St. Simons Island

April 30, 2016
Moved the boat to St. Simons Island today, just a short one hour trip. We wanted to get closer to Savannah because that is the next area with marinas, and it's about 60 miles, a 6-7 hour trip for us.

Another shrimp boat/bird dinner cruise

Went past this Chinese tanker again, check out the life raft. It slides down into the water after the survivors get on board. That would be exciting!

Staying at the Morningstar Marina.

There was a lovely bike trail through gorgeous scrub oaks covered with moss, beautiful homes,
 a golf course, and some wet lands.

Some of the shops downtown.

Wetlands

This massive yacht, about 120 feet long, is docked in our marina. It is flying a Miami Heat flag. I looked online and found this link that says it is for sale, or it was, for $4,750,000. 

We met a nice couple, Brenda and Scott from Ft. Lauderdale, and had a nice meal with them.
We are all heading north tomorrow. 

Brunswick, Georgia

April 29, 2016, we said goodbye to Amelia Island,
went past Fernandina Beach on the way out, toward Brunswick, Georgia.

Great Egret, my favorite bird.

We saw a lot of dolphins today, and a big snake swimming on top of the water.

It was so calm, you could see the clouds reflected in the water. That is Cumberland Island in the distance, it is 17.5 miles long with 36,000 acres of wildlife habitat, including herds of wild horses.
 Unfortunately, we didn't see any.

This is the only structure we saw on the north end of Cumberland Island. There is no bridge, and visitors have to take a ferry. Overnight stays are prohibited.

I sat out on the bow for a long time while we passed Cumberland Island and St. Andrews Sound. It was so calm and beautiful, we saw very few boats, just islands and water. It was amazing.

Shrimp boat, bird magnet.

Coming into Brunswick, Georgia

Staying at the Brunswick Landing Marina, where they have parties with free beer and wine,
 most welcoming place we have ever stayed.

There is a beautiful clubhouse at the marina, this is a huge screened in porch that overlooks it.

Historic Downtown Brunswick, another Ritz hotel, a little older than the last one we saw.

Haven't seen one of these in a while.

The locals told us to eat at the Indigo Coastal Shanty, this tree is growing in the middle of their patio.
 It was just as good as promised.

Another great sunset from the boat.

Last Night in Florida

April 28, 2016
Still on Amelia Island. We had a rental car tonight, so after a nice rain, we had dinner at Gilbert's Underground Kitchen, then took a spin around a different part of the island. Didn't go downtown because there is a Shrimp Festival beginning today, all the locals said it's pretty crowded.

Ritz-Carlton Hotel

Found the beach!

Getting better at these selfies!

Got back to the marina in time for the sunset.

Tomorrow, April 29, we will finally cross into Georgia, headed for Brunswick.

Atlantic Beach/Neptune Beach

Sunrise Friday, April 22nd.

When we moved Tranquilo II in November from Pickwick Lake to Pensacola, we met several boaters on that 550 mile trip. One unforgettable boat was Andiamo, an 82 ft. boat that we followed down the Tenn-Tom for several days. The Captain, Jay, and a crew member, Billy, were moving it for the owners. Well, we ran into Jay in the Ship's Store here, and sure enough, Andiamo is here! Then we got invited for drinks on board by the owners, John and Reba. I had seen the inside of the boat in November, but this time Robbie got to see it. We had a lovely time! What a treat!

Andiamo

They told us we had to see Atlantic and Neptune Beach. So Friday night we ventured over there, even though it was raining, and it was totally worth it. We ate at the Flying Iguana, and both of us had tacos that we both swore were the best we have EVER had!

Not exactly beach weather, but still pretty.

Maggie loves the back deck.

Leaving the Jacksonville area Saturday, April 23, headed for Amelia Island. 

St. Augustine to Jacksonville Beach

We said goodbye to St. Augustine this morning, Wednesday, April 20, 2016. We went under the draw bridge, and didn't need to have it opened. 

Looking back at the city of St. Augustine.

Looking back at the bridge, our marina is visible behind it.

Into the Intercoastal Waterway, (ICW) we turned left here and got a peek at the Atlantic Ocean.

This section of the ICW has some really lovely, large homes on one side.

Blue Heron

This sits back on the approach to Jacksonville Beach on the ICW.

We are now at Beach Marine in Jacksonville Beach. We came here to get our Eisenglass replaced. Some of you might remember when we lost this section of it in a storm in Carrabelle, the same storm that ripped our dinghy off the roof. We had a heck of a time finding someone to replace it, but finally did. Now we have a fully enclosed back deck again,
 safer for the cats, protected from the rain.

Great Egret, I took this from the boat in our marina. 

This morning's sunrise, Thursday, April 21, 2016

Beautiful St. Augustine

Today, Tuesday April 19, we had the time to explore St. Augustine a little. What a pretty town.

This is a needle fish, saw him in the marina.

Snowy Egret on someone's power cords in the marina.

Typical street in old town.

This is Fort Matanzas. Here is an article about the history of St. Augustine and this fort:  Fort Matanzas

Sleeping quarters

On the top of the fort.

Back into town, see the New Orleans look?

Dinner tonight at O.C. Whites, wonderful. We've heard some pretty bad music at all the Tiki Bars at all the marinas,
but here, great music, everywhere. 

Great food too. We are took advantage of all the Spanish restaurants again for lunch, and crab and shrimp for dinner. 

This was part of the outdoor part of the restaurant. Every pillar was covered with these vines,
with greenery above that looked like jasmine. 

The draw bridge beside the marina.

Still experimenting with the selfie stick!