The Best and Worst of Days

June 28, 2011

I was reading the guide book last night and saw Blackbeard Island was going to be on our route today.  Brian found it on the charts, and as we approached he announced "all mateys are going ashore".  Yea, pack a lunch and launch the dingy we are off for an adventure!  The sand glittered in the sun and we were sure that it was silver and gold dust from Blackbeard’s treasure chest.  It is thought to be buried on this island.  We ate lunch and walked the beach, picking up shells along the way.  Several dolphins swam by.  One jumped all of the way out of the water.  What a perfect day!  The tide was rising and soon the beach would be totally under water.  Time to head back. 



Looking for treasure and shells.
Guess what we found -- shells!



Definately the captain of the dingy,



Back on the boat and settled in; Brian pulled the anchor. I drove. Once the anchor was up, I began heading back to the intercoastal heading for Savannah.  Only one big problem -- I ran the boat up on a huge submerged pile of rocks.  The rocks are from Africa and were used as ballast on a slave ship. When the ballast was no longer  needed it was dumped.   Well, I really hit it and we were really stuck.  I put out a call for help on the radio and a local boat came to pull us off.  Unfortunately, they didn’t have enough power.  To make things worse, the tide was going out -- fast.  The longer we sat the more the boat listed to port.  We put Christopher's life jacket on him and got ours out of the locker.  Brian launched the dingy in case we had to abandon ship.  It was getting very difficult to walk through the boat it was leaning so far over now.  We subscribe to a towing service, Tow Boat US.  Unfortunately, they don’t have service in this area.  Sea Tow does and offered to come to our rescue.  They were about a half hour away.  No other choice.  Yes, come and pull us off…..  After a lot of horrible scraping noises (our hull on the rocks) and $1750 we were once again floating.  All of the equipment is functioning, but we know there is damage to the hull.  The boat will have to be inspected and repairs made.  Not sure where that will take place.  Hopefully, it can wait until we get to the Chesapeake.

300 horsepower and pulling from the right angle
freed us to travel on.

 Gotta smile – We’re lovin the ride!     Yes, even today…..            

St Augustine & Escaping Tropical Storm Debby

June 22 - 27, 2012

Approaching St Augustine -- founded 55 years before
the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock.

St. Augustine is one of those great American cities that has something for everyone.  History, pirate lore, art, restaurants, shopping, beautiful architecture and it is right on the intercoastal waterway.  When we arrived, we thought that we would stay one night.  We pulled into the Riverside Marina and were told that it was only a couple of blocks to the trolley and about a half mile into town.  Ok, I can do that even though it is midday and the humidity is about 90%.  They lied…….. I thought I might have to lie down on the sidewalk and wait to be resuscitated.  After walking about ¾’s of a mile, we finally arrived at the trolley stop. What a relief!  We rode around the entire route to figure out the lay of the land (and, to let me recover). While touring we found the Municipal Marina which really is only a couple of blocks from downtown. Tomorrow we will be moving the boat.

Bob and Cheryl -- friends from Minnesota

As we were waiting for the next trolley, we heard someone yelling “Smillies, Smillies”. There were friends from our church in Minnesota. Cheryl and Bob had moved to Oregon and then Florida. We haven’t seen them in years. We asked if they wanted to come and see the boat and they offered to drive us. Yes, I’ve been saved from the return trek!  Glad to see Bob and Cheryl, but really grateful for the ride!

The next morning we moved the boat and planned to spend two more days exploring the city.  We promised Christopher that we’d go to the Pirate and Treasure Museum and to the fort.  Both were fun stops.

Castillo de San Marcos -- The Spanish fort

Spanish soldier

Having second thoughts about being shot
out of a cannon

People were defiantely shorter back then.
Watch tower to see incoming pirates and
invaders.

Blackbeard was the most feared of all the pirates. He never bathed, put lit fuses in his braided beard and laced his rum with gun powder lit it and drank the fiery potion. Apparently his girl friend wouldn't sleep with him because he smelled so bad.....imagine that!  I'm more surprised that he had a girl friend.

Monday was our expected day of departure, but our weather was now being influenced by Tropical Storm Debby -- 25 mile per hour wind with 40 mile per hour gusts and torrential rain. At that point Debby was on a track to go to Apalachicola. Tuesday morning we decided to make a run for it (at 8 miles per hour). Debby had changed course and was aiming for St Augustine and Jacksonville. Most of the day was calm and dry. About 4:30 the wind picked up along with the rain. In spite of the weather we wanted to push as far as we could. At 7:30 we dropped our anchor in Georgia completing 78 miles. We’ll be off early tomorrow --trying to put a little more space between us and Debby.

