SUNSHINE, COASTS, SHOALS & SUCH

28 FEBRUARY 2022 – ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA

It’s been three weeks since we started cruising up the East Coast of Florida and we’ve had quite the adventures! Until the last two days of high winds and rain (which delayed our departure), the weather has been glorious—lots of sunshine and not too hot. Here are some highlights and fun facts.

1.  Florida has names for each segment of its extensive coastlines. So far we’ve been (chronologically) on the “Emerald Coast” (northwest, including Pensacola, Destin & Panama City), the “Lost Coast” (aka the Big Bend Coast as it curves around the Gulf of Mexico) & the “Sun Coast” (central west, including Tarpon Springs, Tampa Bay & Sarasota).
Choosing to bypass the Keys and the “Gold Coast,” with its dense population, huge condominiums, yachts and wakes, we went east across the Okeechobee Waterway to the “Treasure Coast” (Fort Pierce to Vero Beach, named for sunken ships), the “Space Coast” (that includes the amazing Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral) and on north to the “Palm Coast” and finally the “First Coast” where we are now—in St. Augustine, the oldest continuously occupied European settlement in the United States (1513-Ponce de Leon). Much of the Old City is now restored to a likeness of its colonial days and reflects its Spanish heritage. It’s quite beautiful and the Old Town Trolley Tour gave us the perfect overview of its many features and history.

Flaggler College, St. Augustine

2.  The Kennedy Space Center has been an amazing highlight! A bus took us out to the Apollo/Saturn exhibits and, while watching the video of the Apollo mission to the moon, we were sitting in bleachers in front of the actual Mission Control Room used during launches (“the room where it happened!”). It was also very exciting to stand beneath and walk the full length of a rocket used for these launches.

We also learned from a fellow Looper (we just happened to meet the next day who helped design the software for the Space Shuttle) that the reason part of some rockets is orange is because, by not painting it, the payload is reduced considerably!

Another highlight was standing under and walking the full length of the Space Shuttle Atlantis (and learning how a space vehicle was created that could come back to earth and land like an airplane–thought to be impossible).

All in all, we both came away with a far deeper appreciation of all the brilliant people and teamwork involved in our space development and exploration—past, present and future.  It was good to be reminded of Apollo Astronaut Neil Armstrong’s words when he first set foot on the moon: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Let us not forget the important work that has been done and that continues as we seek more answers about outer space.

3. We really enjoyed staying in the marinas at Vero Beach, Cocoa Village and New Smyrna Beach. They are all are relatively small towns with clean and friendly marinas and easy walks to restaurants and provisions (and ice cream!). Most of the more developed areas along this stretch are on the Atlantic Ocean (east) side of the barrier islands. Fortunately, the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) is on the west side so there are fewer homes and lots of wetlands (and birds!). But that also means there is lots of shoaling, where the sands are constantly shifting on the bottom and are often a hazard to navigation. Sometimes you can see the shoaling and sometimes you can’t, but we know we have to watch the markers carefully when we see birds “standing on the water!” (And also note below the man standing in the water next to his small fishing boat!)

4. And speaking of “constantly shifting shoals”…unfortunately we went hard aground on one of them in the Ponce de Leon Inlet and had to be pulled off by SeaTow. (Because everyone goes aground at some point, we knew we had to subscribe to both SeaTow and TowboatUS services, hoping we’d never have to use them.) There were actually two SeaTow boats patrolling the area because this happens so frequently (“all the time”). AND, we were also fortunate that there was a highly recommended repair facility nearby (Sea Love Boatworks—great name!) where we had to get our props inspected and repaired before continuing. We were there almost a week, but were able to live on the boat while we were out of the water (aka “on the hard”). We got lots of exercise climbing up and down a 12’ ladder several times a day. There was also a great restaurant nearby plus lots of friendly staff and nice places to walk, including the Ponce Inlet Light

5. One more highlight. We saw a very small ad in St. Augustine for a “Tiny Art Museum.” We didn’t know if it was the museum that was tiny or the art. It turned out to be the art—“art that can only be created and seen by using a microscope, less than 1mm,” all created by Russian artists spending 6-12 months on each piece! There were mini-mini paintings, but we especially liked the small gold sailing ship and the row of 5 gold camels created within the eye of a needle! We were glad we discovered the “Micro Masterpieces Art Gallery” aka the Tiny Art Museum! Wow!

We’re excited about the next part of our adventure—cruising through and beyond Jacksonville, down the St. John’s River to see “the fish camp” side of Florida—the interior sweet water habitats of fisherman and, yes, alligators. (We’ll be okay viewing them from the boat, but don’t think we’ll do much swimming! 🙂 We do like “the road less traveled,” with undeveloped natural surroundings, so away we go!

Mid-March we’ll start cruising up the coast of Georgia and into South Carolina, so stay tuned. Thanks for dancing along with us!