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....