Posted by Monty
We have been "on the road" for one month. Of course, we have been living on the boat since April (unless you count the boat that sunk. We moved aboard that one in January.)
We spent the last three nights in St. Augustine Municipal Marina, right downtown. We got very little sightseeing done, as we were plugged into the power grid and heating the boat.
That seems to be a recurring theme.
We left Point Marina behind the curve. We knew it was late in the year, but the weather held through our journey down to Morehead City. It really was not bad through Myrtle Beach. Then the forecast turned. It was going to be cold.
We hid out in Charleston, to the tune of a week. While it was not cold all that week, the biggest reason we went to the marina was to hide from the approaching cold front. We had a couple of warm days midweek, and left in the cold again.
It warmed a little on the way through Hilton Head, but turned back chilly just in time for our 24 hour offshore adventure. We ducked behind Cumberland Island and waited out another three nights of cold weather. After which followed the aforementioned stint in St Augustine.
We left this morning in the high 30 degree range, with a ten mph wind, and shivered our way down to Daytona Beach, where we are anchored for the night. Tomorrow we have our sights set on Titusville, where the temperature threatens to moderate, perhaps with the left hand digit showing a seven. I hope so.
I know, the whole country is cold. I got it. Last winter was cold, too. I remember nights on the boat in Oriental where the low was 14 degrees. I'm willing to pay my dues, but really? Isn't this a little much?
OK, enough whining. Some random thoughts about how it's going so far:
The scenery is amazing.
Dolphins are really cool. We see them most every day now, and I never tire of it.
The boat is performing (knock on teak) pretty well. Except for replacing the house battery bank, no systems have required my emergency attention. (This will not last.) I took advantage of the time at dock in St Augustine to perform some routine maintenance.
Carol is amazing in her ability to put up with me.
After our offshore adventure, we are leaning toward The Bahamas instead of the Florida Keys. We'll see after we come back from spending Christmas with the family.
I am losing my flip flop tan.
We spent the last three nights in St. Augustine Municipal Marina, right downtown. We got very little sightseeing done, as we were plugged into the power grid and heating the boat.
That seems to be a recurring theme.
We left Point Marina behind the curve. We knew it was late in the year, but the weather held through our journey down to Morehead City. It really was not bad through Myrtle Beach. Then the forecast turned. It was going to be cold.
We hid out in Charleston, to the tune of a week. While it was not cold all that week, the biggest reason we went to the marina was to hide from the approaching cold front. We had a couple of warm days midweek, and left in the cold again.
It warmed a little on the way through Hilton Head, but turned back chilly just in time for our 24 hour offshore adventure. We ducked behind Cumberland Island and waited out another three nights of cold weather. After which followed the aforementioned stint in St Augustine.
We left this morning in the high 30 degree range, with a ten mph wind, and shivered our way down to Daytona Beach, where we are anchored for the night. Tomorrow we have our sights set on Titusville, where the temperature threatens to moderate, perhaps with the left hand digit showing a seven. I hope so.
I know, the whole country is cold. I got it. Last winter was cold, too. I remember nights on the boat in Oriental where the low was 14 degrees. I'm willing to pay my dues, but really? Isn't this a little much?
OK, enough whining. Some random thoughts about how it's going so far:
The scenery is amazing.
Dolphins are really cool. We see them most every day now, and I never tire of it.
The boat is performing (knock on teak) pretty well. Except for replacing the house battery bank, no systems have required my emergency attention. (This will not last.) I took advantage of the time at dock in St Augustine to perform some routine maintenance.
Carol is amazing in her ability to put up with me.
After our offshore adventure, we are leaning toward The Bahamas instead of the Florida Keys. We'll see after we come back from spending Christmas with the family.
I am losing my flip flop tan.