Limerick by Don Schauber

CALM WATERS
 
Latest on the crew from Belgrade,
Looking back at the miles they have made, 
It's well worth the cost,
As no member has been lost,
And the First Mate is a little less frayed. 
 
With St. Augustine Behind,
And First Mate of sound mind,
They sail the seas unafraid,
Seems Wilson left ship,
Gave the Captain the slip,
And headed to his home in Belgrade.
 
The First Mate now changed,
No longer deranged,
And doesn't even carry her sword,
She now clings to Captain Steve,
Who we all firmly believe,
Has thrown Wilson overboard.
 
Peace rules the day,
As they sail for Florida Bay, 
With the First Mate happily mopping,
She says with a smile,
I'm yours for a while.
But soon I'll be in Costco shopping.
 
LOVE YOU GUYS....HAPPY PROPWASH.......
ALWAYS, DON & JENNY
 
 
 

St Augustine Florida! Mile #778

Fabulous town!!!!! We got to the City Marina that is right in the middle of this bustling fabulous town- we are coming back here for sure!!! Cobblestone streets, shops about 100 restaurants and people having fun everywhere! It has a New Orleans feel. According to WIKIPEDIA it is the "oldest continuously occupied European-established settlement and port in the continental United States." founded in 1565 by the Spanish.

^{The first several restaurants we went to had an hour and a half wait. We took a shortcut thru an alley and found a fantastic restaurant named "Chianti" and being that we love Chianti we decided to get the only two seats at the bar. It overlooked the kitchen so we could watch the meals being prepared- too fun! We split one of the best meals ever- Filet Masala- soooooo good- and had tiramisu for desert along with a bottle of Chianti, of course.} 

^{Lots of people here for nighttime ghost tours. There are also several pirate ships- still looking for my “ghost ship!!!!!!} 

Made it 100 miles.Good day. Miracle really- so many kayakers and little fishing boats Steve always slows down, but felt so bad when he missed two guys in a boat- try went for a ride! Steve kept yelling he was sorry, that he didn't see them, but don't know if they cared!!! (see Don Schaubers latest Limerick) Here are some houses and sites we saw along the way.

mega dock!!

Florida Plantation style

still ugly water

house in Daytona Beach- you can drive on the beach

fun park

Big Boys Toys

another lighthouse for you Shan!!

Daytona Beach

pretty!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

fun!!!

Spring Break central- Daytona- these are all on the ocean

shallow!!

tile on the pilings- dolphins and manatees

Bird Island

From Jekyll Island past the submarine base, by Fernandina Beach

We got an early start this morning. It's raining but the water is pretty calm. I have to unzip the plastic dodger to squeegee the water so Steve can see! It is foggy when the rain stops- just as bad with moisture. We are finally making it to Florida!!!! Yeah!

As we go through St Marys Sound we see signs warning no one to come ashore- this is the submarine base! I kept looking for periscopes!!!

sign warning no one to tresspass!!!!!

Submarine lift???????

Navy boats

You can actually smell Fernandina Beach before you see it! There is a huge pulp mill! The town however is darling- we would like to come back and see it. when you ask people that live there how they can stand the smell, they just say "what smell???????"

Pulp Mill

Fernandina Beach

Jacksonville Florida, Tolomato River

look at this current going under the bridge!!

havin fun in jacksonville!!!

This is part 2 for the 28th. We are going to put in about 12 hours today- all the millions of trips Steve has driven to California have prepared him for this quest!!! There are areas of no population at all and areas that are packed. Below are some houses along the route.

Its all you need!!

Well, this guy doesn't think so!!

or this guy!!

Especially not this guy!!! This is ONE house

heres our bridge Ged!!!!

Don't hit the Manatees!!!! (Still haven't seen one- sorry Jon!)

do your own caption!

confusing signs and that go out to the ocean

You can see how close we are to the ocean!!!

Buoy 32 and Sunsets

When Steve is getting ready for the next leg of the trip, he pours over the ICW guides, his plotter, maps and asks for local knowledge about any pitfalls in the course ahead.The areas to steer clear of are marked by flashing red and green buoys. When the books are explaining what the danger is that you need to avoid they usually will mention a buoy number once- maybe even twice. Buoy 32 was mentioned 8 times!! It was in an area that had several dangers- all marked by #32. Steve was really concerned about it, but thought when he saw the buoy he would be able to see the dangers. I didn't even know about it!

So.... I rushed to get my camera because there was a lot of action on the dock- about 8 Coast guard officers, two boats...and a red flashing buoy they were hoisting up on a giant forklift........guess what the number was?????

Buoy #32!!!!!!!!

     Steve about had a heart attack! Oh well, forewarned is forearmed! He did great even without the Buoy!
 

Lighting his cigar with a propane torch!

Gorgeous sunset!

limericks by Don Schauber

Don and Jenny Schauber are our dear, dear friends and the ones we are rushing to go down and meet in Islamorada, Florida. We talk daily and Don is always sending me great info on Islamorada. He sends one of these when he can tell I need a good laugh!

FIRST MATE FEVER

There once was a lady from Montana,
Who traded her broom for a bandanna,

She laughingly sails the seas,
With her Captain to the Keys,
With Wilson she listens to Santana,

When she arrived at the Keys,
With a sword across her knees.
We handled her with great care,
Her friend Wilson was gone,
She was singing that song,
About how life just isn't fair.

Chances are she'll get better,
With Jenny as her setter,
With the sand between her toes,
We'll search all around,
All over Islamorada Town,

And rescue Wilson from the local Ho's.

Love you guys, I'll try to do some Marina checking.

Always .....D&J
(Wilson is the volleyball from Castaway with Tom Hanks)