Trip Diary for February, 2007: Exploring Florida's St. John's River

Feb. 1-4; St. Simons Island, GA: Thursday saw Larry replace the 6 zincs in our main engines while Lola got her hair cut and went shopping.  By evening it was raining, but we joined Rich and Gayle Barnum from nearby Circus for a very enjoyable dinner at Brogen's North.  The one-inch rainfall we experienced was the fringe of 3 AM seven tornados in the Lady Lake, FL area that killed 20 people.  Much of Friday was devoted to confirming TurboTax had improperly transferred state data from its 2005 file and therefore incorrectly calculated state tax due for 2006.  We managed to also go grocery shopping and Larry cleaned the dinghy before dark.  John Hashagen returned Saturday at 8 AM to clean the Lola Marie's bottom.  Temperatures had dropped by 20 degrees (high was 48)!  Most of the day was spent preparing and submitting an amended IN 2005 taxes due to TurboTax's 2005 problem.  Super Bowl Sunday began with our "traditional" 11 AM service at St. Simons UMC followed by brunch at Cafe Frederica.  In the afternoon, we provisioned for extended cruising and enjoyed our last Bruster's ice cream.  Then it was back to the boat for laundry before settling in to watch the Colts become this year's NFL champions.

Monday, Feb. 5: At last, we are cruising again!  Lines dropped at 8:20 AM as we headed for the St. John's River (mouth at Jacksonville, FL).  The south end of St. Simons Island revealed three shrimp boats, while looking the opposite direction showed the beautiful Sydney Lanier bridge into Brunswick. Nearby at the northern end of Jekyll Creek, where we had a close encounter with the American Spirit on our previous passage, we were again greeted by white pelicans. By noon we approached Amelia Island and its lighthouse. Docking at Fernandina Harbor Marina at 12:30, we walked a block into Fernandina Beach's historic district for excellent grouper sandwich lunches at Marina Restaurant.  The afternoon was devoted to shopping in this delightful historic village and mailing valentines to our family before returning for dinner aboard.  This marina has an excellent, long face dock but is subject to ICW boat wakes and substantial currents.

Feb. 6-8; Jacksonville, FL: With a 7:50 Tuesday departure and favorable tide currents the entire 48 mi., we reached Ortega Yacht Club Marina on the southwest edge of Jacksonville by 1 PM.  Our first downtown landmark along the river was Jaguar Stadium. On this beautiful sunny day the city skyline was spectacular. The architecturally unique Chart House restaurant, where we had enjoyed two outstanding dinners, looked insignificant next to an adjacent new high-rise apartment building.  The OCY Marina is located just off the St. John's River about half-a-mile up the Ortega River with the large Roosevelt Square mall only 3 blocks away.  We walked there for a late lunch at Panera Bread.  Wednesday was a near perfect day with light breezes and a 70 degree high.  Lola discovered mold on the porthole sills in the master stateroom this morning. After a big brunch of eggs, sausage and biscuits, this resulted in major boatkeeping.  By 5 PM it was time for showers and then a walk to Chick-Fil-A in the mall.  Thursday morning Lola got her nails filled before we ate lunch at Wendy's.  About 2 PM we left on a fantastic, 3 hr., 6 mi. dinghy exploration of the Ortega River.  As you can see from these photos, it's tough work, but somebody... The Ortega immediately upstream from the marina is quite shallow (5-6 ft.) and wide (.5-.75 mi.) for the first 2.5 miles with a developed shoreline.  It then abruptly narrows and deepens (10-20 ft.) with banks of only native vegetation. Except for military cargo planes taking off and landing from the nearby JAX Naval Air Station, we appeared to be deep in a jungle.  We hoped to see alligators, but were disappointed.  In addition to many egrets, we saw two eagles and several eagle nests before returning at 5 PM.  Dinner was at Longhorn Steakhouse in the mall.

Feb. 9-12; Doctors Lake, FL: With only 13 mi. to go, we left OYC Marina at 1:10 PM Friday, arriving at Doctors Lake Marina in Orange Park just before 3 PM.  The facilities are excellent, but it's at least a mile to stores or churches.  A call to the Methodist Church identified a local boating couple, Linda and Gordon Reynolds, willing to take us to church Sunday.  After dinner aboard it was time for web updating, Sudoku, and a bit of TV.  Saturday dawned cloudy, cooler and a bit windy, so plans for exploring Doctors Lake by dinghy were delayed until 2:30 PM when conditions had improved.  We took the dinghy 5 mi. to the upstream end of the lake, into Swimming Pen Creek to Whitey's Fish Camp; the food was excellent, as evidenced by the many locals eating there.  Upon departure we noticed a disabled floatboat upstream with a man and 3 children aboard.  They gratefully accepted our offer for a tow to the nearby boat ramp; yes, using our dinghy.  Reynolds picked us up Sunday to attend the 9:30 AM service at the large (5 ministers!) Orange Park UMC.  Following worship, we joined their Sunday School class for an intriguing discussion on life after death.  In the afternoon, we walked to a small strip mall about a mile from the marina for ice cream before returning for grilled steak dinner aboard.  Monday we rented a car for the 50 mi. drive to Satsuma, FL to pick up Gerry and Phyllis Isaacs, leaving their car at our Wednesday destination.  They brought half-a-bushel each of delicious oranges and grapefruit.  Returning to Doctors Lake Marina, we enjoyed dinner at Whitey's upstream from the Marina.