We sat on the front of the boat for two hours
in northern Florida looking for alligators.
Didn't see one-----
Saw lots of other critters including wild pigs!

This is sunset Tuesday night.  The dark at the bottom
of the picture is black clouds with blue sky behind. 
Very weird!

Brian and I were both up several times during the night to make sure the boat was secure.  The wind howled all night.  Our anchor held well in a mud bottom.  In fact, when we pulled it up it had a good fifty pounds of sticky mud attached.  We seem to have gotten beyond Debby’s reach.The sky is blue again and the winds are manageable.

     

 

Gotta smile - we're lovin the ride!

Good Times and Sights Along The Way

June 21, 2012

We anchored near Merritt Island on Tuesday night about fifteen miles from Kennedy Space Center.  A satellite was being launched Wednesday morning and we wanted to be there.  The government is pretty strict about where you can be during launches.  If your boat is in the security zone, you can be fined $250,000, put in jail for ten years and your boat confiscated.  (Jennifer would be really ticked if we got arrested and her six year old was put in jail.)  The launch actually went off almost an hour before scheduled.  I didn’t think that a launch ever went off on time and certainly not an hour early.

 

Ok -- It wasn't the best view, but we were there!
The rocket is the dot above the blue sky...

 

Building his own spaceship -- Lego X-Wing Fighter

That is not the bait -- That is the catch  of the day!

See the guy standing at the top of the mast?
One more reason we do not have a sail boat!

 

Take my word for it -- three manatees....
You will need to look them up on the internet to
see what they really look like.

Palm trees waiting to be planted.
They have only a few stringy roots.

Planted and braced they thrive.

Wouldn't you want to buy a house from us?

It looked like New Smyrna Beach
would be a good place to anchor Wednesday night.  About a half hour before we arrived, Brian said “doesn’t Dixie have a house in New Smyrna?”  Dixie and I were friends and sold real estate together in Minnesota for 26 years.  On a whim I called her.  All the time I was thinking “why would someone from Minnesota come to Florida in the middle of June?”  One good reason: her granddaughter is in a volleyball tournament in Orlando.  She's here with her son and his family for a week to be cheer leaders.  We also found that the city had just installed a dock downtown and it was free!  By the time we pulled in Dixie, her son, Jeff, and his two sons were waiting for us.  They took us to a great seafood restaurant for dinner.  Christopher got to eat at a table with the two 13 year old boys....  he thought he was quite the big boy laughing at all of their jokes.  What a treat to have an unexpected visit and hug from a dear friend.  Once again -- Wouldn't have happened if we had left Stuart the beginning of the month as previously planned.      

Gotta smile -- we're lovin the ride!     

A Couple Things Before We Leave

June 19, 2012

At 4:00 on Monday we finally pulled away from the Stuart gas dock.  At last, we were underway!  31 miles later we anchored near Fort Pierce.  It was a short day of travel, but monumental after all of the delays.

Delays kept us in Stuart 18 days longer than we planned, but we gained some great memories!

Last week, walking back to the boat we passed a couple that Brian thought looked familiar.  We kept walking, and he continued to say that looks like Tim from the Porsche Club.  We haven’t seen Tim for at least 15 years.  I told him he better go chase them down or he’ll be wondering about it for the rest of the day.  Well, of course, it was Tim and his wife Sue.  They just bought a beautiful Italian boat and were only in Stuart for one night and were walking our dock even though their boat was on another.  They live in Colorado in the winter and spend their summers in Minnesota.  We asked them to stop by for a drink and had so much fun talking that we walked to downtown Stuart for dinner to continue the conversation.  Another one of those small world experiences….

Healthy and Happy

Friday morning Brian had the stitches removed from his basal cell surgery.  They couldn’t take all of them out.  One area needed a little more time to heal.  Another visit on Monday completed the procedure.  Healthy skin is his again!



Saturday finally arrived and it was time to pick up Christopher.  We met in Delray Beach for lunch with Ian and his Aunt and Uncle.  At their home I saw mangos growing for the first time – a pretty weird plant. 

The boys introduce me to a scary pirate!

Looks like a well fed group

Mangos grow on a tree and hang
from a 9 inch stem. 

Father’s Day was celebrated with breakfast at Steak and Shake (its really good – try it) on our way to the Kennedy Space Center.  The guys totally agreed the tour and movies were awesome.  Dinner followed in Vero Beach watching big waves break and me explaining the fine art of body surfing to a six year old. 

Chocolate chip pancakes and a breakfast skillet
before Kennedy Space Center on Father's Day.

