting' happens on Amelia Island, but upon returning back to the Summer Wind from an outing, we noticed police cars and a crowd of people by the boat ramp. Curious like we are,, we wanted to find out what the fuss was all about.. Well they have a funny way of parking cars on this tiny little Island,, and it sure doesn't look easy trying to get out of that spot. Turns out someone stole the car a whole block away and parked it in the basin....where else can you park it?? The Island is only 14 miles long.

The townsfolk are very friendly here, we learned about the history of some of the families and how they are making things work through this recession. Later in the afternoon we were sitting on the boat and noticed a man walking back and forth the Summer Wind. The captain being curious and friendly himself went out and talked with 'Bob'. He explained how his dream is two years away to be cruising on a boat similar to the Summer Wind. After talking with him a bit, we discovered he knew people that we knew and so the Captain invited him aboard to have a look inside. Well, Bob was grateful for the tour and chat and later in the afternoon thanked us with some shrimp. Wasn't that nice!! Thanks Bob.. great to meet you and hope to see you on the waterway in 2 years.

Mother nature was unpredictable, there were more winter storms coming across and so we ended up spending one more night in the Fernandina marina. We were plugged in warm, and had all the comforts needed, so why go out again in cold weather?

Sunday December 19th- Our day was going to be a long trip to St. Augustine. Normally we would spend a couple of days here but we wanted to get further south and hopefully find some warm weather. Our plan had been to spend a night on one of their mooring balls that is now a new feature to the marina. But as we were travelling along and the temperatures not making 50 degrees the captain said, this is nuts, we're going to be plugged in tonight and decided to take a slip at the marina. Not only had the temperatures dropped, but the winds had really be blowing and if we had been on a mooring it would have been darn cold!!! Thank you Captain Honey!!!!!! We did brave it out for a quick walk through the town, and enjoyed dinner out,, but we were happy to be tucked into a warm comforter with heat for the night!

Monday December 20th- Our destination today was the Halifax Harbor Marina in Daytona. We hadn't been here for a couple of years and the last time we had been here we met so many wonderful people. So, we decided to give it a try. The marina is beautiful, floating docks, and they have a pool ( but its too darn cold for that), but we were disappointed walking along the main street. There were only 2 shops occupied along the main drag that offered any means of shopping and the restaurants were bar type. What a shame! So, we had a quiet evening aboard the Summer Wind and looked forward to our next stop New Smyrna Beach.