We awoke to an even foggier morning than the day before. When I opened the galley window to peer out we had 0 visibility. So much for an early start. Instead we took Prince to play in the nicely fenced park. He had a great time running around off leash, even enjoyed the swings and going down a slide or two. It was all good fun until he found a crack in the fence and took off like a bolt of lightning. Coleen was screaming, crying and chasing him and of course he thought it was a game. This went on for about 10 minutes until he was finally chased into a fenced yard and captured. My girl was so distraught it nearly broke my heart.
After a good scolding we strolled over to the Welaka United Methodist Church where they were having a yard sale to earn money to reupholster their pews. Coleen managed to pick out a couple of little Christmas decorations ($1) and we had a nice visit with the old ladies telling us about their tiny 35 member congregation. Lots of fellows were fishing on the dock when we returned and most of them had buckets of crappie to show for it. So we had an audience when we cast off the lines around 10 a.m. Thankfully, we actually looked like we knew what we were doing and all went well. We traveled for about 20 miles to the Boat House Marina in Palatka. It's always interesting to make way into an unfamiliar marina. You just never know where they are going to put you and how tricky it will be to get in and out. We've been tucked in some scary places during our travels. This time though it was a breeze as we tied up along a long face dock and actually had four people come out to help with our lines. Once again I looked like I knew what I was doing and didn't embarrass myself. I must be getting back into the swing of things. The Boat House Marina is a small family owned operation with about 40 small sailboats and a few trawlers. The facilities, while lacking any charm, are clean and they have the basics, wifi, hot showers, washer/dryer, etc. The owners are super friendly and gave us a good orientation of their little town. Dockage is only $1/ft which is a pretty good price. As it was nearing 3 o'clock and our goal was to tour the Ravine Gardens State Park before dark, we hurriedly readied the boat and set out for the mile walk up a long hill. It had been chilly all day, but the sun came out as we were walking and made it a little too warm for our clothing choices. Anyway, soon enough we arrived at Ravine Gardens only to see a sign posted that the park was closed for the day as they were setting up for a special evening event. Yikes!!! Glad we hurried to get there! So we walked back to the marina and made plans to attend the Caroling in the Park event at 6 p.m. Meanwhile we did a bit of laundry. Coleen enjoyed visiting with her new friends on the new large houseboat docked next to the Glass Slipper. An older couple from Jacksonville uses it as a weekend home and enjoyed giving us a tour. Coleen visited with them while I did laundry. That girl can make friends quickly and by the time we walked back to the park she knew their life history. So we walked another mile back to Ravine Gardens, this time in the dark. We were carrying cans of salmon as our required entry fee and determined they were our first line of defense if needed. I also had my trusty pepper spray and a flash light. But it was a well lit street and we enjoyed seeing all the Christmas lights. We enjoyed a wagon ride through the gaily decorated park. At various stops carolers from assorted churches blessed us with song. It was a nice time complete with hot dogs and ice cream. I'd say we really didn't get to see the park that much as it was so dark, but it made a good mother/daughter memory and that's priceless.
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We weighed anchor at 8 a.m. with a goal of 33 miles for our days run. We made it about 3 miles to the entrance for Lake George and ended up dropping the hook in a little oxbow. The fog was so thick on the lake we decided to wait until it cleared. Yes, we have radar and could have poked our way through, but we're not in a hurry so why bother. I ended up doing a couple of projects and making some yummy flat bread for lunch. (See recipe on our new Galley Grub page).
