It’s Monday morning and we are here in Cocoa FL for a few days enjoying this very quaint town on the ICW.  Two years ago, on our last trip passing through this area, we stopped for a few days and it’s nice to be back again. 

Last night we went to a restaurant downtown for a drink and appetizer and while we were sitting at the bar, we asked the bartender what there was to do that would be fun while we visited.   She immediately suggested that we visit the Kennedy Space Center, but when we said that we were here by boat her expression became perplexed as it seems that there really isn’t ANYTHING to do in the town itself if we didn’t have a car?   Well, at least not from the point of view of a local.  Anyway, we think it’s a nice place to walk around or go out to dinner.   Perhaps we should find a car and visit the space center.  I’ll think about that.

One thing that I plan on doing is to visit the local hardware store.   It’s a terrific store and perhaps one of the best old time hardware store I have ever been in, the sort that were everywhere before Home Depot and Lowes redefined the genre.    I was quite taken by the place on our last visit and wrote about it in this post.

When we were in New Smyrna we enjoyed walking around town in particular as there was a street fair going on with lots of activity.  I particularly liked this snack truck built on an old Model A ford truck body. In Cocoa there is a great waterfront park as is so often the case in towns along the ICW.   The ancient live oaks are very beautiful with resurrection ferns growing on the limbs.We visited a nice little craft gallery in New Smyrna and outside they had a “beehive oven” .    This reminded me of my plans to make a “mud oven” at home.  I have been stymied by my inability to find a source of good clay near where we live so perhaps I will build one like this, out of firebrick and cement.  It would certainly be more weather resistant in winter CT weather.   We were first introduced to mud ovens in Maine a number of years ago. I was smitten and wrote a post about our first experience at a mud oven garden party.  Perhaps this summer I’ll build one.  Hope so.

We had a very nice lunch at a new restaurant in New Smyrna and I particularly like this photo of Brenda.  Notice that she stopped looking at her phone long enough for me to take her picture.  When we are aboard and away from family, we are pretty desperate for contact.   “Bob, call your mother!”That evening we had dinner aboard Pandora and went for our first “cocktail cruise” around the mangroves nearby.  We enjoyed watching the water birds watching us.   This Ibis was quite beautiful.  I tried to get a photo of him in flight but alas, just one of him on his perch.Nice shot of what I think was an Egret.We also spied a bright red spot within the mangrove roots which turned out to be a good size crab. His color suggests that he’s already been boiled.  Not so, as he’s just that color naturally.  I guess he’s tough enough to not worry about being well camouflaged. Back aboard we enjoyed a nice evening and dinner.  Brenda’s “birthday flowers looked particularly nice in the evening light.  Perhaps I will title this photo “florials with mixed media, stainless steel, plastic and canvas”.  How artistic.    Yesterday morning we were greeted by a lovely sunrise just before raising the anchor to head to Cocoa. Along the way we passed a spot with thousands of birds that took off in a cloud as we passed by.  There are plenty of birds along the ICW but for some reason there was a huge number in this particular area.    What a din they made as they parted to make way for Pandora’s passing.  It was pretty obvious that they weren’t enthusiastic about us disturbing their peace.Well, it’s a nice sunny day here in Coco so I think we’ll head ashore soon.  Perhaps it would be good spot to get, well, a cup of cocoa.  Yes, that would fit.  

With that in mind, perhaps we should head over to the Bahamas and visit Rum Cay.  That would be even better than a cup of Cocoa if a bit more rustic.  For now, Cocoa seems perfect.

It’s Saturday morning and the sun is OUT AND BRIGHT.  Actually, today is the first day that we have had brilliant sunshine since boarding in St Mary’s a week ago.  It’s been a bit chilly but now it should be a lot warmer going forward.  However, I guess I have written about that enough already.   

As I write this we are anchored off of New Smyrna about 25 miles north of Cape Canaveral.  Our plan is to spend the day ashore and then to continue to make our way south on Sunday, to Cocoa where we will likely spend a few days.  There is a knitting store in Cocoa that Brenda enjoys so I expect that she will spend some time there knitting with the other ladies for an afternoon.

Yesterday was a chilly run and I left the heater running down below so that Brenda could be comfortable as I steered down the ICW.  It was mostly overcast but as the day wore on we were treated to SUN and somewhat warmer temperatures.   We had a good bit of wind so I motor-sailed much of the way.

