From Palm Coast, we made a short three-hour cruise to St. Augustine, where we stayed for a few days to wrap up a couple of boat-related projects and have someone look at the upstairs AC unit. Along with the chores -polishing stainless, basic engine maintenance, etc. – we spent some time ordering supplies and visiting John and Neda, friends on the beautiful sailboat, Redemption.
After hugs all around and promises to return in the fall, we left St. Augustine Sunday morning.
North Florida along the AICW is quite pretty. There are some populated, No Wake areas, …
…but there is also plenty of cruising where the waterway is wide and nestled between wide picturesque marshland vistas. And where there is marshland, there will be shorebirds.
Often, the photographer doesn’t know what’s been captured until seeing the photos on the screen. These two shots contained surprises:
Yesterday there was plenty more peaceful marshland to take in. One would like to talk to the local fishermen because all that pristine marshland has to be filled with tons of wondrous little fish! Heck all those birds are eating something!
Of course, the eagle-eyed, camera toting first mate spots the “pretty in pink”, Roseate Spoonbills.
Birdwatching is the distraction from the order at hand, navigating the AICW. Very shallow areas, cranky no wake zones, and bridges, lots and lots of bridges. Some pretty, others… well…
This railroad bridge behind the taller bridge may not look too exciting, but it was because it was OPEN! Last year, we sat for several hours waiting on workmen to make a repair to the closed bridge. UGH
We finally made it out of Florida yesterday and spent the night anchored off Cumberland Island, Georgia, where the sunset was stunning.
The lovely pink gave way, and… 
as darkness took over, it looked like the sky was on fire
We spotted four wild horses on Cumberland Island just off the beach as we were passing the tip of the island to go offshore this morning. Hopefully, we can time it in the fall to make a long enough stop to go ashore for photos, but for now, we’re pushing north.
Where we spotted the horses at the top of Cumberland Island was important because that’s where we met the insurance company deadline of being above Cumberland Island by July 1. (Most of you will recall that last year when we lost the main engine and got stuck in Florida for four months, we didn’t get above the line until September.) Spotting the horses was a fun way to celebrate the fact that… (drumroll, please) we made it ABOVE THE LINE ON TIME!
Wait. On time? We’re retired. These deadlines are For the Birds.
Oooh. Ah. Got that itch!
Our Travels 