April 30, Day 309 – Six Mile Creek to Jacksonville

We were up fairly early this morning and after a quick breakfast were underway just before 9:00. The weather was not quite as nice today – mostly cloudy and a bit breezy – but still not a bad travel day.

We had smooth sailing until we turned into the Ortega River and called for a bridge opening so we could get to the Ortega Landing Marina. Bridge tender replied, nope, can’t open right now. There’s been an accident and they’re working on the bridge. We asked how long and he said, not sure, maybe around an hour. So ….. we slowly did 360’s for awhile, all the time looking through the binoculars trying to figure out what was going on. As near as we could tell, one of the barrier arms on the bridge that stops traffic for the opening seemed to be in a half up/half down position. There also appeared to be a fender bender at the end of the bridge, but this could have been part of the accident that did the damage to the barrier guard. Not really sure, but we watched workmen (in yellow and orange vests) walking back and forth and standing around and a guy with a clipboard walking back and forth and standing around. We weren’t really sure why this would stop them from opening the bridge – one of them could have stopped the traffic, but probably some kind of OSHA regulation or something. Anyway, after awhile, it finally opened and we went through and then to our slip at the marina.

After settling in we went to the office to check in. We were curious about getting 2 nights free. When we were there a couple of weeks ago they told us if we stayed for 2 paid nights, we could have 2 free nights upon our return from the St. Johns. Sure enough !!!! No payment required. It was “complimentary”.

Linda did some laundry (bedding and towels) that she was unable to do in Sanford and Gerry worked on routes for the rest of the trip. We had dinner on board and soon called it a night. It was raining as we went to bed.

It was not a flat water day today -- a bit of a breeze -- so this sailboat was enjoying the ride

At the Ortega River Bridge there was a bit of a problem. Here we have one workman on the railing trying to check things out and two guys watching.

Finally, the bridge opened and we were on our way

April 29, Day 308 – Fruitland Cove to Six Mile Creek

We got up early this morning after a very peaceful night. The water was flat and we’d had no critter noises whatsoever. We were underway by 8:30. Our destination today was back to Six Mile Creek. This was the place with free dockage at the restaurant if you ate a meal. We figured we could handle another meal for a free night.

The trip today was under blue skies with a wispy cloud here and there and water as smooth as glass. Gerry amused himself by playing his bongos and singing along to the music and Linda rode on the bow, where she couldn’t hear him much, and read. We arrived at our destination around 3:30. There were 3 other boats there, but still lots of dock space.

After doing a few chores and getting cleaned up we went to the restaurant for dinner. After dinner we walked down to the end of the dock, chatting with the folks on the various boats. There were a couple of MTOAers that had some questions about our Great Loop trip through Canada, so we spent some time talking with them. After that it was back to the boat where we soon went to bed, again serenaded by the local critters.

The water was dead calm this morning as we started out

This is the Seven Sisters area -- it's seven small uninhabited islands surrounded by water with lots of neat places to anchor. At one point we had planned on anchoring here, but we decided to press on to Six Mile Creek.

Passing under the bridge with the power plant in the distance

At the end of the day we still had flat water -- that's the kind of day it was. Not much different to take pictures of as we've already posted pictures of the scenery on our way up the river. All in all though, not a bad day.

April 28, Day 307 – Sanford to Fruitland Cove

This morning we woke early. We had a long trip ahead of us plus much to do before we left. Linda did a couple of loads of laundry while Gerry topped off the batteries with water and then fixed a leak in the water filter system. Then we both replaced the anchor light bulb with an LED light. I know, I know, there must be a joke here somewhere. How many Great Loopers does it take to replace a light bulb?? In truth it does take both of us as Linda has to hold the collection of stuff that Gerry stands on to reach the light. We don’t have any one thing on board that is high enough to do the job, so we combine the big ice chest, doggy ramp, boat steps and another small ice chest. Linda acts as the “stabilizer” and Gerry climbs up and replaces the bulb. Since it is quite an undertaking, this time we used an LED bulb hoping it will last longer.

Once Michael got back from returning the rental car, we all headed out around 10:00. We traveled together for an hour or so, but then said our final goodbyes as they pulled into an anchorage and we continued on. We parted with promises of keeping in touch and plans for continuing our cruising in the fall to the Bahamas.

We had an enjoyable day on the water – the weather was great, maybe even on the cool side, and we saw lots of gators; even managed to get a couple of fair pictures (see below). Our anchorage was not quite as picturesque as others have been, but it was quiet and the sunset was beautiful. After dinner we realized how tired we were and soon headed off to bed.

When Linda returned from doing laundry she noticed a couple of turtles hanging round the boat. We think they'd noticed how dirty the bottom was and figured they could find something to eat.

Gerry threw out some crackers and soon we had a food fight going on

Second Star pulling away from the dock as we left this morning

We crossed under the bridge and could see the railroad bridge ahead. It was open, but this was the bridge that almost closed on us a few days ago as we were passing through.

One last shot of Second Star as we continued down the river. We will miss traveling with them.

At the Whitehair bridge we had to wait awhile as there were men working on the bridge. However, within about 10 minutes they opened it for us.