I enjoyed watching some of my favorite birds, the pelicans, fly by.  It’s amazing to me that something as ungainly as these birds are can fly so gracefully.   This guy was nonplussed by our passing.   Somehow they look like they have a lot on their minds and perhaps that includes disdain for passing boats, like Pandora.   To me, if they could talk, they’d have a deep and authoritative voice. As we passed through endless marshes I was particularly struck by this beautiful Victorian home on the banks. I also spied this fort north of Ponce.  Pretty impressive but it looked a bit out of place near the modern homes in the background. Shortly before we arrived in New Smyrna we passed Ponce Inlet.   The lighthouse looked very pretty in the evening light. The best of all is that it was warm enough for us to sit out in the cockpit and enjoy the sunset while enjoying an “adult beverage”.   As we sat there, admiring the view, flock after flock of birds flew by in the fading light on their way “home”.Today is truly a beautiful day and we are looking forward to being able to soon “retire” our heater for the season. 

Did I say that it’s getting warmer brother Bill?  It is.  Soon, I’ll be sweating.  Sure hope so.  

We are on the move heading south bit by bit.  Now that we aren’t shivering I expect that our pace will slow to a crawl.   

It’s Thursday morning here in, well I want to say “sunny St Augustine” but that would be a lie as it’s frigging overcast for yet another day.  And, I won’t comment on how cold it is in the low 50s as my brother will call me names.   He says that I am soft and that I have no idea what cold is as it’s 15 where he is in PA.   Yes, Bill was pretty blunt about my lack of strength in dealing with the cold.  In fact, he, well, he called me a name.  Something about my not knowing what cold was and that if I wanted cold, well he’d some me cold.   Ok Bill, no it’s not cold here and I am sure that I’ll soon be sweating.   I totally hope so.

Anyway, even if Bill has no sympathy, I think it’s cold and even a little rainy here in but I’ll try not to complain about it any longer.   Well, not any more for today at least.  Just to defend myself, there are plenty of locals who think it’s pretty cold, so there.  I know this because I took a poll.

Well, yesterday we got new house batteries for Pandora’s so she’s all charged up again.   And, they only cost two boat dollars.  The yard that we went to was very efficient and it only took about two hours and some very strong guys to heft out the old ones and put in the new.  These batteries are much bigger than car batteries and weigh in at more than 100lbs each, and there are four of them.  It was great to today to wake up and see the voltage readings in a reasonable range. Amazingly, while they have been showing their age in the last year, the last set lasted over 7 years.  That’s a very long time for any battery.  I am not sure bit I think it’s something like 120 years old in dog years.   It seems that the next owner of Pandora will have years before they have to worry about replacing them again.

Today’s a big day here in St Augustine as it’s Brenda’s birthday and I want to be sure to do what I can to make it a great day for her.  Alert!, alert!, this is not a dress rehearsal…  Got it.   So, early today I ran ashore early to pick up some croissants and made her a latte aboard,her first aboard in 2015.   While I was ashore, I also took a long hot shower at the marina so that I would be nice and clean somewhat less offensive when I presented Brenda with her birthday breakfast.  What a great shower.   I’ll bet that I was plenty pink when I got out as I turned up the temperature as hot as I could stand it. “OK, Bob, enough about your hygine.  What’s with the pink thing?  TMI, TMI!”  Ok, I get it.  Anyway, it was good to be warm and clean.   Oh yeah, Brenda enjoyed breakfast.   That’s one down for the “birthday coordinator”.

Today we’ll spend some time ashore.  St Augustine is a lovely city with some beautiful architecture and great ancient trees lining the streets.  Beautiful stately live oaks.   And, at night the trees on the main drag are all lit up with little white lights.  Very festive.

Henry Flagler, who is generally thought of as the “father of Florida tourism” built two huge beautiful hotels here and a railroad to get customers here from the north.  They both closed years ago as tourists gravitated to southern Florida, but one is now the home to Flagler College and the other home to a terrific museum.  I wrote about a tour of the college on our last visit.  You can read that post here.  (Editor: It was much warmer that day but who’s keeping score?)

I am always struck by how beautiful the city architecture here is.   Wonderful views wherever you look.Did I say that it’s still cool here?  In spite of the current “relatively” low temperatures, there is plenty of tropical foliage.   I am told that the temperatures in the winter tend to swing wildly with some days in the 80s and then, in only a few short days, temperatures dive into the 40s and 50s.  Not cold by the standards of “northerners” but plenty cold out on the water.