Tuesday, Feb. 13: After turning in the rental car, we departed Doctors Lake at 9:45 AM on a warm (high was 72), hazy day for Palatka, FL.  Water temperatures were in the lower 60's.  This stretch of the St. Johns is wide (1-2 mi.) and waters were totally flat.  We arrived at Riverfront Inn, a Quality Inn motel with modest transient dockage, to find no marina staff and poorly designed docks.  However, we managed to tie-up and grilled pork chops for a fine dinner aboard.

Wednesday, Feb. 14: The day dawned clear, but with 15-25 mph winds.  We managed a tense 10:40 AM departure without damage.  It was only 18 miles to Acosta Creek Harbor Marina, a rustic, but very accommodating marina.  The character of the river changed south of Palatka; it narrowed, deepened, and became more picturesque with only native vegetation along most of its banks.  The strong winds kicked up 2 ft. waves along a couple of stretches, but it was a beautiful, 72 degree day.  It was interesting to see trees full of mistletoe balls. Having a car upon our arrival, we drove 10 mi. back to Palatka for excellent seafood dinners at Gator Landing.

Thursday, Feb. 15: A day for changing crew.  Gerry and Larry drove 70 mi. to Sanford to pick up Wayne and Judy Skaggs.  Upon returning, we ran a shuttle to get six people to and from San Mateo Seafood restaurant south of Palatka in a 4-passenger car.  Following dinner, Isaacs departed for home in Gainesville and the new crew climbed aboard the Lola Marie to exchange updates on recent happenings in our lives before turning in.

Friday, Feb. 16: Casting off at a leisurely 9:25 AM, we enjoyed a cool (58 degree high), sunny day along the most beautiful section of the St. Johns River.  Numerous species of birds were present (sorry, we're not good at identification); however, this "convention" of egrets was interesting. We stopped just before 1 PM at Boat Show Marina in Deland.  The dock office was closed (abandoned?), but we found the only open slip and a neighbor helped us dock.  We were in a great position to observe a 6 PM shuttle launch, but it was scrubbed 5 minutes before lift-off.  Instead, we grilled pork chops for dinner with brownies for desert aboard (specialties on the menu aboard "Lola Marie").

