Diane at the Fort in St. Augustine
Two Old Farts Resting at the "Oldest Schoolhouse"
Palm Coast is a "new" community about 20 miles south of St. Augustine, on the east coast. We pulled into the Hammock Beach Marina on Sunday, March 22 as this is the place where we would spend several days with Kris and family at the Hammock Beach Resort. We rented a 3 bedroom condo at the resort for the "kids" but never really needed 2 of the bedrooms as the little ones (Anna--age 11; Asher--age 8; Elli--age 6)
wanted to sleep with us on the boat at the marina. Fun times. They were really excited about it and we managed to put up with having our grandkids with us. It was great!
One day we took the boat out and motored up the waterway to Matanzas Inlet where the plan was to anchor and cook a hamburger picnic on the boat. We encountered some really shallow water at the intended anchorage and opted just to turn around and head back down the waterway at a leisurely pace while we cooked the burgers on the Jenn-Air grill on the fly-deck and picnic while underway--taking turns at the helm. What a glorious day. Several times dolphins swam in our wake--no more than 3 feet from the side of the boat, jumping and really putting on a show. You can imagine how thrilled the little ones (and the big ones) were. It was like some movie director said, "Cue the dolphins!!
The visit was far too short and the weather didn't cooperate completely but we had a great time. We did get in 2 days at the beach although one of them was quite cold with a cold front that blew through the day after their arrival. Beach, swimming pool, boat ride, dinner out, picnic on the boat, sleeping on the boat, playing "quarters" (a mindless game where you roll dice and either pass one or more quarters to the left or right or into the pot and the last one left with quarters wins the pot. When 6 year old Elli won she muttered, "Bring it to Mama" as she raked in her quarters---We about fell off our chairs laughing. She is a very precocious character)
It had been an interesting trip up here. We left a marina at New Smyrna Beach the morning of the 20th after waiting (we thought) for a very dense fog to lift. We got about 1/2 mile up the waterway when it settled in again and we couldn't see more than 25 feet in front of us. Rather than head back to the marina we opted to just sit adrift in the middle of the channel and wait. Of greatest concern at the moment was a drawbridge up ahead about a 1/2 mile that we felt we could fit under with a couple feet of clearance but weren't sure as we were on a high tide. We would have had to get right up on it before making the decision to ask for an opening or not and I didn't want to risk it in the middle of the fog (You can be fined a fairly stiff penalty if you require an unnecessary bridge opening). The fog would not cooperate---We hung out in the middle of the channel, sounding our horn every couple of minutes to warn off any approaching boats, for about an hour. Finally we radioed a marina just off to our right and asked permission to tie up to their T-Head dock until the fog lifted. The harbor master came out and helped with our lines and we waited there for about another hour. Our fuel was a bit low--just over a quarter tank--so we took advantage of the time to fuel up while we waited. Not the best price but not too bad--but very convenient.
Finally, the fog lifted and we were underway once again on our trek north to Palm Coast.
Having some time to relax and assess our circumstances we came to a couple conclusions that result in a change of plans (we should know better to even talk about our "plans" on this blog because they're always changing). First--overnight or even 2 night stops are killing us, cost-wise. We've found that there are not enough safe and easy anchorages in this part of the ICW and end up spending too many nights in marinas. Second--We actually do most of our site-seeing from our car. While motoring along "the ditch" is pleasant and sometimes quite scenic but you really only see the area on land. So, we decided to park the boat here on a month-to-month basis (much cheaper than doing a bunch of overnights at different marinas) and explore the area by car. We spent two days in St. Augustine doing what tourists do there--a very pretty and interesting city and history--and are playing some golf at area golf courses. Also, we decided to head back to Houston earlier than originally planned to take care of some business, taxes, check in with the medical profession and begin preparations for our cruise to Alaska in May (with our dear friends from Madison, WI--my old army buddy, Bernie and wife Jane.
So we'll be leaving the boat here soon, and start heading back to H Town with a couple of stops along the way for some Apalachiacola (SP?) oysters and some golf in Pensacola. This schedule allows me to attend a couple of my choral organization's events and an important Board Meeting later this month. (The Lake Houston Musical Arts Society board drew me back in as Chair just before and despite their knowledge that we were heading to the boat in Florida). The "plan" is to return sometime in June and either continue up the east coast or, possibly, head over to the Abaco Islands in the Bahamas--or both. Of course June begins the oppressively hot summer here in Fla. so we'll not want to linger too long in this area. (I've been to the islands in August and, with the sea breezes it's not too bad. Heading up the coast to the north also would bring some relief from the heat. Fortunately we have very competent A/C on the boat and a helm station in the main cabin where, if it gets too uncomfortable, we can turn on the generator, while underway and steer from the comfort of our air-conditioned living room.
Anyway, that's "the plan". Stay tuned for more changes. One thing is certain--we are loving this experience, despite the bumps and challenges.
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The Gang of Seven
Downtown St. Augustine
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