Manatee encounter

So, yesterday Sue is on the dock talking to the neighbor, when she sees the swirls in the water - the telltale signs of manatees.  The mammals need to surface regularly for air, and they sound somewhat like whales blowing when they do (although I've never actually heard a whale blow).  She goes to the end of the finger pier and sees two adult & one young manatee playing around.  I watch them from our boat as they come under it and bump into it.  We watch for about 10 minutes before we lose sight of them.

30 minutes later I'm taking trash to the dumpster when I walk past an empty boat slip that has a lot of hyacinths in it, and see the hyacinths moving from below!  I stop to watch, and soon see the whiskered snout of a manatee munching on the hyacinths.  The 3 manatees are now in this slip feeding.  I watch for 15 minutes while they feed & frolic under the docks & right up next to the boats.  At times, they come to the surface within 3 feet of me & roll onto their backs.  A perfect time NOT to have a camera in my hands!

The neighbors say that some manatees stay in the area year round.  Their number will increase during the winter months.  So, I'll learn to carry a camera with me.


Today, we'll drive 20 minutes away to visit Sue's brother.  We were surprised to find that this marina is so close to his house.  We haven't seen him in several years, so it will be good to visit.  Tomorrow we drive north to TN and OH.  This cold front has already come through that part of the country, and they now have that white crap falling from the sky!  Gee, I'm glad we moved to central Florida for the winter!

South to our Winter Home

Exiting Ortega River onto St Johns River,
with Jacksonville city skyline

I’m beginning to feel like the Vanderbilts and Rockefellers, with a summer home up north, and a winter home down south.  But, as our sign on our boat says, “Home is where our boat is.”

We stayed at Ortega Landing Marina just south of Jacksonville for a week; visiting the city, doing minor boat repairs, sitting by the pool, and waiting on 2 days of stormy weather which was the RETURN of Tropical Storm Karen which had passed through the first time the previous week.  We finally departed Jacksonville on Wednesday October 16 into a partly cloudy day with cool north breezes.  The “Executive Summary” for the next three days is that the weather was perfect, and the trip was uneventful (the best kind of cruise to have).

Osprey nest on the navigation markers.
This bird used Spanish Moss in the nest.
Note crab traps behind the marker.

We had wanted to cruise the St Johns River because we had heard & read that it was very interesting and pretty.  Again, we weren’t disappointed.  Just south of Jacksonville, the river is very wide & calm, just like a lake.  And, for once I can say that this section had more crab traps than even Lake Pontchartrain!  The ones with only a small black float were particularly difficult to see, and we were constantly dodging them, even inside the navigation channel.

Bald eagle nest.  Look who's home!

I was surprised when we had a tidal current from astern the entire first day because the high tides were progressively later the farther south on the river.  So we made good time, and we saved maybe 1-1/2 gallons of fuel.  We anchored both nights we travelled, since there were numerous places to do so, and the marinas along the way couldn’t handle a large ya-chut like ours.

The second day, we diverted at Lake George to Silver Glen Springs, where the manatees gather for the winter in the constant-temperature water.  We anchored about ½ mile offshore in the Lake, launched the dinghy without mounting the motor, and rowed to shore.  Then we found that the spring source was another ½ mile up the river.  (Yes, we both got our exercise that day!).  The water was crystal-clear, the springs were beautiful, but no manatees.  Apparently they are just now starting to move south to warmer waters.  So we rowed back to our ya-chut, weighed anchor & went about 10 more miles before anchoring for the night.

Lake George was so calm that we had to make
our own wind!  Quite different from our trip
out of Brunswick GA.

 

There are Manatee zones all along the length of the river, so this must really get interesting during winter months.   The mammals eat mostly the water hyacinths.  Which means that the river is just covered with hyacinths, at times almost across the entire river.  The second and 3^rd day, we were constantly dodging patches of hyacinths.

Water hyacinths everywhere!  Manatees will follow!

