Had a wonderful visit home; was great to see our family and friends, and spend Easter with them. Was the first time my mom came home after her stroke. Was also our grand niece’s first big visit with her crazy family. Was a beautiful and blessed day.

Flew back to Florida April 30. We ran errands and did chores the next day. That night, we rendezvoused with Mike’s first training officer, George, and his wife, Mo. Really fun visit. Hit some breweries and went to dinner at our favorite joint in Cocoa, Murdocks.

The next morning, Mike and I departed Cocoa, FL for Daytona. Had some good thunderstorms, wind and generally crappy weather most of the day. Planned to drop the hook just south of the Memorial Bridge. We read numerous accounts of how to enter the anchorage without running aground. Lo and behold, I ran aground.

Mike had to, once again, kedge us off an uncharted sand bar. We ultimately got off and dropped the hook in the pouring rain. Not one of our most fun boating days.

Departed Daytona the following morning in better, albeit still windy, weather. A lot of bridges.

Once we were some miles north of Daytona, we entered the Palm Coast area. Was absolutely beautiful.

Remember all of my talk about the bugs down here? Well, the folks with money are able to build huge add-ons to their homes with screens! Screens are no joke in these parts!

Palm Coast area was very pretty. Mike and I walked into the European Village and found a brewery. When in Rome and all that. Had an incredible lunch and some good brew at Moonrise Brewery.

We met up with Jay and Barb from the Blessing at the marina. Walked back to the little European village and enjoyed more beer and appies.

The next morning, Forever Friday and The Blessing both departed Palm Coast for Saint Augustine. Saint Augustine is the oldest city in the United States. We picked up a mooring ball right outside of Castillo de San Marcos which is the oldest masonry fort in the Continental US. Construction began on this fort in 1672, 107 years after the city’s founding by Spain. Shortly after we moored our boat, we heard some super loud bangs. They shoot cannons off the fort! So cool!

Henry Flagler, an industrialist who was one of the founders of Standard Oil, was super influential in the development of Eastern Florida, and St. Augustine. His footprint is all over this town. Flagler built a stunning church in memory of his daughter. The church was constructed in 1889 and still stands. Flagler, his first wife, daughter and granddaughter are entombed here.

Also went to the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine which was constructed during 1793 and 1797. Its congregation, established in 1565, is the oldest Christian congregation in the contiguous US. Another stunning church.

Another of Flagler’s achievements in St. Augustine was the Hotel Ponce de Leon, a luxury hotel completed in 1888 which was the first major project of (then unknown) architects Carrere and Hastings. The hotel was one of the first buildings in the country wired for electricity, with power supplied by generators installed by Flagler’s friend, Thomas Edison. Edison also installed a couple clocks which are still there (only one works.) The buildings were transferred to Flagler College in 1969. Mike and I toured the campus. Flagler was initially a college for only women. In the 70’s, they allowed men. It’s is a 4 year liberal arts college, and is truly spectacular.

Oh, and the interior designer was Louis Comfort Tiffany. Blue box? Yes, that Tiffany.

We had some pretty gnarly thunderstorms this day, and spent much of it running in the rain. The breeze went from nothing to a good gale in about 50 seconds. The skies opened up and it flat rained! We were treated to a beautiful rainbow.

After our tour, met up with Jay and Barb of The Blessing. Went to Prohibition Kitchen for dinner and live music. A good time was had by all.

We did a hop on/hop off trolly around town which was a hoot. Went by the Fountain of Youth, Ripley’s Believe it or Not, and a lot of old buildings. One of our favorite tours was of the St. Augustine Distillery (it was raining so hard, we actually Ubered the .7 miles there). A younger company that supports local farmers and businesses in how they buy and use products, with an eye on sustainability without product compromise. After the tour, you get to try their bourbon, vodka, rum and gin. After that, you are given an Old Fashioned (as they want to sell you their bourbon and Old Fashioned mixer). This is my favorite cocktail, and I frequently make them on the boat. I’m super particular about them, and these were GOOD! Needless to say, we bought a bunch of bourbon and mixer.

St. Augustine is an incredibly fun and beautiful town, rich with so much history, fantastic bars and restaurants, and is a wonderful walking town (when not during a thunderstorm). It should be on everybody’s bucket list.

We departed St. Augustine at 7:45am on May 6 on a beautiful, albeit humid, morning. Humidity was 96%. Had a beautiful trip through the top of Florida and landed at Cumberland Island, GA at 4:10. Rendezvoused with INNTW (If not now then when) who we hadn’t seen for months. Had our anchor watch beer, then dinghy’d to land and took a walk to the east/ocean side of the island. Stunning scenery everywhere here.

There are wild horses that roam the island. We heard them, but didn’t see them. So, now that we’re in GA, we get to not only have the love of noseeums and mosquitoes, but huge biting flies! I am just so thrilled to have another &*@#$& bug to eat me! It’s also the season of love bugs which are everywhere. I don’t mind the love bugs because they don’t bite me.

Had a beautiful night at anchor.

Departed the next morning at 8:00am in flat seas with a good current at our back. We thought about doing a long day with the great conditions, but really wanted to stop at Brunswick Landing Marina in Brunswick, GA which had been touted as wonderful by many of our friends. Another lovely day on the water.

Arrived Brunswick around 1:00pm. We rented a car and did a bunch of chores. We needed to have our windows re-screened and finally found a place to do them! After chores, we went to the marina Clubhouse where there is free beer! And, free laundry. (It’s the little things that excite you when you live on a boat.)

We hosted a Canadian father and son on FF for Old Fashioneds (with our new bourbon and mixer; they were a hit!). Next morning, walked into the historic district of Brunswick which is super charming. We were outside the police department looking at a fallen officers memorial when the local Captain engaged us. Mike advised of his 30 years service. The Captain told us we should peruse their lobby as it’s rich in the department’s history. As we were in the lobby (which really did have a lot of cool stuff), the Captain fetched the Chief of Police who came out and greeted us. He took us on a tour of parts of the department, and was clearly a historian. Was an absolute treat. The Chief told us we should go through the City Hall for more of the city’s history. About 99 Victory ships were build in the Brunswick Shipyard during WWII. Had no idea of this.

Really cool town. We had exceptional service everywhere we went. Love me some Southern hospitality!

So, the marina has free beer 24/7, and has free wine every Monday, Wednesday and Friday as they like the boaters to congregate and socialize in the Clubhouse. Was a great experience. They also have a pretty cool little sailing fleet.

Departed Brunswick this morning around 9:20. Plan is to anchor maybe 40-50 miles north, and time going through Hell Gate tomorrow at a favorable tide. The tides in these parts are crazy, and there is a lot of skinny water. We also try to pay attention to the currents and conditions of sounds we have to go through (where the ICW opens to the Atlantic), so planning passages is akin to solving 20 quadratic equations. Well not really, but it’s a time consuming pain in the ass. First world problems…

Hoping to reach Savannah tomorrow afternoon, and am super exited about that! Wishing all the wonderful mothers out there a beautiful Mother’s Day weekend. Missing my mom something fierce. And, a special shout out to our niece Morgan who will be celebrating her first Mother’s Day on Sunday. Cheers! M&M