Apparently there is nothing that cannot happen today ~ Mark Twain
To readers with short attention
spans be reassured this blog is not monitored for number of views so feel free
to scroll through the pictures and pace yourself reading through all the
babble.
Our delay in leaving Long Boat
Key was due in part to planned work and family travel. Steve had work in Seattle so we decided
to extend our trip:
taking a Ferry to San Juan Islands
kayaking the region to get up
close and personal with Orcas
exploring rugged coastline
driving to Vancouver, BC and adapting to the cooler temperatures
zip line Grouse Mountain at speeds up to 40 mph
and looked for Ewoks in the trees at Capalani Suspension Bridge.
Our daughter flew to Seattle and we toured some of the local wineries.
After work event, we flew from
Seattle to Hawaii to visit with our daughter and favorite son in law.
Enjoying the local beaches
views of Diamond Head
views of Diamond Head
and playing with Kuchar foster
kittens.
Lots to do and we even found
time to squeeze in a famous artist’s exhibit.
All was good until the boys
both became very sick (all well now) so we postponed the mother/daughter trip to
China until early fall.
Returning to Long Boat Key we
identified a weather window to travel to St Augustine.
As is common in Florida we had the daily afternoon storms but fortunately most of them stayed onshore and were not much of a threat to us off shore. We did take
the trip slow to stay South of the first named storm of the season, Arthur.
Family matters required a trip to
Huntsville, AL and we secured the boat at Cape Canaveral, rented a car and
drove to northern AL on July 4th. Port Canaveral greeted us with evening fireworks July 3rd.
This was our third trip to
Huntsville this year and as always it is great when the family has time to
spend together.
Returning from Huntsville,
Steve flew to DC for work and I returned to Cape Canaveral to prepare the boat
for the next leg of our trip. Prior to
heading north we picked up our car at Long Boat Key and drove to St
Augustine.
We were able to take some time to enjoy dinner with our son in law's parents in Orlando prior to returning to Cape Canaveral. In total we drove the rental car over 2500 miles in one week.
Thank goodness it was a full size car...yes, a Buick.
We were able to take some time to enjoy dinner with our son in law's parents in Orlando prior to returning to Cape Canaveral. In total we drove the rental car over 2500 miles in one week.
Thank goodness it was a full size car...yes, a Buick.
We shoved off from Ocean Club Marina at
Port Canaveral Friday 7/11/14, noon.
There were three cruise ships in port and another approaching the Port
as we left. The transit north to St
Augustine was ideal with 10-15kt winds on our beam.
We were accompanied on our journey by two
dozen Atlantic Spotted Dolphins. These
dolphins surfed our bow for hours.
Simon
even enjoyed watching.
Late afternoon or early evening the lightening on shore made an impressive display and provided beautiful sunsets.
It’s hard to accurately describe the abounding beauty to the senses while sailing at night under a full moon. We continue to enjoy overnight sailing for several reasons but each year realize these limited sleep nights (rotate 2 hours on/off helm duty) are dwindling.
Arrived in St Augustine Saturday during a Red Snapper tournament. We were met by dear friends Sandy and Denny.
The temperatures are in the high 80s low 90s with the daily afternoon showers cooling everything off.
A bit of information about St. Augustine: It was a Spanish military outpost in the mid 1500s and is the oldest continuously occupied European settlement in the United States. Traces of the city’s Spanish heritage remain and visitors can inspect the battlement and dungeon of Castillo de San Marcos National Monument built in 1672.
Entertainment abounds with a monthly Full Moon Luau, weekly Reggae Sunday and live music Thursday through Saturday. Always something to do.
~What will happen today?
