November 10th

We cleaned up the boat and got it ready to store until March/April..  Once the boat was buttoned up, we headed west to Biloxi and then on to Texas....will return next Spring to continue the "Loop"..

November 9th - Palatka to Jacksonville

We left Palatka after a great breakfast at Angel's Diner which is the oldest diner in Florida....opened in 1932.

We had breakfast at the table where the policemen are sitting.

After breakfast, we headed back to Jacksonville and Lamb's Yacht Center.

Home again!

We secured the boat and then went to dinner at one of our favorite restaurants in Jacksonville (Anondale) - Biscotti's.

November 8th - Astor to Palatka Boat House Marina

The story of the Hyacinth:

Florida's problem with the plants began at the World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition of 1884 - also known as the New Orleans World's Fair. The Sun-Sentinel reports the Japanese were giving water hyacinths to visitors as gifts.

Why the Japanese selected a South American plant to give away has been lost to time, but among the visitors who left the fair with a plant was Mrs. W.F. Fuller.

Mrs. Fuller and her husband, a citrus grower, lived along the St. Johns River in the area of Palatka. Mrs. Fuller brought the hyacinth home and placed it in her fish pond. When the plant choked her pond, she thinned out the plants and placed the extras at her boat landing on the St. John's River.

Water hyacinths are floating perennials with large green leaves, lovely purple flowers and dense, heavy roots that trail them in the water, according to information from the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences at the University of Florida. In Florida, they grow much faster than even rabbits could think of reproducing, doubling in number in as little as 13 days.

Information from TheLedger.com

Ozel checking out Mrs. Fuller's Hyacinths

It was as though we were parked on ground.   Unbelievable....tide and current cleared them out by the time we left in the morning.

We left Astor and headed to Palatka which was also a revisit..to the Palatka Boat House Marina..below.  We were at the end of the T Head.

November 7th - Astor Bridge Marina revisited

This morning we left Hontoon Landing and headed upriver to Blue Springs Creek State Park in our quest for the elusive manatees.  This was probably the best nature viewing day of the trip.

This is one of many alligators we saw on this stretch of the River.  He sure is healthy looking.

These are Wood Storks which are the only storks in North America.

The alligators are almost black in color here.  It might be because the water is very dark.  It is the color of coffee but quite clear not murky or muddy.  Probably tannin. 

If you look closely, you may be able to see the head of the Manatee in the water.  It was difficult to see them because of the dark water.

Isn't this picture gorgeous?  Melanie took most of the pictures and I think that this one is definitely professional quality as were some of the others.

We saw many cormorants but this one looked especially photographic.

The number of eagles that we saw on this trip was surprising and encouraging since they had been on the endangered list.

This blossoming bush was in many places along the River.  We never did find out what it is.  We asked several people what it is but none knew.

The Ibis where everywhere on this part of the River.  Sometimes Egrets shared trees with them.

  

We'll end the nature tour  with an alligator.  This one is a little lighter in color.

When we left the State Park Area,  we headed down river to return to the Astor Bridge Marina and the good food at the Castaway Restaurant.

The owners of the Marina were on the bulkhead waving a greeting when we arrived.  We knew that we were returning to the same slip so just went right to it. 

We had another great stay with another great meal!

I will address the Water Hyacinths in my next posting.

November 6th - Hontoon Landing Marina

We continued upriver from Palatka.  The scenery was marvelous. We originally planned to stay at Hontoon State Park but the water at the docks looked pretty thin so we decided to stay on the other side of the river at the Hontoon Landing Marina which is part of the Resort.  As we were securing the boat, one of the dockhands told us that if we liked bears, we should out in front of the office and see the bears.  We thought he was putting us on but sure enough there were 3  bears up in a tree.. It was a mother and her 2 cubs.  The cubs appeared to be over a year old.  They were beautiful and extremely healthy looking.  The lady at the office said that there are a lot of bears in that area.  She has to take her garbage to a dumpster because the bears carry off her garbage cans.  She also said that one night the bears took her son's gas grill  from his yard carried it into the woods.

We had dinner on board this evening.  Melanie had  brought Crawfish Bisque.  It was so good!  Tomorrow further upriver on our quest for Manatees!

November 5th - Astor, FL

This was a good day....as the river narrowed more scenery could be viewed and enjoyed.

