St. Augustine, FL to Fernandina Beach, FL

Date            April 8, 2012                            
Day             285
Departure   Camachee Cove Yacht Harbor, St. Augustine, FL 7:30 am

Arrival         Fernandina Harbor Marina, Fernandina Beach, FL 3:00 pm                   

Miles               56.0

Cumulative   4450.5

Last night was a full moon.  What a beautiful night!

Up and away from the docks early today. We were glad that we were able to leave on an incoming tide because the cruise guides indicate that there is some skinny water (that is shallow water for you landlubbers!) in our path today.  We were fortunate and arrived at our destination without incident!

Being a weekend, and a holiday, we found the waterway to be a bit busier than we have found up to now.  It wasn't as bad as we have heard it could be, but we did encounter more northbound boats along the way.

One of the first things we saw was the grounded MetLife blimp.  It is enormous when seen on the ground.

Most of the homes along this stretch of the waterway have docks in front of their homes and they they all have enclosures over the lift that holds the boat out of the water.  Some of the enclosures are equipped as a second story patio.  This one home had a two-story deck above the lifted boat!  Notice the matching fence all around the home.

This home didn't have a boat dock, but was very beautiful.

Can you see the two bald eagles in the tree?

At the intersection of the St. John's River we saw this Navy ship in dry dock

These homes had a mud flat at their front door.  In order to get from the house to the water extremely long docks were built over the mud flats.

These two dolphins played behind our boat for a few minutes.  Unfortunately, they were fairly far behind and I wasn't able to get a good shot!

Downtown Fernandina Beach is comprised of many old buildings as evidenced below.

The Easter Bunny visited this candy/ice cream store.  After all, it is Easter Sunday!!

Now this is the way to travel- with your own Honda CRV on the foredeck!!

      Tucker's new friend, Mr. Shrimp

And with that, we will say good night!!

Sightseeing in St. Augustine

Date            April 5-7, 2012                            
Day             282-284
Departure   No Travel

Arrival        Still at Camachee Cove Yacht Harbor, St. Augustine, FL                   

Miles                0.0

Cumulative   4394.5

 On Thursday, Friday and Saturday (the 5th - 7th) we took in some of the sights in St. Augustine

The Bridge of Lions - St. Augustine, FL

The lions that guard the "Bridge of Lions"

St. Augustine

 The Castillo de San Marcos site is the oldest masonry fort in the United States.  Construction was begun in 1672 by the Spanish when Florida was a Spanish territory. During the twenty year period of British possession from 1763 until 1784, the fort was renamed Fort St. Mark, and after Florida became a U.S. territory in 1821 the fort was again renamed Fort Marion, in honor of revolutionary war hero Francis Marion. In 1942 the original name, Castillo de San Marcos, was restored by Congress. The site was never taken by force despite multiple periods of attack.

Live oaks and Spanish moss create a canopy over Magnolia Street

We attended a wine tasting at the San Sebastian winery

Why the big smile, Bob?

Beautiful flowers outside the winery

Flagler College resides in the former Ponce de Leon Hotel, a luxury resort built by Henry Flagler in 1888.  The hotel was only open January through March and guests had to pay for the full three months, even if only staying one night, one month or the full three months!  One of the suites could be rented for $100 per day!!

The lobby

The dome above the lobby

The St. Augustine Lighthouse was built in 1874 and automated in 1955.  The tower is 165 feet and has a 30 second flashing lamp that can be seen for 24 miles.  

A Loyal Pet-Many Memories

Date            April 4, 2012                            
Day                  281
Departure    Palm Coast Harbor Marina, Palm Coast, FL 8:30am

Arrival         Camachee Cove Yacht Harbor,  St. Augustine, FL 12:20 pm

Miles               28.5

Cumulative   4394.5

                                                                  IN MEMORY

                                                                 Willow (Willy)
                                                 March 4, 1997 - April 4, 2012

Upon arrival at Camachee Cove Harbor, our loyal dog Willow suffered a terrible seizure.  Sadly, she had to be put to sleep.  We will miss her immensely.

New Smyrna Beach, FL to Palm Coast, FL

Date             April 3, 2012                            
Day              280
Departure     New Smyrna Beach Marina, New Smyrna Beach, FL 8:00 am

Arrival          Palm Coast Harbor Marina, Palm Coast, FL  2:10 pm

Miles                42.9

Cumulative   4366.0

 

On our way to Palm Coast, we traveled through Daytona, FL.

Bridge decorated with manatees and dolphins in Daytona, FL

I bet this Harley shop in Daytona was hoppin' a few weeks ago during Bike Week!!

Going through the bridge that was opened just for us!

Sadly, this beautiful european style village in Palm Coast was mostly vacant.  The large structure on the right used to house three enormous TV screens where they would broadcast sports events.  Unfortunately, the screens succumbed to the weather. 

Cocoa Beach, FL to New Smyrna Beach, FL

Date             April 2, 2012                            
Day              279
Departure     Cocoa Municipal Marina, Cocoa, FL  7:40 am

Arrival          New Smyrna Beach Marina, New Smyrna Beach, FL 2:30 pm

Miles                51.9

Cumulative   4323.1

Can you believe it, we are up early enough to catch the sunrise!!

Finally, dolphins!!

Can you see the 2nd dolphin in the picture above?

Look closely, the bow of the boat is being reflected in the water and you can see my reflection just below the dolphin's right fin!!

Outside the channel, it can be extremely shallow. This chair is in the river just outside the channel as we were about to enter the Barge Canal on the Indian River!

Today was a day filled with nature.  Following are more of the "nature" sights we saw today.  What an absolutely great day.  Life is good on the water!!!

Manatees are so hard to photo.  They look like lumps in the water!!

And last but not least, we have to thank our friends Ken and Barbara on "Loop Dreams".  They had stopped in New Smyrna Beach and visited an old time pharmacy that had a soda fountain.  They claimed they had "the best hot fudge sundae" at Little Drug Company.  Well of course, we had to try - they were absolutely right - mmm, mmm, good!!

April Fool's Day in Cocoa, FL

Date             April 1, 2012                            
Day              278
Departure     No Travel Today

Arrival          

Miles                 0.0

Cumulative   4271.2

We had decided to remain in Cocoa Village Marina to do some laundry and hopefully pick up some bakery and deli items and do some shopping in the quaint village.  April Fools!! It is Sunday and most of the shops in the village are closed on Sunday except for some antique shops and restaurants.  Hooray, we found an open ice cream shop!

Afternoon cruise of the Indian River Queen

Great Blue Herons are everywhere, looking for a tasty morsel.

The close to another beautiful day....