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”

Our Last Few Days at Ft Pierce

Marine Supply Warehouse
Over 30,000 sq ft!
Mike thought he was in heaven!

Hell Cat
Yes, it's a catamaran and a helicopter
Not sure why.....

Very cool car we saw while having lunch

We had planned to leave around the 21^st and head on north but decided that we didn’t want to be traveling on the waterways during Memorial Day Weekend. SO we stayed another week.  We’ve stayed long enough that the monthly rate took us to the end of the month anyway so it’s like staying free.  At least that’s what we tell ourselves.  Anyway, we’ve had a really good time the last few weeks checking out Ft Pierce and just relaxing on the boat. The last time I posted brought us up to date through Mother’s Day.  Here is what has been going on since then…….

May 13 (Tuesday) Had a great time at the American Legion tonight.  They were having a homemade lasagna dinner that we knew we had to check out.  We had been told by the bartender that she makes a mean lasagna and she didn’t lie.  Both the Legion and the Elks Lodge are very active here in Ft Pierce.  It’s fun to check out different lodges and make new friends.

May 16 (Friday) Dinner at the Elks Lodge!  Fantastic prime rib!  They had a pretty good band there too and we actually danced – a little anyway.  This Elks Lodge has over 1300 members.  From the looks of it most of them are active ones!  The ER told us that of course their membership suffers a little when all the snowbirds head back north.  Still there was a really good turn out by anyone’s standards.

May 17 (Saturday) One good thing about hanging around another week or so was that we were able to go to the Farmer’s Market again.  This time we didn’t have breakfast first so we were able to enjoy what all the vendors had to offer.  We stocked up again on fresh produce, breads and anything else we could find.  AND we can go back again next Saturday!

After that Mike and Jeff went to the Nautical Flea Market in Stuart – only about 15 miles away.  I didn’t go but I must not of missed much because neither one of them bought anything!  Wait I take that back -  Mike did buy some fishing lures – to make up for the ones he’s lost on those big fish that got away…. J

May 18 (Sunday) Sunday is a fun day to spend at Archie’s.  I think I mentioned before in a previous post that Archie’s started out as a place back in the 1920s where the military went to have a beer.  It’s been growing ever since.  Now it’s a great beach/biker bar and on Sundays they have music and lots of specials.  They even have church on Sunday mornings but I haven’t made it there yet.  Maybe next Sunday.  This Sunday was pirate day- all the staff were dressed up as pirates and they had “treasure hunts” on the beach.  I did win a T-shirt because I knew the name and artist of a particular song.  Michael Franti – “Say Hey, I Love You”  Pretty cool!  We hung around there pretty much all afternoon then went for a short ride to see the sights.  We went as far as Jensen Beach where we got caught in traffic due to the boat races they were having close by.  Wish we could have seen the races but between the crowds and the cost of the tickets we decided against it.  We would have rather gone by boat to watch them anyway but that wasn't feasible either.  Oh well.  We’ll catch them somewhere else I’m sure.

May 19 (Monday) Mike went fishing and we had dinner on the grill.  No, it wasn’t fish.  We had ribs.  I think he just likes going on a boat ride more than he does catching fish.  His luck will change soon, I’m sure.  Since we decided that we weren’t leaving this week – I decided to clean the boat.   Don’t know what got into me! 

May 20 (Tuesday) We went for Happy Hour at Hurricanes on the beach.  It is my understanding that this is the original one of the Hurricanes you see along the coast.  It is a funky little place with cold beer and great wings!  If we can  - we plan to go back over there before we leave. 

May 21 (Wednesday)  This time it’s the Elks Lodge having a lasagna dinner!  We had to go there and check it out.  If it was my vote – I’d say the Elks was the best.  We hung around and even played Bingo!  What we’ll do for cheap drinks!  It was a fun evening though.

May 22 (Thursday)  Had lunch at the 12A Buoy Seafood Grille.  We've eaten there when we were here before.  Trying to hit all the good places before we leave!  There's only a few more to go - good thing because there's only a few more days to go!

It looks like the weather is going to be beautiful for the next few days.  We plan to spend some time at the beach and in the dinghy! 

