Update. Again. (lots of pics too)

I love Lizzie's arm on Russ's hip.

We've extended our stay for another month, although we're still waffling about what to do. We've gotten some good news from boaters who continue to travel north (they, too, and headed for the Chesapeake). The word is that boats can find fuel and day stops easily if you need to resupply. Additionally, few boats out, making the waterways a joy to use. But they rarely stay in marinas (anchoring out mostly) so they aren't sure how welcomed transient boats will be.


But at least we have options. For us it's a matter of why we travel, which we discovered is largely around discovering breweries and eating good food (lol!). It won't be quite the same to go from town to town if all you can do is sit on your boat and watch the world go by. We're doing that here just fine.

Not photoshopped!

I'm sure I've mentioned before that people have asked why we didn't keep the boat name Cat-n-Dogs. We thought about it for sure. But both our pets are older now and "aging out" is just a matter of time. Then we'd only have one dog, and people would ask "why is it plural" and I'd have to explain, and then I'd burst into tears. Saving all the drama, we changed the name. 

To that end, Savannah had a seizure last week; first thing in the morning, got out of the crate, had some water (which she does every morning), walked into our stateroom as we were dressing for the day, and collapsed. Russ held her throughout the event. I took her to a vet a couple of days later (they had no availability being one of the few vets open, and she hasn't had another episode since). THAT was a bit of an experience too. You stand outside the building and call to let them know you're there, they come out to check you in, then they come out to explain what they want to do for the dog (in our case some bloodwork) and discuss possible outcomes. This was the only time I saw the vet. They took the dog, brought her back, took my credit card... all outside. Did I mention it was raining that day? Upshot: blood work is dandy so watch how she does. It could mean a brain problem (which we wouldn't fix at this age anyway), could be she'll have them from time to time. So we wait.

Meanwhile we've been doing a variety of things to occupy the time.

Russ polished the corian countertop on the island. Sorely needed it.

Awesome sunrises continue.

BIG pink moon

The next morning, still pink... and a bit ominous in the clouds.

Dogs lives haven't changed a bit.

Cool clouds one morning. Kinda like an egg carton.

I got these made. Yay for inQuest!

My friend Jennifer got us this puzzle. It's wood.
And the pieces are little cat and dogs...

And completed, it looked like this! Dawwwww!

Me and Savannah waiting for the vet. Outside.
Just before the rain started.

But start it did! Soggy walk back to the boat.

One of my project, making burgee and flag covers.

They came out good!

Just an update

We're still in Ortega Landing doing what everyone else is doing. Chores. Cooking. Exercising. You know, whatever other than socializing.

But I still take some photos and thought I'd share. 

Had to take a walk. The park is closed. JAX is in the distance

Awesome sunrises.

Spanish mossed oak trees on the island nearby

My tiki torches. Solar, and LED. About $25 on Amazon.
It's amazing how real they look.

She just doesn't get it. Sure, you're thinking she's hiding in the
shade. Nope. It's lovely out. She just doesn't get it.

Make a masala for dinner today. Came out pretty good!
Thank you, Brie.

This is the amazing club house at Ortega Landing.
We're not allowed to use it other than to pick up our packages
(seen on a table on the right).

Jacksonville

This may be the last voyage for a while. Trying not to dwell on that.

Last night the six of us walked to Sarbez!, which is a grilled cheese and craft beer place. They were doing takeout, including the beer so long as you purchased a growler. Conveniently, we had one. We all took our sandwiches and went back to the boats, then with ample "social distancing" we enjoyed one last docktails, setting up a table and chairs on the docks.

We cast off early today, around 7:15, just light enough to see where we were going. Navionics told us the trip would be around 8 hours. We managed much faster, however, due to the current being with us most of the day. With that push we traveled closer to 9.5 knots all day long. With an eye on the ETA we should get in around 1:15. Woo hoo! 

Jacksonville!

But there was one hitch... a railroad bridge that is described as "usually up." As we approached it sirens went off and we stopped while watching it close. We had to wait for not one pokey train to cross, but two. Cost us 45 minutes. Such is boater life.

Good weather, good water. We got past by 5 rocketing tug boats (going over 10 knots) which created a little excitement and wake. Otherwise, the trip was uneventful.

Missed it by 5 minutes. Cost of 45... sigh...

