Spending Time in Sanford

The Barbara Lee moors here at the marina
It goes out for lunch and dinner cruises about every day

This guy visits the marina harbor about every day
This time he caught a big fish in his mouth

I seem to have made a new friend -
the dragonfly must have liked my hat

This is where the springs bubble up

Alligators and other wildlife may be present
No worries!  Really?

You can see here how clear the water is

This is looking down the river away from the
swimming hole
Several people canoe this area

Glad this little guy stayed on the other side

Another shot of the crystal clear water

Beautiful scenery

Swimming hole at the headwater

We've been at Monroe Harbor Marina in Sanford now for a week.  Sleepy little town – at least what I’ve seen.  Of course most of that time we have been on foot – we did pick up our car on Sunday. 

Last Friday (June 6)  We hung out on the boat most of the day and then took a dinghy ride with Ray and Linda (Second Noelle) over to Boat Tree Marina where there is a Bar and Grill called Docktails.  This was about four miles away.  Pretty cool little place where you can swim in their pool if you like.  They had gator on the menu so we, of course, had to have some.  It was pretty much dark when we left so it made for an interesting ride back on the river. 

They have a Farmer’s Market here on Saturdays like most towns here in Florida.  This one is pretty lame though.  Maybe we’re just spoiled after being at the one in Ft Pierce.  That one is huge!  Here there were only about a half dozen vendors.  The downtown “Historic” area is very cool though.  There are lots of old buildings there that now house new businesses – lots of bars and antique stores.

Sunday we decided was the right day to pick up our car which was still in Ft Pierce.  It was only about a two hour drive from here.  Ray and Linda loaned us the “Beast” or what is sometimes affectionately called the “Pimp Pala”.  Anyway, it got us there with no problems.  We had lunch at one of our favs – Archies.  Couldn’t miss a Sunday at Archies if we were in town after all!  We drove both cars back with no problems.  Between the “Beast” and the “Silver Bullet” that’s saying a lot!  J

Monday we caught up on our chores  - so we would be ready to leave for Joplin on Thursday. 

Tuesday was a play day.  Ray and Linda and their granddaughter Abbie took us to Wekiwa Springs State Park.  This is a very pretty area that consists of 7000 acres.  It’s about a 30 minute drive from the marina.  There is a huge area at the headwater of the Wekiva River that is a perfect swimming hole.  The spring bubbles up 42 million gallons of water a day with a constant temperature of 72 degrees.  Very refreshing!  There were lots of swimmers there but that didn’t deter the gators!  They remained on the other side of the bridge thank goodness.  Although a kid did catch a small one on his fishing pole.  This got the attention of the FWC who had plenty to say to the guy.  He wasn’t supposed to be fishing and for sure he was molesting the wildlife!  Hmmm!  Back home we go swimming in lots of creeks and rivers but there isn’t anything in the water that might eat us!  Took a little getting used to.

We also got a little confused over the name.  The springs are spelled Wekiwa but the river and most of the area uses the spelling Wekiva.  Wekiwa is the Creek word for a spring.  The GPS had a field day when trying to decipher where we wanted to go! 

We made it back to the boat just in time before a huge storm hit.  The rain came down in buckets and the wind blew but there weren’t any real problems.  This is the rainy season of Florida – so you pretty much can depend on a storm to come through about every afternoon, however this one was a doozy! 

On Thursday (June 12) we plan to begin our long drive back to Joplin for a visit.  We’ll leave NautiNell here at the marina.   Looking forward to seeing everyone.  Mike has his 50^th Class Reunion next weekend.  It should be fun!

Till next time!

Admiral “C”

St Johns River to Sanford

Checking out Deep Creek in the dinghy

The scenery was beautiful

Just a lazy river

You never know what is 'round the bend

NautiNell at anchor in Deep Creek

Sunset at Deep Creek

Lily Pads and floating hyacinths have
about taken over the river

Where's those swamp boys now!

Very pretty and "old Florida"

HonToon State Park

The Spanish Moss adds to the beauty

Waiting on the train  - only 7 foot of clearance



He almost was too fast for me to get the picture!
Wow, they're loud!

One of the four trains that we had to wait on
no worries!

Reminds me of Russellville on the Arkansas River!

Interesting little boat house

Beautiful sunset just above Lake George

Yeah, it's a bar in an antique store.......

Linda taking her best shot!

Didn't know but I guess Sanford used
to be known for it's celery?