                                       Leaving Palatka 

Georgetown Marina where we bought beer

and made lunch while tied up to the dock

Some of the older dwellings along the river.

Astor Bridge Marina

We had a fun cruise to Astor. Astor has an interesting history:

In 1874, William Backhouse Astor, Jr. from New York City's wealthy Astor family purchased over 12,000 acres  of land, upon which he began to establish a town he called Manhattan. New settlers arrived by steamboat to the town which Astor had endowed with a church, schoolhouse, botanical garden, and free cemetery. William Astor also built a hotel, saw mill, and eventually a railroad. Over the next twenty years Astor saw his town grow, but the Manhattan name never caught on. When William Astor died in 1892, the town was officially renamed Astor in his honor.^]

John Jacob Astor IV inherited his father William's estate and continued to promote the town and their business interests in Florida. Following his demise in the sinking of the RMS Titanic in 1912, the estate passed to his son,Vincent.William Vincent Astor was not interested in his grandfather's Florida enterprises, and so the Astor family's interests in the area were sold. This, combined with a severe decline in steamboat travel on the St. Johns due to increased availability of rail travel signaled the end of the town's prosperity and prominence (info from Wikipedia)

Castaway Restaurant with Freya in the
background (the boat with the radar mast)

This was a great stop!!!  While the guys were hooking up the electricity and water and making lines secure, Melanie and I went to check in at the Marina office. The owners of the Marina told us that the Restaurant there was really good.  Melanie and I decided to check out the restaurant and the menu.  We decided to have a drink while there.....ordered a Martini....called the guys to join us since the Martinis where perfect.  After cocktail hour, we stayed for dinner....the food was terrific!  Look at the picture of the restaurant - would you expect gourmet food?

The Marina owners were great, helpful and made us feel welcome....

November 4th - to Palatka

We left Lamb's Yacht Center and headed out the Ortega river, entered the St Johns and turned up river to the south toward Palatka.  The St. Johns is one of the few rivers in North America that flow South to North  The river is very wide at this point so there isn't much to see.

This picture is heading up river after leaving the Ortega River.

The Boat House Marina in Platka

Our stay in Palatka was pleasant.  We walked to the Quality Inn in which the Beef O'Brady's Restaurant is located.  After a good meal, we wandered back to the boat  for our after dinner drink and some planning for the next day. From here the St. Johns River narrows and begins a shallower, winding course upstream toward Lake George.

November 2 - 3, 2012 The trip begins.

We drove from Rockport to Biloxi on Friday, November 2nd.

This wonderful picture was taken out our bedroom window at the Landrum's beautiful house at sunrise 

Their home overlooks the back bay in Biloxi.

We headed out for the boat in Jacksonville, FL quite early.  The boat was in good shape and didn't require much cleaning up.  We did our provisioning and got the boat ready for departure in the morning.

After the boat was ready, we headed out to Tom and Betty's for dinner.  

Boat ready, stomachs full  -  ready for a night cap and a good nights sleep.

28 July 2012

This will be the last posting on this site until this fall.   Originally we were going to do the East Coast Loop boat trip this year and a West Coast RV land cruise next year.  Due to the unexpected medical event, we have traded years and are doing the "Land Cruise" this year.  You can follow our land cruise in our RV at rvnissa.blogspot.com.


We will drive to Jacksonville, FL in November to check on the boat and take a trip up the St. John River for a week or so and then head back to Angel Fire for the ski season.

We plan to continue our voyage on the "Loop" next April.   At least we won't have to redo the Gulf!

By  the way, Maryann's back surgery appears to have been a success.  She is walking 3-4 miles a day pain-free!!!

31 May 2012

 The boat came through tropical storm Beryl in great shape. She is at Lamb's Yacht Center in Jacksonville, FL.    The Dock-master said that the water is 3 ft over the docks.  The slips are covered so some of the boats had to lower their antennas and biminis due to the high water.


I had my 2 week post-op appointment with my Surgeon yesterday.  He was pleased with progress and with my walking program which is up to 2.5 miles/day.  Slowly increasing to 4 Mi /day.


We are in Pearland for our eldest Granddaughter's High School Graduation which is tomorrow evening. 


Will Post again when we have our travel plans finalized.

22 May 2012

Quite a bit has happened since my last entry but I will try to keep it short.

