Presently we are sitting in an anchorage in Peck Lake, about 10 miles southeast of Stuart, Florida. We pulled in here yesterday early afternoon, knowing I had to work today and that the weather was going to deteriorate. We were able to get a workout in enroute with dumbells and resistance bands from inside the pilot house. Yesterday was beautiful, had a great walk on the beach after taking the dinghy down and motoring the couple hundred yards to shore, and hiking across the isthmuz another couple hundred yards. The anchorage had a dozen boats last night, half of them left this morning. The beach was isolated however. This morning Cindy ran the beach for 5 miles and I hiked it, again pretty much alone other than gulls terns and pelicans. The wind came up and is about 30 mph out of the north and we are sitting tight with the plan to pull out and head towards Miami in the morning. likely take a copuple of days to get there, but short days. We saw boats here form Denmark and Toronto. Talking to folks they all think we are Canucks too. Finally, we had an interesting experience last night. At dusk, I went down into the engine room, just to check on a couple of things. I heard water dripping or electical clicking, with my hearing, I am never sure and couldn't determine the direction. I crawled all over and into skinny spaces looking for the source. Cindy crawled around and couldn't locate it either. We tore the lazarette apart under the aft deck. I checked all fittings and bilges. Then recalled something I had read about crustaceans on the outside of the hull making this kind of noise. We googled it and figured it out. Critters eating crap off the bottom of the hull.
Engine Hours 4782.1
Genset Hours  5418.0

A poor dead Chris Craft

My osprey imitation. They are everywhere down here.

Guac and a beer on the aft deck at beer hour

Anchorage in Peck Lake

Crowded beach, part of the Hobe Sound wildlife area

Leaf tracks in the sand from the wind moving the grass

Trail to the Atlantic side where we hiked

The crew catching the early morning sun

Yesterday we spent the day traveling and put on just shy of 70 miles. There was a new anchorage I wanted to get to and it looks like it is going to be worth the long day. It is tucked away behind a spoil island just south of Pine Island, north of Vero Beach 4-5 miles. When they dug out the ICW in the first half of the 20th century, the dredgings were piled on the side, forming "spoils" islands which are now vegetated and form places for anchoring off the waterway, but protected from passing wakes. Our current location is such a place, and it is also shileding us from the built up properties on the ICW, making it pretty private. We are going to do chores today and sit tight. I have to get taxes in order before we can go to the Bahamas and there are a few boat chores to do. The weather is cloudy and dreary and supposed to rain, so a good time to pull over and do some of that stuff. Below arre more pictues of our NASA trip.
Engine Hours 4775.9
Genset Hours 5410.1

Rocket boosters on the first stage of the Apollo  Rocket

Roadside gator, saw about a dozen of them the other day

The absolutely immense NASA construction facility

The tour guy said this building has a greater volume than the Empire State Building

Yesterday went to NASA and the Kennedy Space Center. Great day and lots of things to see. They are a little inefficient in handling the crowd volume however, and I don't think it was particularly crowded. Those guys were true American heroes and the tribute to the Challenger disaster was pretty moving. Seeing the Atlantis up close and the Apollo capsules that went to the moon, and the enormity of the booster rockets was amazing. We went from space stuff to Walmart for groceries. We had gotten anEnterrise rental for the day and stocked up on stuff,then went out to dinner at Country Crossroads, a great seafood place we had been at before. Local rock shrimp were great, the grits were good but pretty carby. This morning we watered up and pumped out the septic and are heading south. Likely be inthge Miami area by the end of the week.