AND unless something changes we’ll be leaving Ft Pierce on Tuesday the 26^th and working our way toward Jacksonville.  There we’ll pick up the St Johns River and go back south a ways to Sanford.  The St Johns River is the longest in the state of Florida and one of the few that actually flows north.  It is also fresh water which we haven't been in for a very long time.  We're told that when you're on the St Johns you're in "Old Florida".  We're looking forward to it.  We’ll leave the boat there while we go back home to Joplin for a few days.  When we return we’ll go back up the St Johns and then spend some time in Jacksonville.  After that maybe we’ll head further north to at least Savannah GA.  Who knows!

Hope everyone has a wonderful and safe Memorial Day Weekend!

Till next time!

Admiral “C”

 

Still Hanging Out in Ft Pierce

Gathering at the Farmer's Market

Really good band at the Market
Playing at the Tiki Bar on Friday night
may check them out!

Hot Shot and his steel drums
love to listen to them

Really good band at the
Inlet Beach Bar and Grill

Proud of those Navy Seals

The Lifeboat that held Captain Phillips
and the pirates

A very impressive Museum

This statue says it all.

Pepper Beach - Ft Pierce

Yep it’s been almost two weeks now and we’re still at Harbortown Marina in Ft Pierce.  Actually it’s a nice place to be.  For those of you who aren’t really familiar with the location of Ft Pierce – it’s just over a hundred miles south of Orlando.  Believe me, we’ve learned a lot about the geography of Florida the last couple of years.  We’ve found out that Florida is a very long state and very different from coast to coast.  J   

All of our cruising buddies seem to be moving on north but we haven’t found a reason to leave yet.  Actually we plan to head out in about another week or so and make it to Jacksonville. Once we’re there we plan to navigate the St Johns River to Sanford and back.  We were counting on doing that together with Second Noelle (Ray and Linda) but they’re already there.  And here we sit…..  Oh well.  It might still happen.  From there we don’t know what’s next.  Guess we’ll decide when we get there.

In the meantime, here’s a short synopsis of what’s been going on with us……

Thursday (May 8)  I think I left off in the last post that we were invited to have cocktails with Brent and Susan (Once Upon A Time) who are our neighbors and have a Jefferson a lot like ours.  We had a very nice visit and compared notes about how are boats are “different” from one another and how they’re “alike”.  Theirs is a few years newer but not a lot of difference.  They are from Minnesota and just finished the Loop in April.  Their boat is also their home – much like NautiNell is ours.  They are planning to head north up to Georgia somewhere where they can cross the “magical latitude” that helps in the insurance payments.  Not sure when or where they are going yet. 

Friday (May 9)  Mike couldn’t stand it any longer – the anchor that we had traded for earlier and is going to be our “spare” really needed a facelift.  He took it somewhere to have it straightened and then today he gave it a coat of paint.  Now it’s hanging out on the pulpit and looks great.  It’s the little things you know (sometimes anyway). 

Later we went to Friday Fest that is held here in Ft Pierce once a month.  It was a hoot!  Jeff and Cindy (Gabrielle) met us there.  They live near in Jensen Beach and keep their boat here on the hard during the summer.  They are part of the Dock Dynasty group that we befriended down in Marathon.  The weather was perfect, cold beer and good music.  There were also a lot of vendors and of course, they had things we most definitely “needed”.  We bypassed the typical vendor food and had dinner at the 2nd Street Bistro.  Really good!  We most definitely want to go back there again.

Saturday (May 10)  We took the dinghy over to the City Marina for the Farmer’s Market.  I had heard about this market before but had never had the chance to go.  It turned out to be very impressive.  We stocked up on produce, breads and about anything else we could find.  It’s held every Saturday so next week we’re going to go hungry.  There were several vendors there that were fixing all kind of things we wanted to try but we’d already had breakfast.  Oooh!  Everything looked and smelled so good!  So look out this coming Saturday!  We’ll be prepared!

Later that afternoon Mike went fishing so I took the opportunity to go to Wal-Mart and also to check out the town a bit.  We cooked on the grill and enjoyed some of the fresh veggies we had purchased earlier in the day.