We rented a car in Jacksonville and headed to Houston for my appointment with a Neurosurgeon. The appointment went well. The Doctor reviewed the MRI and various tests, reports, etc. from the Doctors at St. Vincent’s Medical Center in Jacksonville, FL.  He explained to me what the problem was and that I was a candidate for the X-LIF procedure (a minimally invasive method to fuse the L4-L5 vertebrae) After the appointment we headed back to Rockport to wait for my pre-surgical appointment on May 14th with the Neurosurgeon and to pre-register at the hospital.

On May15^th I arrived at Methodist Hospital at 5:30AM.   I went to the Operating Room at 8:15 AM the procedure took approximately 4 hours. I was in my room by 3:30PM and out of bed by suppertime.  That was the most difficult 4 ft that I have ever walked.

I was discharged on Friday, May 18^th and stayed with my son in Pearland until Monday, the 21^st. I am slowly recovering.  Getting around OK but still have pain at the surgical sites.  The best thing is that I can walk without the leg and hip pain that I experienced before surgery.


Our Granddaughters went to the Pearland High School Prom on the 18th.  Ozel took a few pictures of them before they left with their dates. Their brother was there to see them off.  His time will come...

 Ashlynn, Jakob and Amamda 

Ashlynn and Amanda

5 May 2012 Pearland, Texas

I imagine that  everyone is wondering what is up with us. Well, my back gave out.  When the pain was so bad that I couldn't walk one  morning, Ozel took me to the Emergency Room at St. Vincent's Medical Center in Jacksonville, FL.  I wound up staying in hospital for 5 days.  The staff at St. Vincent's were professional and caring.

The Neurosurgeons recommended surgery but advised having it done closer to home to make the follow-up care easier.  The end of the story is that I will have surgery on the 15th of May at Methodist Hospital in Houston.

We left "Freya" at Lamb's Yacht Center.  They will install the new stern thruster while we are in Texas.
Our plan is to cruise the St John's when I'm cleared for travel (should be about 6 weeks after surgery) and might move to the Chesapeake and leave the boat there over the winter.  We would then resume our journey next spring.

I will continue to post to this site as new information becomes available.

This is a Banner at Methodist Hospital that shows the "Best Hospital" designation that their Neurology & Neurosurgery Department earned.

23 April 2012 Lamb's Yacht Center Jacksonville, FL

Well, here we sit!  Still no stern thruster repair.  Ozel did get his new computer today though and we received a call from Debbie (our canvas and screen maker) That she is mailing our new windshield screens today.  They are to replace the ones that were blown away during a severe, high wind storm in Gulfport. So we are getting a few things in order.

Yesterday we went to the "Tour du farm" here in the Jacksonville area.  Small organic farms open up to the public to show off the farms and to sell their and others' organic products. It was held on Earth Day.  We even had an organic strawberry mojito!  It was great!  We visited 2 farms. Had a great time and made a few modest purchases.

Now to the story which relates to our on land transportation.  When we were in St. Augustine, we saw a boat that we had known back home.  It was the Second Fantasy - Rockport, TX.  The boat left early the next morning so we didn't have a chance to meet the people on board.  We headed to Jacksonville and after a few days at the City Marina, we moved up River to the Ortega River and to Lamb's Yacht Center. They are a certified dealer of the stern thruster that we needed to have repaired.  Guess what boat was tied up right in front of us.   It was Second Fantasy!  We finally met the owners - Tom and Doris Sanders.  They invited us to join them on the Farm visit.

This a  picture from earlier this week.  It is of Judy and Tom Martin at our onboard cocktail hour before we headed to dinner.   It was a great evening.

Tom and Doris Sanders with Ozel at one of the farms we visited.

 Ozel and Doris shopping at the bread tent.......Whole Wheat Rosemary bread,  anyone?

18 April 2012 Lamb's Yacht Center - Jacksonville, FL

The winds decided to challenge us once again.  It was really blowing and there was a strong in coming current when we left the City Marina.  We sure appreciated the guys that helped us with our lines as we left.  Ozel did an excellent job of getting us out of there!!

We headed up river to Lamb's Yacht Center on the Ortega River.  Plan to stay a few days to get the stern thruster repaired and to replace Ozel's nav computer that was killed by a dog's tail. Not quite sure how long we'll be here.