So, we're in our new home, Ortega Landing near Jacksonville. We have a month long reservation. If we only wanted a day, or even a week, we would have been turned away. No transients allowed.

Being inland also means warmer temps. Looking ahead I'm seeing mid-90s within the week. Maybe we'll get a good thunderstorm or two as well. I'm hopin'. I'll need something to break up the monotony.

St. Augustine

Nebo let me down again so Russ
made me this graphic.

Bitter sweet being here. I really wanted to come back to St. Augustine since I didn't get to enjoy it much last year. At that time (firstly) we had a small accident with Cat-n-Dogs, scratching another boat. Nothing major and no injuries, but it put me in a foul mood. Secondly, Savannah, the eldest dog, had some kind of eye injury that wasn't getting better which resulted in multiple trips to the vet. We did get to enjoy Columbia, a wonderful restaurant here, but little else.

This time around was supposed to be different! I wanted to ride the red trolley, climb around the fort, eat some interesting food. Alas, CV. Everything is shut down. 

Sunrise on the Atlantic

Before heading out we joined Jamie and Trish on an early morning walk to the beach to watch the sun rise. All of us armed with coffee, we hike by the Marinaland park to get a view of the ocean. The morning was peaceful and settling, almost enough to forget what is going on in the world.

The ride here was mostly uneventful, right up until we tried to dock. We happened to arrive during a decent tidal current. In and of itself that would have been fine, but every time we approached our slip we got spun one way, then the next time, another. I tried 3 times without success. Finally Russ suggested we just take the empty T-head, which was trivial even with these conditions.

About Time goes gold. Just in time, too.
Look at that raggy white flag!

About 45 minutes after we parked About Time came in. As You Wish was already here, so the four of us helped with lines and get them docked without any issue from the current. Then we all had some champagne and "tiny beers" to help them celebrate: About Time was now a gold looper.

This is what Navionics shows us. Stray from the blue, bad things happen.

THIS is what we see! Looks like water is everywhere, right?!

Lonely are the looper boats at Marker 8.
The place is nearly empty!

Marineland

Let me tell you about Palm Coast, not that you can go there now, what with the Trump Virus going around (I'm gonna start calling it that just out of spite; apologies to China). We'd been there before and spent most of our time walking. But it turns out, this is not a walking town. This is a biking town. We wonder how they managed to get the funding for the place but there are miles of biking (and hiking) trails; paved, packed sand, and raised boardwalks through the wilderness. The result is a wonderful ride, full of shade and wildlife. Add in the pleasant breeze, mid-70s temps, and no mosquitoes and you got yourself a prime experience.

But even as we practiced our "social distancing" more and more things closed around us. We took a ride this morning with Jamie and Trish (About Time) to the Cracker Barrel, which was open. The waitress seemed distressed, wondering if she would be able to keep her job, and frustrated since, rather than lay off half the staff and keep the other half, they put everyone on part time. I didn't voice my cynical thought, which was "that was cheaper for them." Doesn't matter now. As of this afternoon all restaurants are being forced to close.

Biking on the boardwalk

Today's travel was less than an hour, and that was at around 6 knots. The attendant here is clearly freaked about the situation. He doesn't want to get close to you, or take a credit card, and even discourages you from using the public bathrooms here, although I suspect the latter is so he won't have to clean them. I'm happy we're only staying one night. Which is a shame since the weather and the location are just wonderful.

Marineland used to be a destination back in the day. It boasts to be the world first oceanarium. It used to have hotels and RV parks for the tourists it entertained. It's still there (although closed from the virus). But it's appeal and grandeur are long gone.

GATOR!!!

Cracker Barrel. Note the table arrangement and lack of customers.

Great morning ride... might be the last for a while.

Palm Coast (Things are getting weird)

We've been aware of all the restrictions being put into place over the last week due to the corona virus. But now things are getting weird. When we called Marineland on Monday they wanted to know where we're been. When About Time called them on Tuesday, they were asked in anyone had a fever, amid a bunch of other questions. Then we woke this morning to the news that some marinas were closing, period.

Trish and Jamie (About Time) joined us this morning on an empty patio to watch the launch at 8:16 am. We all had the same idea -- time to give up for a while. They only need to get to St. Augustine and they'll be home. We think we'll travel to Jacksonville, get a month long reservation, then button up the boat and head to Longboat Key for a couple of weeks, or a month. We'll live on Cat-n-Dogs while there. Then reassess what's to do.