Sunday (May 11)  Happy Mother’s Day!  What a busy day it was!  I think Mike was trying to keep me busy so I wouldn’t get too homesick today.  He did an excellent job of it.  Gotta love that guy!

Anyway, first we started out with lunch at the Inlet Beach Bar and Grill.  They had several lunch specials and $2.00 Strawberry Margaritas.  Yea!  They are located right on the beach and had a good band too.  The guy could really sing and had a great playlist.   After that, we went over to the Navy Seals Museum.  This was very impressive and if you ever have the chance to go – do it!!  I have a whole new respect for those guys.

The museum is located on the birthplace of the original US Navy Frogmen (1943-46) that were trained here in Ft Pierce.  They served through WWII and Vietnam and eventually evolved into what is known today as the Navy Seals. Among some of the highlights there was the model of Osama Bin Laden’s compound where of course in May 2011 the Navy Seals took him down!  Also the MAERSK Alabama Lifeboat that was the one in which Captain Phillips was held hostage is on display with bullet holes and all.  There are 3 bullet holes where the Seals took out three of the Somali Pirates and then there’s a bullet hole on the other side that one would possibly think was from the pirates and meant for Captain Phillips.  This was known as the Easter SEAL Rescue of 2009.  I guess you can tell, I was rather impressed by it all. 

After our tour, we walked over to Pepper Beach.  It’s a small beach but very nice.  The water was absolutely beautiful with great waves splashing on the shore.  I’m going back!

THEN after that  -  it was off to the American Legion for a cold beer or two.  This is a very nice and friendly place to hang.  In fact I think we’re going back over there on Tuesday night for their Auxiliary Lasagna Dinner.  The bartender told us she makes it and it’s worth the trip.  SO……

When we got back to the marina, the restaurant had a guy there playing steel drums.  So naturally we stopped in for an appetizer and cocktails and listened to him for a while.  Later Brent and Susan stopped by so they could get the tour of our boat and make more comparisons.   What a day – a busy Mother’s Day!

Monday (May 12) Mike “fixed” miscellaneous things – always something that needs fixing or changing or adjusting.  Anyway, while he did that – I found a Beall’s Department Store and a Mall!  Had to do a little shopping. After that we had a good dinner here on the boat and relaxed.

Till next time!

Admiral “C”

Not Sure Where We're Going But We're Still Having Fun!

Big City skyline while traveling the ICW

Bimini Express gets you to Bimini from
Miami in about 2 hours!

Lots of help feeding the chain
through the gypsy.  Finally!

We're leading today

Just one of the magnificent homes
along the way
Photo doesn't do justice

Great place for a burger!
Saloons Le Tub
right on the ICW

Another local hangout
on the ICW in Hollywood

The largest Boat US we've seen
Imagine the size of boat it tows in!

Hanging out at the local beach in
Hollywood
Just dinkin' around.....

Very cool sailboat along the way
Looks like a pirate ship

View from the back of NautiNell in Hollywood
Sailing school - it was pretty cool to watch

Just dinkin' around

Another picture of the skyline -
Miami to Ft Laurderdale
then West Palm
It all runs together

Hollywood beach

Huge yacht!  See the 'copter?

Huge cruise ship heading to the Bahamas

Having lunch at the Sandbar
at DelRay Beach

DelRay Beach

Jupiter Lighthouse
Very cool site

Little Jim's Bait and Tackle
Great stop for a sandwich and cold beer
while dinkin'

Archies - a great hangout in Ft Pierce
Biker/Beach bar
Great way to spend a Sunday afternoon

Archies - good band!

Made me kind of miss our bike!
 

