St Augustine to ?

We have now left St Augustine and are headed North to a destination we have not yet decided upon. We had a lovely stay in St Augustine despite the temps in the 90s and high humidity.
The first day we spent exploring the cute little town. There were many lovely side streets -

Henry Flagler, who built the railway out to Key West features prominently in the town. The college is named after him and he built two very prestigious looking hotels across from each other. Neither are hotels today but you can take a tour of the Ponce de Leon Hotel. We took a peak at its grounds and the lobby. Both were impressive.

This is the ceiling in the lobby. I thought it was spectacular.

The other hotel Flagler built is now the Lightner Musuem. Gary was not aware that his friend, Barry was of such famous descent!!

These cute little 3 wheeler cars were available for rent. We saw several of them around the city. You could only fit two people in them and I think Gary
and I would have been a little squashed. We have 3 wheeler cars for invalids in England and they turn people heads if they had not seen one before. These little "guys" were also head turners. David and Katie rented one similar to these in Barcelona. They came with verbal directions and gave a narrative on places of interest. What a great idea.
We visited the Castillo de San Marcos the following day. This was the fort the Spaniards built to keep out the British. It didn't keep me out did it???

It had walls 17 feet thick made from Tabby (oysters shells burned until they became limestone). The fort had the usual cannon fire display -

Rats,  I missed the flame (again). I did like the design on a bronze cannon weighing 4800lbs. It could fire a cannonball 3.5 miles. I would love to have done a brass rubbing of it. I do not know if we do brass rubbings here. I have never seen anyone doing one.

 The men and boys were all dressed in different types of Spanish uniforms consistent with the period.

Man, they must have been hot because some of them had on 3 layers of clothing. I was sweating in my sleeveless T shirt.
On the way to the Colonial Quarter we passed the first wooden schoolhouse in St Augustine.

Located near the City Gates, The Old School House is a surviving expression of another time. Built over 200 years ago, while Florida was under the rule of Imperial Spain, it was constructed of red cedar and cypress and put together with wooden pegs and handmade nails.
The Colonial Quarter consisted of a guided tour showing you various old buildings and crafts. The young man giving the tour was both funny and knowledgeable. I think he may also have been a blacksmith too, as he was very informative when giving a blacksmith demonstration.

He also demonstrated how to use a musket.

The village had a man building a 56 foot galleon from scratch. I do not know how long he had been at it but he had a long way to go.

After the tour was finished we were free to tour on our own. I went into the print shop to see what the Colonists used to print their literature.

It was not quite the Gestetner my Mum used to use. This one's for you Mum. I love you and miss you!
One of the houses had an old hip bath in it. Crikey, I could not imagine bathing in this thing. Once in it I would be afraid I could not get myself out of it. They must have been a lot smaller in those days.

 The same house with the bath had this carpet in it. I just loved the colours and thought it would make an unusual photo. It turned out quite well I thought.

The site had a tower you could climb to get a view of the harbour and the city. Gary did not fancy all the steps so I climbed up by myself. I was glad Gary didn't make the effort as it was not really worth the view from the top. In fact, I only took two shots, one of the fort and one looking down.

On the way back to the boat we passed the two old ships in the above photos. Can you imagine being Columbus or Vasco de Gama manning these ships with no depth finder, GPS or compass and thinking the world was flat and you could fall off the edge? Or would you rather sail in a modern day boat with all the modern appliances and conveniences?

I thought these houses were interesting. I like the idea of having porches or patios.

Today is Memorial Day. I wanted everyone to remember the Men and Women who gave their lives for their country and for freedom. We owe so much to them.

I do not think the US is prepared for all the problems the Vets will bring with them when they have finished their tour of duties in Iraq, Afghanistan or wherever the soldier/sailor has been sent. I worked on a psych unit and have seen the problems mental illness can cause both the patient and the family. We need many more mental health clinics and workers to help these brave men and women when they return home. Otherwise murder, suicide, abuse and PTSD will cause misery for many, many people. Well, that is my soap box talk for today. So, if you are reading my Blog Mr Obama, get more help for the good folks who are defending our country and our freedom, please!!



Kingston Rover Loop Map

Ft Pierce to St Augustine

We are now in the oldest inhabited city in the US - St Augustine. We arrived late yesterday evening and have yet to get out and explore. There is a lot to see here so we have booked ourselves into the marina for 4 nights. The dock master, Paul was most helpful when we arrived. He stayed late to welcome us into our slip and help us with getting the boat in safely due to the strong current. He gave us lots of lovely info about the city so we say a BIG thank-you to Paul.
The journey here was uneventful. Gary finally fixed the generator and we now have AC when not in a marina. We have spent a lot of money on the boat but would have spent more had not Gary been so persistent in trying to fix things himself. That is one thing I love about him. Poor guy, was out the other day on his bicycle when he hit a patch of sand and went down onto his handle bars breaking his front tooth quite badly (he now looks like Bluebeard the Pirate). We sent a photo to his dentist in Maryland who recommended having it checked out prior to returning home. We found a marina with a dentist next door and he gave Gary the all clear for not having anything done to it at the moment. So, now my poor Gary smiles with his broken tooth showing!! Luckily, the nerve is not exposed so it is not causing Gary any problems.
On our journey to St Augustine we stayed one night at Titusville. If you have been following my blog this is the same marina that we stayed at for over three weeks last January/February to have the prop fixed. We wanted to say hi to Jerry, Tricia, Rick and Robert who were so kind to us last year. We have not seen manatees anywhere in Florida since we last saw them in Titusville last year and would you believe it, we saw them again at the Marina. I thought they would have migrated to somewhere else by now. Again, they liked running fresh water and would gather where they could drink the water. I saw a mother and her calf and took a couple of photos of them.