On particularly interesting plant is the “resurrection fern” that grows on the limbs of trees and just about anything else that can hold a bit of moisture.   They get their name from the fact that they can shrivel up and look pretty dead when there is a drought and then are “resurrected” and spring back to life within hours when it rains.  This was a plenty happy looking bunch growing on a tile roof over a door in the historic district. Anyway, sitting here in the coffee shop isn’t getting us out to walk around and enjoy the sights.

How about finishing with a nice shot of the “birthday girl” in one of her hand knitted sweater.  She’s nice and toasty.  Good thing as it’s cold. Well, not that cold.  Yes, Bill, I am ALMOST sweating it’s so hot.  Well, at least Pandora’s charged up with her new batteries and ready to go where it’s really warm.   And, don’t forget, birthdays and the proper recognition of same isn’t a dress rehearsal  I’d better get on it.  

It’s Tuesday morning and we are sitting on the hook in a beautiful oxbow off of the Intra Coastal Waterway about ten miles north of St. Augustine.  An oxbow, for inquiring minds like yours, is a bend in a river where the channel has been cut straight across to leave the bendy part unused.   In this case, the Army Corps dredged a channel to keep the ICW as straight as possible.  As a result, there is a nice little “bow” off of the channel that is connected both on the north and south ends.   The name “oxbow” comes from the traditional yoke used to harness Oxen, with a “bow” in the middle to go over their necks.  These make for quite nice spots to stop and spend time. 

Still scratching your head on what I am talking about?  Here’s as shot from my chart plotter.  And the little boat icon is exactly where Pandora is as I write this. Don’t forget that the “where’s Pandora” button on the top of this page can show you a recent location as I post this several times a day when we are traveling.

The view from Pandora here is very beautiful and serene.  Even though we are in one of the most populous states in the Union, there isn’t a home or building to be seen.  And, we are the only one in the anchorage, save a very small sailboat anchored a few hundred yards from us.

Oddly, we are now into our second day of dense fog, something that isn’t normally associated with sunny Florida.  Normally, I don’t mind fog, but making our way along a narrow channel with sandbars lining the area, sometimes in the middle of the channel, is pretty challenging.

However, the fog, as unusual as it might be in these parts, makes for a beautiful sight as the marsh comes and goes from view.Yesterday, for several hours, the visibility was only about 350’ which meant that without our chart plotter and radar, to help us find our way, we wouldn’t have been able to move at all.  There were several times that I found myself with navigation marks on either side of the boat that I only saw as they were literally 200’ from me when I could see them clearly.  It was a white knuckle deal much of the time.   And, once the fog lifted in the afternoon, the fog was replaced with a driving rain that lasted late into the night.   The one good thing is that with the rain came warm temperatures in the upper 70s.  Very pleasant, rain or not.

In spite of the fog, we made good progress although I won’t talk about the times that we bumped the bottom as I strayed a bit too close to the edge of the channel in the poor visibility.  While most of the bumps were very minor, more of a slowing down a bit as I plowed through the mud, I did end up solidly on a sandbar for about 20 minutes at one point.  In my defense, that sandbar was inside the channel and while it was on the chart, it was much larger than it appeared.  In fact, it’s an area that had caused quite a number of others problems who had also found themselves in the same predicament.  I was pretty sure that I was going to be stuck till the tide rose again but was finally able to work myself off.  Fortunately, a large powerboat happened by as I was stuck and he told me where the deeper water was so I could at least point myself in the right direction to get off.  Anyway, I did finally get underway again.  What a pain.  As soon as we were back on the move again I got online and renewed my towing insurance that had lapsed a few months ago.

However, in spite of the fog (Did I say that it was dense?) the trip was very beautiful with sights like this along the way. It’s also interesting, that with homes along the marsh in some areas, they have to put their docks quite a way out from their homes to get into deeper water and avoid damaging the delicate marshes.  I can only imagine how long it took to get the permit to build this dock.  It must have been well over 1000′ long and must have cost as much as a modest home. I was treated to the sighting of a bald eagle as well as a number of dolphins that swam by.  Just after this shot he sounded with his tail straight up in the air.  Very peaceful in the fog.Along the way we were also enjoyed watching pelicans, both grey and white. They may look a bit ungainly with their big beaks but they glide along very gracefully.

One of the reasons that we wanted to cover ground in spite of the fog, as opposed to just staying put, is because Thursday is Brenda’s birthday and it’s CRITICAL that we be in a place to properly recognize such an important national holiday event.  Besides, it’s a particularly important milestone this year as it’s the last year that she will be in her “mid to upper 50s”.   Next year, well, she’ll be in a different “age band”, not to put too fine a point on it.

