The Magic of Christmas

December 28, 2016

December 19, 2016 

After leaving The Marina at Ortega Landing we spent two nights on the Jim King Park Free dock in Jacksonville. Only 15 miles from the marina as the crow flies, but by trawler it takes 3.5 hours.  Nice that it is about the journey and not the end point.

Before leaving Ortega I managed to lose two things overboard.  The force of the spray from the hose I was using to wash out a pail sent my pail overboard. While I was fetching the pail the hose was curled up behind me and sent the stool we use to get in and out of the boat overboard. The stool, not so lucky, it is at the bottom of the river in the Marina at Ortega Landing. Rob kept laughing. I scolded him telling him that one day I would think it was funny, but STOP your laughing for now.

We stayed the two nights at the Jim King Park free dock because the winds and rain made it difficult for traveling. There were 7 boats at the dock, four sail boats and three power boats, with room for one more. It was funny to see the operation at the dock. When a boat came in to dock, we were like little figures in a grandfather clock coming out to tie the boat up and as soon as the boat was safely tied up we all scattered to go back to the place we call home.

December 21, 2016

We headed off to St. Augustine to spend Christmas and that we did in fine style. We walked the familiar St. George Street the night we arrived and it was so cold we abandoned our walk for for a warmer day. Lots of blankets on the bed that night.

When the warm days came we walked a lot day and night.  The lights in St Augustine are known for their extraordinary  beauty. White lights cover the trees in the park, the poles on the piers and adorn most of the buildings.  I think everyone in Florida was there enjoying the magic of Christmas.  Again people had their tiny dogs on leashes, in carriages and pouches in clothing designed for carrying their dog. One dog weighing under five pounds and not on a leash would have been really easy to snatch up.

It was 80+ at St. Augustine City Marina so many of the boaters were sitting out on their boats. Boats were aglow if Christmas lights showing great spirit. I think there was three different boats that docked next to us during our stay and we chatted with all of them. Something to think about is being very quiet so other boaters don’t hear what we are talking about.  I snapped at Rob once and I knew another boat heard it so apologized very being crabby they acted like they didn’t hear it and I called them on it so we started a conversation about how it happens with all of us especially when we are docking the boat.  Such is the life of a boater.

We found a Methodist Church to attend on Christmas Eve and it was lovely. After church we met Julia at a parking lot to walk her back to the boat. Christmas Day we had homemade toast, then walked the historical section of St. Augustine and we took Julia to see St. George Street, a drastic contrast.  We had dinner out and it wasn’t as good as we wanted it to be, but it was pretty good and definitely several steps above the dinner we had last year on Christmas Day.  We were active in making plans this year unlike last year.

We left Saint Augustine for a Daytona Beach  anchorage where we spent the night on our way to New Smyrna Beach. (NSB)

December 27, 2016-December 28, 2016

Yesterday and Today

We arrived in NSB mid afternoon after a late start in the morning because of the fog, which gave us enough time to walk the cute little town on Canal Street.  We had a very good dinner and evening with friends we met in St. Augustine, we shared knowledge of travel the ICW traveling to the Bahamas and Maine.

When we came back to the boat there was a family set up for the evening with a small table a light and everyone except the mom fishing.  The were there well into the night, past twelve we have no idea what the story is behind this family.

Here are the pictures that finish the story.

New window treatments

 Screens for the doors

The sites of St. Augustine

Read the captions in  the lower left corner

 My castle has toppled

Judy this one is for you, do you have a car big enough for this one?

Are you kidding me!

Did you ever wonder what they called a water taxi?

A beautiful national veterans cemetery notice the wreaths on the all the graves...

Notice the simple stone on the Jewish veterans maker.

 Ms J. and TT

 Ms J. and TT

 Julia calls dad to ask about the stones on the stones for the Jewish Soldiers

The fog of Daytona

 View from the free dock in NSB

 Linda Jean at the free dock in NSB

Onward to Banana River for the night's anchorage

Tricia

Sentimental

December 11, 2016

I am writing to you while playing Christmas music, listening to Susan Boyle, Mannheim Steamroller, Nat King Cole, Peter, Paul and Mary and the Boston Pops to name just a few of my favorites. Susan Boyle is singing Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah.  I am having a glass of wine and missing everything about Christmas.  I would make 10-12 different kinds of cookies, while playing Christmas music from Thanksgiving to Christmas.  I have more Christmas music than anyone I know.  We had Mimosas and Poinsettias (Champagne with cranberries). I made Glogg, a warm Swedish drink with cheap red wine.  We had a tree as tall as a house and Christmas everywhere.  We had the most wonderful ornaments on big trees and tiny trees.  I just loved all that we put into this fine holiday.

I look outside and see a set of lights arranged around a piling to make a palm tree. There are lights on other boats.  We have a little globe of lights.  I arranged a vase of flowers today that look pretty sitting on the table that I can see out of the corner of my eye.  

     

Last year it made me too sad to listen to Christmas music, but we did string some lights.  

It isn't good or bad, I guess, but very different.  We will spend Christmas in St. Augustine this year and have reservation at a lovely restaurant and just learned today that Ms. J will be staying with us Christmas Eve and going to Christmas dinner with us.  You see it all does work out in the end and there really is a Santa Claus.  I just miss the way that Santa use to be.