Sunset view from the Riverwalk

Heading “UP” the St John’s River going “South”

June 2 Monday  About 9:30 after spending a great night at the Metropolitan Park “Free” Marina we headed south on the St John’s River.  Now this is actually going up the river because it flows north.  It’s a bit confusing for me but that’s what is does!  So we are going south upstream.  Nothing can go wrong here, right?  We have about another 150 miles before we reach Sanford where we’ll stay at the Monroe Harbor Marina.  We planned to take our time and soak it all in so about 3:00 we dropped our anchor at an anchorage called Deep Creek. Today’s trip was uneventful.  However we’re glad we’ve been told that it gets prettier as we go because this is just a big ol’ river with lots of industrial sites.  It’s wide open and brackish water.  It reminded me of the Ohio/Mississippi.  But this anchorage is really pretty.  We hadn’t been here 30 minutes before we had a visit by a huge alligator.  That was only the first.  Before the night was over we saw well over a dozen.  We took a dinghy ride on up into the creek – it was so peaceful and beautiful.  Of course we saw more gators – felt a little uneasy about putting my hand in the water!  Ha!  We cooked steaks on the grill and listened to the hoot owls all night long.  What a nice evening.

June 3 Tuesday   After a very nice night of anchoring we headed out this morning about 8:45.  It was much prettier today once we got past Palatka.  The river reminds me of home on the rivers and lakes but without any bluffs.  No mountains here!  We planned to spend the night at a bar/restaurant named Porky’s.  They usually will let you stay at their dock for the night.  We called them and they agreed to let us stay there for $20.  Sounded pretty good.  However it didn’t work out so well.  The dock looked pretty rickety and somewhat falling apart.  We didn’t want to take the chance with a boat our size so we went about another mile or so and dropped anchor.  It was just past Georgetown Marina and right before the entrance of Lake George.  It was about 2:00 and the wind was picking up so we decided not to venture across the lake.  We would save that for the morning.  We planned to take the dinghy out in the morning to check out the clear springs we’ve been told about.  Again it was a very nice night with a gorgeous sunset.

June 4 Wednesday   AARGGH!!!!  I take away everything I said nice about the anchorage!  Yes, we did sleep well and it was quiet but we had no idea what was going on outside until morning.  We had been warned but we never dreamed it would be this bad!  We thought we had stayed far enough from land.  But what did we know!  We woke up to MILLIONS of bugs on our boat swarming like crazy.  They are what are called blind mosquitoes.  At least they don’t bite!  BUT they were awful and they leave a greenish/brown residue everywhere!  They were literally everywhere including all over us once we tried to get rid of them.  Thank God they didn’t get inside!  We hightailed it out of the area and hoped the wind would blow them away – no such luck.  They were all over Lake George swarming and floating in the water.  We fought them all day long!  It is so hard to describe how many there were but I’m not exaggerating when I say MILLIONS!   Now this area was the prettiest part of the trip after we crossed the lake but most of the day was spent killing and washing way these stupid bugs.  We planned to stop at Hontoon State Park but it was too shallow for us.  I thing we both just wanted to keep going anyway until we could reach the marina.  We needed to hose the boat down.  We decided to go on the additional 18 miles to the marina.  We didn’t think it would take that long to get there but there are no wake zones pretty much all the way to the marina AND a railroad bridge which has to be raised for us.  We had to wait on four trains before they could open it.  Sheeh! 

Finally we made it to the marina about 4:00 and were greeted by our friends Ray and Linda (Second Noelle).  It was good to see them although they did have to laugh at us and NautiNell because they had gone through the same thing with the bugs.  I don’t know why they thought it was so X%&F& funny!  J  After today we were not so sure this trip on the St Johns was worth it.  A good night’s sleep in the air conditioning maybe will help.

June 5 Thursday  We spent the entire day power-washing the bugs off our boat.  Everywhere we looked we would find more.  At least they were all dead now!  J  Now the boat is probably cleaner than it’s been in weeks.  We can finally relax a bit.

AND what we needed was a night out on the town.  Off we went with Ray and Linda to check out the area around the marina.  They have been here a few weeks so they have checked out the hot spots/cheap beer.  The first place we checked out wasn’t necessarily the cheapest one but it was very cool! It was the Imperial and was located in the Washburn Imports Antique Store.  Yes a bar inside the antique store.  You can sit at the tables and chairs that are there for sale.  It was rather a different bar too – everything was “eclectic” for the best way I can describe a bar that doesn’t have domestic beer or even a coca cola!  However we each found a beer we liked – or at least three of us did.  Mike had to choke his down.  Next it was off to The Quite Man – an Irish Pub.  That’s after we passed three different “dives” that we may hit next time.  This time we had a little bit better choice of drinks but not much.  There was a kid in there with a MIZZOU shirt on –we had to talk to him. He was drinking a “banana bread beer”?  yep!  He was from Springfield MO – only about sixty miles from my hometown of Joplin.  Small world.

