, Spring Break and beyond....

This trip has been wonderful for lots of reasons, one of which is that you get to share it with family and friends. We so enjoyed Susan and Matt spending their spring break with us in Ft. Lauderdale. Between the morning walks with Susie, great food, a little birthday shopping, pool days, and of course the beautiful beach we had a memoriable visit. After leaving Ft. Lauderdale on March 30th we traveled about 60 miles and anchored in a little cove behind some homes in North Palm Beach and the next day we went 68 miles and docked at Jones Fruit Dock. The movie Deliverance comes to mind when I reflect on it... but it was only for a night so Willi and I made it ok. Steve washed the boat with black slug which caused lots of extra work when we arrived at Cocoa Beach the next afternoon... Traveling on the ICW from Miami until now has been quite the experience being in the backyards of all the highrises and beautiful homes. And with Steve driving the boat with NO Wake, we almost made friends with the residents. : ) Cocoa Village was a quaint place with great restrurants and some beautiful shops. One of those, Pacita's, had a large metal rabbit that the Easter Bunny purchased and sent to Maison Rouge... He will be named Cocoa and will look great on the kitchen island bringing a smile remembering that part of this adventure. Whether we ride our bikes, rent a car, or walk to worship, each time has been up-lifting (exception of once, Ft. Myers.. went back to the 50's). Easter Sunday was no exception. Another neat thing is, all along the way we have met up with our neighbors from TN on Simple Interest. Diane is always so gracious and fixes some on our best meals. We have been able to share our adventure in detail with them because of their travels taking them the same route 2 years ago. Van has given Steve lots of useful advice and we appreciate it all. What do you do without friends??? A highlight of the east coast of Florida was watching the last of the night lift-offs of the space shuttle on April 5th. We were about 12 miles away and were amazed to see the fire as the shuttle lifted from the ground. Even at that distance you felt the rumbling shake and heard the delay of sound as it moved up and out of sight in about 3 minutes. I can only imagine what the astronuts experience as they leave the ground traveling at 5 miles a second, around 17,000 miles an hour.

We left Cocoa around 7:30 that Monday morning traveling north on the ICW toward Georgia.We saw some manatees in Haulover Canal after leaving Cocoa.  Our next stop was New Smyrna Beach for a night and to get provisions. Tonight we are at Palm Coast Marina just south of St. Augustine. The next few ports will be one night stops until we reach St. Marys, GA. I wish our pictures could show how beautiful the different areas are. Maybe you get some idea anyway.... Thanks for your interest in our great adventure... love and happiness to all. Admiral Carolyn