Well, the day is getting away from me so I had better wrap this up.  It’s still pretty foggy but hopefully visibility will improve soon.

Almost forgot. After nursing our house batteries along for several years after their expected lifespan, it appears that they have finally given up the ghost so we’ll be in a marina in a few days to get some new ones.  As each of the four batteries weigh over 100lbs, I’ll need help to get the old ones off and the new ones back on board.  I wish there was someone to help me with the $2000+ price tag.  Oh well, that’s not that much money, as it’s only 2 “boat dollars”.   I guess it could be worse.

Fog or not, St. Augustine, here we come.

It’s Sunday afternoon and it’s been a grey day here in St Mary’s GA.  Earlier today I headed to Jacksonville to drop our rental car at the airport after some 2,250 miles of driving in the almost two week since leaving our “land home” in CT a few days after Christmas.

It’s been a whirlwind with visits to survey the boat we hope to purchase in Miami and a frantic few days of provisioning to get Pandora in the water.  How is it that groceries and “stuff” cost so much?  We had planned to launch her today but the weather report gave us a start with rain in the forecast for today and Monday.  Fortunately, Rocky at St Mary’s Boat Services, was very accommodating and didn’t seem at all concerned when we changed the launch date for the third time in so many days.

The yard where Pandora has been since early October is much like other yards, with some really nice boats as well as some that look like they haven’t seen the water in years.  Unlike northern yards, most of the boats in this yard are stored for the summer and then launched in the fall and winter.  In fact, most of them are from northern states and it seems that there were a good number from Canada.

In addition to being very accommodating, the yard provides something that I have never seen in a yard and that’s really fine boarding stairs which I understand are made right in the yard. The design is quite nice, compliments of Rocky’s creative bent.  In fact, they would fit right in as boarding stairs at a small airport. These staircases are made of galvanized steel with wooden treads and there’s even a grate on the bottom tread to knock off the sand from your shoes.  They even put a door mat at the bottom.  Very nice.    How’s this for a “real” boarding ladder?And, if you want to enjoy the view and have a beer at the end of a long day of boat chores, there’s even a sitting area, complete with palm trees.  For the trip south last fall, I had put the dink on deck as I don’t carry it in the davits when we are offshore so had to find a way to get it onto the ground and back up into the davits, with the engine no less.  However Jeff, the do-it-all guy at the marina came to my rescue with his forklift.  What a great idea.   We put the dink on the lift and he picked it up a few feet so that I could install the engine and then lifted it up to deck level so I could attach it to the davits.  Voila, wasn’t that easy? 

I can’t recommend St Mary’s Boat Services enough as they are reasonably priced, flexible on launching etc. and have a very attentive staff.  Just don’t drive too fast with your car in the boatyard as you’ll get Jeff’s wrath because he doesn’t want you to run over his little dog that is always on the move around the yard.

While Pandora was on the hard I had the hull buffed and waxed.  They did a great job.  How about this shine?  Oh yeah, and Terri, the boatyard office manager, will even take you to the Jacksonville airport if you need to drop a car or get picked up from a flight.

On top of all that, there’s a great view of the marsh to boot.  Even Pandora got a good view as she was right near the water.Last night we had a nice simple meal aboard for our first night on Pandora.  It was pretty windy so I can’t say that we slept very well. It always takes a few nights to get used to the noises of being aboard but I am sure that we will settle in in a few days. We went for a nice walk in St Mary’s and then had lunch.  Doesn’t Brenda look great? There are some very pretty homes in town and the live oaks are beautiful.  It’s a bit odd to see camellias in bloom and other flowers budding out in mid January.   You know you are in the south when you see sights like this shrimp boat aside palm trees.After lunch, we headed down the river, with the tide, the 8+ miles to Fernandina Beach where we hope to do some exploring on Monday.  After that we’ll make the 50+ mile run down to St Augustine, one of our favorite cities.

Besides, it’s Brenda’s birthday on the 15^th (mark your calendar boys and girls) so it’s important that we be in a good location to celebrate.

Rain or not, and it’s pretty unpleasant outside, it’s nice to be back in the water and heading south.   With temperatures in the 70s forecast for later this week, we are ready to put the winter behind us, once and for all.

Here’s to warm and sunny.  I think that I have said that before but it’s worth repeating.  Warm?  Yes, warm.