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:

Hanging out in Stuart, FL

     For the last 3 months, we have called Stuart our "home away from home," and we have come to like this little town (population 18,000 or so), located on the east coast of Florida (right on the Atlantic Ocean) between Palm Beach to the south and Fort Pierce to the north.  It's nickname is the "Sailfish Capital of the World," which is rather self-explanatory (factoid compliments of marina neighbor and friend Robin Evans, who also happens to be my personal photographer).  Anyway, Art & I have noticed a few things different from life in California--you don't see so many tattoos, and it is the normal body parts that get pierced; pants seem to fit better here and I haven't seen any screaming pink (or orange) hair highlights.  Another big difference--there aren't as many fast food or chain restaurants.  Instead, there are a lot of locally owned and mom-and-pop eateries with wonderful things on the menu (good-bye waistline, hello big butt).

     The climate here is usually warm and mild, but all that went to hell after we arrived on Jan 1. Supposedly the average rainfall is 58" a year, but I think most of it has fallen since we arrived.  It has also been the coldest winter ever, so our suntans are not up to Florida standards and I have yet to put on a bathing suit or dip my toes into any body of water that does not qualify as a bathtub.  Worst part has been the wind--ohmigod, some days there are white caps in the marina!

     In spite of the above comments, we have had a good time here.  Every day we see all kinds of wildlife and the plants and flowers are breath-taking.  Here are a few photos of what we like about being here:

 Enjoying Stuart

My favorite place.

Banyan trees forming a canopy over the road.

Some of our neighbors at the marina.

Marriott Digs

So here we are safely docked at the Marriott Resort Hutchinson Island Marina (which is actually in Stuart, Florida).  The photo above shows the whole Marriott property--and it is huge!  The marina is that white stuff dangling out into the water on the left side of the photo.  As you can see, there is water everywhere--the Intracoastal waterway is on the left and the Atlantic Ocean is on the right side of the photo.  The property is over 200 acres, has an 18-hole golf course and a private beach (and some pretty cool outdoor bars by each of their two pool areas).  Best part is they provide a tram to get you anywhere you want to go on the property.  I pretty much assumed I would be taking the tram from the boat to the bar to the beach to the bar to the boat--pretty cool round trip wouldn't you say?  And, of course, that would have included drinking something with an umbrella in it!  In reality, the need to exercise our chubby bodies won out and Art and I are walking all around the property instead of taking the tram (that sure put a damper on my bar hopping ideas!).  Anyway, it is really nice place to chill until we are ready to head up north and begin our journey.  More on the local area (Stuart) in my next post.

Our boat is tied to (behind) the fifth pole counting from the left.  View is looking West across the Intracoastal at sunset.

The End of "The Beginning..."

While everyone we knew was thinking about shopping for Christmas presents, we were taking the concept of "boxing it up" to a whole new level. It is a challenge to suddenly realize you are going to be "homeless:" no place to put your "stuff," and no permanent address. And so we boxed up everything we owned (except what we were taking with us by car to Florida) and put it in storage in Fresno near the kids (including one other car).

Our journey to Florida was not going to be a straight line. We had decided to drive from Fresno to Art's family home in Iowa for Christmas. As you might guess, we had lots of snowy, icy weather there and stayed a day or two longer than

we had planned. Florida was sure looking good about this point!

After leaving Art's parents, we had terrible driving conditions in Iowa/Illinois--lots of snow and ice, and cars sliding off the road or banging into one another. It was rather eye-opening (and a little entertaining watching all those fools skid into the ditches), but once we got to Kentucky, things got better, save for an L.A. style traffic jam outside of Chattanooga which cost us a couple of hours. After that, we cruised into Atlanta, then into Melbourne, Florida and finally into Stuart.

At last we were united with our new boat. Once on board, we moved the boat to the Marriott Marina on Hutchinson Island here in Stuart--boy is it great--and that will be my next topic.

(The top photo was taken of Art's parent"s back yard. Art & I are standing on their back deck in the second photo.)

The Beginning...

     Our story begins last summer when we first got serious about retiring. It was our intention to hang it all up in March of this year when Art qualified for Medicare and we would be free from employer-based health insurance (my employer, by the way). We listed our house in Lake Forest in July thinking it would take at least 6 months to sell in the current economy, but as you have already guessed, it sold in 2 weeks! We scrambled to find an apartment to hang out in until March, and then found ourselves working fewer hours on fewer days and finally decided to just hang it up and retire, on the spot, right now! (Good decision, I might add.)

    Doing the Great Loop had always been part of our plans, but there was a lot more to do to make it happen, so we kicked it into high gear. Art spent many hours on the Internet researching boats, and after 2 trips to Florida and much gnashing of teeth over money, we decided to say, "Oh what the hell," and just do it. We bought the boat in November (in Stuart, Florida). It is a 45' Ocean Alexander sedan, and here she is:

 (Photo taken by Robin Evans)

     At this point (November), the boat was in Florida and were were still in our little apartment in Aliso Viejo, but we were pulling things together as fast as we could and that will be my next post.