I think I am getting senile and pulling Brian down with me. We received a letter from our insurance company. I tore the bottom off and told Brian that we got a refund. A couple of days later I asked him to go to the bank and cash it. He endorsed it and took it to the window where the teller politely explained to him that this is not a check, it is a receipt. He came out of the bank -- totally embarrassed. I then called the insurance company and told our agent that I needed another check issued because I had accidentally thrown out the check and kept the receipt. After a brief discussion, the agent convinced me that they had sent a bill not a check. Oops! Now we both look like old crazy people..... We laughed until tears ran down our faces!
This is our first visit to Jacksonville on the water. June 1st we anchored on the St Johns River close to downtown. After a busy week, we were glad to relax and enjoy some card games with Christopher before checking in at Ortega Landing Marina. Ortega Landing is a beautiful marina with a pool and hot tub at the end of our dock. And, it is on a fresh water river. Monday morning Bonnie and Jon rented a car, drove here from Brunswick, Georgia, picked up Brian and the three of them drove to Stuart to retrieve the cars that we left behind. 
'Our plan' had been to stay in the marina for a couple of days and head south on the St Johns River for the remainder of time. Then, the weather changed -- the first tropical storm of the year came across Jacksonville. We decided a safer plan would be to keep the boat in the marina and do day trips by car. Our first trip was on Wednesday to Cumberland Island, Georgia. We took the ferry from St Marys. Most of the island is a pristine national park. About half way through our hike to the beach, the sky opened with a torrential downpour. By the time we got back to the ferry landing we were totally soaked. The day went from a scorcher to cool -- especially since we didn't have a change of clothes. Because we hadn't made it to the beach, we drove further north to Jekyll Island to visit their beach. This wide hard sand beach is beautiful and easy to walk, but it was without shells. Lots of horseshoe crabs and jelly fish, but only the smallest of shells.
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| Ready to get on the ferry -- notice blue skies. |
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| Live Oaks line the road to the Thomas Carnegie mansion. The maritime forest is on the island. Naval architects used to come here to choose limbs for the ribs of their ships. |
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| Only the brick and stone walls remain after a fire and storms. Now the residents are diamondback rattlesnakes. |
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| The Carnegie's arbor is still in beautiful condition. |
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| Using our tracking skills to find the wild horses. |
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| 140 to 150 wild horses live on the island. They get no care from the rangers. |
Brian retied the boat Wednesday night and we were secure on Thursday when the wind and rain intensified. Most of the day was spent on board. We were lucky to get off long enough to run a few errands without rain. Just as we were loading all of our bags on the boat it started pouring again.
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| Life is not dull on Gotta Smile! We've played Uno, Go Fish, Crazy 8 and Left, Right, Center. Christopher also made a fish from palm pieces and pot holders for his Mom and Bonnie. |
Friday dawned as a beautiful day. Andrea was no longer in our neighborhood. We packed up and went for a drive to explore the area surrounding the St Johns River. Our first stop was to visit our mailing address. We use a company that receives our mail, holds it, and then sends it to wherever we are. What a great concept! Next stop -- a Navy depot built during WW II. Each of the 13 docks are about 1000 feet long. 600 ships were mothballed there following the war. Time for lunch. We had asked two people for a recommendation and they both said the Outback Crab Shack. We would also recommend it: fried green tomatoes, fried dill pickles, fried clam strips! Ok, I didn't say it was healthy or low cal, but sooooo yummy and large portions. We were almost back to the boat when we took a detour to the beach. Christopher loves walking the beach and picking up shells. He's not very discriminating. He prefers quantity over quality. So far, over 200 shells are going home with him.
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| St Brendan's Isle mail service. |
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| The area surrounding the St John River is referred to as 'Old Florida'. It is quite a contrast to the coastal cities. |
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| Amphibious vehicle -- look at the size of those tires! It doesn't look so big until a person stands next to it, |
Saturday and Sunday were lazy days. We played in the pool and the ocean. Monday was spent packing and preparing for the trip back to St Louis.
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| When you are 7 years old, what is more fun than doing a cannon ball and splashing your grandmother? |
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| Scouting the waves. Preparing for first attempt at body surfing. |
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| Ok, face in the salt water, push off, kick hard..... Opps, where is the wave? There's more to this body surfing than expected. |
Gotta smile -- we're lovin the ride!
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