Can it really be two weeks that we've been in Florida? We've had Zero gold star days (days in which we spend no money), which means we've settled back in to the States and taken up the national pastime of shopping and spending money.
While in Vero Beach for a week, we visited with Charlie, shopped, went to Riverside, our favorite bar, for their two-for-one happy hour, and met Bruce and Monique, who were celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary in Vero Beach. Powerboaters from Massachusetts, they visited SeaTryst to see what the cruising life was all about. Carlene and Brian came up from Stuart for a dinghy ride through the canals around Vero. We ate lunch on the beach, and said our final farewell as we head north and they stay south. While together we kept up the good-luck streak with Carlene receiving an invitation for a job interview. She got the job!
We found a delightful park in Vero, and enjoyed our walks on the beach and taking advantage of the free bus service offered by the city. Rosie even likes it in Vero; we caught her digging for her toys, or was it for catnip?
We left on Friday and motored to Dragon Point just south of Cocoa. It was a beautiful ride, admiring all the waterfront homes and Bob wondering where he went wrong (not being rich and owning one). We then walked a mile to the closest grocery store. Bob has the chore of carting the groceries. Life on a boat isn't always glamorous!
Along the way, we saw a great blue heron in a canal alongside the street.
Al and Jennifer were cruising on Tanden and returned to their slip at Dragon Point on Saturday, circling around SeaTryst first. How great to see them again; they left GeorgeTown in February. We met up with them later in the afternoon and along the way saw a manatee eating by the bulkhead of the dock.
After a short visit to the Cocoa Village arts and crafts show and dinner at Al and Jennifer's, we left early Monday morning for New Smyrna. Since it didn't take as long as we thought it might, we decided to keep going another 15 miles to Daytona Beach, a new stop for us.
We found a great place to anchor with wonderful neighbors in this lovely home. Unfortunately, they were not home to welcome us. Across the river is a municipal marina with a restaurant and West Marine - the first time we'd seen an easily accessible West Marine on the water with a dock. They got some of Bob's money; he replaced SeaTryst's original starter battery and bought a new American flag.
At Daytona Bob met up with two old friends that he had not seen in 40 years. Nancy and Don were childhood friends that grew up with Bob at their summer homes in Highland Lakes NJ. We spent the day with them on SeaTryst talking about old times and long forgotten friends. After a few drinks we even called a few to say hello. It was truly great seeing them and nice to know they have had a good life and are still enjoying themselves.
We snapped a few pictures of Daytona beach to try to show our shock at the differences between the beaches in the Bahamas vs Daytona. Vehicles are allowed on the beach in Daytona, which is more commercialized than any other we had seen. Check out this photo - the waves breaking, brown sand, tall buildings, a woman lying on a blanket while cars pass by, and a couple standing to the right. I guess Bob's philosophy that the beach is ruined if there are footprints on it doesn't apply to Daytona.
After three nights in Daytona, it was off to St Augustine for Memorial Day Weekend. It was busy, and we anchored on the east side of the north anchorage to protect us from the wind and waves. What we didn't count on was motorboaters and their wakes. We rocked and rolled all weekend.
Ray and Patty Mooney from CoolBreeze have sold their boat and moved to Ocala. They came up to spend the night with us. It was great to reconnect and hear about their new home and travels - they are heading to the Galapagos soon and a cruise soon after. Patty felt badly for poor Luther, who has been cooped up on the boat, and insisted he come to dinner with us and see the City.
Mac and Pat on WindBorne were also in St Augustine and invited us to share in Pat's wonderful linguine and clam sauce dinner. We started our season with them at St Mary's Thanksgiving dinner, were with them in the Bahamas, and ended it with them here in St Augustine. They live onboard and will stay in the Chesapeake for the summer. Hopefully we will see them again this fall and have them over for dinner.
We weighed anchor 6:30a Monday, May 28, and motor sailed on the outside about 45 miles before we could cut the engine for the last 15. We heard the Navy on the VHF asking boats to stay 500 yards from St Mary's Channel, for a departing naval ship. As we approached, we saw escort boats and a nuclear submarine. It was a touching scene and Maggie couldn't stop herself from singing Proud to be an American. It was our own Memorial Day Parade.
We are anchored in Cumberland Island for a couple of days and will then motor up the North River to St Mary's Boat Services where SeaTryst will be stored for the summer. Its sad to think this sailing season is over, but we have a lot of great memories to carry us through till the fall and another season.
Stay tuned for the trip back home, when we connect with family and friends, and then our adventure in Croatia, where we will be sailing the coast for the first 2 weeks in July.