Next we walked over to the West End Bar – now this is a spot we liked.  They have 2 for 1 on everything from 12:00 to 9:00.  That’s some happy hour!  And they had Bud Light!  Mike was happy.  We had a beer there and then we were off to the Celery Craft.  This place again had weird beers but we all found something we liked, plus they had a shuffleboard table.  We played Ray and Linda a couple of games  - and I might add – we beat the pants off them!  Just lucky, believe me!  After that it was over to the Riverwalk Pizzeria which is about a block from the marina.  Again more beer and a great pizza.  Then it was back to the boat for another drink or two.  Then it was night night.  It’s hard to keep up with those young whipper-snappers!

Okay maybe the trip was worth it.  Not saying yet for sure.  Plan to check out the town and take a few dinghy rides to check out some clear springs where you can snorkel.  We’ll see.  I’ll get back to you on that.  I do know one thing when we head back north we will definitely not spend the night anywhere around the Lake George area.  That's for sure!

Till next time!

Admiral “C”

We're finally on the move again!

Memorial Day weekend at the Ft Pierce beach

Can't believe three manatee came to visit us at the beach

Beautiful sunset on anchor

Wonder if he was taking our picture!!

What's left of "Annie the Dragon"

This is actually someone's home along the river

Interesting boat house along the way

European Village in Palm Coast

Latin Jazz band entertained us
The guy playing bass - never used his right arm

Beautiful architecture

El Galeon

Bridge of Lions - St Augustine

The Plaza area - absolutely beautiful

One of the magnificent churches in St Augustine

Beautiful buildings

Lots of history in St Augustine

If you look close you will see that there
are two different kinds of trees here grown together!

Eric gave us a great tour of the city by Pedi-Cab
One way to stay in shape!

NautiNell on a mooring ball on north side of bridge

Entrance to the Castillo de San Marco
Spanish Fort

Very cool!

Oldest school house in the US (they claim)

Yes it's a didgeridoo!
The poor little pup wouldn't budge

Top of the Mill restaurant

St Augustine Lighthouse

Mike doing the "happy dance" 'cause
he's got his toes in the sand!

Standing guard over the Bridge of Lions

Jacksonville Landing
free dock  - maybe we'll stay there on the way back through

Metropolitan Park - free marina
this is where we spent the night
the Jacksonville Jaguars stadium is in the background

Jacksonville skyline

Huge suspension bridge - water over 70' deep here

After a fun filled Memorial Day Weekend, it was time to say our goodbyes to Jeff and Linda (Jeremiah) and cast off our lines from Harbortown in Ft Pierce.  We filled up our fuel tanks and after that “shock” we headed out for a new adventure.  It’s been a great voyage so far.  Our “plans” are to go north to Jacksonville where we will enter the St Johns River and navigate back south to Sanford.  There we will leave NautiNell for a week or so while we go back home to attend Mike’s Class Reunion.  Then once we return we’ll go back north on the river and spend some time (a month or so) at Ortega Landing in Jacksonville.  We plan to eventually go farther north possibly to Savannah.  As you know, our plans are always written in sand.  Things change constantly!

Here’s been our adventure so far!

May 27 – Tuesday   We left the marina full of fuel and were on the waterway by 8:30 a.m.!  That’s pretty darn good for us!  It was a beautiful day for a cruise.  We saw several dolphins and manatee while we were traveling.  Several dolphins would swim along the side of us as if to say “hi”!  That is always so cool!  We never tire seeing the dolphins swimming about.  We made it to the anchor at about 3:00 p.m. – it was a 51 mile trek – a little longer than we have been doing lately but it’s pretty much an average day for us.  We dropped the anchor at a place called “Dragon Point”.  It’s at the mouth of the Banana River just north of the Eau Gallie Bridge.  The name is due to a local landmark – “Annie” that used to be a 100 foot and an estimated 20 ton dragon that was located at the mouth of the river.  It collapsed in 2002 and there are just remnants there now.  There is a local rally to try to repair her but nothing has happened so far. Anyway we anchored right behind of what’s left of that poor old dragon.  It couldn’t have been any better of an anchorage.  We had our “crockpot” dinner and while we watched the sunset from our back deck – several dozen dolphins decided it was time for a show.  They swam, danced and flipped for us right off our stern!  This went on for a very long time!  No need for us to go to Sea World – we had our very own show right here! Small fishing boats that were cruising by would stop and watch.  Several took pictures – Mike tried but didn’t really get any good ones.  L  The rest of the evening was pretty much uneventful – just the way we like an anchorage to be.

