April 8-11, 2017 - Jacksonville, Cumberland Island, Fernandina Beach

We left our beautiful anchorage in Black Creek around 7:50 Saturday and headed back to Jacksonville.  The girls were joining us for their week of spring break.  We were also going to be traveling with Tricia and Rob (Linda Jean) and their great niece Maggie (age 12).  The girls arrived around 3:30 and Maggie arrived shortly thereafter.  We all walked up to Osaka Japanese Restaurant for dinner (Maggie had never been to a cook-at-your-table restaurant and had a great time).  The girls really hit it off and had a great time together.  We left Jacksonville Sunday morning at 7:50 and headed north to Cumberland Island National Park. We dropped our anchors around 3:00.  We rafted together so the girls could jump from one boat to another to avoid the adults. Monday morning we packed a lunch and headed to the island.  Our first stop was an old mansion built by the Carnegie family in the late 1800's.  The house is now part of the national park.  The house still contained a lot of the furnishings, including an old piano.  A young girl was encouraged to play and entertained our tour group with a great song (the docent told her she could boast that she had played Carnegie Hall!).  The island is also noted for the wild horses that roam free and we were able to spot two of them.  We then took a very long walk (about a mile and a half - but seemed like much more) across the island to the Atlanta Ocean. Once there, the girls quickly got into their bathing suits and played in the water.  We all ate our lunch, relaxed a little, and then took the walk back to the dinghy dock.  It was a great day and we were all exhausted.  On Tuesday was left our anchorage around 9:30 for a quick hour and a half trip back south to Fernandina Beach.  We grabbed a mooring ball (first time ever on a mooring ball) and settled in.  We took the dinghys into the marina and spent the afternoon walking around the town.  It was a fun town with a lot of shops and restaurants.  We treated ourselves to some margaritas at a Mexican restaurant and then headed back to the boat for dinner.

Leaving our anchorage on Black Creek

The pool at Ortega Landing Marina - the girls are on the far end

Waiting for our table at the restaurant

Our group enjoyed a great dinner

I think someone lost some eyebrows!

Rob and Tricia's friends, Maddie and Roger, joined us at our anchorage

at Cumberland Island

One our way to Cumberland Island - watching dolphins swimming under

the bow of the boat

Linda Jean

Katie at the helm

The dolphins were swimming with us

Nice full moon over Cumberland Island

Plus a beautiful sunrise

The dock leading to the island

On Cumberland Island - lots of big trees to climb on

The old Carnegie mansion

The front of the Carnegie Mansion

One of the many wild horses

Beginning our long trek to the Atlantic Ocean

We made it!

The girls wasted no time getting into the water

Nice relaxing lunch by the water

A live sand dollar

The three girls having a great time together

At the end of the day we're still smiling

The beautiful sunset at the end of our day

Anchored and rafted together

Linda Jean on her mooring ball at Fernandina Beach

It must be meal time

Maggie (partially hidden), Kayla, Rob, Tricia, Jennifer, Katie

The girls at Fernandina Beach

The adults

What else do you do in these towns - get ice cream!

After the ice cream, you get margaritas!

Nearly Perfect on her mooring ball

Heading back to the boats after a day in town

April 4-7, 2017 - Black Creek

We had some pretty bad storms Monday night when we got back to Jacksonville, but finally the work was finished on Tuesday and we were back in the water by late morning.  We still had the rental car, so we took a road trip to Green Cove Springs to visit our mail service.  After running additional errands, we settled in for the night.  We left Huckins about 9:30 Wednesday morning for a 25 mile trip south to Black Creek.  After settling in, we took the dinghy down and took about a 10 mile trip up the Black Creek.  The scenery was absolutely beautiful.  Just us and mother nature.  Friday we took a dinghy ride to Peters Creek.  Along Peters Creek we saw a large gator, several turtles and lots of birds. We had a great three days just relaxing among the trees and various animals.  Tomorrow we head back to Jacksonville to wait for the girls to join us for their week of spring break.

Putting on the finishing touches before going back into the water

We could practically make eye contact with the passengers on the Amtrak

trains (do you know how loud they are at 2:00 AM?)

Finally, back in the water

Our anchorage at Black Creek

Our dinghy trip up the Black Creek

We just can't get away from those Amtrak trains!

