Decisions, decisions. We’re above the insurance-mandated line. Now what? Well, it’s hot around here, so let’s continue north.

We miss the ocean, and Tuesday looked like a good day to cruise offshore – let’s skip the twisting and turning ICW in Georgia and allow the ‘Mare to stretch her legs a bit. We’ll test the new autopilot in the ocean and give the crew an easier day. Turned out to be a good call, as the ocean was beautiful, and even better, there was very little boat traffic to work around.

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Well, almost. A few hours into our planned 10-hour day, we began receiving visitors of the winged variety. What started as shooing an occasional pest gradually became something else entirely. From gnats to lovebugs to sweat bees to odd-looking house flies, to green-headed flies, to things we couldn’t identify, they were seemingly all there, and most of them were out for blood!

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We smacked and swatted – and scratched – in bewilderment for hours, laughing all the while! So much for the more peaceful cruising day.

We finally returned to the AICW via Ossabaw Sound and entered the Vernon River, where Susie thought it would be fun to anchor, being so near Father’s Day and all. (Love you, Daddy!) Oddly enough, the bugs stopped their attack as soon as we left the ocean. Or had we dispatched them all?! Ha!

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The sunrise wasn’t too shabby either.

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We started at sunrise because we learned that Terry and Lynn on Finish Grade were just a day ahead of us. So, they stayed put and we put in a long day to join them at Lady’s Island Marina in Beaufort, SC. After welcoming us aboard for a fantastic dinner, we spent the evening catching up on each other’s plans.

In the morning, we tossed them the lines, and off they went, continuing their journey north.

By allowing us to untie the lines, they inadvertently committed a minor faux pas, however, in that dockmaster Aaron didn’t have the opportunity to bid them au revoir, a situation he was quick to remedy once he found out. He’s a good guy.

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So, what are we doing now? Hmm, retired, freedom, still hot around here, guess we’ll keep moving north.

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.

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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:

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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.

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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…

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We finally made it out of Florida yesterday and spent the night anchored off Cumberland Island, Georgia, where the sunset was stunning.

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!

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Wait. On time? We’re retired. These deadlines are For the Birds.

Oooh. Ah. Got that itch!

Our daughter Tracee and and her boyfriend Royce picked us up from the marina Sunday for an afternoon of exploring.

First up, Fort Matanzas National Monument. Located near the Matanzas Inlet, the park preserves the fortified coquina watchtower, completed in 1742, which defended the southern approach to the Spanish military settlement of St. Augustine.

The only “challenge” to enjoying the rooftop? The access was a bit tricky, and now it had to be done backwards. Tracee & Royce descended the ladder first. With them on the lower level to direct the placement of her feet (and Todd with camera in hand to capture the event), Susie wiggled her way through and down.

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After the short ferry ride back, the grounds are a treat in themselves. The park encompasses almost 300 acres of Florida coastal environment containing dunes, marsh, maritime forest, and associated flora and fauna.

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The skies were a bit threatening for a trail walk, so we left Fort Matanzas and Royce treated us to a tour of the nearby Princess Place Preserve, maintained by Flagler County.

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Now a preserve, this beautiful 1,500-acre chunk just outside of Palm Coast was first a “land grant” from the King of Spain to Francisco Pellicer, and was known as Cherokee Grove. In 1886, New Yorker Henry Cutting purchased the property and then in 1887 built the “lodge” that stands today as the oldest intact structure in Flager County. Upon his death, it passed to his widow Angela Mills Cutting Worden. Angela eventually married Boris Scherbatoff, an exiled Russian prince. Hence, Angela assumed the title of “princess,” and the lodge became known as “Princess Place.”

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The architectural details were interesting. The best part, however, was the view from the princess’ bedroom!

In addition to that view, the princess also had the first in-ground swimming pool in Florida!

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And with that, our family time in Palm Coast came to a close. SaltyMare has to head north before hurricane season. As the kind and efficient Crescent Beach Bridge operator replied when we thanked her for the opening, “Giddyup and Happy Trails”!

