Manatees at Amity Marina

Last Sunday we decided to go sailing and were pleasantly surprised to see three Manatees while walking to our boat. These large "Sea Cows" are a common sight at our marina on the St. Johns River. The Manatee averages 10 feet long and weighs 2000 lbs. They are vegetarians, spending about 8 hours a day eating sea grass in the shallow rivers of Florida. Many have prop scars from boats on their backs, and speed limits have been imposed in Manatee Areas on many rivers and the Intracoastal Waterway to help protect them. One playful Manatee has been nicknamed "Thumper" as he will sometimes thump on the hulls of the docked boats for attention. (You may need to click or double click to enlarge these pictures for a better view.)

Our sailing trip never happened as the boat moved very slowly away from the dock due to a prop severely fouled with barnacles. I went into the river and scrapped the thick layer of barnacles from both the prop and the boat bottom, a necessary maintenance task for a salt water boat owner.
Next time we will be ready to sail.

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Back to the Island & a Family Reunion

Last week we returned to Amelia Island, FL for a week of sunning, swimming, surfing, kayaking and surf fishing. Amelia Island is the place we spent five months last year. We were joined by my son from Missouri and Terri's brother from Colorado. This year we stayed at Oceans of Amelia Condos and had a direct ocean front room with a gorgeous view of the uncrowded beach. Hurricane Igor, some 400 miles off the coast still kicked up some powerful surf for a few days.




Our surf fishing landed us bluefish, whiting, pompano and stingray. Our surfing attempts were not very successful but a lot of fun. A nice man who owns a beach house a few doors down loaned me one of his surf kayaks and it was a blast.




We enjoyed blackened mahi mahi sandwiches and live music at The Surf beach restaurant one evening. We visited Shuckers to try their raw oysters and fried pickles as well.




It was a great time at one of our favorite Florida beaches.

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Daytona Beach in July....Hot but very Cool!

Recently Terri and I had the opportunity to visit Daytona Beach, Florida. Since we frequently travel with our two small dogs, we were pleased to find a La Quinta (pet friendly hotel) directly on the beach for about $120 per night including the La Quinta Rewards upgrade. Our room on the 3rd floor overlooked the pool and the beautiful beach which permits driving. In fact Daytona is famous for driving on the beach due to the beach races preceding building the famous Daytona 500 Speedway. Motorcycles are the norm there as well and Bike Week and Biketober are two major gatherings in the area each year. Several famous restaurants and bars are there as well such as Aunt Catfishes, the Iron Horse Saloon, Bubba Gumps, and Sloppy Joe's. There was a large amusement park area near the city pier a mile or so down the beach.

This trip we choose to stay on the beach most of the time, enjoying the cooling sea breeze and swimming in the pool, and buying fresh shrimp or ordering in food. A talented sand artist sculpted a sea monster, hammerhead shark and sea turtle in the sand and used what appeared to be food coloring for detail. I did a lot of boogie boarding and body surfing in the cooling 75 degree ocean water. It was a very nice vacation which we will always remember.

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Jacksonville 4th of July Sailing & Restaurants

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The fourth of July is always a great time to be in the Jacksonville area. Last year, we went night sailing and watched the fabulous fireworks from NAS(Naval Air Station) and the City of Jacksonville from our boat while sailing in the St. Johns River.It was our plan to repeat that this year, but plans are meant to be changed, especially for sailors who depend on the weather. After an exceptionally hot June for our area, this year we had clouds, afternoon squalls and thunderstorms which was a deterrent to our plans, but a welcome change in temperature.

On the 3rd, we took Terri's Uncle and his Grandson for their first sail. We enjoyed a nice breeze under threatening skies. After a nice sail a squall hit and obscured our view from the shore. Our guest got to experience a heeling sailboat and all the excitement that comes from being caught in a storm. Heading back to the marina after dropping sails, everyone seemed to enjoy the adventure and it was just another day of sailing in Florida in the summertime.

Due to the weather forecast, we cancelled our 4th of July night sail, but sailed on the 5th under cloudy skies and a brisk wind. It was a great day!

