Movin', Movin', Movin"

Mar 29 - April1, 2015

We left St. Augustine at 9 am after stopping by the gas dock for dinghy fuel and a pump out.  By 3pm anchors were down at Ft. George Island, our last stop in Florida.  

It's March Madness -- we arrived in time to cheer our Spartans on to victory and a trip to the Final Four ........

Duke would ultimately end their run, but we're so happy and proud of them anyway!!!

Ft. George Island is home to the oldest plantation house in Florida, built in 1813.   It was an easy dinghy ride in for a tour.




The plantation house overlooking the anchorage

Ruins of the 2-room slave cabins - an entire family would be housed in one of these tiny srtuctures




                                     


                                         
                     Spring has arrived





Monday, March 30 didn't get off to a very good start --- the Admiral ran aground on the way out.  Fortunately, it was just the edge of a sand bar and Captain Doug was able to help us off with his dinghy.  That's the ICW for you --- anyone who says he hasn't been aground is LYIN' !!

On to Cumberland Island -- anchored with several other boats at Sea Camp by 5:30, cocktail time.
This 17-mile long island is the southernmost barrier island in Georgia.




Formerly owned by the Carnegies as a vacation property and accessible only by boat, it became a National Seashore in 1972.  The ruins of the original "cottage" still stand.





Today, the island remains undeveloped except for the Greenfield Inn.  The inn was the home of one of the original island trust holders and was the site of the wedding and honeymoon of
John F. Kennedy Jr.

                 
It is home to wild turkeys, armadillos, and horses

And beautiful live oaks, spanish moss and all sorts of other wild vegetation





Wednesday, April 1 we dinghied in and rented bikes for a 12 mile tour of the island.  The only "road" is more of a sandy path running the length of the island.  After a picnic lunch under the oaks, we headed back.  With thunder rumbling, we managed to get back aboard just in time for the storm packing 40 knot winds and torrential rain ---- talk about timing!  Once the storm blew through, the seas calmed and we enjoyed a peaceful last night at Cumberland.

Waterford / Day Dreams Reunion

March 23 - 28, 2015    Coco Village to St. Augustine

We departed by 8 am on a gray day -- by 10:30 the rain was falling.  No worries "the zippers don't drip and my feet are dry" !!  It was a rather long day, 59 miles, arriving in Daytona Beach about 5pm just ahead of some heavy thunderstorms.  Securely anchored, the rain blew through in plenty of time for tilapia on the grill with corn/avocado salsa.

After the long day Monday, a "down" day was in order.  So we slept in before deploying the dinghy for a little cruise into Daytona.  Halifax Harbor Marina was just across the way with a dinghy dock and within easy walking distance of the "downtown".  It was a bit blustery and cool, but we enjoyed a nice walk and lunch before heading back to Waterford.  The wind finally subsided as the sun set for a beautiful calm night.

Our plans to leave early on Wednesday were foiled by fog!  With 2 low bridges in the first mile and half, we had to delay our departure to coincide with the 8:15 opening of the first one.  

The skies finally cleared so we spent most of the rest of the trip up on the bridge.






By 4 pm Waterford was pulling into a dock at Conch House Marina in St. Augustine to a warm welcome from our great friends the Martins.

Day Dreams had arrived ahead of us and was docked just across from us.  After a couple of months of separate itineraries, it was great to have the
Martin/Nelson Team together again!!

We spent 3 days at Conch House provisioning, working on maintenance (darn shower sump again and a leak in the galley plumbing) and celebrating Martin's anniversary before moving over to the city moorings - a better spot for "doing" downtown St. Augustine.  Day Dreams provided dinghy transport for the excursion.




Scenes from St. Augustine ...................





                  The courtyard at the museum









St. Augustine distillery --- checked out the vodka  and brought a bottle back to Waterford










                        Enjoying refreshments on the roof
                              at the winery where we were
                              joined by Jan's niece Wendi
                              and family







Last stop was the "Teenie Martini Bar" before saying goodby to Wendi and heading back to the moorings.  We'll see her and Tad again in November when we're back in Jacksonville.

Time to move on ...................