Day 90 - Re-Entry

It was that time again; the day to do our laundry, clean the boat, and travel home to our normal lives in Chicago.  Since we had a car, we opted for a Laundromat rather than the marina machines.  The day was bright and sunny and we soaked it in as much as possible before boarding our flight back to Chicago in Jacksonville.  We had a wonderful journey to the Bahamas and northern Florida, even with the “grounding” that threw us a little off schedule.  I have to say though, that I was happy to get back to my home, friends, and activities.  The weather in Chicago cooperated too, at least for the first couple of days.  The snow was gone and we could leave off a layer or two of clothing from the time we left in early March.  There were green stems coming up in the front of the house that should blossom soon.  Spring was really coming and that cheers me.  Our Great Loop adventure continues on April 25^th!

  

Day 89 - St. Augustine - Arrgh!!

It rained throughout the night but the morning was sunny.  Unfortunately that did not last and it was raining by the time we got to St. Augustine.  That was our planned next stop so we decided to drive there since we couldn’t go by boat.  St. Augustine is a charming town and the oldest town in the US, dating back to 1565. 

 

The rain got heavier so we started with an inside tour of the Oldest House, built in the early 1600’s.  It was added onto and redone several times over the next 400 years.  The historical society purchased it along with a few surrounding homes in the 1950’s.  There is a small outbuilding that houses a map exhibit.  Next door is the Tovar House, a smaller home that had a photography exhibit of pictures depicting life in Lincolnville, a black area of St. Augustine, in the 1920’s.

 

 

 

 

As we walked through the courtyard to see the map exhibit we saw 4 statues, representing the 4 seasons.  It turns out that these statues were part of the Columbian Exhibition held in Chicago in 1893 and brought to St. Augustine by one of the later owners of the house.  Below is a picture of Summer.

 

The rain had slowed considerably but had not yet stopped.  We chose the Pirate and Treasure Museum for our next stop.  It has authentic pirate treasure, documents and possessions.  One of two original Jolly Roger Flags (this one from 1850) is on display there, as well as a 400 year old treasure chest, Captain Kidd’s family bible, gold and silver bars, jewelry, and ship logs.  The museum is largely made up of pirate artifacts and treasure collected by Pat Croce, a entrepreneur, treasure hunter, author, former President of the Philadelphia 76ers and owner of the Rum Barrel Bar and Grill in Key West - see Day 47 - among other things.  A tour was starting as we arrived and we spent the next hour with a costumed “pirate” as he told stories, debunked myths, and told us things we never knew about pirate life.  For example, according to him, no one ever “walked the plank” on a real pirate ship.  This was purely a Hollywood invention.  After he ended the tour, we had to run out because our parking meter was expiring.  We planned to return later and more closely review the exhibits in the museum as our admission was good for the day.

 

On to the Fountain of Youth Park as the skies were clearing.  Ponce de Leon landed near St. Augustine in 1513.  In his search for fresh water for his crew, he found a spring which was named the Fountain of Youth in honor of his search for a mythical fountain that would make older people young again.  While there is no evidence that the spring has such powers, I made sure to drink from it – just in case!!  The park has other historical exhibits and displays, including a garden full of peacocks.

 

 

By now we were starving and went to Collage, the number 1 rated restaurant in St. Augustine, specializing in seafood and Mediterranean cuisine.  The food was excellent but Captain Randy is not likely to return as they did not have rum; only wine.  The Captain is a pirate at heart! 

Following dinner we stopped at the Castillo De San Marcus, the oldest masonry fort in the continental U.S. It was started in 1672 by the Spanish to protect St. Augustine from the British colonies to the north.  We could not tour it because it was closed for the day.  We went back to the Pirate Museum to look at the exhibits more closely before driving back to Daytona Beach.  I highly recommend a few days at St. Augustine for a very interesting and entertaining time in a charming town.

 

Day 88 - The Kristin Says is Now a Sailboat (or at Least not a Power Boat)

We walked into the Aquamarina office at 8 am.  The staff was very friendly and helpful.  Kevin, who is in charge of service, told us we could bring the boat right over to be hauled out.  We did so and the boat was out of the water by 8:45 am, the props removed by 9:00 am, and we were back in the water by 9:15 am.  Once the boat was floating again, they pulled the boat around the corner to a slip so that we could stay on the boat with full power and water (and not “on the hard”). 

After we were back in the water, the props were picked up by the “prop guy” and the Caterpillar service man came by to talk to us about what engine service we wanted.  We felt much better having this done and felt like we were in good hands.  We won’t make it to Amelia Island this trip as originally planned, but we can have our service done in Daytona Beach and the boat will be ready to go when we come back in late April.  We are only about 100 miles from our scheduled stopping place and we can rent a car to get us to our flight in Jacksonville on March 30^th.

