Cocoa Village, FL 12/7/13-12/18/13

We left Titusville around 9:30, heading for Cocoa Village.  Today is John's 59th birthday.  Happy birthday, John.

We only travelled a little over two hours.  We immediately fell in love with this little village that was established by fishermen in 1860.  Downtown Cocoa was having a huge craft show and we bought some Christmas gifts, but for the most part, a lot of the stuff was overpriced, but that's my opinion and everybody knows what a tight ass I am. 

John's sister, Gay, and her main squeeze, Terry, arrived in the early afternoon and we started the birthday boy's celebration.  We had drinks and appetizers at Murdocks, which came to be our favorite place to go.  Actually, by the end of our stay in Cocoa Village, we ended up liking all the restaurants/bars that we visited.  After a lunch of drinks and appetizers, Gay and Terry went back to their hotel to freshen up for dinner and we continued on with the craft show.  Later that evening, we met at Norman's Raw Bar and Grill for a late dinner.  Gay wanted oysters, so she and Terry split two dozen.  I only mention this because the next morning she told Terry "I'm sorry we didn't get any oysters last night".  LOL!  That should tell you what a birthday celebration we had. 

The next morning we met for breakfast and afterward went for Bloody Marys.  With all the stuff in the Bloody Mary, we could have skipped breakfast.



Breakfast of Champions.  The best Bloody Mary I've ever had.  YUM!


After the Breakfast of Champions, which had a huge shrimp, celery, cheese, pepperoni, hand-stuffed olives, etc., Terry drove us over to Cocoa Beach.  It was a little weird to see bathing beauties in December.  Too bad we didn't have our suits.


Cocoa Beach on 12/8/13



John and I at Cocoa Beach. 

 

The weather is absolutely gorgeous here.  But we know it's going to get colder, so we'll eventually head further south.

In front of the lifeguard stand.

 



On our third day in Cocoa, John discovered the most unusual hardware store he'd ever seen, S. F. Travis & Co.  They are a fifth generation store that was established in 1885.  Check out this link to read the history of Travis Hardware.   http://www.travishardware.net/#/history/4545252553

John went to that store every day for five days.  And... every day he bought something.  Thank goodness we're only going to be here for a few days or we'd go broke.  Uh oh!  I take that back.  We've decided to get a slip here for a month and a half.  We were originally going to stay in Ft. Pierce for that time but after talking to a lot of the people on the dock, they suggested we stay here.  They claim there is more to do here and also that Ft. Pierce marina is currently under construction.  John talked to the dockmaster here and they do have a slip available, so the boat will be here until the third week in January.  Our bank account is doomed!!! Just kidding.  Travis Hardware prices are very reasonable.

 

On Tuesday we decided to walk to the library and buy bus tickets (senior citizen rates are 50 cents a trip).  Sometimes it pays to get old.  Keep in mind we are not city slickers by any stretch of the imagination.  Neither of us have EVER ridden public transportation, so this was going to be a lesson in and of itself.  The first trip we took went pretty well.  We went to Walmart, then Walgreens to pick up a prescription, and then to the mall on Merritt Island.  So far, so good.  We got back on the bus for the marina and after travelling about ten minutes, we realized something was wrong.  We were riding through neighborhoods, letting people off and on.  When the bus stopped for the umpteenth time, John got up the nerve to ask the bus driver if this bus was going to Cocoa Village, to which the bus driver replied, "no, this bus only stays on Merritt Island".  He was a very nice man, though, and let us off at a bus stop that "our" bus would come to.  He told us to watch for the "Route 6" bus and get on that one.  Everything turned out fine except that we lost a good bit of time.  Needless to say, we haven't ventured on the bus again.  And... we still have 12 senior citizen tickets that we didn't use.  So much for discounted rates.  :)  P.S. John went to Travis' (again) and bought a fish door mat.

 

On Wednesday, we decided to take the bikes down from the hardtop.  I guess on bikes, we control where we go, not a bus driver.  The next day we took a five-mile bike ride around Cocoa and Rockledge, the next town over.  The ride was along the Indian River and it was beautiful, but whoever said that Florida is flat needs to ride a bike for five+ miles to realize that it isn't.  I was exhausted by the time we got back to the marina.  In fact, I walked the bike the last half mile.  P.P.S.  John went to Travis', this time for Christmas lights for the back of the boat.