Views of the anchorage

Early morning calm

Getting the dinghy ready for another ride

Peters Creek

At anchor

March 25-April 3, 2017 - Road Trip

On Saturday we picked up our rental car and headed to Niceville.  We spent Saturday night at Bluewater Marina with some friends known as the "Loosers."  Sunday we spent the day with Linda and her family celebrating Jack's mother's 92nd birthday.  We then went back to Bluewater for the shrimp boil Sunday night.  After doctor's appointments on Monday, we took off for our two day trip to Arlington.  We arrived at Susan's Tuesday around noon.  After getting some hamburgers from Al's, we spent the afternoon at my mother's new apartment.  Tuesday night we met our friends George and Mary Jane with their daughter and her husband and spent the evening discussing the loop with some of their friends.  It was very enjoyable and the people asked pretty interesting questions. Wednesday we all spent the day touring the Department of Engraving in Fort Worth (watching money being printed) and then back into Fort Worth for dinner at our favorite steak place, the Star Café.  Thursday, Jack played golf while mother, Susan and I visited the George Bush Library and Museum.  Bush's paintings honoring the wounded veterans were very touching.  All of the exhibits were very interesting and we were able to walk around an actual replica of the Oval Office decorated as it had been when Bush was President.  Friday morning we took off again toward Mobile to spend the weekend with the girls.  Saturday was chore day as Jack helped install fans and lightbulbs around the house for Jennifer. We had a nice dinner at Texas Roadhouse.  Sunday morning, the girls left for church and we left to have breakfast with friends Chuck and Vicky (Patriot).  We got back to Niceville late in the afternoon and drove to Fort Walton for a good dinner at Olive Garden.  Monday it was back to the doctor. Then after 10 days and countless miles, we were back in Jacksonville. The boat was still out of the water but the marina put a ladder up for us to get on the boat.  It was a great 10 day trip, but we were glad to get back to the boat.

An evening at Bluewater with the "Loosers"

Our slip is still empty

92nd birthday party for Jack's mom

(with Missy, Linda, Ella and Chris)

A nice garden area at mother's apartment

A nice pond at the back of the property (complete with fish)

There were also a lot of turtles swimming around

We were in time for the blooming of the Texas Bluebonnets

The flaming candle on Susan's birthday cake

Friends George and Mary Jane in front of a sculpture of a

pelican carved from the remains of a dead tree
(their grandson sketched the drawing for the pelican)

An outdoor bathroom at George and Mary Jane's daughter's house

(they also have many indoor bathrooms)

No trip to Fort Worth is complete without a trip to the Stock Yards

Great steak dinner at the Star Café with George, Mary Jane,

mother and Susan

Outside of the Star Café - this is old Fort Worth

The George Bush Museum and Library

Bush's golf bag used in a golf tournament for the wounded veterans

A few of his paintings

Just a few of the gifts given to the Bush's

Cafe 43 at the Museum served a very good lunch

No trip to Dallas is complete without a trip down

memory lane through SMU and my old sorority house

My favorite people

Our little "toy" car (and it was packed solid)

Home again - even if we are out of the water

March 21-24, 2017 - Melbourne to Jacksonville

We left our anchorage around 7:30 and had a beautiful ride to New Smyrna.  It was a little cool to start but the water and sky were beautiful.  Along the way we passed Cape Canaveral.  There was a rocket launch scheduled for the 20th and 24th but we missed them both.  We dropped our anchor at New Smyrna around 4:00.  When we left New Smyrna Tuesday morning, it was a little cool and we ran into some fog shortly after starting out.  It eventually lifted and we had another beautiful day.  Along the way today we passed Daytona (but you can't see the speedway from the water).  The scenery ranged from inhabited areas with beautiful homes to marshlands.  Even though you can see water all around, in most places it was only 1-2 feet deep.  We dropped our anchor around 3:30 just south of St. Augustine.  Our luck with the weather ran out Thursday morning.  So instead of another night of anchoring (we had anchored for 3 and were hoping for 4), we headed into Jacksonville and docked at Ortega Landing Marina.  On Friday, we moved the boat over to Huckins where it will be pulled and painted while we take a long road trip.

A nice start to our day

The big assembly building at Cape Canaveral

More scenery along the way

Our anchorage at New Smyrna

Beautiful sunrise over New Smyrna

One of the many large homes along the way

View of the shallow marshlands

The people who live here must be great -- note

the Gator flag, US flag, and Texas flag

Another beautiful sunrise

A pretty narrow channel through beautiful homes leading to Jacksonville

Another huge home going into Jacksonville