Monday November 23, 2015

Monday.....................missing home a little but heading out for the final week. Next destination is Smyrna Beach.


We awoke today to winds that had subsided enough that we could leave the slip. The sun was out and shining bright...finally.

Sunny Day

With the wind at our back and the tide pushing us our goal for today is to get to Smyrna Beach which is located south of  Daytona.   We will need to travel  70  miles.

Leaving St. Augustine, the city was as beautiful by water as it was on land.
We passed the world's tallest Cross, which is 208 feet high, and "marks the approximate site where in 1565 the cross of Christianity was first permanently planted in what is now the United States." 

Castillo de  San Marco

Castillo de San Marcos symbolizes the clash between cultures which ultimately resulted in our uniquely unified nation.  Still resonant with the struggles of an earlier time, these original walls provide tangible evidence of America’s grim but remarkable history.

We stayed on course today and completed the 70 miles to get to Smyrna Beach.  Along the way we passed Daytona and many pelicans.  

Daytona

Passing Daytona Beach we arrived at New Smyrna Beach which I think is one of our prettiest stops. We had a hair raising experience docking for the day with winds of  25 knots.  It took two slips and a few tries but Mike was able to maneuver the boat despite the strong winds.


We had a great dinner at the Cork & Screw and a stroll through the town.   Christmas trees were decorated and Santa's house in place.   The formal holiday lighting will be celebrated next week and we will be out of town.   We saw that all the trees while not lit were loaded with lights.  I can only imagine the beautiful site when they are lit.  We took a picture by the Christmas tree.

It was nice to touch base via texts with Matt, Jon, Liz and Sarah today.  Also connected with Alice (Carol's Mom) and Mike spoke with  his nephews Alex and Aiden. This felt good as we head into Thanksgiving week.  We miss everyone and really appreciate all of the encouragement.   This last week is challenging but we continue to move forward to Ft Myers Beach!

The plan is to  get to the Okeechobee River in two more days.   After that, we have 3 more days to the final dock at Fish Tales Marina.   We have traveled over 1100 miles with about 300 to go.