We saw 3 gators sunning themselves on logs today. This was the first -- it's a little far away, but if you double click to enlarge the picture, you'll see it in the middle of the picture.

You can see this one a little better. We circled around and came back so we could get a picture.

This was the biggest gator we saw today. This picture was taken just before the wake from our boat reached him (you can see the wake in the lower part of the picture) and he dove into the water. Michael was keeping track of the number of gators we saw and last we checked it was around 50.

It was a beautiful sunny day on the water

... and the scenery was, as usual, very nice. Lots of folliage, water plants, water and blue sky.

I snapped a picture of the sun just as it was setting. You can see it through the trees and reflected in the water.

Here's a picture after the sun had set and cast a pinkish glow everywhere. What a treat for the eyes!!!

April 27, Day 306 – In Sanford

Gerry woke up early this morning and decided we should go out for breakfast. He had been checking out the menus of different restaurants in Sanford and decided he wanted to go to the Colonial Room for breakfast – they had one of his favorites – country fried steak and eggs.

After breakfast we went with Michael and Jana to do a bit of provisioning. They had a rental car in order to pick up their daughter at the Orlando airport. She is going to spend a few days cruising with them before they pull their boat for the summer. Once we left the “historic” part of Sanford, it was a pretty vibrant area with lots of shopping and nice homes. Guess only the old downtown part is experiencing tough times.

One of the stores we went to was Kohls. We'd heard they had the sodastream machines and we needed some more syrup. Not only did they have what we needed -- but also lots of stuff we probably didn't need, but bought anyway because it was on sale. We got a foodsaver (or as we like to call it --a suck and seal). We have one at home, but didn't bring it because it was too large. We found a mini one which takes up much less space. When we got to the check out, the cashier asked if we might be over 60 (she was obviously looking at Gerry), because it was senior's day and you could save an additional 15%. What a deal.

Back at the boat we stowed all of our purchases and then did a few chores. It’s getting harder and harder to find a place to put things on the boat. One of our big projects once we get home is to store or give away all of the stuff we took with us but never used the entire year we were gone. We have a much clearer idea now of what is really needed to live on a boat – a lot less than we originally thought.

In the evening we joined Michael, Jana and their daughter, Jodi, for dinner at the German restaurant, Hollerbach Willow Tree Café. It was exceptional food – the best German food we’ve had since living in Germany. We had a great time and reminisced about our times in Germany and about the past 7 months we have been traveling together. Tomorrow we part company as they will be cruising slowly back down the river and then pulling their boat for storage over the summer while they go home to Colorado. We will be going a bit faster and will be heading north towards Maryland. Our plans are to meet up in late fall to cross to the Bahamas.

Back at the boat we took care of a few computer issues and then off to bed.



Both of us ordered good old German beer -- but one of us got more than the other. Can you guess who???
Enjoying good food and great company!!

April 26, Day 305 – Butchers Bend to Sanford

This morning we woke to mostly sunny skies and light winds. The storm from last night was history. After a leisurely breakfast we got underway around 11:00. We had an easy run across Lake Monroe to Sanford. The entrance to the marina was quite tricky, but the marina personnel talked Michael in and we followed him.

Once we were settled in we did a few chores and then later in the day walked in to town to check it out. Unfortunately, much of the town seems to have closed up shop. There were many vacant stores; it was even hard to find a place to eat. There is a very good German restaurant in town, but it was closed Monday evenings. We finally found a pizza place close by the marina and settled on that.

Back at the boat we watched a little TV and then off to bed. Hopefully tonight will be much quieter.

Leaving the Butcher Bend anchorage

Before entering Lake Monroe we came to a railroad bridge. The bridge was open so we continued on. However, just as we arrived the horn blew and the bridge started coming down. That was a surprise. Fortunately we made it through okay.

Here is Monk's Vineyard and Second Star at the Monroe Harbour Marina

There were nice flowers planted around the grounds

There was a riverwalk that ran along the seawall. This section had a Veterans Memorial Park

... and there were hanging swings where people could sit and watch the action

We walked into the historic section. There were some neat old buildings.

... and a shot of the other corner. The roads were nicely bricked. Unfortunately there wasn't much action downtown.

April 25, Day 304 – Starks Landing to Butchers Bend

This morning we had one of our favorite breakfasts – Karen’s homemade empanadas. We have carefully rationed them so as to be able to have them periodically throughout our Great Loop trip. When we left home last June, Karen gave us several packages which we stretched out to last until we went home for Christmas. Then, she gave us another big batch which we put in our luggage when we flew from Maryland back to Florida. We took the last package out of the freezer and had a couple today and will savor the few remaining ones during the next week. Thanks again Karen (and Jimmy, too). It felt like a little slice of home whenever we’d have them.

After breakfast, Gerry dove into the bilge and changed the generator oil and filter and topped off the batteries. Linda worked on the blog update. We’ve have poor cell reception the past several days and our MiFi has not been able to connect. We seemed to have better connectivity this morning, so Linda updated the blog before she forgot what in the heck we’d been doing.

