Jacksonville And Tropical Storm Andrea

June 1 - 10, 2013

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.

Ready to get on the ferry -- notice blue skies.

 

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. 

 

Only the brick and stone walls remain after a fire and
storms.  Now the residents are diamondback rattlesnakes. 

The Carnegie's arbor is still in beautiful condition. 

Using our tracking skills to find the wild horses.

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. 

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. 

St Brendan's Isle mail service.

The area surrounding the St John River is
referred to as 'Old Florida'.  It is quite a
contrast to the coastal cities. 

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. 

When you are 7 years old, what is more fun than
doing a cannon ball and splashing your grandmother?

Scouting the waves.  Preparing for first attempt at
body surfing. 

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!   

The Saints: St Louis and St Augustine

May 12 - 31,  2013

We've traveled a lot of miles in the past couple of weeks, unfortunately, most of those miles have been in the car.  I had to go to St Louis for my pre surgery tests.  That is 1150 miles -- a long 2 days.  All of the tests went well and I was approved to have both of my knees replaced on June 21st.  Traveling to St Louis, allowed us a good visit with our daughter and her family.  Christopher, our 7 year old grandson, drove back to Stuart with us and will spend a couple of weeks on board.  He endured the 2 day road trip better than I did -- less complaining!



  

The City Museum in St Louis must take anything that
is donated and then turn their local artists loose on it.
A very creative place!

JAC's preschool class made a movie.  Here she
is in her acting premier. 

When we left for St Louis, we had said long good-byes to Bonnie and Jon, thinking that we wouldn't be traveling together until November. Some of the work on their boat took longer than expected.  Yea, we are heading North together!  By Tuesday, groceries and parts had been purchased and we were both ready to go.  In spite of the barnacles that had grown on our propeller and bow thruster, we made the 79 miles to Melbourne.  If a boat (or actually anything), sits in salt water, it must be scraped periodically to remove the barnacles, that grow faster than rabbits can multiply.  We should have had it done in Stuart, but since we arrived during the Memorial Day week-end we missed our opportunity.  Having a fouled prop and bow thruster cost us dramatically in fuel. Instead of using 18 - 22 gallons to travel 79 miles we went through 66.  Ouch!!!!  On Wednesday, Jon made arrangements with an acquaintance to clean our bottom.  The diver met us at the Cocoa Village Marina.  The marina is generous and in a very cute town. They allow transients to stay a couple of hours for free; so boaters will sample the city. While the diver did his thing, we toured and ate pizza. We will definitely come back for another visit and stay longer. Thursday morning we caught up with Bonnie and Jon in New Smyrna Beach. With our freshly scraped prop, we  zipped along at our usual 8 miles per hour.  The River's Edge Marina in St Augustine will order a fuel truck for boaters that stay overnight. They were so accommodating that we stayed two.  Friday morning we took on 759 gallons of diesel. Our best fuel price in years -- $3.48/ gallon including tax. Our last fuel purchase was January 6th.  Love the way this Krogen gently sips fuel!  St Augustine is one of Christopher's favorite cities -- especially the fort.  We had a beautiful day to see all of the sights before returning to Jon and Bonnie's boat to relax, put our feet up and watch "The Princess Bride". Somehow we had missed that 1987 classic.  Now, we have to watch it a couple of more times to catch the dialogue that slipped past us....total silliness!           


       

 Gotta smile -- we're lovin the ride!

"Sittin on the dock of the bay"

 

  

Leaving Stuart with our new paint job.

Super nice kid, Mike, delivered our fuel and told us
about his Pappy. 

Firing the cannon at Castillo de San Marcos.  During
battle each cannon was fired every 15 minutes to
conserve ammunition. 

A new recruit for the cannon brigade.

These bronze cannons are a work of art.
They are still in great condition.

The fort was completed in 1695 and was never captured
in battle.  The walls were made of coquina ( a limestone mixture of coral and broken shells).  They did not crumble
when hit by enemy artillery or violent storms.  The fort is
well known for it's double drawbridge entrance, 40 foot
dry moat, and diamond shaped bastions in each corner.

We love St Augustine!

Two Years On Board

May 11, 2013
 

I bought four of these place mats in Sanibel.  Each
has a sentiment that seems to apply to my life.
Stay tuned for more!!!

Two years ago today we moved out of our house and onto Gotta Smile.  We hadn't closed on our house, but we had emptied it to the point that it was no longer comfortable to live there.  Plus, we were just so excited to start our new life!  The house closed June 1st, we continued working until September 26th and on September 27, 2011 the adventure began.  

