Visiting Steve And Dale

We left the ICW where it crosses the St. Johns River and then headed up the St. Johns toward Paltaka, Florida to visit Linda's sister Dale and her husband Steve. It was a little strange getting away from the cruising boats migrating south. We had been in company with these boats since Long Island Sound. We pretty much had the St. Johns to ourselves other than a few fishing boats. The river goes through downtown Jacksonville. In Jacksonville we had the Main Street Lift Bridge open for us. This is a landmark in Jacksonville. We worked our way to green Cove Springs about 40 miles up the river. This was as far as we could go being limited by a 45' bridge just beyond the town. Steve and Dale live on a canal off the St. Johns about another 20 miles further up the river. We anchored out a couple nights until the wind settled a little and then moved to the town dock. The town has some floating docks at the end of their fishing pier, but they are very exposed to wind and waves. We had not seen Steve and Dale's new home, but had seen the property which they have been developing having begun with a sea wall. They have a wonderful home very much in the Florida lifestyle which takes advantage of the warmer climate.

I developed a problem with a tooth that chipped a few weeks ago. It was a challenge to find a dentist that would take me on short notice, but when I finally found one and it worked out great. They understood my situation and were able to accommodate me. They gave me a 25% discount which brought the rate right in line with what we were charged when we were insured. We are spending a little more than a week here, with plans to leave Sunday to get down to Titusville for the scheduled December 6 Space Shuttle launch.

Day Sailing On The St. Johns