We cooked breakfast on the boat and were about to take a cab to the airport in Daytona Beach to pick up a rental car, when one of the new marina owners offered to drive us.  He had introduced himself to us earlier when the boat was first hauled out.  Luckily the airport is close to the marina and we were soon in the rental car on our way to the “World Famous” Daytona Beach.  We stopped at West Marine to see if they had the right fresh water pump, but they did not so Captain Randy will order that once we are back in Chicago.

The weather was sunny and warm but there was a stiff breeze on the beach.  We walked on the boardwalk and beach, both of which were filled with people.  The beach is very wide and the sand is amazingly hard – we didn’t even leave footprints!  They started driving cars on the beach in 1902 and soon were racing here too.  That lasted into the 1950’s when they built a stadium for racing.  The Daytona International Speedway is home to the famous Daytona 500, which is run every February.  If you want, you can pay a fee and drive your own car on the beach (slowly) in certain areas.  We decided to take a pass on that.  We bought homemade saltwater taffy at Zeno’s.  They sell fudge, candy and ice cream, reminiscent of Kilwins.

 

We drove north to Ormond Beach and saw their new beach house and park.  From there we headed back to Daytona Beach to the Jackie Robinson Ball Park, home of the Daytona Cubs.  A local university also plays here.  Jackie Robinson was the first African American baseball player to play with a white team in spring training in Daytona Beach.

 

 

We wanted to see the lighthouse at the Ponce de Leon Inlet, so we drove there next, going through Halifax Estates and Wilbur by the Sea.  Both are very nice neighborhoods and quite a contrast to the large hotels just a few miles up the coast.  On our way back we drove through downtown Daytona Beach, a few blocks of older, restored buildings and finally back to the marina.

 

Day 87 - Slow Cruise to Daytona

We ended up waiting for the West/Marine/Port Supply truck to deliver our new zincs until 10 am.  The boat was lifted higher to put them on, and that is when Captain Randy saw the bend in the starboard prop.  The boatyard said it would be 2 weeks before the local prop guy would be able to fix it and they hammered it as best they could for a temporary repair.  They told us it was a “no wake” zone for the next 35 miles north anyway, and thought we would not feel any more vibration. They put us back in the water and we left at 10:39 am.  Captain Randy tested the props by speeding up, but we could still feel vibration and slowed down.  He decided to run the boat at idle with the port engine in gear and the starboard engine in neutral to avoid further damage.  We planned to slowly cruise the 45 miles to Daytona Beach.  At our idle speed, hit would take us a little more that 6 hours to get there.  But Daytona Beach is a much larger town that Titusville and we could have the boat repaired and other service done to it during the month that we will be back in Chicago.  Plus, at 7 knots, we get GREAT fuel economy -- only a small silver lining!!

It was a cloudy day, but much warmer, about 64 at mid-morning.  Crab pots appeared again, but not many.  We went through the open NASA railroad bridge and into Haulover Canal, a 1 mile narrow canal connecting the Indian River to Mosquito Lagoon.  The canal was filled with manatees and at least a dozen small fishing boats.  I tried to get pictures of the manatees, but they are like the moles in Whack-A-Mole; once you see them and aim the camera, they sink back into the water.  We also saw dolphins throughout the day, 1-3 at a time.

 

The Mosquito Lagoon is a wide, shallow body of water much like a small lake.  There are small bays and islands on both sides.  There are low bushes and small trees on shore.  Luckily it was not yet mosquito season or we would probably be eaten alive.  We passed a couple of sailboats and soon entered the Halifax River, the next section of the ICW.

 

There are small towns on the west bank of the river that essentially run into each other all the way to Daytona Beach.  The first town is Oak Hill.  There are a few mobile home parks, a couple of cobbled together “houseboats” anchored near shore, and some newer homes with private docks.  The east bank of the river is made up of a strip of land and small islands that separate the ICW from the ocean.

 

At 2:20 pm we reached New Smyrna and went under the Harris Saxon Bridge, which connects New Smyrna to New Smyrna Beach.  The beach hotels and condominiums were visible now.  We passed the New Smyrna Yacht Club and Municipal Marina.  The next bridge was the George Musson Memorial Bridge and the shore was lined with very nice homes.  Everyone was fishing here; in small boats anchored in the river, from boats near the shore, from piers, and from private docks.  The river widens here and in the center are small islands and sand bars.

 

The Ponce de Leon Inlet and Lighthouse were next and we were only about 10 miles from Daytona Beach.  On the east side of the ICW I saw a mother Egret with her chicks.  We could see the high-rises on the ocean to the north.  To the east, the area is more residential with single family homes and some small condominium buildings.  The neighborhoods are called Wilbur by the Sea and Halifax Estates.  There were now homes on both sides of the river.  We arrived at Halifax Harbor at 4:55 pm and were pleased to see the floating docks.  We walked next door to Aquamarina to talk to them about hauling out the boat, but the office was closed.  We had a delicious dinner of Lobster Tail Francaise at the Chart House.  We would return to Aquamarina first thing in the morning.