May 4 – Julington Creek, FL

By on May 5, 2014 in The Pearl
Julington Creek – Anchorage

We woke to a perfect day…comfortable temperatures all day and clear blue sky, so different from yesterday. We enjoyed our morning watching people in the park and on the dock in Green Cove Spring. Everyone seemed to be grateful for such an amazing Sunday. Our destination today was Julington Creek, we’d been told about a wonderful fish camp (restaurant) we had to try, called Clark’s. Julington Creek is surrounded by beautiful homes with well kept yards and a few marinas. The entry to the creek looks more like a small lake and only narrows into a creek a miles or two up river. We anchoraged just inside the creek since a 15′ bridge would keep us from getting to the fish camp on The Pearl. We had to take the dinghy past the marinas and the bridge to Clark’s.
Clark’s Fish Camp has been a local’s favorite for decades. Originally it was a bait and tackle shop, they expanded to a seafood restaurant about 30 years ago. They have a large, unique menu offering seafood, steak and exotic meats. They maintain a fish camp atmosphere with simple, rustic surroundings. Besides the wonderful food the restaurant draws people in because they house the largest private collection of taxidermy in North America. Every corner of the restaurant is full of animals…everything you can think of is here.

We had a late, and too large, lunch of wonderful shrimp and trout. The servings were so large that we each had enough left over for dinner tonight. We had fun looking at all the animals and the live alligator they have…our grand daughter would love this place. The remained of the day was spent enjoying the beautiful day on the boat and watching the weekend traffic on the river. 


Sunny views of Green Cove Springs

Clark’s Fish Camp 

Just a few of the animals we saw at Clark’s 

Sean Bean Game Of Thrones One Does Not Simply

By on May 4, 2014 in R/V Cape Hatteras

Game Of Thrones Animated GIF

Back to America…after 6 years

By on May 4, 2014 in Emily Grace
We had a perfect
24 hour passage from Great Sale Cay in the Abacos to Port Canaveral, Florida.  The winds were less than 10 knots (many less
than 5 knots), calm seas and we arrived on time, 20 minutes before the marina
opened at 8:00 AM.  We tied up at the
fuel dock and 30 minutes later we were pumping 300 gallons of diesel into the
tanks.  This fuel purchase got us 2 free
nights at the marina which was hard to pass up.

Although we did
have to catch a cab ride to customs and immigration, they did not board us or
inspect anything.  The next day we met my
cousin Nancy who informed us that she would be loaning us her car for our
stay.  That was a very generous offer and
we made good use of it over the next week finding and buying parts and
provisions.  We now have an AT and T
working cell phone and internet for our trip up the coast.  We arrived with almost empty freezers and now
they are jammed full.  

We had several
dinners with Cousins Barbara and Nancy and Barbara’s daughters’ family.  As they did in 2009, they fed us delicious meals and wanted nothing in return.  Connie and Bob have a daughter, Katherine,
almost the same age as Emily.  She is smart as a
whip and Emily quickly renewed the friendship started as we passed through in
2008. 

One night we
bought take-out Chinese for everyone and we watched photo and video highlights
from our trip while we ate.  We were so
happy that Cousin Barry also joined us as we thought he would not be traveling north
to see us.  Emily wrote a nice thank you
note inside a book that Barry had loaned Emily back in 2008 and returned it to
him.  It became one of her favorite books
and now Barry has a book that has travelled around the world.

We managed to
spend an entire day at the Kennedy Space Center and found it very
enjoyable.  Emily did not recall much
from our earlier visit and they had added several exhibits and well as the chance
to see the Space Shuttle Atlantis up close. 
Emily really enjoyed the simulators where we experienced the thrust of a
shuttle launch and could try our hand at docking with the space station and
manipulating the robotic arm.

We even got to drive the rover on the moon.  Really…can’t you see the earth behind us?

Despite requests
that we stay longer, we have now pushed away from the Marina and are creeping
slowly north up the Intra Coastal Waterway. 
It is slow since we have to call ahead for bridge openings, or time our
arrival to fixed opening times.  It is a
refreshing change for us to have such calm waters and to enjoy the sights along
the way.  We go through a few locks and
some areas require planning for high tide so we do not run aground.  My line handlers also are good at pointing
out manatees in the lock!  

We stopped
overnight at a free dock in New Smyrna which is certainly in our budget. 

 
Kim is looking
forward to stopping in Saint Augustine for a few days since we missed this
lovely town on our dash south in 2008. 
We were told to expect forts and museums and quaint shops and
restaurants.  Come along and share our
trip up the coast.

Tom






Back to America…after 6 years

By on May 4, 2014 in Emily Grace
We had a perfect 24 hour passage from Great Sale Cay in the Abacos to Port Canaveral, Florida.  The winds were less than 10 knots (many less than 5 knots), calm seas and we arrived on time, 20 minutes before the marina opened at 8:00 AM.  We tied up at the fuel dock and 30 minutes later we were pumping 300 gallons of diesel into the tanks.  This fuel purchase got us 2 free nights at the marina which was hard to pass up.

Although we did have to catch a cab ride to customs and immigration, they did not board us or inspect anything.  The next day we met my cousin Nancy who informed us that she would be loaning us her car for our stay.  That was a very generous offer and we made good use of it over the next week finding and buying parts and provisions.  We now have an AT and T working cell phone and internet for our trip up the coast.  We arrived with almost empty freezers and now they are jammed full.  

We had several dinners with Cousins Barbara and Nancy and Barbara’s daughters’ family.  As they did in 2009, they fed us delicious meals and wanted nothing in return.  Connie and Bob have a daughter, Katherine, almost the same age as Emily.  She is smart as a whip and Emily quickly renewed the friendship started as we passed through in 2008. 