Finally around 11 a.m. we decided to go for it. It was still foggy, but not too bad. We enjoyed a nice, quiet 10 mile trip up the length of Lake George. The autopilot did all the work and Coleen and I took turns keeping watch from under the protection of the dodger as is was a bit chilly. I made her keep watch for about an hour while I relaxed in the cabin. (Of course my off watch relaxing includes making lunch & tidying up). All too soon we were across the lake and back in the St. John's River snaking our way around its twists and turns keeping a close watch on the markers. Around 4 p.m. we arrived at the town dock in Welaka, FL. My docking approach was dismal to say the least and after 3 attempts we finally tied up successfully. Coleen said if we'd made a video of it, we could have had a million hits on YouTube We didn't actually hit anything but we sure got in a pickle. Prince was so happy to see land he would have jumped off the boat had he not been tethered in. Coleen quickly took him to shore for a much needed break. After securing the boat I joined her and we had a nice walk through the very small town (pop. 698). We saw a small, but beautiful church, a convenience store a couple of bars, two nice parks and a tiny pharmacy. As it was now getting close to 5 p.m. and we didn't see a sign that said "No overnight docking" we decided to stay put rather than seek our our planned anchorage. We had a relaxing evening. I saw the local police car come down and check us out but then they drove on. One night's free dockage - Check! After spending a few minutes getting Coleen's old bike set up we
headed out for an early morning bike rideon the lovely trails. We passed through a shady old hammock before reaching a pine forest. The smell of pine was heavy and mixed with smoke. The rangers were in the middle of a controlled burn and we could see a few small flames in the distance. Coleen's poor bike rattled along sounding like it would fall apart any minute. She had blue tape on the handlebar grips as they were all gummy with age. We're sure hoping Santa brings this child a new bike. After our ride we readied the boat and cast off the docklines.. Yet another uneventful departure due to my first mate. We had a pleasant 20 mile trip. Coleen had the helm for about an hour while I made lunch and took a break. She wisely called me up to check markers a couple of times. We anchored in a lovely cove about 3 pm. For some reason I can't fathom I had issues with my blood pressure all evening and felt horrible. Unpleasant ending to an otherwise awesome day.. I awoke this morning to the sound of Coleen shouting “It's raining!” I hurriedly put away a few things I'd left scattered in the cockpit after working on the anchor light last night while Coleen closed all the ports. Then I crawled back in my bunk as it was only 7 a.m. Despite my restless night, I wasn't able to fall back asleep, so finally got up. Soon we were digging out Christmas decorations. I strung lights all around the bimini and hung a wreath on the bow pulpit. Meanwhile, Coleen decorated the cabin with our assortment of fake greenery and ribbons. We've decided to wait for the tree until Phillip arrives on the 21st, partly so he can join us in decorating the tiny thing and partly because it would either fall over while underway or the dog would knock it over.
After our little early morning decorating party, we tidied up and raised anchor. Coleen did a great job a the helm while I worked the windlass. She expertly guided the boat out of the oxbow and into the channel. We had a short 5 mile journey to our next destination Hontoon Island State Park. According to the guidebooks and the notes I saw on Active Captain, we could expect a 5 foot depth at the end of the t-dock. I circled around taking a look before deciding to just go for it. My excellent first mate, Coleen, readied a dock line at midship as I inched the boat close to the dock. The depth sounder read 4.6 ft and as our draft is 4 ft that was good enough, although just a barely. Coleen secured the line around the piling and then stepped off to grab a stern and bow line. Again, she did an awesome job. Soon we were tied up complete with spring lines and a couple of hastily blown up fenders. We stepped back to admire our work with a high five! Dockage with electric, water and hot showers was $20. We enjoyed a picnic lunch in the park before setting off to hike the nature trails. This is a place that can only be reached by private boat or the park pontoon boat. In addition to the hiking and biking trails they have a little nature center with very good exhibits on the park and its wildlife. We headed down a trail through a shady hammock that was a bit spooky. I was keeping a sharp lookout for alligators or any other menacing creature. Our brave dog Prince led the way. After only a few minutes down the trail, as we neared a huge broken tree trunk, he yelped and jumped quickly, practically leaping into my arms. He totally refused to go further so we decided to take his advice and turned tail. We stopped at the ranger station for advice. They suggested another , assured me there were no alligators as the trail was too far inland, but we might see armadillos, deer, mice, etc. I asked about bears, and they said, maybe. It was possible for them to swim over to the island, but none had been seen recently. So we set off again, me regretting that I had Coleen's leftover ham sandwich in my backpack. The sign at the tail head had a huge section warning about what to do if you see a bear. Basically, you're supposed to stand still, not make eye contact, and then slowly back away. Right! Somehow I think running fast would be my first instinct. Only later would I remember I was supposed to stand still. Anyway, we continued on deciding to make noise by singing loud Christmas carols. It was another truly beautiful place. A shady hammock with huge old trees dripping with moss and sprinkled with native palm trees. Simply amazing. However, I was just too chicken! After about a ½ hour I had to turn back much to Coleen's dismay. Just as we were almost back to the trail head, Prince suddenly stopped in his tracks, having spotted an armadillos in the bushes. He didn't bark at it, but rather wanted to chase it. I spent the rest of the afternoon cutting out our new sail cover making use of the long dock for rolling out the fabric, worked more on the ailing anchor light, went for a bike ride and made a yummy Mexican meal for dinner. Yes, life is good on the river! |
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January 2019
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