We went half way across Lake Monroe to our new temporary home at Monroe Harbour Marina in Sanford FL, where the Admiral made yet another perfect landing into the narrow slip, although I really had to scurry around the deck in order to make her look good!  Before we even finished tying up, the neighbors were out on the dock introducing themselves.  And, Sue saw a manatee right in the marina behind our boat.  We think we’re going to like it here.

So last night we walk into the old town of Sanford to eat at the famous German restaurant (after all, it IS Oktoberfest!), and wouldn’t you know it, but our waiter was from Huron Ohio (where my Aunt lives), and his cousin owns property on Middle Bass Island Ohio (where Sue & I met, and where “Fruition” is home-ported)!

Tomorrow we rent a car to drive back to Brunswick GA to retrieve our car.  Later this week we will drive north to TN to assist Sue’s mother, and then to OH to assist Sue’s uncle.  I guess we’ll have to find our woolies, since they’re starting to get that white crap on the ground by now.

Silver Glen Springs is part of a NATIONAL FOREST.
During the government shutdown, they posted
black vultures at the gates to keep out the "unwanted".

Crystal-clear water at Silver Glen Springs

This ain’t “pleasure” boating!

We waited around a couple days for that darn tropical storm to pass by Brunswick, and enjoyed beautiful weather while waiting to depart for points south.  So we were more than ready to leave Tuesday Oct 8, looking at weather reports ranging from 20% rain up to 70% thunderstorms.  In hindsight (which is always 20/20), we should have believed the 70%.  All our boat neighbors were watching/helping us leave; maybe they just wanted to see for themselves that this lady captain could actually handle this big boat!

We took 200 gallons of fuel at a dock just south of the marina which services the commercial shrimp boats, and spent 60 cents per gallon less than at the marina.  We departed under overcast skies and 20-25 mph winds.  An hour later the rain started and the winds went to 30 gusting to 35.  The only reason we continued travelling was that the seas and wind were all from astern, so the ride wasn't too bad since we were mostly in the protected ICW.  But when we crossed one of the open-water Sounds following the ICW to the edge of the Atlantic Ocean, we got caught by 4-5’ sea swells.  For 45 minutes, we pitched and rolled about 30 degrees, which mixed up some stuff in the cabin which wasn’t tightly secured.  Sue turned to me & asked “Are we having fun yet?” She added that she doesn’t have to go to Texas to ride the mechanical bull now, since she has already experienced a ride at least as exciting.

The rain and winds continued as the temperatures fell.  When we arrived at our anchorage, we had minimal protection from the winds, as we were still in the grass marshes of Georgia.  We had planned to raft up for drinks & dinner with another boat, which had left the same marina in Brunswick with us, but the wind was too high to try.  We spent a very restless night, getting up every two hours to see if our 65# anchor was dragging.  Luckily, it held, despite our rotating every 6 hours when the tide shifted.

By morning, the wind had died down to only 20-25 mph, but we still had a light rain & cool temps.  Another day not to go boating, but we certainly didn’t want to spend the day anchored in the marshes.  To add to our fun, we found that our windlass would not work electrically to raise the anchor.  I had put out 100’ of all chain rode (because of the high winds during the night), which we then had to ratchet up manually on the windlass, 3” at a time.  Found out the next day that the windlass battery had shorted out & died.  So much for “pleasure boating”.

Our escort on the river, USCG Cutter "Dauntless",
travelled next to us for about 5 miles.

Within an hour, we had entered the St Johns River, which we will take upriver past Jacksonville all the way south to Sanford FL, just north of Orlando.  The river was big, deep, and full of commercial traffic.  We planned our trip to catch the incoming tide, which gave us a 2 mph boost.  And finally, the rain quit and the clouds started clearing!  At noontime, we were finally into the city (I found out that Jacksonville is actually about 25 miles west of the ocean, not right next to the Atlantic).  We docked for lunch at the River City Marina, which is adjacent to the River City Brewing Company, so Sue could sample their craft beers.  We’ve been finding local craft breweries from St Augustine to Savannah, so Sue can compare notes with our two sons.  After a good lunch, we left the dock just prior to the scheduled opening of the nearby railroad bridge.  The bridge has had mechanical problems, and opens to marine traffic only 9-10 AM and 2-3 PM, so if we had missed that opening, we’d be spending the night somewhere else.