Christopher in front of the missiles

Gotta smile – we’re lovin the ride!                      

Moving North At 0 Miles Per Hour

June 9, 2012
Last week, we thought once again, we would be on our way north today.  First we thought we'd leave Stuart on the 1st, then the 9th, and now-----the 17th.  No matter how hard we try to live this simple uncomplicated life; we have to acknowledge that life is full of uncharted changes that we have no control over. We'll see how things unfold and what kind of surprises are yet to come.  Hey, no complications, no challenges, no life lessons equal a boring life!!!

Brian's new orange sideburns.
Reading emails while he waits for the doctor.

Brian saw the dermatologist yesterday.  We thought it would be a quick scraping that would put us on our way in less than an hour --- quickly followed by our departure from Stuart.   NO, No, No---4 1/2 hours and about 20 stitches later we were released after promising to return next Friday to have the stitches removed.  I volunteered to remove the stitches myself, but was quickly vetoed by the doctor, the nurse and Brian in unison.  We are fine with the latest changes.  We like Stuart.  We may not see as much up north as we had hoped this summer, but (hopefully) there is next year.  I'm a firm believer that everything works out for the best...so all of this aggravating stuff is best taken care of in one location while we have a car and a support group.

New salon upholstery 

The upholstery guys finally got the salon couches completed yesterday.  Just in time for a 70th birthday party that we hosted for our neighbor.  The couches look very nice.  The lighter color really brightens the room.  

Peter, Ron (the birthday boy), Ingrid, Sonja & Terry
Sonja and Terry have the 58 foot Krogen that is next
to us.  It is huge!  Ten additonal feet make a big difference.

Brian and Maggie
Maggie and Peter are from Australia.
They are sailing their catamaran all the way home.
Yowza -- that is a huge adventure!

Christopher, our 6 year old grandson, arrives next Saturday for a month!   We can't wait.   His Mom and 3 year old sister, JAC, will join us for his last week. Yippee!!!


Breaking News  I have finally kicked my Diet Coke addiction.  I have cut back from eight cans per day to one or two.  You may ask, "How did she do that?  A woman with so little will power".  Well, the new addition to our boat is a Sodastream.  It is a machine that carbonates liter bottles of tap water.  Once the water is carbonated a capful of flavored syrup is added.  We didn't like the diet cola, but we love diet root beer, ginger ale and grapefruit.  It is a great substitute for cans of pop...much less expensive and so much easier to store.     

My plasebo -- the  new Sodastream

Gotta smile -- we're lovin the ride!
               

Shoulda Been -- But It Isn't

June 1, 2012

Today was the day that we were supposed to leave Stuart.  We arrived on May 1st and planned to stay one month.  A lot has been accomplished while we have been here and once again we have made some good friends. 


Hottie Scotty ready to head up the coast.

Today Scotty completed the last of the jobs on Brian's list.  He's heading up the east coast to repair other boats that are waiting for him.  We feel very fortunate to have found him.  Not only is he an expert on everything Krogen; he's a really nice person.  He and Brian had a great time talking Porsches, drinking coffee laced with ice cream and chocolate and  finishing off meals with gargantuan  desserts.  He was beginning to feel like one of our children -- we'll be seeing him again.  


Brian, Nick, Anna and Jim

Memorial Day was marked by a pot luck at the end of our dock with some of the locals that have adopted us.  Ingred and Ron are our next door neighbors and good buddies.  A 58 foot Krogen pulled in on our other side a few days ago.  Terry and Sonya on Satauria are here for a few more days while they make repairs.  One thing about boats -- you never run out of projects.   

Ingred, Ron and Scotty

Brian got a call from the dermatologist.  As expected -- his skin cancer is basal cell. He will go in on June 8th to have the rest of it removed. We don't know how extensive that will be. Hopefully, just a little more scraping. Once the doctor gives him the ok, we'll be on our way. 

We haven't seen as many exotic birds, dolphins or manatees since we arrived on this side of Florida.  The marina does have an abundance of moon jellyfish.  We commonly see them ranging between 3 and 10 inches in diameter.  They can grow up to 18 inches.  On their underside are long tentacles that are studded with poisonous sting cells.  If brushed against, they inject poison.  Noting that will do serious harm to a swimmer, but it does sting!     



We feel like we are living in the tropics.  The temperatures have been in the mid 80's to 90 with very high humidity.  We normally get a heavy, but short lived thunderstorm at least once a day and then it clears for a beautiful evening.  The air conditioning is seldom used at night.

Gotta smile -- we're lovin the ride!