It has been another year filled with the things we love:  travel, friends, family and warm weather.  If you are a regular reader of my blog, you have heard about our adventures with Bonnie and Jon.  For most of this year we have traveled together.  It is great to share our lives with people that are so much fun and who we have so much in common.  I'm not sure how we were lucky enough to stumble on each other, but we feel blessed that it happened.  In another week we will go separate ways until November.  They will head north to the Chesapeake while we stay in Florida and prepare for my knee replacements.  Separation anxiety has already set in!  

The fish I made from a palm part.

Even though we will be off the water for a couple of months, we know that next year will have even more great adventures as we set off to explore new territory.  The islands are calling us and, if all goes well, we will travel all of the way to Trinidad.  In order to see all of the islands that sound interesting, we'll be gone about a year and a half.       

 

48 jelly fish surround the boat. 
Just one reason why we don't swim in the water
near the marina and why we are looking
forward to the islands!

Good times behind us and good times ahead--WOW!

Gotta smile - we're lovin the ride!

Where Does The Time Go

 

April 10 - 30, 2013

We have been in Stuart for three and a half weeks.  It's like living at home.   Every day is busy, but it is difficult to come up with a list of things accomplished.  The only thing I can say without hesitation -- we really enjoy this part of Florida.  Here is a partial accounting.  

Jimmy Buffet's former boat is docked next to us.

I started physical therapy in an attempt to strengthen my leg muscles in preparation for bilateral knee replacement. The first day was an evaluation that pronounced my thighs 'mushy'.  I'm being tortured, which seems to be a good thing.  Thanks to friends and my pedometer I'm attempting to walk 4 - 5 miles each day. 

Carrying raw materials to the boat

 
Bonnie and I are creating fish sculptures from parts of palm trees.
Every now and then we have to let those creative juices flow.
 



 

Reshaping the palm frond.

He's beginning to look like a happy fish.
Photo of finished work to follow. 

 

Day trips are frequent to explore Palm Beach, Ft Lauderdale and the surrounding small towns.

She's looking a little rough today, but will be
a beauty in another 10 days!

Gotta Smile is having a face lift.  We contracted to have a wide blue stripe added which has involved weeks of sanding and smoothing just to get it ready for paint.  We are pretty excited about the new look!        

 


Varnishing the teak cap rail is a continuous project when it isn't raining and the crew isn't sanding the boat.

Jon was in Iowa for a couple of weeks getting caught up on projects.  While he was gone, Bonnie introduced us to their friends, Bobbie and Tom, who have a 39 foot Krogen, Selkie.  They generously left their car (that accommodated all three of us) for a week while they moved their boat from Stuart to Jacksonville.  Another example of boaters generosity!
  

And, then we have to work in all of our opportunities to eat out:  Monday night is half price ribs, Tuesday is $2 Taco Night, the Krogen breakfast group is still meeting once a week, we discovered a great bakery for brunch, milk shakes are half price between 2 and 4 at Steak and Shake, and the list goes on......   

Gotta smile - we're lovin the ride!

Home From Vacation

April 5 - 9, 2013

Pulling into Sunset Bay Marina felt like we were returning home after a great month long vacation.  They assigned us to the same dock that we were previously on; so we recognized many of the boaters around us.  In spite of a heavy drizzle of rain, the couple on the boat next to us came over to help us tie up.  She commented that she thought we had met at Green Turtle Marina in Kentucky a couple of years ago.  As soon as she said that, I said, "I remember you -- to celebrate your retirement you rode your bikes across the United States".  The weird things we remember.  And, the weird things people do.  Yikes!!!  I remember asking him "how long did it take for your crotch to quit hurting?"    

Saturday was our 45th wedding anniversary. Now that we've made it this far I'm feeling pretty confident that we'll see 50 together.  Ft. Pierce has a huge farmers' market and craft show every Saturday.  Plus, this week was the Oyster Festival.  We found good food at the booths and a few trinkets for the grandkids.  Later that evening we cleaned up for dinner at the Riverwalk Cafe.  It's a step up from the dives that we normally eat in.  I guess 45 years deserves a bit of a splurge.

Another week-end -- another farmers' market.

We will be in Stuart for a month while we have some work done on the boat.  Three guys are spending two days sanding the teak rails.  When the sanding is complete, Brian will finish the teak with 12 coats of varnish.  Then, the crew comes back to fill some cracks and paint a stripe between the teak cap and the rub rail.  For those of you that don't know boat terms -- pictures to follow.  

At first glance, you might not understand what this is.
I've never seen a motorcycle with a bike rack.