Through Facebook, a childhood friend and high school classmate, Judy Martin, made contact.  She lives here in Jacksonville with her husband Tom.  They came by the boat for a glass of wine and then we went to dinner at the Riverside Brewery Restaurant.  It was such fun talking about old times and catching up.  We were in Brownie Scouts together and graduated H.S. together.  It was a great evening.

 Early morning at Lamb's

Looking out our Galley window. I thought that this was a neat picture

15 - 17 April 2012 Metropolitan Park Marina - Jacksonville, FL

We left St. Augustine and continued north on the Intracoastal.  It was a nice trip.  The scenery changed as we  went....less palms.  Lots and lots of big and expensive houses. Just after noon we entered the St. John's River and headed to Jacksonville. We pulled into the Metropolitan Park Marina which is the City Marina. It has 75 slips but there were only 3 boats when we arrived.  This is a free dock (when there are no events going at the stadium or the park) that has a 72hr stay limit.  Electricity is paid for at a kiosk and costs $8.50 per day for 50 amp. This was a great stop.  The Jacksonville Fire Museum is in the Park.  It is quite interesting. 

 We passed this ship on the way up river to Jacksonville

 It amazed us that this beautiful marina was empty

Sunset in Jacksonville. Taken from the back of our boat.

 Fire Museum of Jacksonville

14 April 2012 St. Augustine, FL

Leaving Halifax River Marina was interesting.  You return keys by dropping them in a cloth bag at the end of a pole being held out by a guy on the fuel dock as you are leaving the  Marina.  What a hoot!!!

We enjoyed our stay here but miss Sean, AnLee,  Melina and Kara.

Another day of wind!  It was extremely windy by the time we arrived at St. Augustin Municipal Marina. We docked bow in.  The marina dock staff were very helpful!  Ozel did a great job of bringing Freya in.  It was blowing 25 - 30.  The marina is right in Old Town.  It was an enjoyable stop.  Had dinner at O.C. Whites which was across the street from the marina. Good food.

We enjoyed walking down the narrow back streets.

The Fantasea from Rockport was two boats down from us.  We never did see the  people aboard her.  

12 - 13 April 2012 Halifax River Marina - Daytona, FL

We had a pleasant trip from Titusville to Daytona.  Melina and AnLee were drivers today.  The wind picked up during the day and was really blowing by the time we reached the Halifax River Marina.  A bit exciting docking at the fuel dock.  The good news is that we used less fuel than we expected.

We tied up at the end of E Dock which was across from the Blue Grotto Restaurant and Tiki Bar.  The building also housed a West Marine - Ozel was able to get a few things that he needed there.

My friend and colleague from my working days and her husband live nearby in New Smyrna Beach.  They drove over for a visit and to have dinner.  We hadn't seen each other in about 12 years.  Collette and Ray helped us bring Orion (our Beneteau 440 sailboat) back from Veracruz after a "Regatta de los Amigos Race" several years ago.  It was so good to see them!!!!! They haven't changed a bit.

We had a "Lazy Day" on the 13th.  Sean and Ozel went to the airport to rent a car.  When they returned, we took a ride to Daytona Beach.  We couldn't find a place to park - it was really crowded over there so we came back to the mainland and had lunch at an Irish Pub.  Sean and family left for the airport in Orlando after lunch.  I did laundry and later prepared an easy supper - wine and cheese..

 AnLee at the helm - Sean enjoying the ride

 

The Blue Grotto Restaurant and Tiki Bar.

Collette and Ray

We really enjoyed our few days with Sean, AnLee, Melina and Kara.  Hope they can meet us again along the route.

11 April 2012 Titusville, FL

We saw Manta Rays and Dolphin as we departed the Melbourne Marina.  Sean said that he saw what looked like large pieces of cardboard in the water.....turned out to be the rays.  Quite a send off!
Later in the day we had 4 Dolphin ride our stern wake for a long time.  They were bumping into each other and appeared to be playing.  This is the kind of thing that we really are enjoying on this trip.

 Kara with Nissa

 Kara with Osita

Melina with Nissa

Kara did a great job of driving the boat.  She really seemed to enjoy it.  Melina was enjoying sunbathing on the top deck.  I don't think she has much opportunity to do so in Seattle.