Day 311 - 316, April 27 - May 2, 2023

 Day 311 Thursday, April 27, 2023

St. Augustine, Florida to Jacksonville, Florida

We definitely enjoyed our time in St. Augustine!  There is so much history and many great restaurants to visit.  Faye and Mike shared lots of options for another trip there!  We left the dock at 8:20 anticipating rain and thunderstorms by 3pm.  We hoped to arrive in Jacksonville by 1pm.

 Bridge of Lions.  There are lions posted at each bridge entrance.

 

Castillo de San Marcos and The Great Cross from the water.

We had a turtle swimming at the back of the boat as we pulled out of our slip.  We passed under the Bridge of Lyons with plenty of room above. No worries about air draft there! We passed St. Augustine Inlet from the ocean -- no problem.  Tides and currents in opposition of each other can result in a rough ride.

We traveled as a caravan of 7 boats; we didn't really know anyone else except Call Me Curly.  We saw one lone dolphin. I finally figured out how to upload a video so this is our dolphin encounter from a few days ago.

We saw LOTS of beautiful homes, construction (especially docks) and dredging.  Dredging is a common necessity as the channels shoal in as a result of the current and flooding. 

 Inspecting the pipes that collect the dredged material.

 Pipes

Dredging boat

We made it to Palm Cove Marina in Jacksonville and were docked by 12:50.  We beat the storm but had to blow our horn at the sea doos that were busy playing in the channel entrance for the marina.  They seemed oblivious to us even when we were very close.

Heavy rain and thunderstorms arrived at 4pm; that didn't stop us from a dinner of grilled steak and corn on the cob.

Day 312 Friday, April 28, 2023

Today was a day of shopping and errands.  Trip by Uber to Bealls Department Store (my clothes are taking a beating), Walmart -- for liquor, and the bank.  Exciting....

We had docktales with Gypsie Palace (Gold Loopers), Call Me Curly, Surface Interval (we first met them in Bahamas), and Wilma May. Surface Interval and Wilma May are also Mainships.  We reheated our yummy leftovers from Harry's Seafood in St. Augustine and played Wizards with Grant and Sharon.  No surprise, Grant wins again. 

Day 313 Saturday, April 29, 2023

Laundry day at only $1/load!! Nice surprise and very clean.  I take advantage of laundry time to read or embroider.  It really isn't possible while we traveling as we need 2 sets of eyes for navigation.

We were spoiled with dinner by Joe and Ellen from La Vida.  They live in Jacksonville and are now Gold Loopers, having crossed their wake.  We spent a lot of time traveling with them, especially in Clearwater.  Joe picked us up for a delicious Italian meal at their home and then Ellen let the four of us borrow her car!  Soo generous.  They also shared their Loop itinerary, giving us some insight into what's coming up next for us.

Day 314 Sunday, April 30, 2023

We took advantage of Ellen's car and attended church at St. Paul's Catholic Church.  Two young boys made their First Communion.  That reminded us of the First Communion's taking place for Emily and Gabe back at home.  More errands after church, we have a car after all, then back to the boat.

  

It was very windy all day with 50 mph gusts.  Boats were still going out!

Dinner was at Marker 32 Restaurant located right next to the marina with Ellen, Joe, Sharon and Grant. I had an excellent meal of grilled scallops with creamy grits and roasted corn in a basil shrimp broth served with roasted brussel sprouts.  Jerry had halibut with rosemary rice and a compressed watermelon salad and balsamic glaze served with haricots verts.  All sounds very fancy but the atmosphere was casual and the prices reasonable.   We shared a crème brule for dessert.

 

Ellen left her car for us another day so we'll surely do a road trip.

Day 315 Monday, May1, 2023

We extended our stay at Palm Cove Marina since our windlass parts still hadn't arrived.  Since we still had access to a car we did a road trip to Costco's with Sharon and Grant.  They graciously let us tag along with their membership.  Just like Sam's Club we came home with stuff we could have lived without but were happy to get.

The windlass parts finally arrived so that was the next job for the day.  With a little bit of rewiring (since the new part was wired a little differently) Jerry had it working in no time.  It works great.  We got new neighbors -- Remedy.  They are a family doing the Loop with 3 children, a dog and 2 cats.  They just started in Vero Beach Florida 2 weeks ago.

So windy again today, it even lifted the dinghy.  We played Wizards on Call Me Curly -- Jerry wins!  Must be the hat...

Day 316 Tuesday, May 2, 2023

Still very windy; we extended one more day since the winds were anticipated to build in the afternoon and our anchoring options were poor.  We spent the day planning upcoming travel and stops.

Tomorrow we head to Fernandina, Florida