Fernadina Beach, FL

We had planned to leave Jax Beach early on Tues., May 1 bound for a Cumberland Island anchorage but we were considerably delayed.  We had to call in a plumber to fix some holding tank problems and that, of course, took longer than expected.  We also were preparing to tow the dinghy, affixing its registration numbers and trying out our recently repaired outboard. 

Jonny and John Bragg, the very competent plumber whose company is Royal Flush, had to run out to West Marine for parts.  When they returned, John kindly lent Lynn his truck to go to the grocery store.  In the meantime, Natalie came by to return our laundry which she had insisted upon doing for us after Georgia peed on the bathroom rug! Thanks Natalie - such service!

We didn’t shove off until after 2 pm.  Traveling north from Jacksonville takes us through beautiful, peaceful marshlands, a landscape that we find find to be very tranquil. A number of dolphins frolicked along the way.

It was too late to make it to Cumberland Island so instead we chose an anchorage in Fernadina Beach with a nice view of the colorful downtown area and a more industrial view of the local pulp factory.  

Lynn had been cooking a one pot chicken dinner in her new SmartPot which we had for dinner - thanks to Cathy Tisdale’s generous birthday gift to us. Afterwards, we spent the evening as we often do, planning the next day’s trip and updating the blog.

Jacksonville Beach, FL

Finally, we set off from Palm Coast on Monday morning, April 30 as soon as the tide allowed. After many thanks to John and Mary, we left at 9:30 bound for our next stop in Jacksonville Beach to visit even more friends! We had an uneventful cruise up the ICW through the beautiful Guana Tolomata Matanzas Reserve and up past the homes in Ponte Vedra (our old stomping grounds).

We arrived in the late afternoon at Palm Cove Marina at very low tide and we struggled to get into our slip which was silted up.  That evening, our good friends Alex and Natalie Costas hosted us for a delicious Mexican dinner at their home and we even got to visit with their son, Niko and Alex’s parents who were visiting from Oklahoma.

The next day Jonny had lunch with his former boss and Lynn lunched with her Florida Blue colleagues. After doing an array of errands we had dinner at Safe Harbor where we dined on our favorite local Mayport shrimp. We walked the two miles back to the boat amid some very picturesque vistas.

Palm Coast, FL

Our destination on Thursday, April 24 was Palm Coast where we docked Zendo for several days at our friends’ Jon and Mary Slattery’s lovely home. Our plan was to rent a car and drive back to Miami Beach. We had sold our house there before we left for our trip and once we received the 10% deposit (on this cash deal with no inspections) we felt it was a safe bet to pack up the rest of the house and put it in storage until we returned from our trip.

That evening John and Mary hosted a delicious dinner at their home and invited another MTOA couple, Barry and Barbara Kipnis. It was a fun evening.

The next morning we rented a car and drove back to Miami Beach to pack up our home for the very last time.  It was a bittersweet time. We owned this home since 1990 and it was very special to us, but selling it is part of our grand plan especially because we do so much traveling. 

We worked very hard for the next couple of days packing, loading pods and trucks and storage bins but we got everything done.  Fortunately, we got to see some of our very good friends including Lange and Addie King, David Brayer, Aileen Brousseau and Michael Haerting and of course Jonny’s mother,  brother Andy and his partner, Ed.  Many thanks to Andy, Ed, Aileen and her son Chris for their assistance in packing, loading and storing some of our items!

We enjoyed a couple of dinners out at our favorite restaurants in Miami Beach and Wilton Manors before we left on Sunday morning to drive back to Palm Coast to resume our journey.

Daytona, FL

We cruised to Daytona on Monday, April 23 leaving at 7 a.m. to avoid the storms that were forecasted for later in the day.  We passed through some lovely undeveloped areas on the ICW. 

 and even encountered a pod of dolphins who followed us for awhile.  

We also passed the picturesque Ponte Inlet Lighthouse.

Arriving in Daytona at 12:50, we docked at the Halifax Harbor Marina.  We were able to stay there for free because our friend Carol gifted it to us after she won a free night’s dockage as a raffle prize at the MTOA Rendezvous.  Because it continued to threaten rain, we stuck close to Zendo and did boat chores that afternoon. We did manage to walk the docks at the large marina where there were several beautiful wooden sailboats (Tatyana 37s) that we admired and we enjoyed chatting with an owner of one of them.

Titusville, FL

We spent a cloudy, threatening day cruising to Titusville on Sunday, April 22. We only traveled 36 miles due to the possibility of inclement weather.  It was quite windy  and we had a few showers on and off during the day.  We arrived at the Titusville Marina at 12:45. 

After lunch we decided to walk the town, but just as we were far enough away from the boat, it started to pour. Happily, the closest place to duck in was the local brew pub, a cool establishment called Playalinda.

It had gleaming vats of local craft beers, a clever decorating scheme and a convivial atmosphere. Jonny was in his element! 

After sampling a couple of rounds and enjoying the decor, we bought a six pack and ventured outside again as it had stopped raining.

Unfortunately, the rest of Titusville didn’t live up to our first impression. The town was tired with many permanently shuttered shops and the remainder closed on Sunday.  So we wandered back to Zendo and tried to get this blog up and running, to no avail.  Finally, we hit the sack so we could get an early start the next morning.

Melbourne, FL

After two days in Fort Pierce, it was time to continue on our journey on Sat., April 24.  But first we had to visit the fabulous Fort Pierce farmer's market which was located in a park adjacent to our marina.  We had breakfast there and bought some beautiful heirloom tomatoes, and fresh bread to take on board.  Sorry to have missed the opportunity to get some photos of the market.

Our next destination was Melbourne (about a 6  hour trip) where we planned to visit with Lynn's cousin who lives in nearby Satellite Beach. 

This was the first day we brought Georgio up onto the fly bridge.  He found a cozy bag to sleep on as well as the magnetic attraction of Lynn's lap! He seems quite content though we wish he would eat a bit more.

We had a nice dinner with Lynn’s cousin Mark at Ichabod’s which was adjacent to where we were docked. Fellow MTOA members Tony and Nancy Adams were able to join us as well. 

Fort Pierce, FL

On Thursday, April 19, we had a beautiful clear day cruising on the "outside" - the Atlantic instead of the intracoastal waterway.  We chose this route because the seas were calm and we could make much better time than cruising the intracoastal with all the bridges and no wake zones.  We had a date with an electrician at the Fort Pierce City Marina because Zendo has an electrical problem that causes more modern electrical posts at marinas to short out when we hook up.  

We arrived earlier than expected and so we were able to join the MTOA group for the last night's festivities.  Unfortunately, we were not able to attend the full Rendezvous due to our boat not being ready for the journey, the problems with the intracoastal being closed and the weather being too rough to travel on the outside earlier in the week. 

One of the new features of this trip is the fact that we have our cat, Georgio, on board with us.  He's the only remaining member of our pet entourage so we decided to bring him.  He had never been on the boat before and he doesn't love traveling in the car but he's doing reasonably well so far with just occasional "accidents."  Just like at home, he sleeps most of the day.

The following day was a work day for both of us.  Jonny spent most of the day with excellent electrician who was able to fix the problem with were having and Lynn spent the day cleaning the Stratoglass inside and out.  We now have much clearer views!

That evening we joined friends Mary and Ron Berringer for a fun dinner at a new restaurant in Fort Pierce called the Galleria.  It was very good and afterwards we stopped for a night cap at a local wine bar followed by a picturesque walk back to the dock.