 

Christmas lights on Bonnie Blue 2013

 

Later that day, we went to "What You Love To Do", a sort of health/massage place.  They do all types of massages, such as, regular massage, sound and vibration massage, cranio sacral therapy, and ionic detox foot bath.  We settled on the ionic detox foot bath because Terry (Gay's friend) recommended it.  After that bike ride, it really did feel wonderful.  However, the water in the foot bath looked gross after we were done.  They claim it takes all the toxins out of your body through the  hundreds of pores in your feet.  I didn't believe it worked when they told us about it, but after seeing the water (mine and John's were different in color), I'm a believer.

 

On Friday, the marina was having their monthly get together in the lounge.  The second Friday of every month they have a get together and everyone brings an appetizer to share.  This month they had a "Pollyanna" gift exchange.  We ended up with a book written by one of the men living in the marina, Floyd Tapp, called, "The Saga of the Sailing Hillbillies".  It was a hilarious book that was an easy read.  The get together was a great time.  P.P.P.S.  John went to Travis'.  This time for a frying pan.

 

The next day, John went for a bike ride to find a liquor store.  We googled it first and off he went.  A half hour later, he called me and said to look it up again.  I did and it was a hundred miles away.  OOPS!  Wrong location.  I googled another one, and it was two miles away.  When he got to that location, it was an empty lot.  He told me to forget it.  He would ask somebody.  He did and they told him it was over at the Publix.  Nope.  Wrong again.  All in all, he pedaled 18 miles to numerous phantom liquor stores to find vodka.  Boy, he must really be thirsty!  He finally did find one.  Maybe take the bus next time????  Probably not.

 

Those are "pedaling fool" legs

 

On Sunday, the fiberglas guy came to check out the damage we sustained while in Charleston.  He gave us an estimate of $800 to fix the damage plus a few other spots.  We have a check from the insurance company for $2600.  WOW!  Are there any other sailboats out there that want to hit us?  You gotta love an $1800 profit.

 

P.P.P.P.S.  John hasn't been to Travis' in two days.  Ha. Ha.

 

We rented a car from Hertz on Monday and left Cocoa Village early on Wednesday, December 18th, for the ride home to Delaware for the holidays.  We'll be back toward the end of January.  Till then...

 

1048 miles from the Bohemia River.

12/5/13-12/7/13 - Titusville

We left Daytona at nine in the morning and arrived in Titusville about 3:30.  We stayed on the ball there since it is much cheaper than a slip in the marina.  It was a short dinghy ride to the docks.  After checking in at the office we decided to walk and see what was there.  Guess where we ended up... a tiki bar.  Imagine that.  The drinks were strong and needless to say, with nothing on our stomachs, it didn't take long for it to hit us.  We struggled back to the marina, which wasn't a short walk.  But we got safely in the dinghy and went back to the boat and crashed.

The next day, Friday, we took the marina shuttle van to the Kennedy Space Center.  If you're into outer space and you've never been, I'd highly recommend it.  It's a little pricey, but worth it.  They have two Imax movie theaters that show films made from actual footage taken by cameras worn on astronauts helmets, in 3D no less.  The one we saw was taken in 2008 (I believe) that showed the Hubble Telescope being repaired by astronauts on the Atlantis.  It was amazing.  I used to think I'd like to go to space, but after seeing that, I don't think so.  I'll just enjoy it from right here on earth, thank you.  The film showed lots of footage from the Hubble that was beautiful.  It really stirs the imagination.

We also did a lecture by an astronaut.  That was probably the best part of the day.  He was a very interesting, humorous lecturer.  He even explained how they go to the bathroom in space.  They have to actually be strapped to the toilet because if they let out the least bit of gas, it will push them off the seat.  He explained that you can't be modest if you're an astronaut.  The "bathroom" doesn't have a door and while you're there doing you're thing, any of the others on board could float by.  Also, there are men and women on these flights, so you really have to leave your modesty at home.