When we left Titusville it was at least 80 degrees in the cabin upstairs and I was cold. Gary said I will never be a Marylander again!!! He took this photo of me wrapped up in a large beach towel to keep warm.

We stayed out for one night and I decided to go fishing. I have always liked fishing and the quiet time I had with my Dad. So Dad, this one is for you. I love you and miss you.

OK, so the photo's a fake. I did not catch a thing even though I was using shrimp. The shrimp was browny coloured when I first started fishing and pink (as though it had been cooked) by the time I finished. There was a very strong current so all the fish must have been swept out to sea!! I did, however catch a large Cannonball Jelly fish in my net. These creatures were whizzing by in the current and I just had to have a closer look. The thing weighed at least 2lbs and was quite firm on the outside. It was more like a bowling ball than a cannonball. I tipped it out on deck for a closer look at its tentacles and its underside and boy, was it pretty.

This gives you something to compare the size to. No, that is not my big foot!!

This shows the underside and the inside of the jellyfish on the left upper side.
I looked it up on the blog and it has a very interesting sexual reproduction history. If you are interested in learning more, blog cannonball jellyfish. I also read that if stung by its tentacles (I must be careful how I spell that!!!) you can get cardiac problems so I am glad I did not do anything silly!!. Apparently, humans can eat them but they are favoured by leatherback sea turtles. Leatherback turtles are endangered so eating their food is not helping them
survive. When I had finished examining it I put it back in the water and it floated away on the fast current.
We passed a couple of interesting looking ships yesterday. One looked like it had just sailed out of the 16th century and the other was a live aboard tug.

We also passed this strange sight. I think it was advertising a restaurant.

No blog would be complete without a bird photo. So here is today's picture of a rookery (a nesting place for any type of bird not just rooks).

As you can see there are pelicans and herons sharing the same nesting ground.
I actually got a partial photo of a dolphin. They are so difficult to photograph because as soon as they see the boat they dive below the water. My goal is to get a really good photo of one before we finish our trip.

When I was in Tarpon Springs I was given a piece of a plumeria (frangipani) plant. I had bought one in Disney 7 years ago when I was there with my friend, Linda. The one in Maryland despite loving care has only ever grown leaves, dropped leaves, grown leaves, dropped leaves etc etc etc. After having this piece of plumeria for 6 weeks it has flowered and has been a delight to watch. The flower has grown out of the top of the stump and no leaves have yet been sighted.

Well, I am off to see the sights of St Augustine. Have great Memorial Day weekend everyone.

Ft Pierce

It has not been a very exciting week. Our friend, Allan left for home yesterday and the boat seems quiet without him.
I thought I would start the blog with some photos I did not put in the last blog because of the long time I spent on the computer. I am using the wifi at the marina so it is their minutes I am using not ours.
I liked a couple of photos I took at Flamingo Park.

                                                  Bottoms up!!!!
I left you with a photo of a strange plant and asked you to identify it. It was the flower of the banana plant and the little yellow things at the side of the plant were the very small baby bananas. The next photo is a bigger view of the flower with bigger bananas beneath it. I am always amazed that bananas grow upwards.

We had some unusual animals at the last marina. One was a lizard with a curly tail.

Like all lizards, if he loses his tail, he will grow another.
The other was a group of lovely little chicks, 16 altogether.

The next group are several days older.

Aren't they cute I hear you say. Well, this is the reverse of the ugly duckling. The chicks are real cute but the parents are plain ugly, especially the male.

This guy is a Muscovy Duck. The red growths on his head are called caruncles and when upset he raises his head feathers between the caruncles and he looks like he has a mohawk.
I saw a tree that I do not know the name of. If anyone can tell me, I would love to hear from them. You can always comment about my blog after reading the blog.

Whilst Gary and Allan visited the Ft Lauderdale Science Museum, I went for a walk along the Riverwalk (recommended). The walk follows The New River and has shade, seats and some lovely vegetation. There were several memorials, one to Policemen killed in action, another to Sailors.

 The above photo is of the Police Memorial, the one below Sailor Memorial.

 A fake paddle wheeler passing underneath a pink bridge!!

Some lucky millionaire is getting delivery of his luxury yacht. It was so long it needed boats at the front and back to guide it around the corners. The next photo is of the boat at the back of the yacht. The driver is working VERY hard!!!!

                                         A bird-of-paradise plant.

We are now in Ft. Pierce. We are staying in a marina tonight because the generator is not running and with night temps in the upper 70s it is very difficult to sleep. As you know, I like my sleep so we decided to stay cool tonight.
On the way to Ft Pierce we saw a sky scraper being built. There was a very tall crane to the side of the building and on the boom of the crane were three people standing/kneeling without harnesses. They must be crazy. I would be afraid the wind would blow me off.

The waterways we have been following have a nice channel for us to boat in. However, to the side of that channel is very shallow water, so shallow that you can stand up in it and the water only covers your ankles.

There are many lovely homes along the waterways. One of them had a boat house built into his house.

Many homes are now boarded up for the summer. Prior to going back North the owners have lowered the hurricane shutters on their homes.

There are also many canals to the side of the channel allowing people to "park" their boats right outside their homes. I wonder if they have traffic wardens giving out tickets to non-residents.

When passing through the port of Palm Beach we saw a very large boat with many yachts on board. Now I understand the saying "you can get a boat on a ship but not a ship on a boat".

To get to our present marina we passed a couple of interesting sights. One was of a crane on top of a rock island in the middle of the waterway. We wondered how the crane got there and what it was doing.

The other was of 3 tanks painted with marine mammals on them. This made them more interesting to look at.

Today, we passed this old paddle wheeler. It was actually being propelled by the paddles despite having a Yamaha engine at the back.

 I know this is not my most interesting blog. I will try to do better next time.