8 miles north of St. Augustine, St. Augustine Marine Center 11/20/17 thru

Coming into St. Augustine

 

The Bridge of Lions

St. Augustine Marine Center

For Sale!!!  Bob wants!!!







Bob, Cindy, Steve, Dee, and Randy

All cruisers

 Ann O'Malley's where happy hour is

 Randy, Bob and Cindy

 Christmas lights in St. Augustine

 Randy & Cindy

 We are headed to D & S for Thanksgiving

We have been stuck in traffic for quite a while....

 A-ha!  Now we know why the traffic was backed up....there was

a double trailer being pulled....one with horses the other with pigs....

The guy didn't quite make the curve...the pigs went down the

embankment....some of them didn't quite make it....horses were

being unloaded from the other trailer in this picture...sad scene...

 This is what we drove in for the first 4 hours of the trip

(it was supposed to be a 2.25 hour trip, but btw the rain and

accident it took us 4.5 hours)

 The last half hour of the trip - Yahoo!

Yes!  We're here!

 The view from their back yard

 Out back

New grill to cook the prime rib on!

 

Shirl....she caught this alligator on her own!

 She does the Iron Man races, tri-athelon's, etc....

She's 56 and hopes to be still sporting her bikini when she is 66

(I think this is all accurate??!!)

 Nice camp fire!

Derek and Bob doing the "Gentlemen's Wong"

(that's another story for some of you)

 

Well, were still around, and things are going well! We were hauled out in St. Augustine on the 21st of November and will probably be here for a while getting some boat things done.

 

We went to Derek and Shelley's place here in Florida for Thanksgiving, and boy was it a Thanksgiving!  We had a great time.  We had prime rib on the grill, baked potatoes, fresh veggies, bread, you name it, we had it!  It was all delicious!  The following morning they made us a breakfast to die for, leftover prime rib! Yum! 

 

We came home the following day and started working on the boat.  Lot's of things to do again since we are pulled!  Asides from running back and forth to the grocery store and West Marine things have been pretty quiet.  We are getting ready to take a day off from work and are going to go into St. Augustine and tour the college, and probably do the train ride.  Oh, and lucky for us, they have a winery and distillery right down the road from us that we can tour, and of course savor some of their drinks!

 

I'm having a bit of a problem downloading pictures right now, but maybe, just maybe, I will work it out soon!  (It is still an issue.  Once I purchase another phone plug things will be good again!)

Alligator Creek - FL 11/20/17

 1958 48' Wheeler (wooden)

 Named Milly B

but owned by a woman named Lynn

 Lynn is living on this boat full time.  There is so much work that

needs to be done, but she can do just about anything when it comes

to this boat.  She was divorced recently and while she was showing

us around the inside of the boat we saw a bill from a Mayo Clinic

that was due, so not sure exactly what is going on?  She seems

very positive and will be waiting our arrival next year when we

return to see her progress!

 "Black Powder"

 Fort Clint

     This site was first fortified in 1736 by the Spanish, when they held colonies in Florida. From 1736, various nations to control the territory have garrisoned and fortified this site to protect the entrance to the St. Mary's River and Cumberland Sound.

     After the end of the Second Seminole War, the United States started construction of a fort, later named Fort Clinch, in 1847. It was part of its Third System of coastal defenses conceived earlier in the century, which guided fortifications throughout this period. The fortified compound is pentagonal in shape, with both inner and outer walls, and consists of almost five million bricks. There are corner bastions and embrasures in the outer walls and several structures in the interior courtyards, including a two-story barracks. The fort was named in honor of General Duncan Lamont Clinch after his death in 1849. General Clinch fought in the War of 1812 and was an important figure in the First and Second Seminole Wars.

     Confederate forces seized the fort in early 1861. It was used as a safe haven for Confederate blockade runners during the first year of the Civil War. However, changes in technology, specifically, the development of rifled cannon, had improved weaponry to the point that the fort's brick walls were vulnerable to attacks and thus obsolete. In March 1862 General Robert E. Lee ordered abandonment of the fort in order to use scarce troops in other areas. Federal troops re-occupied the fort in early 1862, taking control of the adjacent Georgia and Florida coasts. They used the fort as the base of Union operations in the area throughout the Civil War.

     The fort was placed on caretaker status in 1869; it remained so until 1898, when the Army garrisoned it during the short Spanish–American War. In September of that year, the Army abandoned it again. The fort gradually deteriorated.

     During the Great Depression workers of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) began restoration of the fort during the 1930s. It was restored to the Civil War era. In 1935, the State of Florida bought 256 acres (1.0 km²) that included the then-abandoned fort and the surrounding area. Fort Clinch State Park including the fort, opened to the public in 1938.

     The fort was closed to the public during World War II and used as a communications and security post. It was re-opened to public visits after the war ended.

     The fort was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. It is interpreted largely in terms of its use as a base of Union operations during the American Civil Wars State Park personnel reenact military life at the fort, which is open from 8:00am until sundown, year-round.