Oh, all right......I guess we'll let him have the right of way!

As we continued past the city, the St Johns River transitioned from a fast-flowing business-like river, to a wide calm lake.  An hour later, we finally arrived at our temporary home of Ortega Landing Marina, just south of Jacksonville, and Sue made yet another perfect approach and landing to the dock.  She’s getting so good a docking the boat, I’ll be forced to keep her a while longer!  We’ll stay for several days at this marina, especially since they are having their Oktoberfest party this Saturday, serving beer from…………..wait for it…………..a local craft brewery!  Sue has her list of a couple other beer pubs to check out in town before we resume our cruise. 

Once under way, we’ll be on our final leg of cruising for this year.  We’ll keep the boat in Sanford for the winter, while we spend about half our time back in TN and OH caring for relatives.  Our goal for next summer is to travel up the East Coast to New York City, go up the Hudson to the Erie Canal, and eventually get to Lake Erie.

Old Savannah

Historic building fronts along the river wharf.
The street stones are old ballast stones from
the sailing ships.

We drove our car up to Savannah for a couple days, because we had heard that it was a beautiful city full of history.  We were not disappointed.  The city looks a lot like New Orleans’ French Quarter with the historic buildings surrounded by live oak trees dripping with Spanish moss.  But the architecture is definitely British, with the layout of the city one of the first “planned communities” with small parks every 3-4 blocks.  Savannah’s historic district is small enough that you can walk most of it, but its history is so enormous that you should take a narrated tour around the area.  Numerous tours are offered everywhere, and I was surprised at the number of tourists visiting the city.

The other side of the river-front buildings, all built
on a bluff.  Note the catwalks to the front doors.

The city was founded by James Oglethorpe in the early 1700’s as a place to put England’s debtors (English debtor prisons were already full), as well as an effort to create a planned society where the government tried to create a Utopia on earth.  I could make a snide remark here about the current political situation, but I’ll refrain.  Oglethorpe’s Utopia fell apart when his people discovered free enterprise.

I was amused during the city tour when the guide talked about Oglethorpe, who was trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, etc, etc.  He was the local hero who saved Georgia from those dastardly Spanish explorers down south in Florida. The amusing part is that just 2 months ago when we were touring St Augustine, we learned how Ponce de Leon & Menendez saved the countryside from those terrible British up north, led by Oglethorpe!  Teaches you to always evaluate the source of any “facts” you might be told!

Savannah's Cotton Exchange,
headquarters of the US cotton business
in 1887.

Savannah’s history is tied to the sea and its position as a major seaport.  During the early 1800’s, it was a major exporter of cotton, and this is where some obscure man named Eli Whitney tried to enforce his patent for a cotton gin (our daughter studied Whitney’s life when she wrote a TV script about the social impact of the cotton gin).  It was interesting seeing the converted historic buildings along the river wharves & the river bluff where Oglethorpe originally set up the city.  One reason these buildings still exist is because the city of Savannah was not burned down at the end of the “War of Northern Aggression” when William T. Sherman marched to the sea.

Did I mention that Savannah has some excellent restaurants? We found a couple of them.  One thing we started doing along the way is looking for any craft breweries or pubs serving craft beers, so Sue can sample the beers.  We’ve found one in St Augustine, Jacksonville Beach, and now Savannah.  We already have the addresses for the breweries in Jacksonville next week.

Enjoying our mint julep and rum punch at a
river-front restaurant.

Tybee Island lighthouse.  Sue is
tremendously disappointed that it was
closed & we couldn't climb it!