May 28 – Wednesday   Up and on our way by 8:15!  That turned out to be a really good thing because we ended up traveling for 9 hours and 72 miles!  That’s not how we had planned it though.  We thought we’d just stop in Titusville but realized we would be there before noon and we weren’t ready to stop then.  Skipper Bob Guidebook – said there was a good anchorage at Mosquito Lagoon.  Now I know that doesn’t sound so great but it read like it would be a great anchorage.  It did say that it could be a little “buggy” but had a lot of wildlife.  Really?  When we did get to that “so called anchorage” it was not what we were expecting.  First we had to venture through the Haulover Canal which is about a mile long and very narrow.  We did see dozens of manatee though.  They were flipping and flopping around  - being much more active than the ones we had seen in Marathon.  I think it’s mating season – just sayin’………

The guide said we’d probably see alligators too but we didn’t.  Then when we reached the so called lagoon we found it was at least four miles long and easily a mile wide and was extremely shallow in most areas.  With the wind blowing 15-25 mph it would have been a real problem.  No protection anywhere.  Plus it was so desolate! There was nothing to see and it was absolutely in the boonies!  The bugs would have been the least of our worries!   So the next closest stop was near New Smyrna which was another 15-20 miles on north.  So we ventured on…….

We ended up at Rockhouse Creek just north of New Smyrna at about 5:30.  There were five other boats already there so it was pretty tight.  We decided to just drop the hook at the mouth of the river.  It worked out fine.  The guidebook did mention that there was noise from the small local airport nearby.  We didn’t figure that would be a problem and it really wasn’t except who would think that they would continue all night long!  We think they were doing “touch and go’s” because they continually were taking off.  It went well into the evening but really no big deal.  The no-seeums chased us in pretty early anyway. The current was strong enough and being so close to the inlet you could see behind our boat where the river water met the ocean water when the tide came in – brackish and salt water getting together – two different colors.  It was pretty cool to watch.  Overall it still was a nice secure anchorage. 

May 29 Thursday  We headed out about 9:00 a.m.  There are no really decent anchorages between here and St Augustine so we decided we’d make a rather short day of it and stop at Palm Coast Marina.  It was less than 40 miles this time.  AND we knew we could stop there because we called ahead – planning.  That’s the ticket!  There are beautiful homes along the way from Daytona to Palm Coast.  This area is nothing like what we went through yesterday.  Very populated and looks very expensive.  The marina is very reasonable and the staff is friendly and helpful.  We got tied up – turned on the air conditioning and it was time for a nap.  It looked like rain anyway……..  We walked over to an area called European Village that has a few restaurants and shops.  It’s only a short walk away.  We had to try Farley’s Irish Pub.  There was a Latin jazz band playing in the courtyard.  We sat outside where we could have a few beers and watch the people.  A very nice evening.  Tomorrow is a short trip  - only 25 miles to St Augustine.  Yea!

May 30 Friday  It was a great night at the marina with our air conditioning.  We had a lazy morning and didn’t leave until about 10:00.  It was a short day – only about 25 miles to St Augustine.  We got there about 2:00 and picked up a mooring ball at the Municipal Marina.  The first thing we see is this huge ship that is docked at the marina.  It is the El Galeon which is a replica of an armed merchant ship which traveled the coasts of Florida between the 16^th and 18^th centuries.  It transported soldiers, colonists and goods from America and Europe.  It’s 170 feet long and weighs 495 tons!  It’s here to help commemorate St Augustine’s 450^th anniversary.  Very cool!   We relaxed a bit and then took the dinghy over to check in.  The Dockmaster there was very helpful regarding things to do and areas to check out.  They have a great dinghy dock so we left “Lil Nauti” and walked around the town checking it out.  We found Pizza Alley which we were told we had to check out.  They have a great Happy Hour!  From 3-6 they have 2 for 1 drinks – everything from any beer to top shelf liquor plus you get a free slice of pizza!  What a deal!  It was a nice break.  While we were there I got a text from Ray (Second Noelle) asking how things were going.  It just so happened they were in their car returning from Tennessee and were only five miles or so away.  They picked us up in the “Pimp Pala” in front of the marina and off we went to their favorite – The Mellow Mushroom.  These places are so cool!  We had some “drunken funguys” (garlic knots) and drank a few beers.  It was fun to hook up with them.  Their boat is in Sanford which is where we’re heading.  We’ll all be together there in a few more days. 