Engine Hours 4767.1
Genset Hours 5408.3

Eating a fish at the dock this morning

Rock Shrimp

Part of the space station with kids crawling through the tunnel

The shuttle Atlantis with bay door open

Haven't posted in the past couple of days. Been busy. Interesting story on Wednesdaay as we cam down the ICW. We were about 8-10 miles out of Titusville when I heard a noise, it sounded like a bang followed by kind of white noise. I assumed it was the engine and immediately sccnned the instruments, all was good, but the noise continued. Without my hearing aids in, I could barely hear it and Cindy didn't notice it at all. I went into the enginee room and couldn't find anything wrong, slowed the boat down and no change. After a few minutes, Cindy noticed a huge white plume on the horizon. It was a NASA test launch. I thought for sure the engine had issues. We docked an hour later at Titusville and have been here for a couple of days. I worked yesterday, Cindy did laundry and boat chores and tried to go to a thrift store but it was closed. last night watched a very bad Wild team get wacked by Pittsburgh. We have run into a minor boat issue. The backup depth finder is failing. I tested the electronics and they are ok, so it appears to be the transducer. The question is whether it is crusted with sea growth or is it failing. To pull it, I have to have a "blanking plug" to fill the hole and replace the space taken by the transducer, so I am sourcing this, it's a $5 part, but I have to see where I can get one. Below is a video Cindy took of the dolphins riding our wake on Wednesday.

This boat "Side by Side" is a catamaran with the home port of Ely, MN. We ran into them the spring of 2016 coming north for the first time.  Owned by the Kallerud's who have a cabin by Clear Lake

Smoked fish at Playalinda brewery

Crows are migrating north by the thousands

A stork buddy by the dock

Yesterday we spent in St Augustine. When we dropped the dinghy off the top and I got in, there was a little critter wedged in the oarlock and his picture is below. He was pretty cold after the last couple of nights and I thought he would make good bait, but Cindy thought it was worth reviving him, unsuccessfully. I still thought he would make good bait. Anyway, it was a pretty pleasant day. Tooured the Lightner Museum and Cindy enjoyed looking at the vintage clothes from the TV show Downton Abbey. I enjoyed looking at vintage toasters, buttons, matchboxes, other stuff I didn't know existed and  lot of statues and pictures of women in various states of undress. Actually it was pretty interesting, Civil War relics and a lot of history. We rode our bikes and I went to West Marine to get the 2 remaining zinc anodes I needed. In the evening we went out for a burger at the place we really enjoyed last year and found the food was not even close to last year. Best thing about it was a good beer apiece. Rained last night but cleared up this morning and pulled out early, ended up at Daytona Beach about 2:30, our current location and put on about 50 miles. We are anchored at a good spot, not wilderness, but protected and an easy get away in the morning to go to Titusville. Plan on staying there for 3 nights, so I can work on Thursday, reprovision, and go to Cape Canaveral and the Space Center on Friday. We wanted to go there last year but couldn't make it work.
Engine hours 4753.5
Genset hours 5406.2

Our buddy the frozen lizard

Vintage toasters ( I wasn't joking)

A desk that belonged to Napoleon's brother

A very neat looking sauna that was part of the original building where the Lightner Museum is located

Lightner Museum - It used to be a hotel for the rich and famous at the turn of the century

More strange artwork

Dinghy ride into the marina from our mooring. Folding bikes are loaded

We left Sisters Creek yesterday morning around 9 after a nice long morning hike. Came down the ICW about 35-40 miles to St. Augustine wher we picked up a mooring ball for a couple of nights and went into St. Augustine. Found a great ice cream place and spent the afternoon wandering through a myriad of shops, all artsy stuff. This morning will take the bikes in by dinghy and will tour the Lightner Museum. I think after that will bike a couple of miles to the West Marine store, a grocery store and maybe a couple of other places. The historic district is all adjacent to the marina and the mooring field, but the shopping stores are a bit of a distance away. Supposed to be warmer today, mid 70's. Really foggy right now, but it is lifting. Pretty unstructured day.
Engine Hours 4753.5
Genset Hours 5403.1

Bridge of Lions last night was beautiful

The mooring field looking towards the marina and the historic district

Sunrise through the fog this morning

Finished the St. John's cruise yesterday afternoon and tied up again at the free dock at Sister's Creek, back on the ICW. Remained cool for the most part. High was in the mid 50's but overnight, it rained a bit and this morning the temp was still in the 50's. Made a huge difference in cabin temp getting up this morning. We've had to run the generator a lot, just to keep the boat warm and this morning it heated up in 10 minutes. Spent yesterday afternoon doing minor chores, Cindy ran the washer/dryer and it worked well. We had some issues with it last fall, with it aborting its cycle. I called the manufacturer over the holidays, and it turns out the electronics don't like the waveform of the inverter, so I simply flipped the inverter off and problem solved. Boats are full of little idiosyncracies. Watched hockey with Hockey Day Minnesota and the Wild played a great game. Today plan on moving on down the ICW to St. Augustine and pick up a moooring ball there for a couple of days and bike around the city. We really enjoyed it a year ago.
Engine Hours 4748.2
Genset Hours 5398.9