Ray and Linda (Second Noelle) heading our before us

Great artwork on the walls of the Mellow Mushroom

Girls getting together on Conched Out Too
while everyone was at Ft Pierce

Boys getting together too - a motley crew

Conched Out Too heading out too
We'll catch up with them in a few days hopefully

 

Tues - Thurs (April 22-24)  The mooring field at Dinner Key wasn’t all that great.  We did spend three nights there but it was so windy it was really hard to get off and on the dinghy and to get on the boat.  The first night (Tuesday) we went to the Sandbar for dinner which was an okay place.  It was nice to get off the boat and see the sights of Coconut Grove (Miami).  Wednesday the boys walked up to Crook & Crook Marine to check on chain – nada’.  Later we took a dinghy ride over to Monty’s for Happy Hour and dinner.  It was a nicer place and we all definitely had a good time.  Most of the day Thursday was spent looking for anchor chain by either the internet or making calls.  Mike ended up taking the bus to check out chain at Miami Cordage.  It was only about 7 miles away but I understand it was quite a bus ride – bus rides always are!  We were having trouble finding the exact size we needed.  They sent him back to the boat with a sample so he could check to see if it would work.  They were sure it would – “but if you cut it you own it”.  Good thing we had the sample because it didn’t work.  We needed exactly 5/16” proof coil and no one seemed to have it.  Mike had had a very frustrating day so we decided to stay in for the night. Ray & Linda and Jeff & Linda decided to find the best Happy Hour around.  Sounded like they had found it when they came back to their boats about 11:00 p.m.  There was a lot of giggling going on – I could hear them having a time getting back on their boats from their dinghies.

Friday (April 25)  Still searching for anchor chain we all decided to head on up to Hollywood Municipal Marina.  It was only a few miles away.  It took us a little while to figure out just how we were going to tie up.  The finger piers are maybe 8 feet long!  Either way  - bow or stern – we would still have trouble getting off the boat.  Oh well at least we wouldn’t be bouncing around in the wind like we’ve been doing for several days.  Like I mentioned before – it was a City Marina.  These are often cheaper ($1.25 ft) than privately owned ones – there are usually reasons.  However other than the short fingers, not able to “easily” get off the boat and a pump station of some kind that would dump gushing water into the lake every 30 seconds or so all day and night, it wasn’t that bad.  At night, I’d just try to imagine it was a beautiful waterfall right outside my window.   J  The people were nice there and it was right on the ICW where there were several restaurants/bars that were accessible by dinghy.  We found 4 or 5 stores there that were close by that should have the chain we needed.  We rented a car for the next morning to make things so much easier.  In the mean time we went to dinner at Le Tub Saloon.  This place was a bit “quirky” but very cool.  They are best known for their 13 ounce hamburger - as seen on Oprah some time ago.  We, of course, had to try it.  It was very good and the beer was super cold!  I highly recommend this place if you’re ever in the area.  It’s definitely one of a kind. 

Saturday (April 26)  The next morning the guys picked up the car and were off on an anchor chain hunt.  A few hours later they came back with chain!  This time it was the right one too!  200 feet of chain – I would have never expected to be so excited over chain!  The guys went right to work installing it.  It was a major job because first, of course, they had to get the old chain off.  At least we were nosed in at a dock and it was pretty accessible.  They got the old off, the new on and we’re ready to drop a hook somewhere!  However, not tonight.  We decided that we’d take the car over to the beach.  Ray and Linda wanted to ride their bikes – it really isn’t very far to the beach from the marina.  They took off earlier and later reported that it was extremely crowded and that we would have to pay for parking if we could even find a place.  They were already back to the ICW where they found Capone’s Flicker Lite – another great spot!  So we dinked over to Capone’s.  Jeff and Linda didn’t want to fight the hassle of trying to get off and on the dinghy so they drove.  At least we were all there!  We had really good pizza and more cold beer.  This place had pool tables and various video games.  The weirdest thing that they had though was one of those claw games where you use the “claw” to pick up your prize – being some type of prize like a stuffed animal.  WELL, this one had live Maine lobsters in it!  For real!  If you “caught” one – they would cook it……  Wouldn’t you think that PETA would be all over this!  I thought it was hilarious! Too bad we didn’t try it.

Sunday (April 27)  The girls used the car to get more groceries.  It was nice to be able to stock up a little more even though we already had about all we needed since we had planned to go to the Bahamas.  We went on a dinghy ride to the beach.  It is much easier getting there by dinghy than it would have been by car and more fun too.  We spent the day checking out the area.  Pretty cool.  We then decided to spend the evening on the boat.