Sometimes we forget about some of the great places in our own backyard, so its time to mention some of the great restaurants we go to in the Jacksonville area. We enjoyed buckets of dungeness and snow crab from Joe's Crab Shack on Jax Beach at a friends birthday party while the wait staff danced in a Conga Line every thirty minutes or so. We also found a great inexpensive locals spot at Millers Ale House (try the Jambalaya & fish tacos) on San Jose Blvd. in Mandarin. The Bonefish Grill in Mandarin is probably our favorite, featuring great service, salads, and excellent grilled grouper with chimechurri sauce at Red Lobster prices.

Tomorrow we leave for the famous Daytona Beach for a week or so, look for another article soon.

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Panama City Beach, Florida.....Big Fun on the Beautiful Beach

I had not visited Panama City Beach since I was in High School and some things I remembered were still there while others were much different. Most of the Mom & Pop hotels are gone, replaced by High Rise Condos & World Class Hotels. The brilliant white quartz sand, emerald water and some of the family owned seafood restaurants (many in business for over 50 years) are still there and better than ever. The best news was that the oil from the BP Oil Spill hasn't made it to Florida Beaches and ruined the tourism business for the good people who have made fishing, seafood and vacation resorts their livelihood for generations.

Plentiful near the beach on this trip were large Stingrays which swam a mere 2 to 3 feet from us while we were in the water. (See dark spots in the picture above). We saw a school of 40 or 50 at one time and most people swimming were more curious than cautious. We also saw a pod of Dolphins swim only 25 yards from our spot on the beach. We did a lot of swimming and body surfing while there.

One highlight was visiting the fairly new Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville Restaurant & Bar. Just outside the restaurant a photographer sat a Blue & Gold Macaw Parrot on my shoulder and snapped a few pictures of us. We sat on the outside deck enjoying a view of the gulf, live music and a couple of Margaritas. In a spicy mood that night, I had the Jamaican Jerk Chicken and Terri had Jimmy's Jammin Jambalaya.

We also visited Capt. Anderson's Restaurant, voted #1 Seafood Restaurant in the country by Southern Living Magazine. They unload the days catch off of their docks every day and the seafood doesn't get any fresher. It was every bit as good as when my parents took me there some 35-40 years ago. We enjoyed the Grilled Red Snapper and Grouper.

Terri and I also like Oysters, so we stopped at three Oyster Bars.....Shuckums, Salty Sues, and Dustys Oyster Bar where we had two dozen each of the freshest oysters you have ever tasted. We had meant to stop at another Panama City Beach Institution, Dirty Dicks Crab House for their New Orleans style seafood and humorous t-shirts but never got around to it.

We made one last stop before leaving and bought some large fresh shrimp from a seafood market to bring home to cook and had it peel & eat style tonight, it was delicious.

The one thing I had forgotten was how intense the sun is reflecting off the brilliant white sand and super clear water at this beach. Spending so much time at the beach and in the water, we both returned home sunburned, even though we had a good tan to start with. It was a great trip and we plan to return there soon.

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Boats, Bars & Concerts....but Beaches soon!

Since the St. Augustine trip, Terri and I have been living a pretty normal life. We have been working in the yard & gardens quite a bit. Last Sunday we went to the Suwannee River and caught some Catfish.

And since even Beach Bums need a little night life we decided to go and see a concert at Wild Adventure Theme Park near Valdosta, GA with REO Speedwagon and Styx. I enjoyed the concerts very much and especially Styx who played "Come Sail Away". Afterward we went for a late night dinner at Hooters for some of their famous Chicken Wings.

Last week we spent a few days sailing Sand Dollar on the St. Johns River. I have been working quite a bit on the boat lately too, especially the engine. Salt water tends to have an adverse effect on old engines, but thanks to a friend who lives aboard with his son on a Hunter 34 on our dock we have ALMOST got it running right. Still, Terri and I were treated to nice winds and highs in the low 90's for some nice sailing days.

Tomorrow we leave for 4 or 5 days at Panama City Beach, FL. It has been over 30 years since I have visited this beautiful Gulf Beach so I am looking forward to this very much. Look for an article about it soon.

