Guiding Lights and Sunsets

Jacksonville to St. Augustine  |  7.6 Hours  |  55 Miles 

We slid out of our tight slip in the stillness of an early gray morning. The Ortega River Bridge opened as we approached, requiring no adjustment in the throttle. Twenty miles on the St. Johns River lay between us and our turn south into the ICW. We retraced our trip through downtown Jacksonville, commenting on all the bridges we crossed during our stay. The cloud cover was low and dense, obscuring the upper reaches of the city's skyline.

As the scenery turned more industrial, we switched on the heater and enjoyed some warm oatmeal for breakfast. A dredge operation was in progress and we watched several scoops of spoils deposited on a barge. Interesting artwork was spotted on waterside silos that were hidden from view on our inbound passage. Carnival Ecstasy was at dock being loaded for today's start of a 5-day cruise to the Bahamas. Shortly thereafter, we re-entered the ICW and could officially say we were heading south.

It was a pleasant trip -- plenty of scenery and limited water traffic. Houses of all shapes, sizes, and pricepoints lined the shore. We both enjoyed spotting Hamburglar on a dock, but didn't think too much about it until Ronald appeared a mile or so later. We then checked the charts to see if we were in McDonaldland, but never saw Grimace or Mayor McCheese. Time passed quickly and we arrived at our planned anchorage at 1:30. Not wanting to stop just yet, we decided to continue south with new plans of grabbing a mooring ball in St. Augustine. It was great to pick up some extra miles. The St. Augustine Lighthouse and iconic Treasury rose high above the surrounding landscape, guiding us across the inlet and into the city. We approached the Bridge of Lions with perfect timing for the 3:00 opening.

We picked up our mooring ball without drama and relaxed for a few hours before dinner. The sun made a brief appearance and cast a warm glow upon the Bridge of Lions and lighthouse beacon before setting with a splash of color. In close today, I want to note that on Wednesday the sun set on another beacon of light as Uncle Ross passed away in the Bahamas following a lengthy illness. We last saw Ross in April when we visited him and Euleta in their Spanish Wells home. He will be missed tremendously by all who knew him and our thoughts and prayers are with my cousin Deidre, Euleta, Demetria and the entire family. We will see you all in a couple of months and deliver hugs.

The sun will come out tomorrow! That is indeed what the forecast says. We will continue down the ICW and stop somewhere in time to settle in and watch the Super Bowl.