Where's Waldo?

We've had a busy few days since our time in Stuart. We traveled from Stuart to Vero Beach City Marina, Vero Beach to Cocoa Village City Marina, Cocoa Village to New Smyrna Beach City Marina, and today to St. Augustine City Marina. These marina names are not the most creative but they are descriptive. And, they're pretty good.

Let me start by saying, the weather has changed! We've gone from sunny skies, no breeze, and temps in the upper 80s with the heat index well into the 90s through rain, overcast skies, wild thunderstorms, smashing cold fronts, steady winds north of 30 knots and gusts at Cocoa Village well into the 50 knot range, and night time temps in the upper 40s and day time highs in the low 50s. Oh poor us! I am happy to report that our windshield wipers, fixed last spring by small town genius, machinist, and Jack-of-all-trades, Lynn, at Whitehall (NY) Marina, continue to beat a great rhythm whether dealing with a deluge of rain or a flood of spray. Our trip has blessed us with mostly great weather but we and our wipers have been tested these last few days.

Our daily voyages continue to remind us how fortunate we are to be out with the birds, beasts, and fish of the realm. The Kingfishers have donned their breeding plumange, the Osprey busy themselves protecting and feeding young; Bald Eagles, a variety of heron species, and others hunt their prey, Roseate Spoonbills criss cross the ICW in front of the boat, and the dolphins appear when least expected. It energizes and humbles us to feel part of their busy lives. On our way from Cocoa Village to New Smyrna, the ICW passes through Allenhurst Haul, a cut through a narrow peninsula at

Allenhurst Haul: A Wonderful Fishing Hole!

the north end of Merritt Islaned. All the critters of the realm gathered at that fishing spot. A dozen or more dolphins chased fish at each end of the roughly mile long cut. Pelicans dived crazily at the fish in the shallows ; how they don't break their necks beats me. Kingfisher veered back and forth across the cut looking for small fish for a late brunch. Osprey carried larger fish in their talons back to their nests. Great Blue Herons stood ready to spear fish next to the shore as did a variety of different species of Egret. The ubiquitous Pelicans, Anhinga, Cormorants, Terns and Seagulls all joined the fishing frenzy. Humans both on land and in boats also tried their luck at the underwater bonanza. A great place to fish, was it also a great place to be a fish despite all of the different predators?

But, I'm getting ahead of myself. We love to boat but we boat to see the world. While at Cocoa Village, we spent a day at the Kennedy Space Center visiting exhibits we didn't have time for a year ago. It's such a treat to see a lifetime's worth of space exploration

exhibits and to remember the amazing accomplishments of American's in space. We enjoyed the Heroes and Legends Astronauts Hall of Fame and especially the seven

heros of the early days of manned space flight--Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Gus Grisson, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard, and Deke Slayton--names we'll never

forget even if they weren't in the inaugural Hall of Fame class.

As an even bigger treat of our visit, we celebrated (to the minute) the 100th anniversary of the first liquid fueled rocket launch by Robert Goddard. We enjoyed a 45 minute talk about Goddard and his lifetime work pioneering liquid fueled rockets and all that they have led to. A sickly child but remarkable man, Goddard didn't graduate from high school until he was 22. Late though he was; he gave the valedictory address which we can look back on now as foretelling the accomplishments of his remarkable career.

Horrible parents that we were, we never took our children to Disney or Sea World. In our dotage, without having to drag youngsters along, we're making up for it! We visited Disney a couple of years ago on a car trip around Florida and, for this year's St. Patrick's Day, we did Sea World. Frankly, we found it quite commercial but we did enjoy the

We See These Everyday But This Was Even More Up Close and Personal

Dolphin encounter, the rehabilitation center, and the Orca show.

Protecting Manatees From Boat Strikes Is a Huge Challenge

Notice the Injured Left Forearm

You cannot go to Cocoa Village and not eat at Oyster Shooters. By coincidence, we landed there for supper on St. Patrick's Day. For my first course, I enjoyed a mixed platter of Finnegan's and Dublin Lawyers' Oysters. Yum. And, more plebian but still oysters, I wrapped up with fried oysters on a Ceasar salad. Thank God only the salad was green!

Sunset After Supper at Oyster Shooters

While we're on the subject of food, last night we ate at New Smyrna Beach's The General Public House. We didn't expect much from a restaurant on the touristy Canal Street but it pleasantly surprised us. The Admiral's chicken and waffles and my brisket on a platter stick out as two of the better meals we've had in a couple of months of cruising. And, wonder of wonders, they offered Plymouth gin--my go to for a down to earth martini. Life's good! BTW, young people thronged New Smyra Beach and lines stretched out the doors and onto the sidewalks of many Canal Street bars and eateries.

We awoke this morning to 30 plus knot winds and a bouncy boat even in the reasonably well protected Smyrna Beach City Marina. I went out, did a walk around the boat, went back in and told the Admiral we should stay in port for the day. The Admiral definitively responded that that was not an option. We have haircuts scheduled for tomorrow and she has lunch with a childhood friend in St. Augustine. This may be the only time in a lifetime that I was more conservative than her. I went below, found my big boy pants, and readied for departure. As promised, the six hour cruise offered winds above 30, short period waves of at least three feet, and times when we had to slow to get relief from the pounding. We arrived at St. Augustine Municipal Marina with a 2-3 knot ebb tide running against the strong and blustery northerly wind. In a narrow fairway, I maneuvered back and forth and side to side getting a sense for how wind and current would push the boat around. Show time. I pivoted the boat, let it drift sideways for two or three seconds, and, with no more than a couple of feet on each side, backed in between the floating dock and the unprotected boat beside us. The Admiral handed lines to the dock hand and my day of worry came to an end. As we added lines and finished securing Katahdin, the dock hand said to me, "You made that look easy and I know it wasn't. If you can do that here in these conditions, I guess you could dock anywhere." Smart man. He got a big tip.