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10% Tanning Tax.....Are You Kidding?????

Apparently Congress has passed a Health Care Bill which includes a 10% tax on indoor tanning effective in July. I am a middle of the road political type of guy but I find it a bit peculiar that this was passed during a black president's rein. I don't tan indoors very often, but after a Christmas present of a tanning package, I found it nice to get a head start before our Mexican vacation.....especially when it is so warming and relaxing on a cold winters day. Furthermore, my daughter's first job was at a tanning salon while she was in High School/College on her way to becoming a Physicians Assistant.

It all reminds me of a time when I first acquired my boat. I asked my fishing friend Slinky, a black man from St. Croix if he wanted to go sailing with me. He said "NO MON! Ja won't get me on dat boat! Black people don't like boats! Ja tell me ya taking me to a betta place und I never see my home again. Dats why black people don't like boats!" Of course he was just kidding, but he never did take me up on the offer.

We have all seen beach goers bundled up in 90 degrees, either from real problems or taking their doctors warnings far too seriously, but they are far and few between. Still, I have a problem buying this as a "Medical Tax."

How much money do they really expect to raise from this tax? Already there are two tanning salons for sale in our city. Do they want to tax the sunshine next? Perhaps taxing Afro-Sheen would raise more money......can you imagine?

Take Care All and.....Don't get too much Sun.

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Back to the Beach in St. Augustine, FL

Terri and I spent 4 days in our nations oldest city last week. St Augustine has always been one of my favorite places and it was nice to return to the beauty and history of the city. It was a pleasant surprise to find that the Bridge of Lions was reopening after an almost five year long renovation. The beautiful bascule bridge (draw bridge) was built in the 1920s and is now in top notch condition. The temporary bridge will be removed in the next 3 or 4 months and the concrete from it used for an artificial reef. The major ceremony will be in 2011 after the Lions that sit at the base of the bridge are replaced. We crossed it on the first day it reopened.

We arrived to some wet and chilly weather but made the best of it. We did some shopping at the very nice Prime Outlet Mall and dined at several of the areas excellent restaurants. We tried The Seafood Kitchen, The Sunset Grill, and my all time favorite....Salt Water Cowboys. Salt Water Cowboys sits on a salt marsh viewing the intracoastal waterway and features authentic turn of the century Florida cuisine in the tradition of an old fish camp. The views from the restaurant are beautiful and the food is excellent.

I also stopped at Sailors Exchange, a marine consignment store to look at parts for the renovation of my boat.

Even on the chilly or rainy days we took a drive down the beach. We also drove to a beach near Marineland for a while. The last day we were there it warmed to the 70s and we spent the afternoon on the beach under a cloudless sky. It was the perfect end to a vacation in one of my favorite cities.

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Way Down South...In Mexico!

About a month ago, some friends from Michigan that we had met in Port Charlotte told us about a special they had booked to Barcelo Maya Resort on the Mexican Rivera. We booked our vacation through cheapcaribbean.com for about $900 per person for 7 nights including airfare from Atlanta, transfers, drinks, food, water sports and tips. It had been almost 20 years since I had visited "the land of the Mayans" but this would be my first trip to an all inclusive resort. Terri had been to an all inclusive resort only once during a scuba diving trip in the Caribbean. After over a 2 hour flight delay due to.......snow in Atlanta?...a rare occurrence, we were on our way. We arrived to find a five star resort with open air lobbies, several restaurants, several bars, huge meandering swimming pools, and catamaran, kayak, and windsurfing water sports all included. The resort far exceeded our expectations.

Most days I started the day by walking to the beach to reserve my Hobie Cat Wave sailboat, then we went to breakfast at the excellent buffet restaurant where they would fresh cook my Hueveros Rancheros (eggs ranch style) and the large assortments of Spanish sausage, mangoes, papaya and mimosa (champagne & orange juice). After breakfast we would get a Bloody Mary and then go to the beach or pool. We enjoyed conversation with our friends from Michigan, nine of them made the trip. On some days our friends would reserve a Hobie Cat as well and have me skipper the boat for them. My wasted youth sailing and racing Hobie Cats came in handy and I got to sail more than the 30 minutes a day allowed on the catamarans. I also windsurfed on the Hi-Fly Windsurfers available and tried out the Hobie Kayaks a couple of days. Other activities included swimming in the enormous pools or the beautiful turquoise Caribbean Sea. We would usually fit a light lunch in there somewhere between Mojitos, Mosquito Coasts, Mango Tangos, or Margaritas.

