A Jax Beach Homecoming

I'm pretty sure all we've done is eat, drink, and be merry for an entire month straight. It has been glorious. Being back here, with all of you...my cup runneth over! I'm bursting at the seems, filled with love and laughter, surrounded by my dearest friends. Tommy & Norianne, Mike & Heather, our bellies are full of your wonderful home cooked meals. We enjoyed music and games at numerous family dinners hosted by the incomparable Holly & Jill and the company of all those in attendance. Dana (my forever PIC), Terell, Tyler, Ashley, Feci, Ryan, and so many more, you are all amazing! We had wonderful beach days including an epic fish fry hosted by Brett and Heather. We got some family time in with my Dad, my aunt Laney, family friend Theresa, Jon's aunt Susan, uncle Pat, and cousin Katie. As always, thank you Laney for the use of the condo - our home away from home! We were also treated to a pretty major live music fix. We saw all our hometown favorites Wes Cobb, Nate Holley, Charlie Walker, Split Tone, Lions of Jah, Dirty Pete, and were introduced to a new (to us) local favorite The Band Be Easy.

Here is a brief synopsis of our fun filled time...

Thanks to Brandon for some tickets, we got to enjoy the Music and Craft beer fest in Fernandina...

Where we got up close and personal with Matisyahu, drank, danced and had a blast with friends old and new.

Got to spend time with lifelong friends,

enjoy many a family dinner

some drinks...

some more drinks...

some boat drinks...

Some bar drinks. (with some killer music thanks to Wes!)

some Penthouse-too-nice-of-a-place-for-us Sunday Funday drinks

Thanks Mark and Ryan (and Harry's place) for the hospitality

and the view

some in Riverside, Downtown, places everywhere in Jax Beach old and new
(special thanks to everyone at Lynch's as always for making us feel home)

oh and Rocket Bombs and Gingers...

a few times.

We explored One Spark!

Found the bestest grilled cheese on the planet!
Happy Grilled Cheese

Got to catch up with Mo and see his latest creations
All his stuff is amazing check it out here...

            mobaricksart.com

We even got some Jaguar love at Hoptinger for The Bold City Brigade Membership party.

It's hard to say farewell to you, my people of Jax Beach, but you know the feeling. That itch you can't scratch when stayed put for too long. It's time to adventure and you to go on adventures of your own. I can't wait to catch up on the other side and hear your stories so...LET'S GO MAKE SOME!

Ft Pierce to Jacksonville Beach, FL

     This next leg of the trip has proven to be quite beautiful. We are very familiar with these areas (Melbourne, Titusville, Flager, etc.) from land as we have many friends from these towns and being native Floridians, we have traveled this section of our state many times. Cruising the ICW though brought a whole new perspective and made us appreciate our state in a different way. The wildlife is amazing! We were treated to jumping rays throughout Melbourne, roseate spoonbills in Titusville, tons of manatees in Haul Over Canal, with dolphins and ospreys galore the entire way. I felt like a kid, excitedly pointing and running around to get a better/closer view. Honestly, I don't see how this could ever get old. We tried to take pictures, but cell phone cameras just can't do it justice. (not so subtle hint: DSLR camera as a gift? WINK WINK)

The miles leading up to Flagler Beach were through some pretty skinny residential ICW areas. This section was particularly fun because you are literally cruising like 20 yards from people's homes. We had lots of friendly waves and shouts and as the evening grew dark we got a hearty "Ahoy matey!" from some kayakers crossing to a mangrove island to meet friends for a bonfire. We finally anchored around 11pm in a small cut that leads to the Sea Ray plant in Flager.

We woke to extremely dense fog. So dense we couldn't see the house on the other side of the canal. We decide to make coffee and wait it out, but this fog proved persistent and we battled it the entire day. At one point, we were in fog so thick we decided to make a security call out to other boats just as a sailboat emerged from the cloud about 10 yards away. As the day came to an end, we ended up getting a mooring ball in St. Augustine for the night and went ashore. My dad met us yet again with some parts we ordered. (Yes, still having starboard engine issues. No, I don't want to talk about it.) We had a great dinner and after Dad left, we walked around historic downtown through eerily low fog covering the cobblestone streets. I felt like we were in a Pirates of the Caribbean movie.

Exactly how it looked to us after a few drinks

Nightime Fog over St. Augustine

Finally, the next evening, we arrived in the foggy cover of darkness to Beach Marine in Jacksonville Beach. We have been traveling for about 5 weeks now so we have decided to stay for a few weeks to catch up with family, friends, and take a general cruising break.

Bridge of Lions

Our Jax Beach Slip
Time for a break!

Marathon to Fort Pierce, FL

   

     We left Marathon around 3:30 in the afternoon and finally anchored around 10 pm. We had super calm conditions and a full moon lighting the way so we decided to take advantage. I'm glad we did because the following days were met with wind, fog and rain. Good thing we have full foul weather gear! I'm pushing myself more and more with getting comfortable handling the boat. I drove in all conditions and only gave up the helm once when the rain was literally hitting me square in the eyeballs. I "let" Jon takeover and acted as a rain shield for him. Sunday afternoon we decided to anchor early in Card Sound and treat ourselves to happy hour at Alabama Jack's. After all, it is our 1 year anniversary with Rising Sun and she deserves a toast for keeping us safe and getting us this far.

Rainy morning delays

Looks like rain

Trying to keep dry

Celebrating Rising Sun's 1 year Anniversary
at Alabama Jacks

   From Card Sound, we made our way to Miami and anchored by the Rickenbacker Causeway near the Port of Miami on Monday night. We have friends that live nearby and decided to take Tuesday as a rest day to catch up with Matt and Claudia and restock the boat. We had a great time hanging at Whiskey Joe's with familiar faces. It's nice to take a day to regroup after many days of cruising.

   

Erica brings us into Miami

Caribbean Spirit (formerly of Key West) sailing Biscayne Bay

     The scenery through Miami and south Florida in general was a nice change from the keys. The ICW goes right through the heart of downtown Miami, with skyscrapers, mega yachts, and mega homes galore. This is also where we start having to go under bridges of varying heights. Thank goodness for our guidebook as it marks the mile, height, and schedule of each bridge opening along the way. With a clearance of 15' including the bimini top, we didn't have to stop for many. However, it was pretty neat when we did have to call the bridge tender and request passage on the next opening. Something about hearing your vessel name over the radio makes it feel so official.

Ship that ships ships

       By Friday, we have made it to Ft Pierce, FL where we have arranged to dock for the weekend at Ft Pierce City Marina. We really lucked out on this random pick as the marina is located in the heart of the city's historic downtown. The marina had a pretty cool tiki bar on site, walking distance to many restaurants/stores, and there was a substantial farmer's market on Saturday morning right out front that we took full advantage of.

Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse

Rybovich Boatyard

     My dad picked us up midday Saturday and we made the 2.5 hour drive to my hometown Umatilla, FL. We cleaned up and off to Andy and Tara's wedding! It was a beautiful ceremony on a Lake Dora with dinner to follow nearby. We had a wonderful time celebrating with family and we couldn't be happier for you guys! The next day we had breakfast with the family and then back to Ft Pierce. We took Monday to get our new injection pipe installed and take care of a few other things while we were in a convenient location. Tuesday, we are back on the water. Next stop, Jacksonville!

Mount Dora Lighthouse