We enjoyed our time in JAX but it did get cold in Nov/Dec. For awhile, it was fun to wear sweaters & leggings but we are ready to head south to warmer climes. This was our longest stretch of living on Day Dreams without moving. The original reason we scheduled the long stay was because we were supposed to be heading to New Zealand & Australia at the end of January but that has been postponed due to the Pandemic. So we put Plan B into action & are making the best of it by cruising on south. The morning we left The Marina @ Ortega Landing, we ran into fog-pretty heavy fog while on the St John River.
Our first stop was the moorings in St Augustine. We were moored on the north side of the Bridge of Lions across from the Fort & were very surprised by the large amount of tourists visiting during the Pandemic. We did take the dinghy into town to stretch our legs, staying away from the busy tourist areas. We ordered take out from Pizza Alley/Chianti Room. The Christmas lights are still being displayed, so it looks extra festive.
For our Godson's Birthday, we Zoomed with Paul, Jess, Jeri, Jerry, Cheryl & Craig while we were anchored in Rock House Creek. By the time we anchored near the Pineda Bridge, north of Vero the temperature was up to 80 degrees. We docked at Fort Pierce City Marina for 2 nights so we could shop the Farmers Market. A few of our Krogen Family were docked in the area so we caught up with KKRed Tail, met the new owners of KKWind Knot & took a long walk along the inlet with KKRenaissance Woman.
The Harborage Marina in Stuart was our next stop. There is a new Restaurant opened and new docks since we were here last. The Update was due to a Hurricane that went through a few years ago. It's a hike to land from the docks but we were lucky this stop & they assigned us a slip on the closest run to shore. There were a few other Krogens docked here also and we were invited for cocktails on Unforgettable which was great because their bridge is big enough to social distance 8 of us. One of the other couples were new Krogen owners: Mark & Beth on My Way Too. Mark reminded us that we had met in 2013 on Lake Huron when they were on a Mainship & we were on our way back from our summer in Lake Superior with Waterford. We had toured them through Day Dreams & their dream ever since had been to get a Krogen & they are proud owners of a 48 Krogen. So happy for them & such a small great community we are part of. The next day, we had lunch with Jeff & Ellen who are awaiting the delivery of their brand new Krogen 48. They took us to Dolphin Grill on the water in Jensen Beach. The four of us then met more Krogen friends @ Sunset Marina for a group Happy Hour. We were able to visit with Gratitude, Sea Shanty, Good Life & Way To Go. We also had a chance to stop into the Kadey Krogen office & visit with Tom Button-always good to see him.
The next morning, we left & cruised the St Lucie River west towards Lake O. We stopped @ American Custom Yachts to get Diesel @ the great price of $1.89/gallon, plus tax. We got through St Lucie Lock, the first lock and then anchored for the night. The next day, we locked through Port Mayaca & Moorehaven Lock and across the Lake without any problems until we were stopped by the private RR Bridge after Moorehaven Lock for almost an hour. Finally, a guy drove up in a truck & opened the bridge.
Historical note: January 6, 2021: There was a riot at the Capital in Washington DC of Trump supporters after he held a Rally to incite them saying that the Election he lost was stolen from him-which it wasn't & has been proven over & over. A Very Dark Day for our Country. The COVID19 Pandemic rages on-As of January 20, 2021 there have been 23,923,938 positive tests, 392,428 deaths and 13,595,803 first doses of COVID vaccine administered in the U.S. Masks & social distancing are still recommended.
The rest of our journey through the locks were uneventful. We anchored in Tarpon Point, Cape Coral and then we anchored in Pelican Bay for a few nights and of course it was windy and cool while we were there. We didn't even go into Cayo Costa Park due to the weather.
We left Pelican Bay on mid tide and stopped at Burnt Store to pump out before arriving at Esther's in Punta Gorda. We can't get into Esther's at low tide so Doug planned it well and Esther was at her dock to welcome us.
Our 2 weeks with Esther flew by. Doug helped Esther with a few projects, the most important one was getting Esther an appointment for the COVID19 vaccine. They are available for everyone over 65 but it's very difficult to get an appointment because weekly supply is limited & demand is high. We had some great dinner parties with Bobby, Jim, Jane & Chris, enjoying everyone's company & Esther's cooking. We celebrated Esther's Birthday @ the Yacht Club & we celebrated the Presidential Inauguration of Joe Biden with Champagne!