Around 1:30 we decided we’d head a little farther south – to one of the next oxbows. We thought the best one looked like Butchers Bend. There were strong wind, lightning and rain warnings for the area, along with a tornado warning. Butchers Bend looked like it would be quite protected and with plenty of swing room. We raised the anchor and were on our way by 2:00. We arrived by 3:30 as we only had a short distance to go. We dropped the anchor and settled in. There was a lot of traffic on the river this afternoon, many boats with crazy drivers – everyone out for their last few hours of fun before returning to work tomorrow. We were glad to be at anchor in a protected area.

Around 5:00 we went over to Second Star for happy hour – so far we’d seen none of the predicted bad weather. However, by 6:30 the sky looked quite threatening and the first raindrops fell. We hurried back to Monk’s Vineyard in the dinghy just as the rain hit in earnest. WOW – what a storm – rain, lightning and heavy wind. We think this is the worst storm we’ve had on the Loop. We put on raingear, turned the engine on and went up to the flybridge. We wanted to be able to maneuver in case the anchor didn’t hold. Thankfully, the anchor held just fine. After about an hour the wind died down. However, the pounding rain and incessant lightning continued until 3 or 4:00 in the morning. What a night!!!

This is a restaurant/bar/marina we passed on our way to the next anchorage. It was quite the happenin' place on a Sunday afternoon.

We passed by the entrance to Emanuel Bend oxbow

Next up was Butchers Bend. Here we're about to make the turn into the oxbow.

It was a pretty area, lined with cypress trees

A shot of Second Star just as the rain started. Here's Michael "buttoning down the hatches". It was around 6:30 but you can see how dark it had become.

April 24, Day 303 – Revolving Bend to Starks Landing

We slept like rocks last night; there was a nice breeze and with the windscoop in the forward cabin the air flowed through to the back cabin. We even slept in this morning as it was the weekend. Oh wait, every day’s a weekend.

After puttering around for awhile we finally got underway around 11:00. We decided today would be our “loop” exploring day. There are many oxbows in this part of the St. Johns River. The oxbows are the old river channels that still flow in spite of the fact that new, straighter channels have been dredged. There are many dredged cut-offs and most boats just take the direct route. However, the oxbow “loops” provide many picturesque places for exploring and anchoring. We decided we’d check all of them out today as we made our way south.

The first was River Forest. It was okay, but we thought our anchorage last night was better. Next on the chart was Happy Hill. Second Star was ahead of us, but shopped to photograph a huge gator that was swimming around the boat. We went on ahead and made our way out the other end – well, not quite out the other end. It seems the entrance was overgrown with hyacinths and other water plants and the channel had become extremely narrow. It was fairly deep so we thought we’d be okay and forged ahead. Oops, aground we went – the entrance had shoaled over and we couldn’t get out. Gerry tried 2 or 3 different angles, but nothing worked. We just kept stirring up mud. Second Star backed up to allow us room to turn around. There was one little area without plant growth and we were finally able to get turned around – took us about 30 minutes, but still better than having to call Tow Boat U.S.

The next area we thought about exploring was Hontoon Dead River. However, before going in we talked to some locals and they advised against it …. so we continued on. We went by Hontoon Island State Park where there are some inexpensive state-run docks. However, most are small and/or shallow. We’d have to stay on the t-bar at the end and both of those were full --- so once again we continued on.

The next oxbow was Starks Landing just off of Blue Springs State Park. We entered there and decided it was perfectly acceptable for tonight’s anchorage. Once we were settled in we went by dinghy to the state park. It was nice (bigger than Silver Glen Springs) but you couldn’t take a boat in. We beached the dinghy and walked through the park. Since it was the weekend, it was quite crowded. We stayed awhile, but soon returned to the anchorage where the guys tried fishing, but no luck.

Later in the evening after a wonderful dinner (Gerry’s opinion), we went back out in the dinghy awhile to try a bit more fishing. Unfortunately, met with the same luck as before. We watched a movie and then called it a night.

One of our "loops" for the day. This is going through the River Forest oxbow

It was the weekend and there was quite a bit of traffic -- more than we'd seen all week long -- combined

Second Star going through the open Whitehair Bridge

This is the Shady Oaks Restaurant -- we decided to pass it by as it didn't look very appealing

This part of the river has lots of houseboat rentals. Because of their shallow draft they are very popular river boats.

Here is Second Star leading the way into Happy Hill

Monk's Vineyard takes over the lead, but as we rounded the corner, we saw this narrow channel

A shot of Second Star following behind. All seemed a-okay at this point.

At this point, we had tried three times to exit the oxbow and return to the river -- no luck -- we kept running aground, so here we are very s-l-o-w-l-y turning around.

Second Star backed up to give us room to turn around and we both headed out the way we came in

Entering Starks Cutoff, where we anchored for the night

We took the dinghy and made a side trip to Blue Springs State Park

Another shot of the springs

Here's a bird "out on a limb"

One of the boardwalks through the park grounds

This is the Thursby House. This family was very instrumental in establishing Blue Springs, arriving in 1856.

As we returned to the anchorage, snapped a picture of Monk's Vineyard and Second Star. From the angle, we almost look like we're in the middle of the water plants.