Maybe that Christmas will be again someday.

We left the Marina at Ortega Landing on December 3rd for an anchorage at Black Creek about three hours away.  What a treat it was to be back out again and to be on the hook instead of at a marina. It was a very restful night waiting to meet up with friends who traveled the St. Johns River with us.

We worked our way "up river" going south to Sanford.  I have a hard time on a good day figuring out which end is up, this is a real challenge.

We rafted up with the other boat for tea and talk before we went our separate ways to anchor for the night. So nice to look out in the darkness and see the anchor light of a friend.

We stopped at Green Gove Springs to check out St. Brendan's Isle, where our mail is being forwarded over the winter.  What happens is we work it out with our home post office to forward mail to this address and then we have it sent to us along the way if we need to have it.  The company has a great system for boaters.  We found out about this place from friends and that is generally how anyone hears about this company, they never advertise.  It is a small production.

We anchored in small creeks, on free docks and sometimes the wrong dock. It was windy and we had a hard time docking at this beautiful dock in Palatka only to be told by a city clerk that the dock was only for boats 17’ or smaller.  There wasn't any signage telling us that.  I suggested the city put a sign on the dock so this doesn't happen to anyone else, she told me we were the fifth boat she sent off the dock that day. GRRR! We ended up anchoring and taking the dinghy into shore, it was better than any dock so it worked out fine.

The town of Palatka was a wonderful treasure.  We were told about murals on the sides of buildings, but there wasn't any way we could imagine what that would be like.  Again see the detailed art for yourself. 

A quilt store owner left her store to show me and describe the Civil War mural. With a hint of a smile she said, "you know the Yankees started the war".

We were told about a wonderful restaurant up a creek only to find the restaurant had been closed up.  Not a soul anywhere and several feet of dock was empty. All was not lost, we anchored at the mouth of the creek and waited out a thunderstorm the next day.

The trip up/down the St. Johns River is described as traveling Florida’s Amazon River and once we left Palatka, it is like that. We were told that there is a creek that you can take your dinghy up where we can see lots of wildlife including alligators, the people that told us have an aluminum fishing boat and we have a rubber raft, I think not.

 Oh, I forgot to tell you that when we stopped at our first anchorage after leaving Ortega Landing I turned on the water and there wasn’t any.  Rob looked in the engine room and saw that the entire contents of one water tank had found a home in the bilge.  We crossed our fingers that it was something easy to fix and it was.  One of the hoses had come lose and a clamp needed tightening, as did many others.  We avoided problem 1281!

We stopped at a very small, one street light town that was so much fun.  There was a couple fishing on the dock and he wasn’t catching much but she caught all sorts of fish. A blue crab, small stingray, and fish I don’t know the name of.  They were there for hours. Rob and admired their fishing rods since Rob wants a rod for the Bahamas they talked about where he could get one—her’s came from a pawn shop.  She was full of knowledge about the closest pawn shops on the river.

 We wanted an ice cream cone so asked if there was any and she pointed us to the Bible book store.  I couldn’t help myself I had to ask if the ice cream was blessed. I felt a tad bad for saying that but…

We asked a woman going into the store if she knew where the museum was and she didn’t know what I was talking about.  I don’t find this unusual since I might not know of something in my town that a visitor might find in a “what to see” book.  By golly when she was done at the Bible/ice cream/sandwich shop she came to find us and stopped to tell us of things we might like to see and where to eat.  We all thought this was above and beyond the duties of any town resident but she said she wanted us to have a good time in her town, that town being Welaka, FL.

We had dinner at the Shrimps R Us and More restaurant, outstanding!  I can’t help but share the menu with you.  We had a more chocolate than decent piece of cake that put us over the top.  I had filet mignon and shrimp.  I wonder what they say about people that go on and on about the greatness of a meal.  

To top the time at Sanford off we had dinner with our neighbahs and our God Daughter at a hard to find Thai restaurant in Winter Park. The food was very good and the company better. Cookies from home and stories of Roxie romping in the snow and temperatures below—-anything reasonable.

I had no idea what to expect of Sanford.  We had a nice time. Friday night we were excited and felt lucky to arrive just in time for the Christmas parade, we put on our warmest clothes and headed out.  The boat parade was next weekend but the Clydesdales were in the park for a Christmas parade that we had to miss because of the previously scheduled Thai meal.  I was a little nervous around them or maybe it was a healthy respect. 

We enjoyed a couple of walks to downtown Sanford with many antique stores, eateries, and a nice art gallery.  Here are some pictures of the town.

Everybody needs a photo with Snowman Hay Art

Working our way back to Ortega.  We have new window treatments and screens for the doors that 

we will install.

Pulling the anchor and washing it off

Still working on my Christmas cards

Rob the cook

It isn't just an "attitude" that keeps the hat off center it also works to keep the sun from the eyes

Post Script

Here are some pictures along our way back to Ortega.  We are spending the night again in Welaka and eating at Shrimp-R-US and More.

Enjoy your holiday until we meet again.

Tricia