Isle of Hope, Georgia

     I think I was a little harsh in my last blog when I said there wasn't much to do or see along coastal Georgia.  Our 2-day stay at the Isle of Hope Marina near the northern border of Georgia certainly opened my eyes to some really special things about this area (and how can you say bad things about a place with such a positive name?).  The marina is in a village of the same name--a quaint little place with winding roads, restored houses, tall pines and old oak trees draped with moss.  A few photos will tell the story better than I can, so here they are:

 A view of the Isle of Hope Marina on the Skidaway River.

 The view from our boat toward the town.

Looking in the opposite direction, upriver from our boat (nearing low tide).

The tides in this area are huge: 7 to 9'.  At high tide, this diagonal ramp will be nearly level.  Right now, the dock is partially sitting on the mud bottom.

 This road runs parallel to the river at the top of the marina.  This is where we walked.

     

     We have been trying to take long walks at each of our stops, which is a great way to see the area around the marinas as well as stretch our rubbery legs after long hours on the water.  A lot of people complain that they really get out of shape from being on a boat, but we are finding the opposite and credit our long walks (often hauling sacks of groceries or other needed supplies) for keeping us in some kind of shape.  Another bonus for me is that my balance has improved dramatically since being on the boat.  I guess trying to stay upright in choppy seas while walking around on deck challenges your equilibrium and now when I am on land, standing on one leg is a piece of cake (I used to have to hold on to something).

     Getting back to the photos, here are some of those beautiful homes we walked past along the river:

     Last of all, here is a sight we have yet to get tired of--beautiful old oak trees draped with Spanish moss (which really isn't moss at all and was named "Spanish" because the Indians thought it looked like the beards of the Spaniards who first discovered the area):

      One last note about our journey into Isle of Hope.  A few miles downriver, we passed St. Catherine's Island.  The Island is privately owned and visitation is very limited.  Part of the island is used as a survival center for endangered species (St. Catherine's Island Foundation along with the New York Zoological Society).  It seems the climate there is conducive for breeding several endangered species such as gazelles, parrots and Madagascar turtles.  Just what I thought Georgia needed--more gazelles, parrots and Madagascar turtles!  I wonder what they do with them?  Haven't found that out yet, but keep posted and I will let you know.

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Georgia (the Peach State)

     For the past two days, our trip has been all about the journey and not the destination.  Since leaving Fernandina Beach Wednesday morning (April 14), we have been faced with some new navigational challenges, so we have focused our energies on studying the charts and tides to plan our trip (aren't you impressed?).  But that is not the only reason we have been journey-oriented:  there just isn't a whole lot to do or see along the coast of Georgia.  Here's a short summary of the last two days:
     On Wednesday, we got up before dawn (not my choice) and we were off before daybreak to catch the high tide and get through some potentially rough-water areas before the wind picked up.  A short distance out, we passed a submarine base and the mandatory Navy patrol boat guarding the entrance.  I would have taken their picture, but I thought they might shoot me (not the friendliest guys on the planet).  We then took an alternate route around St. Andrew Sound (which is an outlet to the Atlantic Ocean and consequently a much more difficult area to navigate),  and as soon as we turned onto our new route, we saw some wild boar--four in all, and I assumed it was mom, pop and two babies.  In the photo below, you can only see mom and dad (black dots) because the kids are hidden in the grass (mom and dad are are pretty well hidden too, but use your imagination).

  

     This photo is also a summary of the scenery for the last two days--water, grass and an occasional tree.  But here is one more picture of a scene we saw constantly--birds nesting on the channel markers:

  

   We stopped for the night at Jekyll Island and it was nice, but nothing remarkable, and a little on the "rustic" side.  Our first task was to wash the boat, and boy was it dirty--and boy, is it big!  I helped a bit, but Art did the lion's share, photo below:

     We ate dinner at the Sea Jay Cafe right there at the marina and had a Low Country Shrimp Boil (shrimp, sausage, potatoes and corn, along with cole slaw and rolls).  It was "all you can eat" and I would certainly earn a gold star for what I packed away!

     Next morning was up at dark again and off before sunrise.  We had a few more tough areas to navigate and a long journey--over nine hours on the water.  We are now at the Isle of Hope marina near Savannah.  Tomorow we will hang out here to rest, do laundry, and find a grocery store (the marina has a "loaner" car for us to use, so I am off in search of a Walmart Supercenter to restock!)

The End of Florida, Amelia Island

     We are now in the northeastern most corner of Florida in Fernandino   Beach, the only city here on Amelia Island.  It is a quaint little town (population 11,200 or so) with lots of little shops, great restaurants and the oldest saloon in the state (first thing we spotted).  This photo was taken from our boat looking at the Atlantic Seafood shop, where we stocked up on fresh shrimp hauled in by the shrimp fleet moored just before entering the marina (I was too busy looking for lines to tie us up and missed the opportunity to get a picture of the shrimp boats).

