Great Loop: St. Augustine
Stormy Weather!
March 10th, 2022
We arrived in St. Augustine in a blinding rain storm. The rain volume was so high that I turned on our navigation lights at noon to improve our visibility to other vessels. We also slowed to near idle speed to delay our arrival until after the squall moved through the area. We had installed a satellite weather receiver prior to starting the trip, so we could track the storm cells. This allowed us to vary our speed to avoid as much of the heavy rain as we could. Fortunately, this worked well.
White Pelicans
We arrived at our berth in Rivers Edge Marina in a light winds and drizzle to easily tie up. We were quite happy to begin a week long visit to the oldest settled city in the continental United States. It was originally settled by the Spanish in 1565. It is known for its Spanish Colonial architecture, Henry Flagler, his railroad, hotels, and college, its vibrant railroad scene, and active outdoor lifestyle.
Flagler College
On Friday night, from our berth next to Hurricane Patty's, we enjoyed live country and western music from their deck. The music had the pleasant twang and baritone voice that makes C&W so easy to enjoy. By the end of the evening we had been schooled in being lonely, drinking, love, blues, heartache, striking out, redemption and the strum of a six string guitar.
Hurricane Patty's
We indulged ourselves and took "The Tasting Tour" of St. Augustine. It involved a walking tour of 4 restaurant venues for delicious food and wine pairings. The Old City House Restaurant was our first delicious stop, from there we moved to the Ancient City Brunch Bar, then on to Casa de Vino 57.
To cleanse our palate we had a cup of hot honeyed cinnamon plum team at the Tea and Spice Exchange then we wrapped up with a cheesecake sampler with a glass of wine at Bar Harbor Cheesecake Factory. There were just 6 of us on the tour, so there was plenty of good conversation and our hostess, Laura carefully and thoughtfully injected stories of the city, the venues and gossip about famous local figures. It was a wonderful introduction to the city and the wonderful people who live and work here.
What an incredible adventure you two are having with Amy Marie. I feel so blessed by being able to read your posts and "catch up" every week or so. I feel as if I'm right along with you. Your nebo tracking system seems to be fantastic. I'd love to see a post going a little in depth as to how the system works and how you interface with it while underway. Enjoy your time and thanks again for taking us along for the ride. Fair winds and following seas my friends - Mark and Cheryl
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