The space shuttle Atlantis

Rocket boosters used for Atlantis

Replica rockets

Notice how they get larger

 

We are now 1031 miles from the Bohemia River.  Leaving in the morning for Cocoa, Florida. 

12/2/13-12/4/13 - Daytona

We got underway from St. Augustine at 8 o'clock, travelled 46 miles, and arrived at Halifax Harbor Marina, Daytona, about 2:00 p.m.  The first night there, we did laundry and had dinner on board.

The next day, Tuesday, December 3, the sun finally came out and we could actually wear shorts and t-shirts.  We walked Beach Street and bought a few Christmas presents. 

Miss Deb at the "Fountain of Youth".  Not really.  It was a smelly sulfur fountain.

After lunch, we toured a chocolate factory.  YUM!  A bit pricey, though.

On Wednesday, we walked to Walgreens to pick up a prescription.  We then decided we had walked enough the past two days, so we were going to rent scooters.  Problem is... the scooter place was at least two miles from the pharmacy, even though they told me on the phone that it was only a mile from the marina.  By the time we realized how far it was, we had already walked half way there.  No sense in turning around now.

We drove the scooters to Daytona Beach because I wanted to see the ocean.  Honestly Daytona Beach wasn't much, at least not the part we saw.  There were a lot of empty store fronts.

We purchased two sweatshirts for Christmas presents in Daytona Beach and it was pretty chilly on the scooters, so, sorry, we wore them.  But you're still getting them for Christmas.  We just aren't telling you who is getting them.  You'll have to wait 'til Christmas to find that out.  We left the  beach and rode about ten miles to Ponce de Leon Inlet to see the light house.  There was very little traffic and it was quite easy getting around on the scooters.  The light house at Ponce Inlet is really pretty, but then I'm partial to light houses.  The whole complex is pristine.  Too bad we got there too late to go to the top of the light.

Ponce Inlet Light

We returned the scooters after 2.5 hours and took a taxi back to the marina.  I wasn't going to walk another two miles.

We'll be leaving in the morning for Titusville.  We are now 990 miles from the Bohemia River.

11/29/13-12/1/13 St. Augustine, FL

Pirate ship in St. Augustine

We left Jacksonville Beach the day after Thanksgiving, heading for St. Augustine.  It was an easy 28 mile trip.  We picked up a mooring ball around noon and waited for the water taxi to take us to town.  I absolutely love St. Augustine.  It is the country's oldest city and so historic and quaint.  Did you know that the first slaves in the United States were brought to St. Augustine in 1565?  A Spanish king gave a three-year contract to the founder of St. Augustine to import 500 African slaves.  There are a number of homes that date to the early 1700's, most with Spanish architecture.  We walked around a bit and then had an early dinner at O.C. White's before taking the water taxi back to the boat at 6 o'clock.

On Saturday, we toured the Lightner Museum.  It was originally a hotel that boasted a steam room, massage parlor, gymnasium, and sulfur baths, as well as the world's largest indoor swimming pool.  Henry Flagler, a prominent citizen of St. Augustine and railroad magnate had it built in 1887 to appeal to wealthy tourists who traveled there on his railroad.  The hotel closed in 1932 and was later purchased in 1946 by a wealthy Chicago man as a place to house his extensive collection of antiques that he had bought from people "down on their luck" during the Depression.  When he died, he left the building and everything in it to the City of St. Augustine.  They had some beautiful antiques but I forgot the camera so I only have a picture that I took with my phone.  The architecture of the building is every bit as pretty as the antiques.

cradle from 1860

After spending the afternoon in the museum, we went to the Oldest Bar in the Oldest City (St. George's Tavern) to watch college football.  South Carolina beat Clemson, 31 - 17.

Gay and Terry came on Sunday and we walked St. George Street.  If you ever go to St. Augustine, don't miss St. George Street.  It is very historic and closed to vehicles for several blocks.  Lots of shops and restaurants, but we didn't buy a thing.  After dinner at one of the restaurants, we walked around looking at their Christmas lights.  Just about everything in the town is lit this time of year.

John and I in St. Augustine

As you can see by the above picture, it's still cold.  We thought this was sunny Florida!?!?!

Off to Daytona tomorrow.  Today we are 944 miles south of the Bohemia River.