Feb. 17-25; Sanford, FL: Saturday the docks were white with frost after a low of 34 degrees!  We can't seem to get far enough south this year to avoid occasional cold nights, but it's much better than the 16 inches of snow and single digit temperatures in IN.  Dropped lines at 9:25 for the 23 miles to Sanford.  Wayne piloted most of the way.  A third of this trip was "No Wake", either for manatees or private docks.  We saw our first alligator, but too late for a picture!  The Monroe Harbour Marina where we'll be for 9 days is excellent, but it was difficult to dock because of low water in its East basin; we grounded on the first attempt.  Just after docking, Larry received a panic call from the Crawfordsville, IN Thrift Shop about a serious computer problem (he is their technical support staff).  Twenty-five minutes on the phone resolved the problem.  After a German lunch at Hollerbach's Willow Tree Cafe in the nearby historic district and a quick stop at Winn Dixie, we bid the Skaggs goodbye for their return to Raleigh, NC.  Sunday dawned sunny, but windy and cool (high 56).  After walking half-a-mile to 11 AM services at First United Methodist Church, we stopped at Angelo's Pizza for lunch and then Maya's Books & Music for used books.  Monday morning Larry spent 2 hrs. checking the status of the  electrical generator's zinc anode (it takes longer when you drop a wrench into the engine and have to disassemble the sound box to retrieve it); unlike the main engine zincs, this one was fine.  At noon he picked up our Enterprise rental.  Following laundry, we spent the remainder of the afternoon and evening shopping in the area with a final stop at Bruster's ice cream.  Tuesday morning we drove 15 mi. to Blue Springs State Park in Orange City.  Blue Springs discharge more than 100 million gallons of crystal clear, 73 degree water daily.  This warm water is a winter haven for manatee with more than 140 there this year.  The sight of so many, plus many species of large fish, was wonderful. By afternoon it was shorts weather, the first since December!  We worked on boat projects and cleaning before showers and dinner at the nearby Wolfsys bar and grill.  Wednesday Bob and Virginia Peart, former Purdue faculty members and long-time friends now both retired from the University of Florida faculty, arrived from Gainesville just after 3 PM.  We drove toward Orlando to find one of the Pearts' favorite restaurants, Pebbles at Exit 114 on I4; sadly, it gone out of business.  We then made a wise decision to try a place across the street, Manny's Chophouse; service and food were outstanding.  Thursday we cruised down the St. Johns River 20 mi., past Blue Springs State Park.  Just beyond the spring's outflow into the river we spotted four manatee swimming downstream along the edge of ever present water lilies.  We carefully steered the boat toward them and followed along side at 2.5-3 mph for 1-2 mi. as they surfaced every few minutes and were never more than 3 ft. deep; a special experience!  We had wanted to stay out for the night, but the targeted marina had no space so we returned to Monroe Harbor Marina by 4 PM.  We grilled pork chops aboard for dinner and then the Pearts re-taught us how to play bridge (it had been 15 years since we had last played).  Friday morning we drove to Blue Springs State Park.  Only 20 or so of the more than 100 manatee we had seen two days before were still present.  However, we still enjoyed this beautiful park and walked half-a-mile to the viewing area above the springs's source. Upon our return to the Lola Marie, Larry grilled ribeye steaks for dinner aboard.  The evening was again devoted to bridge.  Pearts dropped Larry at Enterprise about 9:30 AM Saturday as they departed for Gainesville.  The car was needed to pick up daughter Sandy and her husband Klaus at the Orlando airport after their 9:30 PM flight from Indianapolis.  Sandy called at 5 PM to report their flight had been cancelled because a major winter storm had closed O'Hara, the originating point for their flight.  Given the storm's path, the next scheduled flight was uncertain so they decided to drive.  Roads were terrible until Louisville, but they made it beyond Nashville by 1 AM.  Sunday after FUMC's 8:30 service we finished several boat chores before departing at 1 PM for Orange Park via St. Augustine for a bit of shopping.  We met them just before 5 PM at Doctors Lake Marina, leaving their car for arrival via water next week.  We then drove to the nearby Whitey's for fish dinners before returning 120 mi. to Monroe Harbour Marina.

Monday, Feb. 26: With only 20 mi. to travel, we departed Sanford after a pump-out at a leisurely 11:25 AM in 75 degree, mostly cloudy weather. Along the way we met the lunch/dinner cruise ship that docks at Monroe Harbour Marina. We were disappointed to see no manatee downstream of Blue Springs today.  Despite a 20 min. wait at Lake Monroe railroad bridge, we made the excellent Holly Bluff Marina near DeLand, FL. by 1:35 PM.  After getting tied, connected and registered, we lowered the dinghy to explore.  Instead of staying on the St. Johns River, we diverted into the nearby Hontoon Dead River for about 5 mi.  This fortuitous choice resulted in up close and personal views of the greatest density of wildlife we've experienced on the trip!  No manatee, but many alligators, turtles, fish and birds.  Following a grilled pork chop dinner aboard and with the entire crew still a bit tired from the recent hectic pace and/or road travel, we decided to stay an extra day at Holly Bluff and turned in early.

Tuesday, Feb. 27: After a late breakfast we climbed aboard the dinghy to go upstream 4 mi. to Blue Springs State Park.  As anticipated, all manatee were gone, but many species of large fish were still present and, with the proximity of the dinghy to shore, everyone enjoyed close views of numerous alligators, turtles and birds along the way.  Several alligators were seen swimming in the river and we spotted one alligator egg ashore.  Returning from the 3 hr. trip for a late lunch of Taco soup aboard, we rested, read and watched TV the remainder of the afternoon.

Wednesday, Feb. 28: Dropping lines at 9:20 AM enabled us to make a leisurely 48 mi. cruise to Acosta Creek Harbor Marina by 3:50 PM.  We were delighted to spot two eagles along the way, one unusually low and close on a green daymark.  Dockmaster Marty produced a hand-drawn map of the Ocklawaha River and encouraged us to explore it.  Its mouth into the St. Johns was about 4 mi. upstream of the marina.  We slowly wound our way 4 more mi. up this beautiful, totally undeveloped river; the only evidence of other human existence was 2 fishing boats. We saw only a few alligators, but many egrets and blue herons. Returning from this delightful 2 hr. excursion, we enjoyed wine and cheese crackers before a fine dinner of grilled ribeye steaks and veggies.

Water miles traveled to date: 6,705; this month: 345.

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