Linda and Regis travel...
Enjoying the gifts of the day with two dogs
St. Augustine – End of Passage
We left Daytona Beach at sunrise and saw thousands of gulls perched on docks, bridges, sandbars, etc. The last time I saw that many gulls was also in Daytona Beach. See post here. The sun shone beautifully off the bridges as we headed north.
It was a quiet day with no wind and uneventful. We perked up when we arrived where Pellicer Creed spills into the intracoastal waterway. We have kayaked there and many places along the waterway to St. Augustine. We were in familiar territory and the birds were everywhere. This is where the mangroves that line the waterway start changing over to grasses. Mangroves do not like freezing temperatures. As the climate changes, the mangroves are moving north and replacing the grasses. We began to see lots of peeps which are small shorebirds that are hard to identify when you cannot see them up close.
We had hoped to get a slip and rent a car but there are no slips or mooring balls available through the weekend. We have a slip starting Sunday night but have to anchor until then. There is a boat parade Saturday evening which likely accounts for why St. Augustine is full of visitors. That, and the annual Nights of Lights. We usually get to anchor by ourselves, but Regis had to figure out how to squeeze through all the boats and find a spot large enough to anchor. It is important to have enough room that you do not hit other boats as you swing on the anchor. I much appreciate mooring balls better because you do not have to set the anchor and you do not swing as far. The mooring balls are already space properly.
Regis bought the dinghy just before we left Pensacola and did not get it registered. He planned to do that upon arriving in St. Augustine. As I write this post, he took off in the dinghy to shore where he will catch a ride to the registration location, then go to West Marine to purchase the numbers, then come back and drop me ashore so I can visit with friends. That’s the plan anyway. We have learned to go with the flow and see how it goes. Once we have it registered, I will feel more comfortable bopping around in it.
It was beautiful anchored on the water. Lots of birds flew by, the sunset was beautiful, I got to see a pirate ship attack a larger ship, we got to watch a rocket launch from the boat, and the moonrise rivaled the sunset. Anchoring was not so bad except for two things. One, it was hard to be so close to all those wonderful restaurants in St. Augustine and have canned tuna fish for dinner. Two, the anchor alarm went off so often that Regis slept upstairs to tend to it. If we did start to drift, it had to be corrected immediately since we are surrounded by boats.
In the middle of the night, I got up to take a look outside and saw what appeared to be huge stars. I was amazed until I realized they were the anchor lights on the masts of the sailboats in the harbor.
Linda and Regis travel... 
So interesting. Boating is a world so far removed from mine. I never knew how involved it could be. Been to Florida many times, Boca, Everglades, Captiva, key West…my niece lives on Merritt Island near the sanctuary.
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We have RVd and boated and boating is definitely more complicated. It’s best not to be in a hurry. Merritt Wildlife Refuge is a wonderful place and your niece gets great views of rocket launches. Thank you for following us.
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Hi Linda and Regis, It has been lots of fun to be on the journey with you. I will miss the daily posts. I loved the photo of the feather on the water (as well as many others). I will be down in St. A starting on Dec 19th through the end of April. I don’t know if we will overlap. Have a great Christmas. xoxo B
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I hope to see you, but I am not sure the timing of anything moving forward. I enjoy your facebook posts, especially sunrises and sets in Nova Scotia.
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