One night we bought take-out Chinese for everyone and we watched photo and video highlights from our trip while we ate.  We were so happy that Cousin Barry also joined us as we thought he would not be traveling north to see us.  Emily wrote a nice thank you note inside a book that Barry had loaned Emily back in 2008 and returned it to him.  It became one of her favorite books and now Barry has a book that has travelled around the world.
We managed to spend an entire day at the Kennedy Space Center and found it very enjoyable.  Emily did not recall much from our earlier visit and they had added several exhibits and well as the chance to see the Space Shuttle Atlantis up close.  Emily really enjoyed the simulators where we experienced the thrust of a shuttle launch and could try our hand at docking with the space station and manipulating the robotic arm.

We even got to drive the rover on the moon.  Really…can’t you see the earth behind us?

Despite requests that we stay longer, we have now pushed away from the Marina and are creeping slowly north up the Intra Coastal Waterway.  It is slow since we have to call ahead for bridge openings, or time our arrival to fixed opening times.  It is a refreshing change for us to have such calm waters and to enjoy the sights along the way.  We go through a few locks and some areas require planning for high tide so we do not run aground.  My line handlers also are good at pointing out manatees in the lock!  

We stopped overnight at a free dock in New Smyrna which is certainly in our budget. 

 
Kim is looking forward to stopping in Saint Augustine for a few days since we missed this lovely town on our dash south in 2008.  We were told to expect forts and museums and quaint shops and restaurants.  Come along and share our trip up the coast.

Although

Herman and Helen’s foreclosure auction?

By on May 4, 2014 in Pineapple Girl

After a busy Saturday with a memorial service for a long time sailing friend  who’d sailed to Hawaii with Matt in ’08, followed by a trip to church for a confirmation then a post confirmation party in San Jose, we got to pineapple girl near midnig…

Herman and Helen’s foreclosure auction?

By on May 4, 2014 in Pineapple Girl

After a busy Saturday with a memorial service for a long time sailing friend  who’d sailed to Hawaii with Matt in ’08, followed by a trip to church for a confirmation then a post confirmation party in San Jose, we got to pineapple girl near midnig…

Jason Momoa Game Of Thrones Season 3

By on May 4, 2014 in R/V Cape Hatteras

Game of Thrones Season 3 Premiere IMDb

A few pictures to share while my internet is working…

By on May 4, 2014 in Thor

In Panama City, Mitch, Cherie, Susie, David, Bill and Kay enjoying dinner on the back deck of Anna Mae

Bill and Tom the dingy theives. When the crew of SpringDay realized their dingy was missing they became very excited!!! Can’t say I blame them….

A few pictures to share while my internet is working…

By on May 4, 2014 in Thor

In Panama City, Mitch, Cherie, Susie, David, Bill and Kay enjoying dinner on the back deck of Anna MaeBill and Tom the dingy theives. When the crew of SpringDay realized their dingy was missing they became very excited!!! Can’t say I blame them. We hav…

Bahamas Bound?

By on May 4, 2014 in Docker's Inn

By mid-April we were ready to begin heading south for our long awaited voyage to the Bahamas. The plan was to take our time cruising down Florida’s east coast, stopping over at other Loggerhead marinas along the way in Stuart, Palm Beach Gardens, Lantana, and Hollywood, ending up ten days later at Miami which would be our jumping off point for a Gulf Stream crossing to Bimini. We were all set to depart on April 16th, but the weather was not good, so we waited a few more days until conditions were just right, sunny and calm.

Adjusting our schedule, we decided to by-pass Stuart and move on to Palm Beach Gardens while the weather was with us. We left at dawn on Easter Sunday to get a jumpstart on what would be a long cruising day. Conditions were calm enough in our harbor that we didn’t need assistance with our lines. Just past the St. Lucie Inlet which has dredging going on, we came upon a tow in Hobe Sound heading toward us. Luckily we remembered “tow boat language” when he requested a “2 whistle pass” (starboard to starboard) on the VHF radio. The sailboat in front of us, however, was clueless (didn’t even have his radio turned on) and almost collided with the equipment being hauled to the dredging site.

Our next destination , South Lantana, was just 21 miles down the ICW at the southern end of Lake Worth. Although conditions were favorable most of the way, as luck would have it, the winds picked up considerably by the time we reached our marina. Anxious to get safely tied up before conditions deteriorated any further, we called the marina for our slip assignment. After two aborted attempts at docking (once because they directed us to the wrong slip and once because the assigned slip was too small), we finally ended up securely moored in a desirable spot.

The next day, running the 42 mile gauntlet of bridge after bridge between Lake Worth and Hollywood wasn’t as bad as usual because the wind was just a light breeze, making waiting for bridges to open not too difficult. What a relief also when we arrived at the marina to be assigned a slip on the inside of a T-head with a long finger pier to tie up to. This location with a view of the ICW just outside the harbor was very pleasant, with lots of shade and cool breezes, too.

By this time we were back on schedule, and thus, were able to relax for a few days before continuing on to arrive in Miami by Friday, April 25th as originally planned. With less than 20 miles to go, we fueled up at the Hollywood Municipal Marina and then headed south once again.

Our destination was Miamarina, located adjacent to the Bayside Park Marketplace in the heart of downtown Miami. This day we only had to wait for two bridges (one of them for a half hour!), arriving at our marina before noon without too much boat traffic to contend with, except for a water taxi trying to exit just as we were entering the harbor. Luckily, he observed the Law of Gross Tonnage and moved out of our way.

Following our plan, we will stay here to await a favorable weather window for crossing the Gulf Stream to Bimini.