Another Good Week.....with a Chilly end

                                 

Whoa...I have hit an all time low reading my own blog to find out where I am and where I left off! I really should know don't 'ya think?  Anyway.......

                              Fort Frederica...the magazine  (with Tie A Knot anchored in the background)
                         


We toured the Fort Frederica 'ruins'....lots of history on the Georgia Coast....not much left from the early 1700's but they seem to have been able to piece a history together that is quite impressive.  Forts are not usually my 'thing' but it is amazing to finally get some use out of my history classes of 47 years ago... OMG !!! I am sure learning more now than I did then or maybe it's just paying more attention.  So the lesson kids is, pay attention, someday you WILL use it.

The Fort is a National Monument. The property is covered with live oaks like this one that is over 200 years old.  They have mapped out the town and from early census (1740's census, really?) know where the butcher, baker and candlestick maker lived along with the town leaders :-)  There is nothing left though except a small part of the barracks and the magazine which was the starting point for getting the National Park Service to take over the property.  The town was built by James Oglethorpe between 1736 and 1748 to protect the southern boundary of the British colony of Georgia from the Spaniards in Florida.  It was the site of the land confrontation, the 'battle of bloody marsh' where the British successfully defeated the Spanish thereby keeping Georgia under British rule.

Being a Methodist I found this placque interesting.  The founders of the Methodist Church, John & Charles Wesley came here with Oglethorpe.
                                              

We have moved on. One night at the dock, Hidden Harbor Marina (GREAT marina small, very excellent service, and boaters lounge) to get some groceries. We were met at the dock by Bobbie and Alan, the staff there, and it turned out to be the best marina stop so far.  She was a stand up comedian in L.A. and is a VERY interesting woman. I absolutely loved her....we just clicked, not because I am funny, but I sure do appreciate a great dry sense of humor.  We shared lots of laughter!

Next a necessary stop for our Cumberland Island fix where we walked over four miles and didn't get lost and sweat off the pounds like last time.
Yes, once again, we got to see our Navy at work.  This time, in the day and a half we were there, we saw three nuclear subs being escorted out of the St. Mary's Inlet.  It is always exciting to see the subs and their entourage of 10 or so boats heading for the ocean.

We have not seen an Eagle on a marker before....this was our 4th Eagle of the trip and he was a beauty!

                                      

Cumberland Island Beach Seagull  rest stop

This little Sandpiper was hard to catch but I can be persistent...

One of the 143 (horse count 2014) wild horses on Cumberland.  We were very close but he was scrabbling for something to eat and payed no attention to us at all.  Nose to the grind.  We talked to a ranger and they do NOT feed the horses.
They survive the way they have since for over a century....on their own.

We arrived in Jacksonville thanks to the diligent communication from Terri, my email buddy.  She has been reading my blog and we have been in touch for the last nine months.  We finally got to meet Terri and her husband Larry who have a Beneteau sailboat in Jacksonville.. With the cold front and high winds predicted she encouraged us to try the JAX dock near her house and it has been a great experience.  Not only is the dock top notch it is free for 72 hours.  We went to lunch with them yesterday and today she and her friend Nancy drove me to the grocery store and took me on a driving tour of Fernandina. Where we saw the boats at the docks there and on the mooring balls bobbing like corks.  

Terri and of course I had to get Bob in the picture, he has been feeling 'left out'.

We also met Mark and his daughter Melissa who were bringing his newly acquired 49' Defever ( my dream boat) 'Miss Adventure' from New York to Florida. They pulled into the dock at Jacksonville right behind us after leaving Cumberland Island shortly after us in the AM. We had some great conversation time ...another new member of the lifestyle.  He plans to leave the boat in Stuart , Fl. until he and his wife can take it back to the Houston Texas area.

We were glad we made the decision to come here since we spent last night in 20 sometimes 40 mile per hour winds.  When I woke up this morning before daylight I thought this is what it must be like to be in a washing machine.  Water banging along the side of the boat being driven by the 30 mph NW winds on our stern and the wind whipping through every crack and crevice it could find.  Not to mention the 50 degree temperature in the boat....it was a windy day today and will be again tonight but it has been another GREAT stop on our trip home to Florida.

JAX (Jacksonville) 200' free city dock.  No power but water available. It is not close to downtown but close to the "North Florida Keys" (as Terri and Larry call it) a chain of Islands from Jacksonville to Amelia Island at the border. We are going to have to come back here and explore more and take a trip up the St. John's River to Sanford.

We will be leaving the dock shortly heading to Pine Island north of St. Augustine to anchor and then tomorrow a long day to Daytona.  No more shore stops until Merritt Island where we hope to be on Wednesday. ....and might I say it had better warm up!  It was 41 degrees out when we woke up this morning. Yesterday I had on long underwear!!    

Tie A Knot......Out