Monday (April 28)  Mike and Jeff took the old chain to a consignment shop – Sailorman.  Hopefully we’ll sell it for something.  There’s over 120 feet of good chain.  Surely someone will want it.  It also was an easy way of disposing of it.  After that they returned the car and we were on our way to DelRay Beach about noon.  Luckily it was another short trip, or so we thought.  It was only about 30 miles but it took us seven hours because of all the bridges.  We had to wait for several to open. We enjoyed the view though - it’s amazing how many opulent homes and yachts are along the way.  Ray and Linda (Second Noelle) had left earlier and dropped a hook just before the City Marina.  We opted for the marina along with Jeremiah.   This is a marina that is normally full.  In fact there is a five year waiting list for permanent moorings.  We managed to get the two transient slips they had available.  They were only $60!  That’s not bad either! We hung out on the boat but Ray and Linda decided they wanted to go to Mellow Mushroom so they took the dinghy to the bridge and walked a short distance.  That wasn’t the problem – but when they got back to the dinghy they found it had gotten hung up under the bridge when the tide came up and it was swamped.  It about got itself sunk!  They needed to bail it out – but of course they couldn’t find anything to use – no trash in this town.  They did find a guy who was fishing off the bridge and sitting on a bucket.  He was hesitant at first but eventually loaned them his “seat” so they could bail out their dinghy.  Luckily nothing was damaged and they made it back to their boat safe and sound. 

Tuesday (April 29)  Second Noelle headed on up to Jupiter.  We decided to hang out one more day to check out the town of DelRay Beach.  Jeremiah decided they would hang out with us.  After all, neither one of us really knows where we’re going at this point.  J  We rode the free trolley out to the beach and had lunch at the Sandbar.  A very cool place on the boardwalk.  Then again that evening – we walked up to the Mellow Mushroom.  Ray and Linda had talked it up so – we had to check it out.  We were not disappointed.  I had heard of them before but had never been to one.  It was very cool!  The place was founded back in the ‘70s by three hippies.  Good for them!  Now they have quite a chain of them up the east coast and several other states.  Can’t wait until I find another one. 

Wednesday (April 30)  We left the marina and headed up farther north.  We left early but still had a bunch of bridges to maneuver.  The wind is still blowing pretty hard.  It has been off and on since we left Marathon!  We had planned to drop an anchor in Lake Worth but with the wind coming from the south that wouldn’t be such a good idea.  One thing though with the wind from the south it was at our backs and traveling was pleasant.  Following seas……  Again we were amazed at the huge magnificent homes that we passed.  There’s an area called Adimiral’s Cove that is gated even for boats!  Rumors are that there are several famous people that have places up in the canals that we couldn’t see.  After all it is the West Palm Beach area.  I wouldn’t be surprised if that were true.

Anyway we anchored at an area called Hell Gate.  Second Noelle had stayed there the night before and highly recommended it so that was fine with us.  They were now on anchor at Jensen Beach.  We had a wonderful night.  The winds died down and it was a quiet anchorage where we were able to sit out on the sundeck and enjoy it.  Jeff was still a little “fretful” but I think he even enjoyed it.  The name Hell Gate didn’t ring true – thank goodness.

Thursday (May 1)  We were up and at it early this morning.  We arrived at Harbortown Marina in Ft Pierce about lunchtime to find that Second Noelle was there already along with Conched Out Too!  Even Gabrielle was here on the hard (they live in Jensen Beach which is very close to here).  It’s funny to be traveling and then end up with several boaters you know from your past boating experiences! We had a mini Dock Dynasty Reunion – a great happy hour on Conched Out Too and then dinner at the Cove – the restaurant here at the marina.  It was so great to visit with everyone again and catch up on everything. Fun times! 

Friday morning (May 2)  We said goodbye again to Second Noelle and Conched Out Too.  A little déjà vu all over again!  Everyone seems to be headed north to different places and at different times.  Since we’ve now passed Lake Worth – really the last good place that has an inlet in which to be able to cross over to the Bahamas – we’ve pretty much decided that we’re not going to go.  It was a hard decision but the time just doesn’t seem right.  We can go next year.  We’re planning to head north – not sure if we’ll finally make it to Norfolk to cross our wake (finish the Loop) or just spend time going north until it’s time to turn around and go back south.  What a dilemma!  We like it here in Ft Pierce – we may stay the weekend or the month – we haven’t decided yet at this point.