     We spent our first day here touring the shops and ended up in the coolest market (Fred's) at the far end of downtown.  They had everything you can imagine in that store: artificial flowers for the cemetery, lawn furniture and camping equipment, food, drugs, clothes and shoes, televisions, toys, home decor (some pretty ugly stuff), school supplies, and on and on--real competition for Walmart, only on a smaller scale.  I could have spent a whole day in that store!

     This is the main street (Centre Street) through the historic district.

   On the recommendation of friends, we went to T-Ray's for breakfast this morning.  The restaurant (and I use that word loosely) is in an old gas station and I think we were sitting about where the service bay used to be.  I don't even know what to tell you about the place--it was that unique (no two tables were the same, none of the dishes or silverware matched, and everyone was incredibly friendly).  Definitely local home-cookin' cuisine here, as you can see in the photos below:

Art waiting for our order to arrive.

Can you believe we ate this?  Eggs, sausage, cheese grits, and a grilled biscuit.  Yummy

     Tomorrow we head out on the water once again gong north, so this evening we will just sit on the boat and enjoy the view (and a little wine).  Here is our location at the Fernandina Harbor Marina (as you can see, our view is water everywhere):

We are the fourth boat from the right, behind the blue sailboat.

St. Augustine, Florida

     St.Augustine bills itself as the oldest city in the U.S., but it is perhaps better known as the site where Ponce de Leon landed in search of the Fountain of Youth.  I've been searching for it too, but so far, no luck.  I'm not a real history buff (Art is, but he's not writing this), so I'll just say that our location in what is called the "Old City" is quite interesting and has that colonial feel:  narrow streets, old stone buildings and lots of statues and plazas.  We do plan to take a guided tour, so I'm sure I will have more to say on this later.

     We are docked at the St. Augustine Municipal Marina, which is located right next to the historic Lions Bridge in the downtown (Old City) area.  As you can see in this photo, we run into all kinds of boats--this guy is basically a pontoon boat with a tent on top and he too is doing the Loop, albeit rather slowly (will finish in a few more years, as money and time permit).  We have seen all kinds of watercraft going our way and we have heard from others that we will continue to be amazed at what floats down the "ditch," as the ICW is often called.  I can't wait and promise to keep my camera handy!
     Our first day here, we walked around a bit and then took a tour of the Castillo de San Marcos, an old Spanish fort located on the water which, in its 350-plus years, was never defeated by any attacking force.  It is now part of the National Parks system.
     

Here I am with my new fortress friend--nice guy.

Art is checking out the cannons.  We were told they could shoot 3 miles, but were accurate for only a couple of hundred yards

  

We are looking down into the courtyard from the gun deck in this shot.

     In addition to all the great historical sites, this city has fabulous restaurants.  I'd like to eat at every one of them, but then I would be as big as the boat.  So far our favorites are Harry's (Low Country Shrimp and Grits gets my vote, Art had Jambalaya) and O.C. Whites, which is located in another historic building (built in 1790).  I had flounder and Art got Shrimp Abaco which was to die for.  As you can guess, we have been eating a lot of seafood (almost exclusively when we go out), so I'll be seaworthy even without a boat!

 Last Day in Saint Augustine

      As I mentioned above, we took a guided tour of the city today, but I won't bore you with the details of the names of the all historic buildings we saw and what they have been used for over the past 250 years. (I wish I had gotten a photo of the cute little train we rode around in, though.)  The best part of the tour was a side trip to the St. Augustine Lighthouse.

     We learned from photos in the Lighthouse Welcome Center that the view at the top was fantastic, but that you had to climb 220-plus stairs (the equivalent to a 15 story building).  Whoa--neither Art nor I are exactly athletes, but I decided we must do it anyway and so I shamed Art into making the climb.  And once we were on the way, he had to keep coaxing me along (my knees and lungs were protesting) or I would have jumped out the first window I could find.  One lady told me to breathe slowly on the exhale, but I told her I felt lucky to be breathing at all.  Obviously, we finally made it to the top, but I sure had a few doubts along the way. As you can see from the last photo below, the view wasn't as fantastic as promised -- I thought it looked like we were only a few feet off the ground, but the sense of victory over those damn stairs was enough to keep me happy.  I was also amazed that walking around a catwalk at the top with only a small railing wasn't nearly as scary as it looked from below.  In spite of my whining, I enjoyed every minute in that lighthouse.

This is what our climb looked like from the bottom looking up.

Can you believe I am posting this photo with both of us looking so bad?  But that is as good as it gets when you are out of shape and climb 220-plus stairs going in a circle.

A Day in Daytona

      Daytona Beach is a neat little city, so we decided to hang out there for a day.  In addition, we had a fabulous marina (Halifax Harbor); a great slip with a view out to the channel; and some pretty cool  neighbors.  We also met some other "Loopers," as we call ourselves, and they had a car.  They took us out to run errands and then on a short tour of the city.  Of course, we had to see the Daytona 500 track (damn--it is really huge), and then we headed to the beachfront area.  That reminded me a little bit of Pismo Beach in that you can drive about 12 miles on the beach (for a fee, of course).
     Other than that, it was relaxing day.  We cooked on board and then prepared for our next day on the water, which presented us with our first real challenge of the trip (more on that after the Daytona photos below.)