We drove out to Tybee Island, the northernmost barrier island in Georgia to see the lighthouse & whatever else.  There wasn’t much else, certainly when compared to the barrier islands of Florida (both the Gulf Coast & the East Coast).  We tried to visit two of the historic forts of the 1700’s, but since they were both US National Parks and since the date was October 1, and since your Congress just can’t get their crap in order, everything was closed.

 

We’re now planning our departure from Brunswick GA, on a 2-day cruise to Jacksonville, then farther up the St Johns River to Sanford FL, where we’ll keep the boat for the winter months.  Having to watch that tropical storm/hurricane approaching New Orleans, and how much wind/rain it will bring to this area.  We need to be back in TN by Oct 20, so unfortunately, we now have a schedule.

 

Florence Martus, Savannah's "Waving Girl".
She waiting over 40 years for her sailor to return.
Guess what?!?  A sailor has a girl in every port!!

                                          

Huge container ship headed up the Savannah
River.  The channel runs very close to the city, very
much like New Orleans & the MS River.

 

"...the richest, the most exclusive, the most inaccessible club in the world."

Jekyll Island Club Hotel, looking across the
lawn croquet field.  For the right price, YOU
can spend the night here!

After a week of rain & doing chores around the boat, we headed back over to Jekyll Island to rub elbows with the rich & famous.  We took the tours around the Jekyll Island Club, which existed from 1886 to 1942 as a winter retreat, where membership was by invitation only, limited to 100 of the wealthiest Americans.....gentle folks such as JP Morgan, William Vanderbilt, William Rockefeller, Marshall Field, Richard Crane, and Joseph Pulitzer.  A club hotel was built for most of the members, but some decided they needed a separate "winter cottage" (a.k.a. "mansion").  Keep in mind that the rich folk of this era also had "summer cottages" in places like Newport R.I., in addition to their primary home in towns like New York, Chicago, and Pittsburgh.  On Jekyll Island, Richard Crane (founder of Crane plumbing fixtures & pumps) had the largest "cottage", one with 17 bedrooms.

William Rockefeller's "winter cottage" at water's edge.

The club house & hotel was open only from Jan through March.  One of their rules was that all members had to take their meals in the club dining room, to encourage social interaction.  Obviously, the dining room was elegant.  It was said that during dinner, one-sixth of all the wealth in America was in that room.

I found it interesting that in the early 1900's, an offer of membership was NOT extended to Andrew Carnegie (of Pittsburgh & US Steel fame), so Carnegie bought Cumberland Island, the next barrier south of Jekyll Island & built his winter estate there.

Loggerhead sea turtle recovering from shark attack.

Also on Jekyll Island, we visited the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, where rehab is provided to sea turtles that have been injured by sharks, boat propellers, or disease.  Also had displays on sea turtle nesting along the beach (we've seen many turtle nests all along the Florida east coast beaches where we swam).  I learned that Loggerhead sea turtles, once they hatch & make it back into the ocean, will ride the Sargasso Sea in the Atlantic, all the way across to the Azores Islands off Spain, and sometimes return back to the US to nest again.


Finally, at low tide (remember that GA has 7-8' tides in this area), we walked along the beach at the very northern tip of Jekyll Island, what they call Driftwood Beach.  It was really unique seeing all these huge trees, mostly live oak, uprooted & bleached by the sun & sea.  It seemed a beautiful sight - a photo op - until you realize that this is an example of severe beach erosion by the seas.  All these trees were killed as the soil eroded beneath them.  A local lady said that erosion has taken several hundred feet of beach in only 50 years.  How can you stop Mother Nature from doing just about anything she wants?

Sue at Driftwood Beach with the lighthouse on
St Simons Island behind.  Casino gambling boat
was headed out 3 miles offshore on this windy day.

In a final burst of touristy patriotism (i.e., single-handedly supporting the local economy with MY dollars), we're headed up to Savannah GA tomorrow for a couple days.  When we return to the boat, it will be time to look for a weather window to head south for the winter.

