Cocoa

We left St. Augustine and headed south to Rockhouse Creek where we anchored in a sheltered spot for the evening. It was so chilly that there was no shrimp serenade this year. The anchorage was full when we pulled in but we secured a spot further up the creek.  We had to leave at high tide in the morning but we also were waiting for the temperature to rise.  It was a chilly day on the water so we called it a day when we reached the south anchorage in Titusville.  The moon on the horizon appeared as a blazing orange sphere and was other worldly but beautiful.  It was a quiet night as the wind subsided and the ICW boats settled in for the night.

Come morning we set out for Cocoa.  We had not visited this town and heard that it had a nice waterfront and historical section downtown. The town of Cocoa started out as a small fishing and agricultural village called Indian River City. When they desired a post office they were informed that the name Indian River City was too long for a postmark. The town was renamed Cocoa, perhaps because of the abundance of coco plums that grew in the area or maybe it was from the old woman who lived beside the river and gave out cocoa to passing sailors.

Mailman's Easter Bonnet

Murdocks, a popular spot that has many architectural features from the old grand hotel. Note the column on the left and the base of the bar which is made from the old room doors.

The colonnade at the 

waterfront park

The fountain at the waterfront park.

 Next stop will be Vero Beach where we will resupply before heading out again.

St. Augustine

We arrived in St. Augustine and met some friends from Freeport who were in town. We met them at Scarlet's for some steamed oysters and then moved on to Cellar 6 for a salad and a glass of wine. The next day we contacted old friends from Aroostook County who live in the area each winter. They were kind enough to give us a tour of the broccoli farm and gave us shelter from the storm.  An afternoon visit turned into a four night stay!  Severe thunderstorms moved in along with warnings to take shelter from the possible tornado.  Fortunately, we only had the torrential rain and thunder storms sans the tornado.  

Our friends home in St. Augustine

The back yard

Our most gracious hosts

St. Augustine at dusk

We were settling in here and enjoyed our visit but it was time to push on south despite the plunging temperature and winds.  Thank you again to our most gracious hosts!

Cumberland Island, GA; Fernandina, FL

We awakened to a beautiful sun-filled day, St.Patrick's day, in the Cumberland Island harbor.  Last year we had visited the south side of the island on foot, so this year we brought our bikes ashore to enable us to explore the more northern reaches of the island.  We peddled to Plum Orchard on sandy roads which may as well have been beach!  It was tough going in more than a few places.  The mansion on this wilderness island seems out of context nowadays. It was built by Lucy Carnegie for her son, George and his new wife, Margaret Thaw, in 1898. They thought it was too small for entertaining so added additions on each side.  Each son received 35,000 dollars per year to get by. The total cost of the house, additions and all, totaled $65,000 dollars.  The house had an indoor pool, the first elevator, a squash court, grass tennis court, plumbing and and an ice maker.

When we arrived, we were ready to sit and have a snack.  As we were eating, a stallion and a mare came running and screeching at each other over to where we were sitting.  They put on quite a show as their little colt kept his distance.  She was upset about something and was telling him about it.  They were just a few feet away from us so it was quite a spectacle.  The horses on this island are wild and we saw quite a few on this end of the island.  We also spotted a opossum as we were cycling back to the boat.  We went right beside him and he could have cared less. It was a 15 mile round trip to Plum Orchard and along the way we did see 2 private dwellings, a small cemetery with a tabby wall built around it.  We heard from the docent at Plum Orchard, that the Scotsman who came to design the golf course was killed when he fell from his horse and buried in this small cemetery.  Aside from the few buildings, it is mostly natural flora along the road.  There are campsites and trails on the island as well.  A ferry comes over twice a day from St. Mary's, GA to pickup and discharge passengers who mostly camp or hike for the day.

Little colt in the trees

It is  hop, skip and a jump over the state line to Fernandina, FL.  We spent a day doing a walking tour of this old city that is known to have flown 8 different flags.  It mostly has a spanish influence.
The downtown is very inviting with no shortage of eateries and galleries.  The nearby neighborhoods are almost too perfect, with large yards with blooming azaelas, and gorgeous old homes.

We will be moving on to St. Augustine on the 20th.

Savannah visit

While our dinghy outboard motor was being repaired we drove up to Savannah for the afternoon.
For almost 200 years Savannah has been celebrating it's Irish heritage on St. Patrick's day. The main streets area all closed down and there is a big parade and of course all the city fountains flow with green water! There is a major party and people come from miles around to participate.  Although this year, we understand that the navy and coast guard had to cancel their presence due to sequestration.  We were there just a few days before all the fun begins.

We did a walking tour of the waterfront area and some of the beautiful squares designed by  Oglethorpe. The city is built on a riverbank that drops off steeply to the water so there are walkways from the city level to the buildings on the river that enter on the second floor. When you are walking on the waterfront the first floor is at ground level so there are numerous steep stone stairways that lead back up to the main street.

The building in the background with the gold dome is the city hall building.

The outboard motor is now ready to go and so are we. We will leave Brunswick on Saturday AM and head outside to Cumberland Island. We hope to spend two nights there and do some exploring on our bikes.After that we will head on to St. Augustine one of our favorite cities in Florida.We probably won't have internet access again until then so we will update as soon s we have a fast connection again.

Back in Brunswick Gerogia

We arrived in Brunswick on Tuesday March 5th after a long journey from Freeport. The taxi picked us up Monday at 5 AM and took us to the bus station where we caught the 6:00 bus to Boston. We had breakfast there and boarded the train at South Station at 9:35 bound for New York City. In NYC we changed trains so we could ride the Silver Meteor which had sleeping cars that the North East regional didn't have. On such a long trip it is very pleasant to have you own compartment with complementary meals and beverages. The food in the dining car was satisfying and tasty. We were able to sleep quite well and arrived in Jesup Georgia mid morning got a cab and made it to the marina by noon.

We have a diver coming on Saturday to clean the bottom and change the shaft zinc so we had some time to explore and get supplies. We rented a car to transport groceries and tour St. Simons and Jekyll Islands; barrier islands off Brunswick that we have difficulty visiting by water because of shoaling in the Intra-coastal Waterway.  These barrier islands served as the playground for the richest men in the world.  Their fortunes accounted for 1/6th of the worlds money. JP Morgan was over heard replying to a gentlemen who had inquired as to the cost of such a large yacht (300 feet), that he had no business owning a yacht if he had to inquire about the price!

The Sans Souci house was built under the direction of Henry Hyde and the Jekyll Island Club directors to please the gentlemen when the club filled to overflowing.  They rejected men if they had children or mistresses in tow.

The Jekyll Island Club was founded in 1886 and was a private retreat for a select group of America's wealthiest families.  They built several "cottages" that are now part of the club hotel.  We did have lunch in the club dining room which we thoroughly enjoyed.  We wished we had time to bring our bicycles along as they have well maintained trails all over the island.  Maybe next time.

Mary by the Sans Souci House

The Jekyll Club Hotel

Lunch in the dining room