Played putt-putt with the Mackeys -- no judging!
We all stayed at least 3 feet from each other!

In the mean time, we had a lovely ride up the coast. Sunny and warm with a cool breeze. Not a lot of boaters out so no crazy waking stories. Saw a couple of dolphins here and there. The only excitement was making the left into the marina, which was a little battle over current. But we docked in almost the exact spot we had last year.

Some restaurants are still open, although they can only have half of their tables served. All bars and night clubs (including breweries) are closed. I even called a nail salon to see if I could get an appointment -- their phone message said they were on a temporary closure for 2 weeks.

After we went out to eat. We're holding disposable menus
the restaurant printed in lieu of their plastic ones.
See? We can get through this, people!

Yep, things are getting weird.

Daytona

We woke this morning to an interesting surprise. Our new electric system, which was supposed to have over 1000 hours of capacity, was low. When Russ tried to make coffee he noticed the cabin lights dim. Not a good sign. He tried to connect to an app that monitors the batteries which failed. So he opened up the battery compartment, which he'd done before, ... and discovered ONLY THEN that they were the wrong batteries! We only have 400 hours of capacity, not 1000. On the one hand that explains a great deal, on the other, we're not sure how no one noticed this until just now. Emails have been sent. I'll update as I get the info.

Needless to say, the first thing we had to do was turn on the generator. We made coffee, dinghy-ed the dogs in a drizzle (sigh), then hung out a while until the rain passed. Batteries got charged so everything is good, but we're not happy boaters at the moment.

Downtown Historic Daytona Beach

Today was to be another short day (another 90 minutes) so we weren't in a hurry to leave. Russ took that time to firm up a couple of marinas for the week. Our big surprise came when we called Marineland Marina, just south of St. Augustine. I could hear a little of the conversation over the phone -- the dock master said things were getting serious here so he needed to know if we'd been to Miami. We hadn't. So we're getting to stay. Yeow! This could be huge for us going forward. Russ and I talked about making a month reservation somewhere and just "hunkering down" for a while in hopes this all smooths over. Better to have a place to stay than not being able to stay anywhere. Again, updates as I get info.

Easy out, easy day, and easy dock. We're on a t-head, and the marina is inset a bit, so with the exception of a gentle breezed that helped push us onto the dock there was nothing of issue.

Despite only 90 minutes of travel, there were a BUNCH of
abandoned and derelict boats. A BUNCH!

Rockhouse Creek

While we're making an attempt to visit mostly places we hadn't been to before, this was our second time here. The anchorage is large and quiet, and it was really nice to have a very short day. Our total travel time was about 90 minutes.

We anchored around 10 am amidst pods of dolphins and (I'm told) the occasional manatee. Everyone sees them but us it seems. Apparently we'd only notice them if they boarded our boat and slapped us.

We were joined by 2 of our buddies, As You Wish and About Time. About Time is in the home stretch. They will be gold when they get to St. Augustine, which we plan on doing this coming weekend to help them celebrate.

The travel was very slow due to manatee zones the entire way. But lovely from the great weather. The only issue we had came later in the day, which (because of the nice weather) meant VERY crowded beaches. I heard some folks say they were here because they couldn't be anywhere else do to the virus. It's starting to be a thing for boaters.

Another sleepy sunrise

Boats As You Wish and About Time.
That's Russ on the right in the kayak,
chatting with the neighbors.

I almost forgot. We had our friend over for docktails last night. Around 6:30 pm we noticed a sailboat entering the anchorage. He cruised between As You Wish and About Time at what I thought was an unnecessarily fast clip, then stopped. Like STOPPED. We all watched as it became obvious he'd run aground. He twisted back and forth trying to free himself, but nothing worked. The menfolk jumped in their dinghys and went to offer aid. They tried pulling him out, pushing him out, but nothing worked.

Everyone knew when the tide came off he'd float away. But that wouldn't be until 10 or 11 at night. He was stuck right next to As You Wish (who were the first in the anchorage, too). There was a great chance that he wouldn't be diligent about fixing his situation and would drift right into them during the night (and it was easy to think that was true since every map and depth source we had said there was no water where he ended up, leaving us with an uneasy feeling).

Sadly Martha and John moved over and re-anchored. But around 1 am we got up and checked out the window -- and he was within 50 feet of us. 

I will not mention his name, but I will avoid this guy in the future.