We came skidding into Palm Coast Marina Memorial Day afternoon. Whew, made it! With a half a day to spare. This was the very reason we could only do a “short stay -90 days” in the Bahamas. That’s right, our first granddaughter’s graduation!

After finishing up the requested chocolates and doing some quick housekeeping, early Tuesday we picked up our rental car. It was then time for Captain Todd & his first mate to switch into Pop & Nana mode. So, we cleaned up and headed to Daytona for the Matanzas High School Class of 2023 Graduation ceremony.

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Congratulations, Kayla and Noah!

Tracee, our daughter has a boyfriend, Royce, whose son, Noah is also a member of the Class of 2023.

It was heartwarming to see so much young potential on display!

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With the ceremony concluded, it was party time!

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On Wednesday, a party of twelve family members and friends came to take a ride on the SaltyMare! All are children of Tracee (4) and Royce (3), Kayla’s father and her boyfriend, and even Royce’s mother visiting from California!

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With that many passengers, it is impossible for everyone to be in one place at the same time, so our guests were spread about the boat enjoying the ride from different areas.

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We are always learning as we cruise. On this particular day, we discovered that apparently, if you are between the ages of 18 and 25, a boat ride rocks you to sleep! Or perhaps it was the celebrating the night before… 😉

Not only are we no longer in the islands, but in order to make Palm Coast for our granddaughter’s May 30 high school graduation, we ended up heading north on the AICW over the busy holiday weekend.

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Coming through the NASA Causeway in Titusville, it was interesting to see the progress on the bridge replacement. On the left side of the slider below, in January, on our way down the coast, notice the unfinished new bridge in the background basically isn’t there. On the right side of the slider, four months later, and voila!

The new bridge is scheduled to open to traffic in the next month or so, and then demolition of the old bridge will begin. Wonder what will happen to the courteous and efficient set of bridge tenders when the drawbridge is gone?

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It was a holiday weekend with a lot going on, both in the sky…

and seemingly on every shoreline and sandbar…

Some people found their own private spot. Others not so much.

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Some of the travel through the narrow parts of the ICW Saturday was fairly adventurous with jet skis zipping around and rows of smaller boats blasting by us. But hey, Holiday + Water = Fun for everyone!

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Our plan was to walk the stately Veterans Memorial bridge on Memorial Day morning to read the commemorative plaques before finishing our northward track to Palm Coast in the afternoon.

On a side note, Granddaughter Kayla had requested that Nana (Susie) make nutty noodle clusters for the Tuesday graduation party, so Susie had been making the candy treats as we traveled north. Unfortunately, a few batches in, we ran out of chocolate chips. Uh oh. This being something of a family emergency, and ever the optimist, Susie thought perhaps we could find some when we left the boat to walk the bridge. A grocery store conveniently located at the base of a busy city bridge?? Sure, Hon.

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Monday morning, we lowered the dinghy and made our way to a nearby marina dinghy dock, then walked to the bridge. There are plaques mounted along the bridge in memory of American lives lost in war. The stations on the south side of the bridge begin with the American Revolutionary War and end with several stops highlighting World War II.

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Along the way, we also enjoyed the view of the AICW.

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At the top of the bridge, we had the privilege of meeting Mel Robinson, a friendly veteran and former food service salesman who lives nearby and walks the bridge routinely to pick up trash and keep the plaques free of bird poop.

After chatting for a while with Mel, we asked if he knew of a store near enough to either side of the bridge that we could get our hands on some chocolate chips. First thing he did was check with his wife to see if she had some to donate to the “cause,” but she was fresh out. So, he loaded us in the car and took us to Publix. Crisis averted, and it was fun listening to Mel’s many stories! Thank you, Mel and Carol!

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With Nana’s chocolate chips stashed in Todd’s dry bag, we hustled back across the bridge. We’ll save the north side for our next trip through the area. Perhaps Veterans Day?

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For now, we had our next mission to finish. Along the way, the ICW narrows and the houses on the shore are very close. Heck, with new houses and larger windows, we could see our reflection as we passed!

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We arrived in Palm Coast late Monday afternoon.