Eating our way through Georgia

We've been back in Brunswick GA for a week now & we've done a good job acting like tourists!  We decided to first visit St Simons Island and Jekyll Island, both places where your net worth gotta be at least 7-8 figures to live there (more on that on a later post, after we visit Jekyll Island again).  But this area in general, and on SSI in particular, bear a lot of resemblance to New Orleans.



Live Oak trees & moss at the historic Fort Frederica
National Monument, where Gen Oglethorpe set up
the British fort in 1736 to fight those nasty Spaniards
to the south!
 

View from the top of the lighthouse.  Sue does

pretty well at the top, even though she's afraid

of heights!  Notice she's not hanging over the rail!

 

First resemblance is in the number of live oak trees, all of them with huge canopies, huge branches, hundreds of years old, and every bit as impressive as the live oaks in City Park in New Orleans. The ones around here, however, seem to have much more Spanish moss (which is neither Spanish, nor moss) draped all over them.  The story here is that in the 1700's, live oak trees from SSI were cut & shipped north to build the USS Constitution (Old Ironsides).  The entire St Simons Island was shrouded in shade by all the oak trees and the huge magnolia trees.

Hooray!  Another lighthouse to climb!!
This time, it's St Simons Island light!



 

We found our share of restaurants so far, and found that a lot of the food is just like New Orleans.  Many of the local dishes include some kind of Andouille, shrimp, and Zatarain's seasoning.  We've seen gumbo, jambalaya, and blackened seafood on the menus.  We also tried the local "Brunswick Stew", a thick tomato-based stew with pulled pork & lots of vegetables, spiced just right.  We have yet to try a "low-country boil", but I know they still make that dish in South Carolina when we get farther north.

 

Our highlight yesterday was heading over to Jekyll Island to the annual "Shrimp & Grits Festival".  It was held amid the "winter cottages" (I.e. mansions) built around 1900 by the rich & famous of America (think Vanderbilt & Rockefeller).  The festival had all the tents from local vendors, which kept Sue occupied for hours, and live bands.  The central grounds featured shrimp & grits from local restaurants, prepared many different ways.  We did our best to taste as many as we could.  And, yes, even though I'm still a "Damn Yankee" at heart, I actually let Sue trick me into eating some grits!  In addition to everything else, they also had a beer pavilion where we could sample the wares from local craft breweries (James & Chris, mom can compare notes with you about some more different microbreweries).



Good food plus a couple of good beers, equals
a hell of a good time!

I just had to get this sign along the road to St Simons Island!
  I've heard of deer crossings, and people crossings,
but these here Georgia folks are kinda strange!





Early September 2013

We're still in TN this week, and, by the time we leave, will have been up here for 3 weeks.  When we arrived here, we needed 3 days to sort through our mail, which was piled 1-1/2 FEET high!!  In addition to our own mail, Sue also takes care of all her mother's mail, and thirdly, has all the mail for her uncle in Ohio forwarded to this address.  Couple that with our absence from here of over 4 weeks, and we had a "project" ahead of us.

Our boating news is that our boat is still floating right-side up.  (From all the hurricanes we've been through, I've learned to ask not just "Is our boat still floating?", but to ask the RIGHT question of "Is our boat still floating right-side up?").  Also, we got word from the daughter of our nephew that the marina we stayed at in St Pete FL was hit by a waterspout, and had damage to some boats.  Looking at the pictures, we figured that we had been tied about 200 feet away from the damaged boats.

Back in the mountains of Tennessee, our big event these past 2 weeks was placing Sue's mother in a dementia center for a 3-night trial period.  The first facility here in town had no room in the inn, so our second choice facility was 45 minutes south of here.  There has been quite a bit of emotional stress around here as the events unfolded.  If the facility agrees to accept Sue's mother full time (i.e., can they deal with her special quirks and needs?), the plan is to place her into the facility full time when we return to TN in late October.  If that happens, we'll spend most of this coming winter getting the house ready for sale.