Merritt Island to Jacksonville

We left at oh dark thirty with Inch 'N' Along for St. Augustine and pulled into Camachee Cove Yacht Harbor.  It was a long day and after getting cleaned up we had dinner at the restaurant here at the marina.  Next morning we left early for Jacksonville.  When we arrived in Jacksonville we went down the St. John's River about 20 miles from the entrance of the Atlantic Ocean.  The wind was blowing about 25mph and made it a rough ride through downtown Jacksonville until we finally reached Ortega Landing Marina.   Really nice marina with a pool, hot tub, free laundry, cable TV, and more.  Mike and Lois from Inch 'n' Along had some friends pick them up and took them to their house in St, Augustine for the night.  We watched their Adi cat for them while they were away. That night it rained, and rained, and rained, through the following day and into the next morning.   When Lois and Mike returned to their boat we decided to wait an extra day before leaving to go down the St. John's River. We all decided to walk over to a shopping mall that had a West Marine, Stein Mart, restaurants, and grocery store.  That night we all had my special smothered pork chops on Panacea.  The next adventure is to head South on the St. John's to Palatka, FL. Interesting thing about the St. John's is it goes South but flows North. 

Panacea at sunrise leaving Merritt Island

Thought it was interesting landscape

Another one of those houses on the ICW

St. Augustine Light House

Inch 'N' Along

Jacksonville Light House

St Augustine Beach

Pirate ship in St. Augustine

Navy ship in the yards

Home of the Jacksonville Jaguars

Downtown Jacksonville, FL

Lois

Mike

Jan with the Adi cat

Stuart to Merritt Island FL

We left Stuart after flying back from visiting family and friends on Saturday the 8th.   We had the oil and filters changed and the impellers replaced while we were gone.  We went thru one lock which took us back into salt water with a fourteen foot drop.  It was another beautiful day and we ended up at Harbour Isle Marina in Fort Pierce.  Greeting us was Mike and Lois from Inch 'n' Along.  They were there with their friends Jeff and Grace who just completed the loop.  Jeff and Grace had a vehicle and took us out to dinner that night.  Next day Inch 'N' Along and Panacea left at 8:00am for Cocoa Village Marina.  It was a long day but absolutely beautiful.  Once there Jan, Chloe, and me went into town and had lunch at Murdock's, a pet friendly diner. The next morning we all decided to head a little further up to Merritt Island, mainly because there was this nasty smell they claimed was decaying seaweed.  Don't think so as Mike found a floater going by.  We went to Harbortown Marina because a front was coming in and it would be a little more protected.  We were a short distance from the Kennedy Space Center and went there the next day.  We had a fantastic day and were there when they opened until they closed!  They just completed the Shuttle Atlantis display.  We also experienced our first encounter with no see-ums.  Itchy bloodsucking little suckers. Google it!

Stayed here while visiting the Space Center

If you ever go to Florida you have to go here

Started it all

Assembly building, the largest one story structure in the world

Launch pad 39 where the first and last shuttle was launched

The control center for the Saturn launches to the moon

The Saturn rocket was the largest used to get to the moon

First stage

Third stage

Lunar landing module

Shuttle Atlantis

The other three shuttles are in Los Angeles, New York, and the Smithsonian

 

 

Very cool

Bottom of shuttle

The last flight was in the Atlantis

Stuart FL

We are still here in Stuart after going back home to see family and friends.  I couldn't say we were going home in my last post because it was our daughter in-law Tiffany's, surprise 40th birthday party and we had to keep it a secret.  We flew back with Debbie D. on the 21st, which was also her birthday, and on the way to the airport we stopped at West Palm Beach.  I think we found where all the really rich people live.  The mansions and yachts are unbelievable.  We had lunch on the beach and then headed to Fort Lauderdale to catch our flight to Sacramento.  Mike D. picked us up and we spent the night at their house.  Next day we went over to our son Mike and Jess's house, where we will spend the rest of our time.  Saturday Mike and Jess had some friends over and on Sunday morning Eric and Shannon invited us to Serrano Country Club for brunch and then at night Mike and Debbie had many of our friends and family over for a get together and dinner.   Monday we left with Jess, Carter, and Dylan and drove down to Southern Calif. for a quick turn around to see my Dad, Mom, Sister, and her family.  It was the first time my Mom saw Dylan.  We were back up North on Wednesday and had a lot of to do things to take care of before we came back to Florida.  One of the things was to get our teeth cleaned.  Jan had called before we left Florida and got us in on Thursday.  Little did I know, but our dentist came in on his day off and personally cleaned our teeth and put a temporary filling in a tooth that I chipped.  If anyone needs a recommendation of a great dentist in El Dorado Hills give Dr. Scott Dexter a call.  I think we did everything we needed to get done, including our income tax and playing golf with the boys.  If we missed someone we're sorry, just didn't have enough time.  We left on the 3rd and headed back to Fort Lauderdale where we rented a car and drove to Fort Myers to get Chloe who was a guest at Marcia and Bruce's house.  We stayed at their house that night and the next day Marcia took us and her grand daughter, Carson to Manatee Park and the Ford Edison museum their winter homes in Fort Myers.  Still didn't see any Manatee's but did see the Ford and Edison winter homes. We left Wednesday to return to the boat in Stuart and got caught up on laundry and groceries before we had to return the rental car.  We also had to detox Chloe from Marcia's home made dog food she makes for all of her dogs.  So, while we were gone the toilet is fixed, the oil changed and the impellers replaced.  It's time to go!  Heading to Fort Pierce tomorrow.

Sarah and Ken helping with the luggage as we go home

Debbie D's Birthday at West Palm Beach

The Beach

Eric, Shannon and John at Serrano (Thank You)

Mike, Jess, Carter, Dylan, and us

Grammie with Carter and Dylan at Lu-Lu's pet farm

Great Grandma's with Dylan and Carter

Only Manatee we've seen

Pirate Manatee

Marcia and Bruce's Grand daughter (Carson)

This was Henry Ford's personal Model T

Thomas Edison's winter home

Henry Ford's winter home, they were best buds.

Panacea