 Sunrise at the marina (from the back of our boat)

The famous track

View of the channel from the inside of our boat (check out that cool heron lamp--stolen from the Goodwill store at an exorbitant price!)

Chef Kathy manning the galley

 

    

  About our "challenge" for the Day

     Our journey today took us through an area of "skinny" water (boater lingo for shallow) and it turned out to be a little more nerve-wracking than I would have liked.  We were advised, while still in Daytona, to pay close attention so that we would cross this passage at high tide.  Timing the passage got a little dicey and, as we approached the area, we heard that a boat who has passed before us had run aground and was stuck  (picture below--it was a big boat and he was sitting on the sand).  Listening to the radio communications between the boats around us provided the best advice and we ended up trailing a sailboat whose draft was a couple of feet greater than ours.  We figured if he hit bottom, we would have plenty of time to stop behind him (cowards that we are).  Obviously, we made it through, but not without a few laughs at the expense of the guy stranded there. 

     Other than that scary (and very slow) trip through the shallows, the day was great.  As usual, we saw lots of birds and dolphins (some of whom joined us) and some pretty luxurious homes along the banks.  Photos below will give you an idea of the scenery we had along the way.  

This guy is sitting on the sandbar.  It doesn't look so bad in this photo, but he isn't going anywhere.  We listened on the radio as he continually called for a towboat to pull him off (he eventually was freed because we later saw him in the channel).

I hope you can read this sign--it warns of the many manatee zones along the waterway (and basically says "Slow Down!")

Here are some dolphins jumping around in front of us

This is the local tourist tour boat here at St. Augustine where we have landed for the night.

Tomorrow I will write about St. Augustine (think Ponce de Leon and the "Fountain of Youth."  I'm there, baby).

Let the Journey Begin

     We are finally on our way!  We said goodbye to the Marriott (and our friends Robin and Bill who took this photo) on Easter morning and headed North on the Intracoastal Waterway (which from now on, I will call the ICW ).  We planned to make it a short day, our "shakedown" cruise, but everything went so well, we just kept going and spent our first night out in Melbourne, about 67 nautical miles from our start.  After docking, we walked around the area and waterfront. There were birds everywhere (the usual collection of pelicans, egrets, ibises and even a few herons).  And as we walked through the park, we encountered a raccoon stalking a duck, of all things (a raccoon, for crying out loud, in a public park in Florida--I thought that rather odd).  Here's a photo of the waterfront:

 Anyway, it was great evening, but we headed to bed early as we planned to watch the space shuttle launch the next morning (blast off at 6:21 am!)  It was well worth getting up at that ungodly hour--photo below is the contrail.

Then, as we finished oohing and aahing at the launch, a platoon of Marines came trotting by on their morning run, singing jodies (military call-and-response cadences; you know, Sound off 1 - 2, Sound off 3 - 4, etc.)) as they went and that really got  us going--God bless those guys.

Day 2
     Once again, we had beautiful weather and smooth cruising. We traveled from Melbourne to Daytona Beach (too bad the 500 was last month) and we will probably hang out here a day or two.  The photos below will tell you more about our day that all my chatter, so here's what our day was like in photos:

Captain Art at the helm

Approaching the Haulover Canal bridge which connects the Indian River to Mosquito Lagoon.  This is not too far north of the Kennedy Space Center complex (site of the launch). That is the front of our boat with our AGLCA flag (America's Great Loop Cruisers' Association) flying up front.

A couple of manatees (barnacles on their backs) hanging around the canal as we passed.  In addition, we saw a lot of dolphins along the way, but of course, I forgot to take photos.  I won't forget again.

Margaritaville (aka Key West)

A road trip down US Highway 1 through the Florida Keys has always been a high priority item for Art & I and we finally did it--and what a drive it was!  The Keys consist of some 1,700 islands (I wonder who counted) heading south-southwest from the tip of the Florida peninsula. They are connected by a single road which alternates between the different islands and a countless number of bridges that connect them.  The water is that beautiful aqua-blue to green with the Atlantic Ocean on one side of the road and the Gulf of Mexico on the other.  The scenery is breath-taking and I nearly unscrewed my head trying to see it all.
     It took us most of the day Saturday to drive (thank goodness we had my Solara with the top down to see it all), and we finally arrived in Key West about 3 p.m. We first headed to the southernmost tip of the US-- there is a house and a marker that claim that fame (photo above and below. Wow, only 90 miles to Cuba).

     We took the mandatory city tour (learned lots of interesting things, but there's just no room here for the history of Key West, so you will have to go yourselves).  And then it was time to enjoy.

     Duval Street is filled with great shops and tourist traps, but the best part for us was finding all those haunts that we have heard a song about or have seen on a travel show.  We stopped, shopped and drank at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville; then headed to the Hog's Breath Saloon; ate seafood at Pepe's (thank you Robin for the suggestion) and then shopped some more.  Come Sunday morning, we were sad to think we had to leave, but the drive back up US 1 was just as exciting as the trip down. Here's a few more photos: