Tara in Paradise - Taradise

For 12 minutes in June of 1978, Tara was the most wonderful, perfect little girl that ever existed in the entire universe.  This is fact and not opinion.  After the 12 minutes, her sister backed in and caused an incredible tie for the position.  The tie continues to this day and we had the good fortune of hosting Tara for two days, here in the Florida Keys.  As you will see from the ensuing photographs (obviously un-retouched) and dialogue (obviously objective) Tara is still amazing.

Shortly after she arrived, she disappeared and we were looking all over the boat for her when we heard a splash.  A guy on a neighboring boat later gave us this photo he took of Tara as she exhibited perfect form while diving from the top of our mast.  That is, by the way, 55 feet off the water.  Like I said pretty amazing little girl.

Here she is again - beating Suzi at backgammon.  They're both pretty good at it; notice that they both play one-handed. Suzi cut the cheese.

Later that day we took a dinghy ride around the mooring field at Boot Key Harbor (made famous by a mention in the classic movie, Key Largo, by Humphrey Bogart.)  I think he said, "I'm twelve miles out of Key Largo approaching Boot Key Harbor."  Unless there was some serious continental drifting since the late '40's they were playing fast and loose with geography.

Here are a couple of unusual boats we saw - this one, Walkure, has a unique open bow which allows the mast to lay down.  It was built from a Bolger design by Mike Wagner.  We had seen the boat in Elizabeth City but didn't meet the owners until we got to Marathon.

We also saw this house boat which has a second story added complete with a latticework veranda.

And now, back to Tara, the subject at hand.  Here she is with her Mom.  You can see where she got her looks, as witness this next photo for proof.

I am much more comfortable taking the pictures than posing for them, but there were complaints that I was never in any of the photos.  Now you can see why.  And this should stop the complaints.  (There really weren't that many - and I may have exaggerated when I called them complaints - probably more like comments or maybe just passing mentions.)

Here's Suzi scolding me for being so damned homely (lovable but homely, nevertheless) while I ignore her and pretend to pat a loon on the head.  There's a point there - but I'm not sure what it is.

Later that day, after wrestling my camera back from those shutter button crazed females, we drove around in our rental car because it looked like it was going to rain.  And rain it did.  Here we are, right in the middle of a Hurricane.  Really, we are.  And it's blowing outside, and the rain is coming down in buckets.  Hurricane, by the way, and just so you nervous types aren't all worried about our welfare, which if you thought about it would know that we survived, otherwise you wouldn't be reading this seemingly interminable sentence, is a restaurant.  

So back to the boat we went when the Hurricane lunch / storm was over - though this may be the next day, I really don't remember and in the greater scheme of things, does it really matter?   Just answer no and move on.

It must have been the next day, because we have Bloody Marys every Sunday and Tara was fascinated by the play of light through her empty Bloody Mary glass, and I thought that, like all of us in the family, we are easily amused, but now that I think back on it she may have been hinting she wanted another.  "Dad, Dad," she said,  "Look at my glass, it's empty, and the sun can shine right though it and make pretty patterns on the side of the boat, because it's empty."  But such things are far to subtle for me so we thought we'd go for a dinghy ride instead.

And we did.  Because we have the technology.  Here's Tara at the helm controlling our massively powerful and equally cantankerous 9.8 HP dinghy engine, famed in earlier sections of this blog (See: how-to-permanently-repair-your-dinghy engine )

Here's another picture of Tara except this one is in the vertical format instead of horizontal.  I like to offer my readers options.

She spotted a pelican, trying to get a little shut-eye on a piling and turned suddenly to say hello.

This is Henry.  Tara is not the least bit shy about introducing herself to other species and she has such a marvelous way about her that they usually respond well.  Though, as you can see in this photo, Henry was a little grouchy.

But Tara made funny faces and kidded him out of it.

...as you can see, and Henry, though reticent at first, finally succumbed to Tara's charms and they had a lengthy conversation.

Apparently, Henry was quite amusing - though I didn't understand a word of it, but Tara speaks fluent Pelicanese - having a degree in language arts, she picks up this stuff with ease while the rest of us struggle along splitting infinitives and dangling prepositions even in our own language.  Suzi always tells me if my proposition is dangling, to help avoid embarrassment.

After awhile, Henry grew tired of the banter, having a short little span of attention, and we left and went through Sister's Creek to the ocean side of the island to relax and play on Sombrero Beach.

Here are the ladies, relaxing and soaking up the rays.  Tara soaked up a little too much and took home an unwelcome souvenir.

Reading and sipping on Blue Kanau's isn't all we did.  Tara wanted me to do some of the fun stuff we did when she was a kid.

I wasn't sure I was up to it, but Tara is still light as a feather.  We impressed many on the beach...

such as this beach babe, who I noticed but, fortunately for me, the girls did not.  Turns out she didn't notice me either.  I guess women just aren't as observant as we guys are.

We watched a seagull eyeballing a fish as big as its head, and wonder of wonders...

he did it!

And just proudly walked away.  Made me hungry for lunch.

Part of the view from Sombrero Beach includes this island as small as a house with a house as big as an island.  Not something you see back in our old home town of Warren, PA.  Or even Bradford.

More beach scenes, because we know you folks in the frozen north need something to get you through the long, cold winter.  (That's me, gloating.  Hee hee hee.)

The beach isn't all soft white sand though.  Some of it they imported from the moon.

Here's a closeup for you doubters.  Never, never question my veracity or I'll, I'll, ... I'll just show you a closeup.

And here are some strange imported moon creatures.  It's a good thing I was holding the camera so you get interesting pictures like this.  If the ladies had the camera, they'd be taking pictures of me.  These are much cuter.

More beach - I knew you needed that.

During the recent cold snap here in the Keys, (temps as low as 38 degrees) many fish died.  This was probably one of them.  Note the blue lips.

Ahh, what can touch the soul more poignantly (fun word, huh?) than children playing at the beach.  This photo was taken just after I yelled, "SHARK!"  It made for a much better photo than stupid kids just standing there.

See? There's those kids again just standing there over Tara's left shoulder.  And don't I look happy, just being with my daughter Tara?

There is a restaurant at the end of the harbor with a mermaid - so it was mandatory that we went there for dinner.

I took this photo just before we went into the restaurant.  You didn't need to know that, but I had to say something to fill up the space between the pictures.  Otherwise it's just a long row of pictures without words between. And all you viewers would think, "Well, Larry's just not doing his job."   And I can't have you thinking that, not for even a moment.  You don't have to read this if you don't want to.

This picture is almost like the previous one, but we like to offer you options.  And I had to put in another picture to separate out the words.  It's a complex process.  I took a special course.  It didn't cost anything, but as you can see, it was worth every penny.

I let the girls use the camera to take a picture of themselves.  And it came out pretty nice.  But then...

they turned on me and took this photo.  I think I was saying "Arghhh."  You can see why I like to stay behind the camera.  Those girls just don't know how to take a good picture.

The end of our visit with Tara (tear in my eye) offered us this view of the sun sinking slowly in the south.  (Directions of sunsets are optional in the keys - and they try to set them up for optimal viewing.  Local ordinance or something.)

Goodbye, Tara. Thanks for visiting us. We miss you already.  See you in the Spring.

The marathon ends at Marathon

I've been too busy fixing stuff to update our blog.  Yesterday it was the stove.  Today, the dinghy engine...again.  The only things that aren't broke are Suzi and me.  No, wait, we're broke, too. 

Alright, where did we leave off - I think we were in Ft. Pierce at anchor between the two bridges, planning to leave for West Palm.  So we thought.  The current and the wind where we were anchored started doing weird stuff and caused the boats to dance in all kinds of unusual directions.  We were swinging just a few feet from a couple of boats so we decided to re-anchor.  That didn't help so we headed to our secret spot near Ft. Pierce to anchor - very protected from the wind and no current. 

This is the scene around Faber Cove - our little secret hiding place - promise not to tell.  Out side the wind is blowing and the current is flowing and in here, surrounded by palm trees, homes and piers, it's quiet, and our boat bobs gently from its anchor.

Or so we thought.  Our little piece of paradise was soon lost behind a cloud.  And it got cold.  And it rained.  And it rained.  Did I say that already?  And it still rained.  We did, however, gather about forty gallons for our water tank.   But after about three or four days...

the clouds left.  And so did we.

We stopped at West Palm and did some re-provisioning and waited for weather before we headed further south - we took no pictures at West Palm because there was nothing to take pictures of.  (Yes, I know, Mrs. Crainer, dangling preposition. I really don't care anymore.  Mrs. Crainer was my sophomore English teacher.  She's probably dead now.  But I had nothing to do with it.)

We loaded the dinghy on the front deck so it wasn't hanging off of the back on its davits waiting for some errant ocean wave to rip it off the back and claim it for its own.  We left the dinghy engine back there though but the ocean didn't want it.  The ocean is smarter than you might think.

This is what the shore looks like in southern Florida when you're about three miles out into the Atlantic.  The sea was quite calm but we still felt the effects of the gulf stream - and some of its eddys.  Sometimes we would suddenly slow down by 2 or 3 knots as we rubbed up against the stream.  We would head back closer to shore and get our speed back.  Then, occasionally we would gain a couple of knots.  And that was probably because we were catching the favorable side of an eddy which would have spun off of the stream.  Either that, or Suzi was just playing with the throttle to mess with my mind.

Speak of the devil - here's that little rascal practical joker now, just cruising along on the Atlantic ocean acting all innocent and stuff.

We came in at Ft. Lauderdale, the Venice of the U.S. (seriously, googlemap the place sometime - half of the town's streets are waterways.)  We anchored at Lake Sylvia.  And there was probably 30 billion dollars of real estate just within view.  This is one of the more modest homes.  There was one we saw which was for sale.  I'll bet all of the people we know together couldn't afford it - though it was large enough, I think all of us could have lived there.

This is Thea and Nick.  We met them in St. Augustine.  They, like us, have a Morgan Out Island.  They live on their boat in Ft.  Lauderdale and came to visit us before we left for Miami.  This time we remembered to take their picture.  We've met a lot of nice folks out cruising - these are two of the nicest.  Hey, guys, thanks for the water! 

Back out on the ocean we can see the skyline of North Miami.

That building on the left is a cruise ship.  Hard to tell sometimes.

Here are some idiot fishermen on their tuna tower sportfish. Why do I consider them idiots?  They are all on the back of the boat, fishing.  Take a look at what's on the front of the boat.

Here's another with a little magnified pop out for your viewing pleasure.  These guys must really like fishing.  And they can't be that good a math either.  Fishing boat, a million plus bucks, rods, reels, bait, lures, line, fishfinders, fuel (some of these boats burn 60 or 80 gallons an hour at cruising speed.)  My question is, how much does the fish cost, per pound?  And how much if they simply went down to the fish store.  And there's still the issue of the nearly nude babe on the front deck.

More Miami skyline.  With a bunch of seagulls heading south.  All the birds were heading south.  Maybe they knew this cold front was coming.

 

Even more Miami Sklyline.  We're told there are nude beaches along this stretch. My telephoto lens isn't long enough.  Or maybe what they meant was the beaches are nude.  The people are all modest and stuff, but those beaches - trollops to the end, just sitting there all nude.  Stop it.  Stop it now.  I know you're squinting at this photo.  Forget it.  It won't work.  I have the original, hi res version and you can't see nothing!

Flying overhead (where else?) we see many little planes towing ads. 

I took a picture but he was going the wrong way.  So it's an ad for Ocieg.  And it probably costs more.

There were a lot of para-sailors out. They seemed to spend a lot of time over one particular beach.  I don't know why.  But they flew really low.  And really slow. 

Here we are turning into Government Cut, the main channel leading into Miami. 

Cousin Tara Lynn used to live along here somewhere, but I don't know where.  Tara, please let me know, cause it's very important.  Not really, but it's fun to think that it is.  A hundred years from now, posted over the door to the building will be a little sign which says, "Tara Lynn Bauschard, inventor of the Stretch and Fetch Maternity Bikini, slept here."  You wouldn't want them to be putting that sign up on the wrong building, would you?

Right in the channel they built a nice seat for the birds.  And you think our government wastes money.

Cranes take the containers off the ships with giant electro-magnets.  I often wonder, back in the days when they had VCR tape movies, how many were erased using this procedure.

I kind of felt sorry for these people who flew down to Florida and climbed on a boat and saw the same thing we were seeing for just a few bucks without having the opportunity to travel down the coast, fixing stuff all the way, cooped up for days in the rain, cold, wet with runny noses, at a cost of thousands of dollars.  What were these people thinking?

We got our anchor down in Marine Stadium south of Miami.  Many other boats were there and we could all see a spectacular view of the Miami skyline.  And I got to thinking.  In those buildings, behind all of those windows are people whose only view is the boats like ours in the harbor.  So I mooned them.

Anchored near us was a strange boat.  It couldn't make up its mind whether to be a tugboat or a sailboat. 

And while I was pondering whether to call it a sailtug, or a slug boat or what, suddenly, there was a roar overhead and I looked up and saw a commercial jet liner flying over.  This may not seem unusual, but as you know, the airline companies have been having a hard time financially for the past few years.   There is at least one enterprising airline that has taken steps to solve the problem...

I think it would be good for the economy if all of us went to Joe's Bar and had good beer and great fun.  See you there!

Shortly thereafter Miami engineered some special effects which I deliver to you free of charge.  Though donations will be graciously accepted.

Earlier I made reference to the Marine Stadium.  And that's exactly what it was.  This is the bleacher area, pretty much wiped out in one or more hurricanes.  I don't know what they watched, motorboat races, or fancy water skiing or what, but the bleachers sure were big.  You may notice it looks as if there are a couple of people on the roof of this decrepit building.

And there are people.  Skateboarders to be exact, daredevil, insane skateboarders.

Scott and Chad - don't go getting any ideas.

As the sun set slowly in the south, southeast, damn, my compass is broken.

Miami skyline at night.  I mooned them again and got bit seventeen times on the ass by mosquitoes.  So if you see me scratching, blame those gawkers in Miami, staring out their thousands of windows at me. 

Thought you might like another without all the ass banter.

Also at anchor with us in the Marine Stadium was this house boat, complete with upper and lower decks and a veranda.  We see some seriously unique watercraft.

The next day we sailed - hear that - SAILED - on Biscayne Bay.  Not motor-sailed, just sailed.  For the first time since the Chesapeake.  The wind was right, there was plenty of depth.  And the sun was out.  And we got to Blackwater Sound and dropped anchor and as I was taking sunset photos Suzi saw the Green Flash!  It is over in a fraction of a second, just as the last of the sun disappears over the horizon.  I didn't catch it with the camera so you'll just have to imagine.

The next day we motored past Key Largo in waters that were often barely five feet deep.  Our boat draws four and a half.  We about wore out the alarm beeper on the depth sounder.

Then we crossed to the outside and sailed the rest of the way to Marathon on the outside where the water was much deeper.

And that brings us to Marathon - where we are tied to mooring ball number A8 and will be relaxing and fixing things for the next couple of months.

Sailing past our mooring yesterday was this Viking, um, dinghy.

I told you we see some unusual watercraft.

And right next to our boat, early yesterday morning, I was lucky enough to catch this mermaid who was sound asleep.  Fascinating to watch, but elusive.  Just the quiet sound of the camera shutter and she was gone in a flash.

All downhill from here...

As you have probably gathered from recent posts, we continue to head south, toward the warm, away from the cold.  Sometimes we move fast enough, sometimes, not.

We left St. Augustine after visiting the two most interesting people in the world, so anything else we add to our blog will seem as an afterthought.

But we will carry on and tell you and show you of all of our fun and travails, our hots and our colds, and of new friends well met and old friends met again.

We met Nick and Thea, a very nice couple on another Morgan Out Island.  Unfortunately we took no photographs of them.  So you'll just have to imagine.  He's a very tall, thin, short fat guy.  She isn't.  So if you see the two of them, tell them we said 'hello' and please send us a photo.

Our first stop after St. Augustine was Daytona, though we only anchored there overnight after unceremoniously running aground, due to an error in dimension.  We were supposed to turn right a hundred feet from the shore, not a hundred yards.

Then on to Cocoa.

 This is the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse near New Smyrna. It's a lot prettier than it looks.

Past new Smyrna and up Mosquito Lagoon (where there are no mosquitoes which we saw.  Hey, the Dismal Swamp isn't Dismal,  Alligator River has no Alligators, Mill Creek has no mills, Rattle Snake Island has no rattlesnakes that we know of, though we took no chances.  And occasionally, you can see a No see'um.  Reality isn't all it's cracked up to be if there's anything in a name.) Pardon my digression.  Above is the opening bridge at Haulover Cut between the aforementioned Mosquito Lagoon and the Indian River (upon which there are no Indians).

 

There are guys fishing in Haulover Cut.  And Manatees. And probably the occasional Alligator, though this guy didn't seem frightened at all.

 

First thing you see on entering the Indian River are the very famous Bird Poop Rocks of which, until now, no one has ever heard.

You will also encounter a couple of rookery islands.  You'll see all kinds of birds there.

Except penguins, ostriches and dodos.  Dodos are extinct but its fun to say, so I included it here. I was a bit disappointed about the penguins.  I was told they stay where it's very cold and sharks eat them.  Stupid birds.

After we passed Titusville, right across from the top secret missile launching facility, Cape Canaveral, we passed this most unique little boat.

Two hulls, but the sails are only on the starboard hull.  The port hull had a dinghy.  Or maybe a bathtub.

The other side had a place the sailor could sleep - or possibly he was transporting a coffin. It was hard to tell.  But the boat looked like a home built.  He probably built it to sail around the world.

So I took lots of pictures so you could build one like it in case you want to sail around the world.  Let me know how it works out.

We could tell we were getting close to Cocoa when we saw these tall smoke stacks.  My dad always used to say, "No matter how tall they build them, they always overflow."  Dad wasn't as funny as I am.

Then, suddenly, when and where we least expected it, a B.U.B. (Big Ugly Boat) loomed up in the distance.

B.U.B.'s loom up a lot.  We have no idea why.

But this one sat just off the marked channel, doing a very good job of trying to look big and ugly.  You could probably pick it up cheap.  You probably couldn't move it though.

 

We know Cocoa well having stayed there and even worked there, and made friends there.  Here's a couple, now.  Say hello to Margaurite and Mike:

She owns Bambi's Boatworks - a custom boat canvas fabrication and installation business for whom Suzi worked when we were in Cocoa four years ago.  Mike does boat carpentry and other stuff.  Both very nice folks who drove us to Fishlips for lunch.

Another boat at anchor with us in Cocoa had a unique paint job.  Sometimes a picture is only worth a few words, in this case, one: "Whaaa???"

Cocoa welcomes the cruisers with a very nice dinghy dock.  But then there's a sign that says you can only stay three hours.  Mixed message.  We ignored the sign.

Having been drinking too much, I finally overflowed.

Or so I thought...

But it turned out (whew) that Suzi had only lined me up funny at the fountain. She cracks me up.

While in Cocoa, we visited the World's Best Hardware Store.  We live in a world of superlatives.

But how many hardware stores have a selection of wrenches that nobody can lift except the Governor of California (or possibly Minnesota - is Jesse Ventura still there?)

On our way back to the boat, we discovered a new decoration on our bow pulpit.

Next we went to Vero Beach.  Some call it Velcro Beach.  We intended to spend a day, but spent a week.  Big dinghy dock, free bus, lots of socializing.  Interesting town.

We walked around town and saw unusual flowers like these...

and these. Pretty, huh?

Lots of towns in the south have fiberglass sculptures. Some have mermaids (remember the one in Beaufort, SC), seahorses, manatees, and Vero has turtles.

It rained a lot in Vero, or was overcast so we stayed a while but didn't take too many photos.  On out last evening there, our friends Kathy and John from Hartge's pulled in on their boat.  IB and Rebecca, also from Hartge's had been there for a bit and all came over to our boat for sundowners.

This is Kathy and John.

And this is IB (pronounced I B) and Rebecca.

The next day we left for Fort Pierce.  We anchored between the bridges and another couple from Hartge's came by to say hello.

This is Cheryl and Alex on Aisling.  The just circled the boat and chatted a few minutes before continuing.

They're heading to the Bahamas.

Our friends Skip and Harriet were staying at Harbortown (where I had worked part time as a carpenter years back) and we took the dinghy in and visited them, went to lunch and forgot to take our camera.  So you'll just have to read all the stupid stuff without benefit of photography.

We also went to the Ft. Pierce City Marina's Tiki Bar (where both Tara and Colleen worked when we were here 12 years ago) and met our friends Phil and Terrie, along with Skip and Harriet for a very good dinner.  The bartender, Sherry, remembered us (after 12 years - this probably doesn't speak well for our habits).

Here's the opening bridge north of  Ft. Pierce where we were anchored. When opposing wind an current made the anchorage crazy, we pulled up anchor and went to a protected anchorage called Faber Cove.  It's very secret, so don't tell anyone.

Then it rained, and the wind blew.  And it rained some more. And the wind blew some more.  And the bolt broke on the alternator. Again! (Sheesh! as my Uncle Ellie used to say).  But I fixed it. And the weather's supposed to be better tomorrow.

So we'll leave for West Palm, where Tiger Woods kept his boat until he went into hiding. (It's bigger than our boat (155')- we saw it last time we were here.)

Then we'll wait for weather and head outside to Miami and then on to Marathon Key.

Sorry this wasn't as interesting as the last post.  Didn't have as much to work with.

How to Permanently Repair your Dinghy Engine

As you who have been reading our blog know,  we have been plagued with repair problems on the boat.  I have come to the conclusion that, "In Paradise, everything is broken; just to give you something to do."  You can quote me (with attribution, of course, and links to all of our sites, thank you.)

I have for you a solution, which has worked amazingly well for us.  I have finally succeeded in repairing our dinghy engine in a manner which guarantees that there will be no further need for repair.  What follows is a step by step procedure:

This is a photo of our dinghy engine as it sets on the stern of our boat.  I used a special 'personality' filter to take this photo.

Step 1: Remove the cover and remove the carburetor.

(Being careful not to lose anything overboard - I'm speaking from experience here.)

Step 2: Disassemble carburetor.

This is a closeup photo of the carburetor with the float valve, the idle jet and the high speed jet removed.  They are soaking in carburetor cleaner as this photo was taken.

Step 3. Consult instructions.

This is an exploded diagram of my carburetor excerpted (fun word, huh?) from my parts manual.  My carburetor doesn't look a thing like the exploded diagram.  I thought it should and could only think of one solution.

Step 5.  Gather needed parts.

I looked in the Yellow Pages and found "Explosives 'R' Us.  They're not difficult to locate.  They are all over the country, due to a less than adequate enforcement of their No Smoking Policy.

Step 6. Install parts.

After carefully installing my purchase in the space formerly occupied by the carburetor, I lit the fuse and stepped back.

Step 7.  Check the effectiveness of your repair.

I doubt that the ringing in my ears will ever stop, but I believe this photo will attest to the permanency of my dinghy repair solution.

Step 8.  Clean up.

I still have some clean up, glass work, and some new stanchions to install, but I'll never have to work on that devil of a dinghy engine again - and that's a relief.

The two Most Interesting People in the World - or How we Spent Thanksgiving Day

Well, here it is, December 12th and I'm finally getting around to posting November 27th - Thanksgiving Day.  We put the boat in a slip in St. Augustine, rented a car and drove to Live Oak, Florida to visit the two most interesting people in the world; Jimmy and Cherry Carter.  This post is mostly about them and only incidentally about our Thanksgiving.

First, I'd like to introduce Jimmy:

This is Jimmy Carter.  He was never President.  But he ran once.  Seriously.  He had no campaign funds, he received no votes, except mine as a write in.  Here he is modeling his 'Road Kill Hat.'

Here is a better picture of the 'Road Kill Hat.'  That long curvy thing on the top is a raccoon penis.  Odd? Perhaps.  Interesting?  To me, yes. I know Jimmy.  To others, maybe a little 'turn-offish.'  But stick with us here.

Jimmy is also an accomplished artist.  A little story about this picture:  11 or 12 years ago, when we had our boat at Fort Pierce City Marina in Florida (before the hurricane blew most of it away) I came down the pier and saw a small crowd of people were gathered and watching something.

I approached to get a better view and there was Jimmy, sitting on a small stool with his easel in front of him painting the details of this pelican.  Next to the easel stood a pelican.  Next to the pelican was a fish.  On the fish was tied a string.  The other end of the string was tied to Jimmy's toe.  When the pelican would go for the fish, Jimmy would move it, adjust his easel and stool and continue painting.  Both the pelican and Jimmy were seemingly oblivious to the crowd they were gathering.

This is a photo of the finished product.  If you'd like to see more of Jimmy's artistry click here.

Jimmy also plays guitar, sings (beautifully, I might add) and plays the saw (also, beautifully) and writes music.  When we were in Ft. Pierce, Jimmy and I would get together and play and sing together.(I also play guitar and sing -well, a little.) When Jimmy would start playing his saw, the haunting melodies would travel across the marina and in no time we'd have a small audience.

Here's a picture of me with Jimmy trying to teach me how to play the saw.  I didn't do too well.  While he plays haunting melodies, I played daunting maladies.

This is Jimmy and Cherry's water buffalo herd, listening to Jimmy play.

This is Jimmy and Cherry's Water Buffalo herd listening to me play.  More about the Water Buffalo herd later.

More about Jimmy.  We first met Jimmy just before he had met Cherry.  He was living on a small sailboat at the marina.  Jimmy does not know how to sail.  He does not know anything about boating.  He asked us how we hinge our mast so we could get under bridges.  It was his next project.  We explained about opening bridges and he abandoned his project.

At the time, he had just finished living for a year as a homeless person.  Just so he could see what it was like.  He lived under bridges and the other homeless taught him how to find food - the schedules when restaurants were tossing out perfectly good food.  He didn't need to be homeless - he had a job.  He just wanted to see what it was like.  I never found out how he managed to shower and get dressed for work each day, but Jimmy is always resourceful.

As you can see from the sign above, he has learned from his past experience of running for president, he's starting at the bottom this time and not the top.  I think he would have made a good president - he never 'lusted in his heart', was never attacked by a killer rabbit and never encountered a UFO.

Now a little about Cherry.  Cherry was educated as a nutritional-anthropologist.  A mouthful, so to speak.  That means she studies people's cuisine, not digs through ancient garbage piles, that would be a nutritional archeologist.

During several trips to Mexico, she spent a lot of time back in the 1980's traveling to Mayan villages which were far beyond modern roads where the Mayan Indians lived much as they did 600 or 800 years ago.  The research she did resulted in a cookbook, which is as much an anthropological study on the ancient Mayan culture as it is a cookbook.

This is the result of her  research.  It makes a fascinating read.  Though it is out of print you may purchase a copy of your own through Amazon - click here.

Here is a photo of her which I copied out of her book - I hope she doesn't sue me for copyright violations.

Interesting story she told us which happened while she was there. She was planning on getting married -to husband # 1, I think- and wanted a Mayan Shaman to perform the ceremony.  She hiked from one village to the next, talking to the shamans and asking but each refused - until one shaman, thinking like the others that this was just an American trying to be trendy, challenged her.  He told her if she could find the traditional roots and plants used in the Mayan marriage ceremony that he would do it, feeling sure that she would have no clue.  "Not a problem," she responded, "I have them in my tent."  She went and got them, returned and presented them and he had no choice but to perform the marriage.  And he did.

This is a sketch she made of the home she lived in while she was researching the Mayans.

Not only is she a talented artist, as you can see, her writing style is also very evocative. She opens her book with,

"There is a magnetic ambiance about the land: miles and miles of sandy beaches, clear turquoise waters and blue-green lagoons give way to a sweeping tapestry of gentle jungle green.  Dusty sage, subtle olive and apple jade trace the boundaries of well-tended fields.  The jungle throbs with mystery - lost cities, buried treasure and strange mythical creatures.  This is the land of the Mayab - a magical place for me."

 

 

When we first met Cherry she was living on a sailboat, a Tayana 37, at Ft. Pierce City Marina.  She, like Jimmy, didn't know how to sail.  She also doesn't know how to swim.

The first time we saw her was from behind as she walked down the dock toward her boat.  She was a tiny thing with a bouncing blond pony tail.  We thought she was very young and told our daughters who were with us at the time that they should go introduce themselves to someone near their own age.  It turned out that Cherry is actually older than we are, though at the time she looked much younger.  How she came to live on a boat was another interesting story, her husband, I don't know, number 3 or number 4, wanted to go cruising on a sailboat.  He didn't know any more than she about boats.  But they bought a Tayana 37 and hired a Captain to bring it down the Intracoastal Waterway with them to Ft. Pierce  (If I remember correctly they bought it in St. Augustine.)  Anyway, they ran aground several times, and scared the bejabors out of Cherry.

Sometime between that incident and when we met Cherry her husband went bonkers and was arrested while taking pot shots at people from a hotel room.  He's either in jail or the loony bin. We don't ask about that.  So that's how she ended up living alone on a boat.  With her entourage - a parrot or three, a cat, a dog, a rabbit, and the occasional iguana (no exaggeration - an iguana  - later, actually two.)

That's when she met Jimmy.  A perfect match.  Jimmy eventually moved aboard with her.  Jimmy was doing diving to supplement his living.  He cleaned bottoms of boats and collected tropical fish - he had a large aquarium on the dock by their boat.

We left Ft. Pierce and occasionally kept in contact with Jimmy and Cherry.  Suzi called once and talked to Jimmy for 15 minutes or so when he said, "I really should get going, I've gotta get dressed.  Cherry and I are getting married in half an hour and I've got to sing her down the aisle."  He had written a song for her as I remember.

We saw them again in St. Augustine about four years ago.

And we didn't see them again until this Thanksgiving.  They had moved off of the boat and sold it.  Another (!) interesting story - Cherry's family owned an island in Belieze (a central American country for you geographically challenged) and they sold it a few years ago to, get this: Leonardo DeCaprio and either Robert DeNiro or Robert DuVaul (she can't remember which).

Anyhow they bought 40 acres near Live Oak (central north Florida) and started a farm.

 

Not your ordinary farm with ordinary animals.  Not Jimmy and Cherry, are you kidding me?

They raise exotic birds - these, I believe, are cockateils. (No clue how that's spelled)

 

Pigeons...

I don't even know what this is...

Parrots...

Some other kind of big white bird with a plume...

Cats..

Cats who don't know that they're cats and get along well with birds.

inside dogs...

and outside dogs...

Dogs that hug...

little dogs that herd cattle, like this one who is

mother to these and several more whose eyes are just opening.  These are outside dogs  and the mom is raising them in a hole she dug under a pile of bush and grass clippings.

A young highland cow.  Jimmy and Cherry recently returned from a trip to Scotland where Cherry fell in love with the Highland cows and just had to have one.  When fully grown, the forehead hair will have grown like bangs to cover the eyes.

And goats.  Now you know where the term goatee comes from.  Maybe you already knew that, but I can't take chances with the growing extent of ignorance in the world.

 

And, of course, last, but not least, a small herd of water buffalo.  We aren't sure how many head of water buffalo that they have because we're not sure how to count...

this one.  Hmmmmm....

Thanksgiving dinner was delightful.  A friend of theirs brought over a very large turkey which he had raised on his farm.  The wing kept falling off anyway, so they cooked it along with many, many other sumptuous items on the menu, all of which we're grown by Jimmy and Cherry or friends and neighbors of theirs.

Here's Cherry performing a special incantation over a large kettle of her father's recipe for mashed potatoes, including bacon, green onions, goats milk (fresh out of the goat) and it was Ummmmm good!

You might think that Cherry loves cooking - once you see her kitchen.  Double oven, double refrigerator, huge (room sized) pantry. And much more.

Suzi helped Cherry in the kitchen.

Jimmy and friend John (who brought the turkey) digest.

While friend Scott admired their parrot.

And made friends with it as well.  The parrot usually will not allow men to touch it but Scott had no problem.  Cherry cast allusions about his manhood, but all was taken in good humor.

Even I made friends with one of the smaller ones.  This one is teaching me the proper use of human fingers as he walks from one to the other.  He tried to bite me, stupid little pecker, but I'm tough and it didn't hurt much.

Cherry always cooks with wine and liquors.  Sometimes she adds some to the food.

Besides the farm, Jimmy and Cherry host the Ravens Roost Ranch and Retreat - as it says on the sign on the side of their car.  Jimmy took us on tours through the retreat area as well as showing us his farm duties.

Here are some of their ducks and chickens.  Either that or its a Senate Committee meeting.  How would one know?

But Senators need to be fed and Suzi got the honors.  While I took a picture of her cute butt.

Next, Jimmy gathered the goats for milking.

and prepared to milk them - and iodine solution on the teats, he explained.

Some food to keep them quiet on the noisy end...

while he milks the udder end.

with those suction gadgets that you slide up and magically clamp on.  It doesn't seem to bother them - maybe they even enjoy it.  I have no idea - I don't know much about goats, though I have been accused on occasion of being an old one.

A stroll around the grounds reveals Jimmy's artistic and unique taste.  Here he hung what I think was a piece of driftwood as a decoration.

What could be cuter than a baby duckling?

Two baby ducklings.  Exactly twice as cute.  You do the math.

Somehow, the skull of Richard Nixon came into their possession.

Other deceased politicians' skulls grace their garden.  Both macabre and beautiful at the same time.  I'd feel badly if they were the skulls of regular people.   Did you know that there are many more dead people than there are live ones?  So, statistically, the odds are good that you're dead.

I have no idea who or what this is.  So instead of talking about it I'll give you another one to ponder:

The vast majority of people on the earth have greater than the average number of limbs.  (Again, you do the math.)

Some birds don't like flash pictures.  Interesting factoid.

Cherry is a practicing Buddhist (more on this a little later) so there's this monk guy in her garden.  He must have taken a vow of silence, even though I posed many intriguing and philosophical questions to him, he remained totally mute.  A tribute to his deep religious training and convictions, no doubt.  Or maybe he was stoned.

These guys were just funny.  I mean they knew how to tell a joke.   I didn't get any of them though, cause I don't speak the language - but I could tell that they were funny.

Jimmy took us on a tour through the retreat - there are many stops with colored globes that represent different shakra - and they have healing properties in different areas.  Jimmy said this one was good for backache.

This one was supposed to be good for pains in the feet and lower extremities.  But I tripped over it and Jimmy said it may not be working right and he's planning on sending it somewhere to have it looked at.

Here's another picture of their parrot.  I forget its name, but I think it should be Alfred Dimwiddy Snopnoodle.  The have one that says "Good Morning" repeatedly all morning.  Then in the afternoon he stops (how does he know?)  In the afternoon he screams, "Let me outta here!"  I am not kidding.

Continuing our tour we come up on this pile of rocks.  I think it supposed to be good for ailing memory.  I really can't remember.

There are two sinkholes on the property.  Florida is famous for sinkholes.  Well, maybe it's really famous for sunshine, but they do have a lot of sinkholes but that's not why people come here.  But it's why Jimmy and Cherry chose this particular property.  Cherry didn't care so much but Jimmy said he always wanted to own a sinkhole.

We came across several of these butterflies - native to the area, actually native to Jimmy and Cherry's forty acres.  Jimmy said this one is gay.  The other ones I saw didn't look that depressed, so I'm not sure how he could tell.

Another ball on the path.

And another.  I don't know what they do.  Hell, I don't even know what mine do for sure, but I know it's important to have them.  Maybe they keep the forest from speaking in a high-pitched voice.

These are two of the worker chickens. They're standing on their tool bag.  I didn't see them actually working - they were on break when we passed, but you could easily see that they were doing a good job.

And now we get to my favorite part.  The herd of Water Buffalo.  The one on the left is Mary, that's Jake on the right.  They don't really have names - at least they didn't until right this moment, but I felt that they were really good conversationalists and deserved to have names.

Anyway, I was regaling them with tales of the sea - they feigned rapt attention and my tales were so interesting that several others joined in.

I wondered what the chuckles were about - I wasn't at a particularly funny part of my story - when Mary mentioned quietly to Jake, "You know, he's standing in a big pile of water buffalo poop.  (hee hee hee.)

I had paused to catch my breath and heard the comment.  I tried to take it good-naturedly though - it's a farm after all - and we all had a good laugh.  They, more than I, because I knew I was going to have to explain the odor later to Suzi.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Suzi took this photo of one of their pieces of art - purchased many years before in South America.

And that concludes our visit with the World's Two Most Interesting People.  If you still don't think so, here's another interesting tidbit:  Cherry, while researching for another anthropological cookbook, toured Nepal and the Himalayas, traveling by Yak and other exotic means of transportation.  She met the Dalai Lama and stayed for two days with him.  (Remember I mentioned she was a Buddhist - this is the 'more on that later' part.)  She was given the same room that Richard Gere had slept in (he also being a Buddhist).  Her dilemma - there were two beds in the room - so she slept in one one night and the other on the second night.  Just so she could say she slept in the same bed as Richard Gere.  She said hopes her timing is better next time - he wasn't there.

If you know anyone more interesting - please introduce us.

Finally - into Florida

Cumberland Island, where we left off last time, is just across the line from Florida. On November 20, about 10:30, we crossed that line.

We made a quick stop in Fernandina at the pier of the city marina and partook of their water supply as ours was empty.  Had a quick lunch and walked about town for a bit.

We met a friendly pirate as we entered town.  He was really big but he didn't talk much.  He didn't move much either.  We both agreed, he probably wasn't real.  But we take no chances with things like that and didn't molest him at all.  Besides, there was a guy across the street keeping a suspicious eye on us.

Like many towns this size, Fernandino has buildings.

Here's another Fernandino building, just to drive home my point.

Enough of building pictures.  They weren't that great anyway and I could see you were getting bored.  I don't have a real big audience and didn't want to lose you.  So here's something I thought you might like:  most bridges open for us - either on request, or on a schedule.  Train bridges, on the other hand, are normally open.  Unless a train is coming.  Then they close, as did this one.  Without any warning.  As we innocently approached, moving along at about 7 1/2 knots with the current behind us, suddenly I noticed that the railroad bridge span was moving steadily from its normally opened position - to the closed position.

This was an awful lot of excitement for one day, for us old folks, dealing with oversized pirates and trains trying to run us down.

So my heart gets back to its regular rhythm of about 4 beats per minutes (years of rum has had its affect), and we encounter yet another bridge.  These always make me nervous.  Our mast is 55 feet off the water - about as tall as a five story building.  Look at that bridge - does it look like a 5 story building could fit under it?  And if it could, wouldn't it be in our way? But casting our fate to the wind and current and our trust in the charts that say it's over 60 feet off the water - we approach - expecting a heart rending, metal crunching sound at any time.

But as you must have expected, because otherwise I wouldn't be here writing about it, we passed safely under with mere millimeters to spare. Well, lots and lots of mere millimeters, but pretty much all millimeters are mere. 

And we saw a blimp.  And, if you've been following along, you know where this was manufactured.  Because we had a photo of it awhile back.  Special kudos and ta ta photos to the first one to tell us where in the comments below!

Here's another pelican photo.  We know you enjoy them almost as much as the mermaid shots we've taken.

 Along the waterway there are many very large and impressive homes.

One of the things that impresses us is that nobody is ever home.

We kinda feel that we could just pull up and move in and nobody would notice.

And if they did ever come home, as they came in the front door, we could hightail it out the back door, onto our boat and gone!

Or maybe change the locks and when they do finally come home, we could call the cops and report intruders.

This one could house an entire Ethiopian village.

Nobody we know could afford a home such as these, but if you're interested, we saw a real nice bird house for sale.  Cheep.

We kinda like this one.  But we're afraid our friends may feel uncomfortable visiting us in such opulent surroundings, while the host and hostess are wearing shorts with holes and a torn t-shirt, driving a 63 Buick and living on Mac and Cheese. (Which may be why so few visit us now.)

If you lived in this place, we would come visit you.  See, we're just not that picky.

I feel sorry for the poor folks living here.

St. Augustine Lighthouse.  And a gashole putting out a big wake next to a lot of boats at anchor.

Same guy going by at night?

Like a regular house, only fewer calories.

Then we went into town and the light was bad because it was cloudy and overcast (redundant, I know, but in Florida, you don't seem to get one without the other.)  So we took pictures of flowers and tiny berries and stuff that we think is pretty.

These are poseyficus Augustinium. (Translate to the common tongue - poseys in St. Augustine)

 

This one doesn't have a name.  And you have the honor of naming it after yourself if you want.  Or a loved one upon whom you wish to bestow great honor.  Post the name below complete with honoraree's name.

I have nothing to say about this photo.  And I'm only on my first rum.  And second beer.

Here is a flower losing it's virginity - kinda of being deflowered.

Stand in for Audrey II in Little Shop of Horrors

Here's my lovely wife, Saltwater Suzi, taking a picture of her nose.  She's really, really smart, but not about hi-tech stuff.

I was just kidding - she didn't really take a picture of her nose - she took this picture.  It's a flowering bush.  In my expert opinion.

What can I say, I like doorways.  They are so metaphorical.

They have buildings in St. Augustine, too.  But this isn't one of them.  It's just a wall with a big metaphor in it.  The door was wide open - so the whole concept just baffles me.  Why build a big wall, then stick an open door in it?  That's kind of like not pulling your pants all the way up.

 

Would you rather I do this blog like other blogs?  Today we walked into town and purchased a loaf of bread and some milk because we were running low.  Then we looked in a store that had dresses and hats but we didn't buy one, because I already have a hat, and Suzi already has a dress, and though I don't have a dress, if I got one, I probably wouldn't wear it, because what would people think?  (Though, I don't know, there might be a certain feeling of freedom, and there is the convenience factor to consider, and after all, the Scots have already established a precedence, what with their kilts and all  - and no one would accuse them of being less than manly - not after they've seen them toss a caber the size of a small telephone pole.)  Nope, it turns out I couldn't write a regular blog even if I tried.

Gate open, doors closed.  Mixed message.

Gate closed, door closed.  Unequivocal.

If you arrive early, you get the best parking spaces.  This guy arrived in 1930.

This is part of Flagler College.  There used to be phone wires, signs and traffic lights.  But I photoshopped them out for your viewing pleasure.  But then I had to go and tell you about it.  Sorry.

This is another building right across the street from the previous one.  I don't remember what it is.  But it's big and has a statue, and a fountain, and they take pretty good care of the shrubbery so it must be important enough to be included here.  So I did.  If you're ever in St. Augustine, you could read the sign and maybe you'll remember better than I.

Same building.  Still no clue.

Statue of some old dead guy I never heard of.  These things just are of very little importance to me.  Now if they'd put up statues of women, especially scantily clad women, I'd probably pay closer attention.

Here's Suzi pantomiming an Ayn Rand book.  Kind of like Charades.  Get it?

Don't scroll down until you've guessed.

It's The Fountainhead.

Isn't this blog fun?

Here's one of the towers for that building that I didn't know what it was.  Is your curiosity getting the better of you?  You'll just have to go visit St. Augustine.  You'll thank me if you do.  For leaving some things for you to discover.

Flagler College again.  Built a long time ago.  They don't build buildings like this anymore.  Why is that, Colleen?  (Colleen is my daughter, she's an architect and she knows these things.)

 

...oh, my.

See, they just don't make them like this anymore.  And they last a lot longer than modern buildings.  And you'll never see a courtyard at a modern college with a fountain with spitting frogs all around.

Here's one of them.  And they're all different.  Not made out of the same mold to be efficient and save money.  Damn bean counters have taken all the fun and artistry and creativity out of the world.

See? If you look closely, you can see that the puking frogs are all different. A little. 

More people would probably be inspired to stay in college if more of them looked like this.

You have to stand tall, you have to be proud, just to enter a door like this.  (They wouldn't let me in.)

Close up of the original Audrey II

Less creative buildings have mere downspouts - hardware store variety aluminum or tin pipes that merely conduct water from the roof to the ground.  No imagination these days.  None.

Suzi really liked this one.  It looks too phallic for my tastes.  Maybe that's ...nevermind.

It may take a little more time, but in my estimation, it's worth it.  (As long as I don't have to foot the bill.) (If I had to foot the bill, it probably would be made out of cardboard. I'm not cheap, I'm poor.  But opinionated.)

Suzi's a real good navigator.  But she had trouble getting out the gate.

I don't remember why I took this photo.  But I included it here to separate the photo above from the one below.  Which probably wasn't necessary, but it's done now, so we'll just leave it.

Another pretty flower.  Suzi knows what this is.  You probably do, too.

Unusual fire department vehicles in St. Augustine.  They probably spent so much on the neat buildings there was nothing left over.

Apparently, as this and the next two pictures show, there's an enforced truth in advertising law in St. Augustine.

I don't know if people are real religious here - but they really believe in big churches.

This is still the same church.

And still the same church - it covers about a whole city block.  Seems to me the money could have been better spent helping poor people.  But right wingers don't like poor people and would rather build impressive churches instead.  Hey, it's my blog, I'll pontificate if I want.

This is a Bird of Paradise flower.  We hope it doesn't fly up your nose.

This is a fountain in a small plaza in front of a fancy restaurant.  It wasn't founting though.  Maybe next time.

There's the gateway into town.  It's big and impressive, but you can just walk around it. Maybe it was different in the olden days.  Or maybe people weren't as smart as we are now.  I'd like to think so.  But we still keep killing each other.

This is the oldest school in the U.S.  One of the things they didn't teach was that you could walk around things that were in your way.

Across the street is a little courtyard with a waterwheel.  It goes around with water they pump up to the top and pour on it.  Then it goes around and dumps the water in a pond and it gets pumped back up.  I don't think they are quite clear on the concept.

This is the fort. It was built in the 1600's and it's still here so they built it pretty well.  It got attacked a lot.  I never understood that whole thing.  Forts can't move much.  Why not just ignore them and go around?

Here's another photo of part of the fort.  The cannons were all over and on weekends, people dress up

like they are from the 1600's and march around a lot and fire the cannon, and musket, and yell a lot.  And you can just stand there and watch.  Great fun.  We watched it last time we were here.  But not this time.  My ears still hurt.

On the way back to the boat in the dinghy we came upon a mermaid, washed up on the beach.  She was struggling and flopping so we beached the dinghy and slid her back into the water.  You have to be real careful doing this because their tails are extraordinarily strong and can break bones if they swing them at you.  Fortunately, she seemed to realize that we were just trying to help - or maybe she was tired from struggling.  One way or the other, we got her back into the water.  I wanted to get another picture, but by the time I got the camera, she was gone.  It kind of makes you feel good though when you can help a helpless creature.

Cumberland Island, Georgia

 Your word for the day is  VERISIMILITUDE.  It would behoove you to look it up.

It's been awhile since we last posted - we sat at anchor about 9 days in Beaufort, S.C.  trying to fix things and waiting out the wind and cold and rain.  Our good friends Gordon and Deb, who just moved to Beaufort about two weeks before we got there, were kind enough to escort us around town to grocery stores, West Marines, hardware stores, auto parts stores - as well as giving us a tour of their new town and inviting us to a very nice dinner.

I'll give you a run down on all the things that broke or went wrong during our trip:

1. Weems Creek, Annapolis - engine overheated.  Problem seemed to disappear on its own.
   
2. Weems Creek, Annapolis - snagged a huge chain with our anchor.  Lots of difficulty pulling it up but managed.
3. Computer hard drive crashed.  Tried to fix it or replace it and retreive the information off of it.  Very little retrieved - had some back ups, but lost a lot of recent stuff.  Cost of hard drive and new Windows almost as much as a new computer - so we bought a new computer.  Bad move.  It's a 64-bit computer.  The GPS wouldn't connect to it because of the driver. So we can't run our chartplotter program. The printer wouldn't connect because of the driver. So we couldn't print.  Several of our programs wouldn't run.  We thought - no problem - we'll get on-line and download new drivers.  Nope.  Drivers not available.  We were especially concerned about the chartplotter program and contacted Garmin (the maker of our GPS) to try to get a new 64bit compatible driver.  After several weeks, they finally admitted that there was no driver available and they weren't working on it.
4. Solomon's Island, MD  Engine overheated. Several times.  Changed coolant and problem went away. 
5. Norfolk, VA - TV stopped working.  Thought the TV had crapped out - but it turned out that it was probably just the impedance matching transformer on the antenna.  Purchased a replacement - but haven't installed it yet because I need help climbing the mast cause Suzi isn't strong enough to crank my excessive bulk up there.
   
6. Charleston, S.C. - while changing oil, noticed that a wire had broken off of the alternator.  While fixing it, noticed that the bolt that holds the alternator to the engine was broken.  Had to stay at the marina for two extra days (at about $80.00 a day).  Had to take a cab across town and back to the only store we could find that sold the grade 8 bolts of the size we needed.  (cab drive $30.00)  Cost of bolt(s) 16.95 - they only sold them in packages of 12.  Total price for the bolt needed: $206.95.  Then discovered that the adjusting bolt was also broken.  Fortunately we had a replacement for that.
7. Left the marina - engine overheated.  Sat at anchor trying to figure out the problem - thought it was the thermostat - changed that and left - got through the Wappoo Creek Bridge and the engine over heated again.  Fussed with it and nursed it along until we got to Beaufort.  After e-mails and phone calls, we traced the problem to the pressure cap.  Miracle Mike sent us a new one.  Installed it.  No luck.  
8. At Beaufort, at anchor, the refrigerator stopped working.  We had a very big dinner that evening, using up all the food so it wouldn't spoil.  Gordon had a set of gauges which he said he didn't need anymore and gave them to us.  Tried to find out what readings we were supposed to get on the gauges and it seemingly is a hit or miss procedure.  Several times the temperature would drop into the 20's and then turn right back around a head back to ambient.  
9. Then the alarm sender for the engine oil pressure started screaming and wouldn't shut off - though the gauge said the pressure was alright.  Disconnected the damned thing.
10. Decided to do something about the chartplotter program.  Went to Best Buy and bought yet another computer - really cheap, really tiny and it runs on Windows XP.  Wired it up to the GPS, loaded the software and drivers and it worked.  (We insisted at Best Buy that we would not buy it if  we had to pay the 15% restocking fee if it didn't work - and the floor manager signed the receipt to that effect.)
11. So, without actually getting anything fixed, and after a grocery shopping trip that Suzi stocked up on foodstuff that did not need refrigeration (read: canned food) we left Beaufort.
12. After one night away from Beaufort (just far enough that we couldn't return the computer), the chartplotter crapped out.  The GPS wouldn't talk to the computer.  And worse, the GPS antenna went intermittently out - (Can't find satellite signal is all it would tell us.)  

But we continued and left South Carolina and entered Georgia.  And the refrigerator started working again.  And the chartplotter started working again.  And the GPS antenna started working consistently.  And the engine stopped overheating.  And I reconnected the engine alarm and it stopped screaming at us.

I'm not a superstitious person - I think it's bad luck to be superstitious - but I highly suspect that there is something about South Carolina.  Where else could you go to spend over two hundred dollars for a bolt?

Enough of the RANT - ON WITH THE SHOW!

Our anchorage at Bull Creek greeted us with yet another glorious sunset.

 

Late the next morning we were greeted by another mermaid.  You're probably thinking that we're making this stuff up.  But I think that photographic evidence is evidence enough. There are areas in Georgia, near some of the inlets where the water can be quite clear.  These areas are areas where you have the best chance of spotting a mermaid.  You have to have your camera ready - they will disappear in an instant.  You'll never see a mermaid from a motorboat - too noisy and they hear you coming.  Sailing is your best bet.

There are many bridges that we have gone under many more times than we have gone over.  This is one of them.

You can't afford this boat.  The owners of this boat will probably never see a mermaid.  They could probably afford to buy one though.

These folks fish for a living. There are worse things you could do.  Not much room for advancement though.

There is the end of somebody's dream.  He had even more problems than we did.  I feel bad for him - but in a perverse way, it makes me feel better.

They call coastal parts of South Carolina and  Georgia the "Low country."  This is what very much of it looks like.  With tidal ranges of 7 or 8 feet, the only thing that changes in the view for many miles is the height of the grasses along the edges of the canals - some of which are very shallow and you need to pick your way through to avoid running aground.

We spotted this along the waterway.  I want one of you to learn this piece on the piano and let me know what it sounds like.  Pick your own key.  Looks like B sharp with a demented ninth to me.

We took a side trip down (or up - it varies) the Frederica River.  The last time through here we saw about a dozen alligators - some of them quite large.  But we were out of film so we got no pix.  So we have a digital camera now but we saw no alligators - they're probably in hiding cause it's November and it's cold - at least for them.  Someday I might do some research and find out where they go - do they hide in the mud?  If so, how do they breath?  Naw, I probably won't take the trouble, but if any of you knows or wants to do the research - let us know.  My curiosity isn't killing me.  But it itches a little.  And Suzi tells me I shouldn't scratch where it itches - at least not in public.

This heron was just standing there along the river.  On one leg.  (Why do they do that?)  So real loud, I said, "YAWP." in a high falsetto.  It startled him and he flapped his wings and almost fell over.  But he managed not to get his other leg wet.  So it must be kind of important for them.

 

 This is Fort Frederica.  I don't think I understand military stuff.  First off it looks really short and, you know, kind of small.  And second, it's on the end of a river that goes beside a bigger river.  So it seems to me that the enemy could just ignore it and go around.  But there were some major battles here - Spanish vs English or something.  If I had been a General in those days, you'd have a lot more ancestors - let me tell you.

This is the very famous, top secret Navy Submarine base King's Bay.  So don't look at it.  Just look at the sky above it.  The navy keeps that there so nobody will notice the top secret Submarine Base.  Notice the cloud with the brush cut?  It's in basic training.  They still do that.  Nobody knows why.

This is a top secret Navy Submarine Degaussing station.  Can you say degaussing?  If you don't know what it means, you'll have to look it up.  It's secret, you know.

Because of the 7 or eight foot tides in Georgia, the currents are incredibly strong, as witness this photo.  They don't even need a boat.  They tie up at slack tide and wait.  And then they can ski for about six hours.  We don't see this too often though.  You need a lot of stamina. If you fall you wash out to sea and get eaten by a shark.  Or on an incoming tide, you could wash inland and be eaten by an alligator.  Unless they're hibernating.

As we dropped anchor at Cumberland Island - the last barrier island before Florida - we saw one of the wild horses along the shore.  There are many, many wild horses on Cumberland.

Walking around Cumberland Island, a designated National Preserve, you see palmettos and Live Oak with Spanish moss hanging.  These trees are very very old and as you will see, have had no formal training as other trees have had.  They bend and grow in myriad (fun word - always wanted to work that into a blog) ways.  More on that later.

There were many toadstools -mmmmm.  What made me nervous was that, since this Island was once home to a bunch of Irishmen, that we would see a leprechaun and then I would have to convince you that leprechauns exist.  And I'm having enough trouble dispelling the mermaid myth.  The are too real! No, not leprechauns - Mermaids!  Haven't you been paying attention?  Maybe they have leprechauns in South Carolina and they were what was causing all of our boat problems.  More research.  Any volunteers?

More toad stools.  No, wait, toadstools.  Toad stools would be, like, amphibian poop.

Palmettos.  I can think of nothing funny about Palmettos.

More toadstools.  Sorry, you've heard all of my toadstool jokes.  Not very good - but you've got to say something under these pictures or you people just scroll right through like you're on a mission or something.  You gotta stop and smell the toadstools.

Remember, I told you that these trees had no formal training on how to grow straight?  This one, though by comparison to some of the one's you'll see a little later are pikers - damn near conservative, compared to the willie nillie radical, liberal hippie trees that grow which ever way they like with a blatant disregard for all conformity.

These are probably a little left of center.

Suzi wasn't scared of no liberal, non-conformist, bend the rules trees.  She marched along.  We calculated later that we walked over 15 miles.  We're resting today.  We're old you know.  And calloused.

Now this guy, this guy has not only no concern for the rules - he flaunts it.

I put this one up twice just to see if you were paying attention or just flipping through to see if I had written anything that was funny.  Did you notice?  These things can tell a lot about a person.

This is an armadillo.  They are not mythical creatures either.  If you were from Texas you would know that.  Of course, I think Texas is mythical.  And I've been there.

Once you get out of the forest, you get to the dunes.  This is the Howya dune.

There are trees and stuff and behind them is the Dune Wellthankya.

Am I trying too hard?

This is another wild horse.  He has no name, so I named him Myrtle.  We struck up a conversation - but it was kind of one sided.   I told him from this angle he looked like a horse's ass.  I thought he might at least take some offense and hold up his end of the conversation - but he just went back to eating.  So I got bored and kind of drifted away.

This is part of my sea shell collection.  I keep it on beaches all over the world.  You may have seen it.

This is a shell from a horse shoe crab.  It's about ten or twelve inches across.  I'll be damned if I'm going to measure stuff, too.  I think I do enough just taking the photos and telling you stupid stuff.

This is more of my sea shell collection.  Notice how carefully I lay them out for your viewing pleasure.

 

I wasn't quite so careful with these - so you'll just have to use your imagination.  See those little holes in the sand?  I think birds put them there.  Or possibly they're miniature volcanoes.  I hate looking things up.

 These are some of my free range pet birds.    Pelicans.  That's John in the front.  I'm not sure who the next two are, but the fourth one is one of my favorites.  But I forget his name.

I can read bird's minds.  This one was thinking, "Steal the sandwich in a bag, or mess with someone's flip flops"?

"Shit, someone is watching.  I'll just mosey on and look innocent.  Probably couldn't get the stupid sandwich bag open anyway.  But I'll bet I would have gotten a lot of laughs tromping around in those flip flops."

I felt really bad about all these poor handicapped one legged birds.  They were probably war-vet birds, totally forgotten by their fellow country-birds.

Some could still fly a little.  They didn't go very high.  It's hard to land on just one leg.

And this one almost made me cry.  He could just hop a little on that one leg.  When he tried to use his pecker, he would just keel over.  Sad.  So sad.  It's a harsh, cruel world.

I kind of had to laugh at this one.  This poor guy had no idea that there was a bird flying over about ready to cut loose a bomb-load.  I would have warned him but I was too far away.  Telephoto lens, you know.   Heh, heh. heh.

Isn't there some religious thing about footprints in the sand?  Probably didn't involve birds - but I didn't want to take any chances.  Not with the luck I've been having.

Now this is a whole horseshoe crab.  They are very ancient animals.  Their blood is actually blue. This is true.  You can look it up yourself.  

This is the common Wastrel.  Similar specimens may be found along warmer beaches throughout the world.  There are usually empty brown glass containers nearby.

Last time we were here this same attractive young lady was sitting here.  And four years later, here she still is.

Amazing.

That's Frederick (he doesn't like to be called Fred) and Balshazoy; more of my free range pet Pelicans.

 

Now we're getting into some of the really radical trees.  No rules here, thank you very much.

"If I want to grow right back into the ground, well, I sure as hell will grow right back into the ground.  You can take conformity and just cram it."

How can you run a forest like this?

Wanna buy a palmetto?

Yep, you guessed it - another picture.

Sometimes, trees make me just laugh out loud!  This is not photoshopped.

This, I think, is a buffalo tree.

This blog needs a little direction.  And this is where we were heading next.  The paths are a lot longer than when we were here last.

This is the famous ruins of the Carnegie Estate - which burned mysteriously in 1959.  Poachers were suspected - but, personally, I think it was the leprechauns.

It must have been a grand estate.  Carnegie only lived a year or so after it was finished.  But his wife survived and had lots of fun parties.  I was never invited.  I was only a kid.  But I was still a bit miffed.  And I knew this leprechaun...

Just when you least expect it, an armadillo walks up and lets you take his picture.  Armadillos are real.  Mermaids are real.  Leprechauns are not real.  They're only under suspicion.

A real fixer upper.

And another fixer upper - the whole neighborhood is going to hell.

But it has real possibilities.  Even though it burned down in 1959, it still has a nicer back yard than yours.  With a fountain and it's own picturesque cloud.  Rich people can afford stuff us regular people can't.

I sure hope you read all this stuff, cause it took me all day to write it.

These are specially built stairs that only go up.  There's another set that only goes down.

Suzi just stood there looking at the pergola - so I got mad and took her picture.  I can't stay mad at Suzi for long though.

I think this plant starred in The Little Shop of Horrors.

And speaking of horrors - this is a tree which wrapped itself around a palm tree.  And both of them still alive.

Same tree(s).  I think it's love.  Unnatural love.  Perverted love.  But love, just the same.

There should be something witty to say here - but I can't think of anything - so don't read this, just look at the picture and move on.

Where's Tarzan when you need him?

Suzi's not afraid of any stinkin' primeval forest.  She's going to find Tarzan and have him do something about all those vines.  Goodbye Suzi.  Don't get lost.

Some trees are more human than others.

Back on the boat - exhausted after our 15 mile hike, we're treated to yet another glorious sunset.  We may be over quota.

I mean, seriously, some sunsets are just showing off.

Suzi noticed something unusual - the clouds mirrored the horizon.  Kind of unusual.

And now we're back into sitting on the boat for a few days.  Jimmy and Cherry have invited us to their Water Buffalo Farm in Live Oak, Fl.  Suzi made arrangements for a marina to leave the boat and a rental car to travel the 100 miles inland.  So next stop Live Oak and then St. Augustine.  Or vice versa.  Suzi navigates.  I just steer.