When we got back to the marina and again said our goodbyes we decided we wanted to see more of the city.  We picked up a “Pedi-Cab” to take us on a tour.  Eric was the peddler.  He was really interesting and knowledgeable about the history and the architecture of St Augustine.  This is a very cool city – the oldest continuously occupied city in the continental United States.  The town brings in lots of tourists but you don’t get the feel of that like some touristy areas.  Everything is rather classy.  The “pedi-cab” took us by Flagler College, the Lincolnville area (used to be called Africa a very long time ago), the Plaza area, the Cathedral, the Castillo de San Marcos (the Fort) and several beautiful homes. Oh and of course, the bars.  He was quick to point out the places for our age group (the oldies) and then the ones where the young ‘ns hang out.  Is it that obvious??   Very cool way of seeing the city.  A very nice day and night indeed!

May 31 Saturday  We had a very nice night on the mooring ball.  We had several things we wanted to do and see.  So we left “Lil Nauti” at the dinghy dock and headed out toward the Fort.  By the way, there is a miniature golf course near the marina that hails it’s the oldest one in the country.  There are several places and things here that claim to be the “oldest”.  Who knows….  Anyway we visited the Fort – Castillo de San Marcos which IS the oldest masonry fort and the best preserved example of Spanish colonial design in the US.  Construction of the Fort began in 1672! It was lightening a little so they closed the very top and didn’t shoot off the cannons.  But it was still very cool.  After that we had to walk over about a block to see the oldest Schoolhouse.  Very tiny.  I wonder what the students of that period would think of our new high school being built back home.  Times have changed. 

After that we walked over to the Top of the Mill for lunch.  We passed this guy playing the didgeridoo!  His little dog sat beside him with his hat and sunglasses on the whole time.  Now where would you ever see this?  After walking around a little more we stopped in the American Legion for a cold one.  You can always count on the Legion for a cheap cold beer!  Then it was back to the boat where we packed a cooler and took the dinghy to the beach for the rest of the afternoon.  We went over by the St Augustine Lighthouse in the Salt Run River.  We didn’t have to go outside to get to a very cool beach.  Lots of boaters with tubes and kneeboards and of course, jet skis enjoying their Saturday afternoon.

For dinner we decided Harrys Seafood would be the place.  We had a 45 minute wait (it was Saturday night after all).  However, it was really worth the wait.  We sat out in the courtyard and listened to the live music and had a wonderful dinner.  I highly recommend that place!  After that we walked around – trying to burn some calories!  We stopped at the Tradewinds Tropical Lounge when we heard some really good music.  Oh we didn’t go in – we sat in the park across the street and listened.  Yes, we’re cheap!  What a big day!

June 1  Sunday  It looked rainy this morning so we took our time to chart our course, etc.  Our plan was to go to Jacksonville (48 miles or so).  It was a little windy but Mike said it shouldn’t be that bad on the inside.  The weather looked like it was moving out so off we went!  We didn’t have it bad – the clouds would move in and out and the wind made it somewhat choppy.  BUT as we get to the mouth of the St Johns River which is also where the St Johns Inlet is – the rain and wind hit!  It was raining so hard we couldn’t see.  Ok this is how it was -  the rain was coming down in sheets, the wind was blowing like a #%, the current is awesome, our isinglass is somewhat cloudy now (couldn’t see through it, in other words), this is where all the tugs, naval warships and coast guard ships are, our canvas top decided to start leaking to the point we needed our raincoats AND the navigational markers change here (red on our starboard now?)!  No problem!

Finally the wind and rain let up.  We thought if the weather was bad here we would stop at Sisters Creek on up the ICW but with all that was going on we missed the entrance.  So we kept on going the 18 miles or so to the Metropolitan Park which is a free marina by the Jacksonville Jaguars football stadium.  We like free!  We made it in safe and sound.  The marina is unattended and if you want power you simply use one of the kiosks there to order it by swiping your card!  It was only a little over $8.00 for power and no cost for the slip.  Very nice night!  We relaxed and planned for our venture south on the river.  To be continued……

Till next time!

Admiral “C”