Day 92 & 93

Sunday - More wind and t'storms so we stayed another day at the marina. Our routeen is to get the courstey car using both Bill's name and mine to get 4 hours use. Works well. However, the van we used on Sunday was having mechanical issues. Actually, it died in the Wal-Mart parking lot. They sent someone to rescue us, so we insisted that he drive us to Dary Queen for ICE CREAM. We brought him one for the rescue.
Monday - Finally left the marina at St. Augustine. Barbara took a long hot shower. I filled up the water tank and readied Barbara's Joy for several days at anchor. I had a great anchorage picked out until we arrived at the anchorage to find someone else had the same idea and beat me to it. The secondary anchorage was close but we were going to pass the best source for diesel fuel, so we had to stop. At that time of the day, we are tired and didn't care to fuel up. But the price was good. ($1.91). We arrived at the secondary anchorage, Cumberland Island.

Day 89, 90, & 91

Thursday- Arrived in St. Augustine at 2 pm. Nice ride. Getting into the slip after several turns was not as difficult as it looked at first. Practice makes better. We docked at Camachee Cove Yacht Harbor Marina possibly for 2 days. Signed up for the courtesy car for the evening. Bill and Margrate landed in the marina later and accompanied us to St. Augustine via car. Good beer in an English Pub and great food in a nearby resturant.
Friday- Signed up for the "2 hour" courtesy car along with Bill & Margrate which gave us from 2 pm to 9 pm. Toured St. Augustine's historical area. Ghosts are a big part of this area. Lots of stories.
Saturday - Bad weather has kept us in the marina. Again we got the courtesy car but this time it died at Wal-Mart. Called the marina to rescue us. It was at the end of out day, not too bad. The weather seems to be getting poorer. May stay tomorrow.

Day 87 & 88

Tuesday - We are on the move. Left Vero "Velcro" Beach late but had to only go 53 miles. Anchored at Cocoa with intentions to tour the city the next day. The wind changed our minds. It was a bouncy night and we saw no let up in the wind on Wednesday morning. So we took up the anchor and headed to Daytona, our next regular destination.
Wednesday - Long day. Anchored in Sea Breeze, Daytona. We did see a Manatee's rear end and another's front end. We believe these are the scarest manuals and yet when you see expensive homes or marinas, there are signs to slow down for MANATEES. Wonder why ? Hope tonight is better for sleeping.

Day 84, 85 & 86

Saturday - A rainy day. 20% cahance turned into 5 hrs of rain. Over by noon, bail out the dinghy, and headed for the showers. Took a walk along the quite streets of Vero Beach.
Sunday - Lazy day. We went to the beach with our mooring buddies, Bill & Margrate, s/v Margratea. Cravings is a small store that has ICE CREAM, among other things. Got a fix.
Monday - Went to town on the BUS. TOO JAYS is a very good resturant near Publix. Prepared to leave Vero Beach Marina, mentally and physically. Margratea planned to leave Tuesday for Cocoa Beach.

Day 83

Friday - We are still at Vero Beach. Meeting many cruisers. Another day on the bus to shop at Publix, West Marine, ABC Store and Dunkin Donuts for coffee beans. Tonight we went to dinner with 6 other boaters. Good night with good company.

Day 79, 80, 81, 82

The days are blending together. We have been spending much of our time with Bill & Margaret of s/v Margarete. We have walked on the beach, shopped at many stores and had found some very good resturants.
Caught a Weakfish and eat it within 2 hours. That's fresh fish.

Day 78

Sunday - Another very nice day. We are enjoying rafting with Margareta, may stay a few more days. The event of the day was the launch of the space shuttle. We had a countdown and very good view.

Day 75, 76, & 77

Thursday - Moved over to raft with Margareta, Bill & Margrat, friends from NWC Marina. They have a 46' Island Packet sail boat. We were surprised had well the boats rafted. Freeboard is the same. Just 30 years difference in age.
Friday - Bill & Margrat rented a car for the weekend. We are in the mangroves in a very quite place. The weather is great.
Saturday - Went grocery shopping for thoes heavy items that are difficult to handle on the bus. Found a very nice resturant for Lunch. Our dinner was a combined effort and was very good. Bill cooks a great pork loin.
We are trying to lower our food stuff so I don't have to truck it home. If we can return to the dock with 1 meal remaining, we would meet our goal. Lots of Luck !