Saturday (May 3)  Since it was rather a rainy weather day forecasted – we decided to rent a car and drive to Marathon to pick up our car.  Jeremiah needed to pick up their car too so it was a good time to do so.  It was about a 5 hour drive each way.  It took most of the day but at least it’s done.  Now we have a car here in Ft Pierce which is even better.

Sunday (May 4)  Not sure how long Jeremiah is staying here.  They probably will visit a while in Vero Beach where their son and daughter-in-law live (and of course, their grandbabies!) which is just about 10 miles away and then head across Florida navigating the Okeechobee Waterway to the Gulf Side and then head back up to Venice where they live.  We’ll hate seeing them go.  We had big plans to go to the Bahamas with them this year.  Oh well, things don’t always work the way you plan – especially when boating!  We’ll try it again next year.

In the meantime – we spent the day at Archies Seabreeze.  It’s a very cool place – a biker/beach bar with great food.  The prices are even good!  We had a late lunch and hung out there most of the afternoon listening to the music and watching the people.  Very cool!  This place was established back in 1947 as a military shack that served beer to the soldiers stationed on South Beach.  We will definitely being going back during our stay here in Ft Pierce.

Also, the Navy Seals were originally trained here years ago and there is a Navy Seal Museum here.  We’ve been told that it is worth visiting so we are going there one day this week.  According to our information the real lifeboat that was used by the real Captain Phillips was here a few weeks ago.  That would have been cool to see.  Too bad we missed it.

Well, as of now we plan to spend about three weeks here at Ft Pierce, then head north to Jacksonville where we will boat the St John’s River.  Then we will either go farther north or hang out in Ortega Landing near Jacksonville for a while.  I’ll keep you all posted when we figure it out.

I intended to post this last week but I didn’t so I’m adding a little more to it……

Monday (May 5) Happy Cinco de Mayo!  In order to celebrate the “big holiday” we were invited to Jeff and Linda’s (Jeremiah) son and daughter-in-law (Scott and Kelly) for fajitas and margaritas.  Like I said earlier they live in Vero Beach which is only about 10 miles away.  They have a beautiful home.  Kelly makes fantastic margaritas and Scott can make mean fajitas!  It was a very nice way to enjoy the evening.

Tuesday (May 6) Scott picked up Jeff and Mike here at the dock in his 24’ fishing rig and off they went fishing for the day.  They didn’t catch any keepers but I think they all enjoyed themselves.  They did witness a guy catch a HUGE Goliath Grouper!  Wish they could have taken some pictures.  Mike said it was absolutely huge and the guy fought it a very long time. Very cool!  But not in the stars for my fishermen….

Later that day Mike and I took a road trip back to DelRay Beach.  It was a good thing we had picked up our car.  We had just realized that we must have left our boarding steps at the last marina we had stayed in.  After a phone call to be sure they were still there – off we went.  It was about an hour’s drive away.  We made it and there they were.  Lucky for us.  Maybe our luck is changing – hmmm.  Better knock on wood somewhere.  Ha!  We managed to find a great little place called Johnny Brown’s to have a cold drink and some great nachos before we headed back.  It looked like a great place to be in the later hours but we had to drive back to Ft Pierce.  So maybe next time when we’re coming through here we’ll be able to stay longer.

Wednesday (May 7) Mike and I spent hours out in the dinghy checking out some really cool spots.  We saw a lot of fish jumping but Mike didn’t even try although he brought along his pole.  We just had a good time checking out the sights.  We stopped in for a sandwich at Little Jim’s Bait and Tackle.  Very funky place – cold beer and a great sandwiches.  We plan to go back there again before we leave.

Thursday (May 8) Today we’re hanging out just relaxing some.  At least I am.  Mike is working on something.  He always is.  We’ve been invited over to our neighbors for cocktails this evening.  They are also in a Jefferson so I’m sure they want to compare notes.  They just finished the Loop so it’ll be fun to hear of their journey.

Till next time

Admiral “C”