Tugs docking a huge barge down from Jacksonville

REminds me of Star Wars fighting vehicles

Approaching Jacksonville from the south (upstream)

A little square tug

Jacksonville lift bridge, just like Duluth

Came down the St. Johns to Black Creek, then up the creek a mile or so to a spot where we were all alone, pretty but still pretty chilly. Even the cruise yesterday was cool when the sun wasn't shining into the pilot house. Cindy had her jacket on most of the day. It did warm up enough in the late afternoon to have a beer on the back deck. This morning was 33 degrees, but the forcast says this is the last cold night. Last year the Carolinas weren't this cold coming south. Broke camp this morning about 730, 15 minutes after sun up. Flat again this morning which makes it easy driving on autopilot. Will try to stop at the free dock on Sisters Creek just down the river from Jacksonville on the ICW this afternoon, and do some laundry and maybe a bike ride if it warms up a bit.
Engine Hours 4742.3
Genset Hours 5393.7

Nuclear Plant just off the river 

Sunrise this morning with the mist rising, 33 degrees

spraying the anchor chain to clean off the mud

Looking upstream on Black Creek

We have spent the last day in Palatka Florida. Yesterday morning and this morning the temps were colder here than in Ely. Pretty strange. Took a hike yesterday and there was ice on a puddle. Guys this is central Florida. It creats a little bit of an issue keeping the boat warm. The water temp is 46-48 degrees, which means the engine room is cold sitting in this water bath. That in turn makes the floor of the cabin cold. We run the generator to heat things up in the entire boat, but by morning things cool off and it takes a while to get back up to a decent comfortable level. Maybe we need to look at installing a fireplace. I know I missed my sauna this week. Today is supposed to warm up into the 60's and mid 70 by Monday. Today, we are going to take a hike this morning, get a few groceries and get some exercise, then pull out and head down the river closer to Jacksonville. There is a creek I want to anchor in about 35 miles down river that is supposed to be pretty and private.
Engine hours 4737.6
Gen Set hours 5390.1

Ice on a puddle yesterday morning

Guano covering the dock we are at. Terns and gulls everywhere.

Sunset at our "busy" dock. Nobody here.

Sunrise this morning

Today we broke camp about 8:00 after a quiet flat night at an anchorage called Emanuel's Bend, an oxbow on the St. John's. Anchored in 7-8 feet of water with a little current from the river holding us in position. It wasn't very wide but with the current, we didn't swing a bit. The day was flat until mid afternoon. By that time we had already crossed Lake George, a big shallow body of water probably 15 miles across that can get rough, it is only 10 feet deep. Then down the St. Johns another 20 miles to Palatka where there is a free dock we stayed at last November. I work tomorrow but if we are tied up to the free dock, Cindy can get off for a run and cruise a thrift shop or two while I am busy. Made bean soup tonight with the new pressure cooker. It worked great and with the current temp at 9 pm at 36 degrees, soup hit the spot. It is cold for Florida. The forcast is for 26 tonight and tomorrow night before it starts to break. By that time we will be back on the ICW and headed south again. Saw some interesting things today. Loads of birds, all bigger birds, eagles, ospreys and loads of different heron types. Also anhingas with wings spred to dry and stay warm. We'll be here for two nights due to work tomorrow, then break up the remaining 80 miles to the ICW into 2 days probably Friday and Saturday, but well see how the weather goes.
Engine hours 4727.9
GenSet hours 5380.4

Looking back on our anchorage last night

A look ahead at the St.John's early this morning

Loads of houseboats on this river, brings back memories of the houseboat on Burntside

Unusual, an MG Midget parked on a pontoon in a boathouse.

Entering Lake George, the birds were lined up on the entrance.

Coming in to the free dock at Palatka, the dock was covered with easily 1000 gulls/terns etc. They exploded as we approached