Day 74

Arrived at Vero Beach, FL where we will stay for at least a week. Met some friends from our dock in NC and we will raft with them. Took a walk to the beach and found a good ICE CREAM shop.

Day 72 & 73

Monday - Easy trip through the country. Can upon St. Lucie Lock and were lowered 13 feet. This was the largest change in hight for the entire way. This one lock would equal the total of all others.
A short distance and we were in Stuart, FL at Sunset Bay Marina. We got a mooring ball and went into town to explore. Another good bus system but not the best. Good enought to find a great lunch taco and later some ICE CREAM.
Tuesday - Went shopping and Barbara found MORE shoes. When I asked if she "needed" or did she just "want" them, I got the look.
We had lunch at the Olive Garden followed later by ICE CREAM. Tomorrow we will proceed to Vero Beach, FL for several days.

Day 71

Sunday - Crossed Lake Okeechobee early morning. First boat on the Lake and had NO wind. Flat as can be. We went through the Port Mayaca Lock without them locking us through. When the lake is the same level as the river on the east side, Port Mayaca Lock remains open.
We found IndianTown Marina and secured a slip for a night. Since we arrived early, we (I) caught up on some laundry. Monday, we left for Stuart, FL.

 
 
 
 

Day 69

At Port LaBelle Marina, we found a good dock but the worst bathroom facilities. No services. They open 9 to 1 PM Monday to Friday. Closed all weekend. Owner comes in to feed the cat but can't be convinced to do ANY work. Is Thia A Business ?????
Left late Saturday, unhappy.

Day 67 & 68

Stayed at Fort Myers Beach for two days. Wednesday, Thursday and left Friday. Thursday we took the Trolee to town. As we walked to the mall after lunch, we passed a water filled colvert. A good size gator was sunning himself. Must have been over 6 foot but fat. Good feeding on the neighborhood pets.
Before leaving on Fridat, we went to the farmer's market. Barbara just loves farmer's markets. Back to the boat, hoist the motor and dinghy and away we went to LaBelle, FL.

Day 70

 
 
 
 

These photos show passing thru the locks, gators, birds, etc. on our way to Clewiston, FL. The Clewiston Marina is at the edge of Lake Okeechobee. Since it is a large open water crossing, 27 miles across, we like to cross early with less wind. As I write this we are tied up to the dock in front of a bar & grill. Sounds like we will have a very late night. SATURDAY NIGHT IN THE COUNTRY. Are we getting old ??? Usual bed time is 9 or 9:30. Not To night !!!

Recent photos

Day 66

Wednesday - Left Naples for For Myers Beach with better sea conditions. Short ride to a secure mooring ball. Will stay an extra day. Need to do more laundry and maybe put away the cool weather cloths for the last time.

Day 65

Tuesday - Left Calusa Island Yacht Club on Marco Island early, 7 am, to catch the tide to avoid grounding. We went out the inlet at Capri Pass to find the Gulf a little lumpy. We headed north for only 9 miles to Gordon Pass Inlet. This lead us to a very nice peacefull anchorage. Homes all around us worth millions with large boats, see photos.

Day 64

Monday - Enjoying the marina on Marco Island with it's hot water showers and good laundry facility. We needed to stay until Tuesday to let the waves calm down. It is a protected marina and when we leave we will go inland for 8 miles around Marco Island, then out to the Gulf. Early morning on Tuesday to get the tide and avoid the skinny water.

Day 63

Sunday - Checked the weather and the storm will hold off until 1 or 2 pm. We left with two anchorages in mind. One in Russel Pass which is about 12 miles before Coon Key. If we could get to Coon Key we can go inland around Marco Island the next day with good protection from the storm/wind.
We passed the first anchorage and headed for Coon Key about 8 miles before Coon Key some very heavy clouds passed overhead. No wind or rain. We were about 4 miles from the Key and the wind started. It reached a little over 30knots quickly. But we were inside a bay area and shortly inside more protection. Luckly the wind was directly on our noise. Barbara's Joy handles it well. We had decided to go to a marina to wait out the storm. It will take a few days.

Day 62

Saturday- Got going early about 7:15 am. Had to fuel up so we were somewhat delayed. Reached Little Snake River about 3 pm. It is in the Everglades National Park. We went up the river about 4 miles to get out of the wind. Lots of bugs. All kinds. Thank God for screens. A large storm is forming across the Gulf and may force us to hold up for a day or two.