At night we would generally eat at the enormous buffet which featured main entrees including prime rib, grouper, pork & chicken dishes, shrimp, certain exotic foods, delicious desserts and a wide array of fruits and vegetables. A couple of nights we made reservations for the four smaller full service restaurants which include one for steak, seafood, Chinese and Italian. All restaurants including whatever you wanted to drink was all inclusive. With all the free drinks you might expect some rowdiness, but we found this not to be the case. Everyone seemed to be well behaved, happy and content. Perhaps if we all had an abundance of free food and drink, plenty of water, sunshine and water toys, the world would be a much happier and peaceful place.

At night, the resort provided entertainment, usually consisting of karaoke, dancers, circus and comedy acts in the large auditorium. There were also roaming Mexican Folk Bands, men with monkeys or parrots and Mayan attired people with which you could have your picture taken. Natural entertainment such as 2 foot Iguanas that roam the grounds could also be seen occasionally.

Arriving at the airport for our return trip we stopped at Jimmy Buffett's Air Margaritaville for a Cuban Sandwich and one last Corona Beer. The restaurant features a large replica of Buffett's Sea Plane hanging above it as well as pictures, soveniers and the singer performing on television. Did I mention that Jimmy Buffett is my favorite singer?

It was a great trip and one we will always remember, a Beach Bum's Paradise!

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Late Winter means Time for Boat Work

After an unusually cold winter in our area we were blessed with a couple of days near 70 with abundant sunshine. For most boaters that means either time to get out on the water or get the boat ready. For me it was the latter. Winter storms meant the chafed dock lines needed replacing along with other projects.

"Sand Dollar" (the 26' sailboat I acquired for a can of beer) is now docked at Amity Marina in Switzerland, FL. It is a lovely small marina and yacht club with a bar, tiki bar, swimming pool and one long dock with direct access to the St. Johns River. It is now my home in the Jacksonville area.

During our recent trip to South Florida, I was fortunate enough to find Mariners Trading Company in Punta Gorda, FL. It is a consignment store with bargain prices and I could have spent days in there. I returned two more times during our stay and acquired a 22 lb. claw anchor & line, dock lines, a compass, a mooring ball, some jib blocks and a cruising guide to Florida's East Coast all for under $136.00. A great store for a Beach Bum on a tight budget.

Terri and I have a trip planned to Cancun, Mexico next week (look for pics and article soon) but I will continue the refit of my bargain boat after we return. Projects include replacing fuel lines, mounting the compass, installing a new outboard motor bracket, new jib blocks and GPS installation. Boat work is never ending but very rewarding when you take it out and things work right.

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Way Down upon the Suwannee River

We awoke to a quickly warming day on Thursday with mid '60s predicted and abundant sunshine. I suggested it might be a good day to check on Terri's property on the Suwannee River and try out my 9 1/2 foot dingy. Within an hour we were on our way to the riverfront lot about 20 minutes from Madison, Florida. When we arrived we found the river to be much higher than our last visit with a swift current that I estimated to be about 5 knots. This beautiful, remote place is so quiet the only sounds you hear are the swirl of the river or the call of a Whippoorwill.

We enjoyed a picnic lunch and then launched the dingy. We motored against the swift current dodging a few floating logs but developed engine trouble. I started rowing the boat to the ramp but it was a challenge across the strong current. We decided to fish from the shore but had no luck. I had hoped to see one of the many alligators on the river but rapidly floating logs were the closest things to a gator that we saw. We didn't see another boat or another person all day until we saw some people who live up the road on our returning trip home. It was a very relaxing and great day at one of our favorite getaways.

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