Birds, Bridges, Bikes and Bistro

We left Vero as planned but not before having Blair and Mary from Strathspey for dinner on Blue Heaven.  It was great visiting with them again and hearing about their visit to Cuba (They are Canadians and so can go there legally!). 

Riverside Cafe in Vero Beach

We also visited the Riverside Café one more time with Curt and Kathy from Five and Dime.  Can’t beat their Happy Hour prices and Fish Taco!  Another night we had dinner on Five and Dime with Tilt and Discovery.  Afterwards we played the game “Sequence” and it was a close match between the sexes but the men pulled it out this time.

Saying goodbye to Five & Dime

We said our goodbyes to Kathy and Curt our mooring partners and motor sailed most of the morning. 

The wind picked up and we were then able to sail a nice gentle sail to Cocoa.  I got to do some rug hooking, so it was my kind of sail.  You can see I started a Christmas pattern which I had purchased before I left.  I knew I did not have time to design another one, so I do purchase patterns once in a while.

Another rug hooking project I started.

The next day we also got to sail to Titusville and there we picked up a mooring  after going through several bridges which had some welcoming committees there to greet us.  How about this cormorant drying his wings and scratching his back at the same time! 

Welcoming Committees at most bridges.

  

One talented cormorant!

The new "Cruiser's Caravan" at Titusville Marina.

After lunch we used Titusville's new “Cruiser’s Caravan” to go to Publix for groceries and Napa for oil and filters.  The van’s first use was Monday and this was Wednesday so it was bright and shiny and smelled brand new.  We had read about it on Active Captain, that eighteen business went together to buy the van to attract more cruisers to the Titusville area.  What a change because so many communities are fighting to keep us from anchoring in Florida.  We are welcomed in Titusville so show your support!

  

 The next day we sailed again (this has been unusual sailing so much in the ICW) to Daytona area where we anchored opposite of Halifax Marina in front of this gorgeous house. 

It is a house, not a hotel!

 It was blowing quite a bit which made it a bit uncomfortable but finally the wind quieted down for the night for a good night’s sleep. 

Leaving the anchorage the next morning the bridge was opening up for us and Al came out a little too soon and ran us aground.  The bridge had to be lowered again but with Al powering up he got us to plow through and free ourselves for the next opening with two other boats.  We motored sailed and got to St. Augustine where we got one of the last few mooring balls available almost as far south in the field as you can get but we got one!  We went in for showers and a walk and then just chilled for the rest of the evening. 

Bike racers starting the race in St. Augustine.

We went in to town to find that they were having a bike race on the main street.  It was fun to watch them but this is one sport Al and I know nothing about.  Al had wanted to go to Sailor’s Exchange to see what all the talk was about among cruisers.  It was like Sailorman in Fort Lauderdale where all sorts of used parts for boats are for sale.  We spent over 1 ½ hrs. there  and got one small part, which I did without complaining even though there is nothing of interest to me, but he is patient when I go into stores so I thought it pay back time.  

Having lunch with Mary and Blair at the King's Bistro

Afterwards we met Mary and Blair at the King’s Bistro.  They had recommended it.  When Al and I first got there, we said is this it?  It did not look like much from the outside, but this was a perfect example of not judging a book by its cover.  Inside had only about ten tables but the food was delicious, the presentation great and the price reasonable.  We will definitely visit there again.  

Great food and presentation!

We said our goodbye to Mary and Blair because they are keeping their boat for the summer in Florida and heading back to Ottawa to work for a few months. 

We invited Tim and Paula from Hooligan who traveled up from the Daytona anchorage with us for drinks and got to find out what sailing on the west coast, Mexico and south was like.  They have spent the past five years there. This is their first time on the east coast so we shared our knowledge with them as well.

Sunday dawn cloudy but we lucked out without getting wet.  I visited The Cathedral Basilica, the oldest church on the east coast, for mass.  Then Al and I had a lazy day reading and going in for walks.  We are heading to Fernandina tomorrow which is a sixty some mile day so we thought we should get as much exercise as we could today.  Drizzle came around 5pm so we lucked out.  Further north they had some nasty storms.