Our daughter, Jennifer, called today (as she does most days). She said, "Mom, I caught up on your blog last night and I hope that our retirement will be as much fun as you and Dad are having."  I hope that is true for everyone!  Living on a boat and traveling is perfect for the two of us. But, it sure isn't perfect for everyone. Life is short.  Find what you love and take the risk!  Believe me, it was scary to sell everything and sail off on our boat.  Take that first step and LIVE YOUR DREAM!  Have no regrets.  Ok, I'm off the soapbox.    

Gotta smile - we're loving the ride!

Exploring New Destinations On Florida's West Coast

March 22 - April 3, 2013

Our plan had been to leave the Keys and travel up the east coast of Florida back to Stuart.   However, I prefer the west coast and our friends, Gail and John, (from Hawaii trip and many trips on Gotta Smile) were renting a house in Sanibel for the month of March.  I was able to convince Brian, Bonnie and Jon that this would be a more interesting trip.  It didn't really take a lot of convincing.  Mostly, I mentioned it and all agreed.  

Sun setting behind the 7 mile bridge in Marathon.



After anchoring in Marathon, we had one beautiful day with little wind and flat water to get to Naples. It was 89 degrees with perfect conditions. 12 hours and 116 miles later we dropped our anchor in a canal surrounded by executive homes. It was critical to push that far because the next few days were going to be anything but perfect. Heavy winds would be directed at our bow, which makes for uncomfortable travel. Sunday was a short trip to an anchorage just off Sanibel.  Monday we arrived at the Sanibel Marina and were assigned a slip next to Grandma Dot's.  This popular restaurant seemed to always have a crowd waiting to eat.  Everyone was entertained as Brian docked us in a tight spot with heavy wind.  He looked like a pro and this was an excellent moment to do it right!  John and Gail arrived for lunch and the fun began.  I was hoping that everyone would enjoy one another.  No worry there.  For the next three days we shopped, toured, ate and played Farkel.  John and Gale have a big Expedition that easily carried all 6 of us and our loot.  The 3 guys did a little bike riding, mostly because the girls took the car!  Everyone had a great time.  We said good-bye Wednesday afternoon and about 8:30 they returned to show Gotta Smile to friends from the island.  Ok, one more round of good-byes.  

 

Things got a little nutty after waiting over an hour
for a dinner table.  I began serving mints from this
crocodile head to guests as they left. 

The Expedition filled after a Costco run....lots of
goodies and six people.  We should be a Ford ad!
I don't think we have ever done a vacation with
John and Gail that did not involve a Costco run.
We even did one in Kauai.   

Thursday we traveled 26 miles to Cayo Costa's Pelican Bay.  This is a state park that has been recommended to us by numerous boaters.  For me -- heaven!  We were anchored in a large protected bay with sandy beaches only a short dingy ride away.   For two days we took the dingy to the park dock where we got a ride on the tractor tram to the gulf side of the island.  We walked the beach, picked up a few shells, ate a simple picnic lunch and looked at the blue, blue water.  Back on the dingy we explored other inlets and spits of sand before going back to our boats.  Bonnie and I shared the 'galley slave' duties by having dinner on Bon Voyage two nights and Gotta Smile the other.  Easter Sunday we got really adventurous and took the dingy a short two miles to Cabbage Key.  This is another one of the many restaurants that claim to have inspired Jimmy Buffet to write 'Cheeseburger In Paradise'.  It was a little slice of paradise so who knows?               

The welcome center at Cayo Costa State Park.

   

 

Walking the beach!

Done walking, done with lunch -- time for a nap!



The park offered informal classes.  While the guys
took one on fishing, Bonnie and I went to a jewelry
class.  The teacher was overwhelmed with too many
students so Bonnie and I rolled up our sleeves and
assisted.  We are now Jr. Park Rangers! 



Dingin around in the dingy.

 

The restaurant at Cabbage Key has dollar bills taped
to the walls, ceiling, and posts of the bar.  They estimate
$70,000 at any time.  As the tape releases and they fall
to the floor, they are collected and put in trash bags. 
When they have $10,000 they donate the money to a
local charity.      

After lunch, we hiked the nature trail around the
grounds.

Also enjoying the trail - an ibis decked out with red
legs and beak. 

On April Fool's Day we finished exploring new destinations by visiting Punta Gorda.  The marina was adjacent to Fisherman's Village -- a shopping mall with attached condos.  It wasn't my favorite stop this month, but we did accomplish one thing -- I've been trying to convince Brian that he should buy a hat that gives his face and ears better sun protection than a baseball cap.  We finally found one.  Now if he will just wear it!    

 After Punta Gorda we retraced our steps across the Okeechobee with an anchorage at Pine Island and the city dock in Morehaven before arriving back in Stuart for a month.   

Gotta smile -- we're lovin the ride!