 Fernandina Plant

     Our first plant in the Southeast, the Fernandina Beach facility, was constructed in 1937 near downtown Fernandina Beach, Florida. The plant produces 155,000 metric tons of softwood cellulose specialties per year and employs more than 300 people. It contributes $35 million annually to Florida’s wages and salaries and $2 million to Florida’s property and sales taxes.
     The plant’s property is home to the new Eight Flags LLC combined heat and power (CHP) plant, a partnership between Rayonier Advanced Materials, Chesapeake Utilities and Florida Public Utilities. Fueled by natural gas, the CHP plant – which began operation in mid-2016 – generates 20 MW of power for FPU’s Amelia Island customers. In addition to leasing land to Eight Flags LLC for the project, Rayonier Advanced Materials entered into a 20-year agreement to purchase low-cost steam from the facility for use in our Fernandina plant.

 Some type of powered cat....she sure was bookin'!

 Old and new damaged boats from the last couple of hurricanes

 Canal in Fernandina

 Do you see the brown roof sitting in front of the paper mill?

 It's actually a sawdust pile!! 

 You can't see the sprinklers on the dock but they are there....

We're wondering why they are sprinkling down the docks???

 Restaurant open to the public

 Fuel pier and most of the slips are still not opened....they were

closed last year also....

 

 Sure isn't the same anymore!

 This is a live aboard.   He just poked his head out as we were passing....

 Anchorage area for Fernandina

People are still going into town.  That's good because from

the outside it's not very inviting, but once you get inside it's

a pretty cute town....

 Very rarely do you see big guys like this on the hook!

One of them got stuck (to close to beach) coming in....

 Sunset

 Brown pelican meeting!

White pelican meeting!

 

We went about 42 miles today.  We dropped anchor in Alligator Creek around 3:30 and decided to take a nap to warm ourselves up!  It was a cloudy, chilly day!

 

 



Charleston, Raccoon Island, Bull Creek, SC, St. Catherines Island, GA, Frederica Fort, and Jekyll Island, GA 11/4/17 - 11/19/19

 Dream Catcher has arrived in Charleston, SC

 Us headed to the dinghy dock for happy hour!

 Salty Mikes for a little pool!

 Just another cruiser hangin' in Charleston!

 Well, it's time for Dream Catcher to move on ...

 Bye Gary and Jayne....see you down the waterway somewhere!

 Me over at Story Maker II

 boat races

 See the dolphin next to Story Maker II!!

 Evening sunset play.....

 There is a fire far, far, away....but the smoke is here

in the sky!

 Oh no! They were both buried at sea near Raccoon Island, GA

 Do you see the smiley face?

 Cleansing cabbage soup!

 More playtime!

 scenic

 Thunderbolt

 That's right!  Me driving!

 Paul gave Bob the electric cord and a phone charger so

he made himself a charging station!  I love it...now I know where

everything is!

 scenic

 "Lonesome Palm"

Someone put a sign on the tree naming it this...

 Bob calling for all alligators!

 Sunrise

 Rippling waters from a boat that just waked us!

 Fort Frederick Monument

 scenic

 Dolphin escorting us out!

 scenic

 Old, old sail boat

 Ok Bonita...what am I doing wrong???

How did you wrap them individally!

 Look good, taste good, sliced good!

 Cotton plant

 Welcome to Jekyll Island!

 This kitty is everywhere! #1

 I bought 2 t-shirts with this picture on it....

One day I will show you my new pillows!

 Water park

 scenic

 All of the fire hydrants are bright red with green on top...

you will NOT miss them!

 Camp Jekyll

 Bob and I toddleling around in our free golf-cart for an hour and a 1/2!

 scenic

 shopping area

 Jekyll Island map....we forgot to bring ours, so I took

a picture of this one to figure out where we are at! 

 Captain of everything!

 This is Driftwood Beach

 No Mo Sno!

 #2

 Sun setting!

 This is Jekyll Island Club Resort

I ordered a crab cake...it sure isn't the same here! 

 Sunset!

 #3

Do you see the white kitty also???

She's blending in with the porch!

 Sunset from the bar

Love it!

 

Well it's been quite a whirlwind!  We were in Charleston for 2 weeks! We were helping Paul and Nancy with Story Maker II.  She is being put up for sale!  :-( Beautiful 62' Viking....

 

We saw Gary and Jayne from Dream Catcher!  They were in Charleston for 4 days...lots of great times!!

 

I've been wanting to stop at Jekyll Island for quite a while but just haven't taken the time to do it....finally did it!  The place is beautiful!  Great camping, biking, lots of beaches, and beauty abound!

 

We are now headed to St. Augustine.  We are pulling the boat to have some work done on it.  Best part, we are spending Thanksgiving with Derek and Shelley at their place in St. Cloud!

 

Now that I'm going to have a little more time on my hands, I'm hoping to do a much better job with the blog!  But...just in case....Happy Thanksgiving!!!