Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens was a great stop, and one that we did not see in the cruising guides. Arriving at their dinghy dock meant we did not have to pay for admission ~ yes, we asked once inside the grounds ~ gotta love the freebies! Plus, it was a really nice zoo ~ well laid out, interesting animals, friendly employees, nice gardens ~ the Asian Garden area in particular was spectacular!

I added a photo to the previous blog post from our second visit to Cumberland Island, during which we saw several horses, with no fences between us and the horses!

One of the sailblogs I had followed when they did this snowbird trip a couple years ago, about the same time we purchased Grace, was traveling south again this fall leaving from Maine a few weeks after we departed Lake Champlain. I kept tabs on their blog periodically and tried to estimate how close their stops were to our stops as each occurred. I had planned that if I saw them on their trip south this year that I would bring them a bottle of wine as a thank you for their helpful posts on their previous trip. The day we pulled in to Cumberland Island for the second time I was going to check their blog that night to see where they were; however, since we had spent some time up the St Johns River I thought for sure they would have passed further south of us by the time we were back on the ICW. You can imagine my delight as we pulled into the anchorage at Cumberland Island, I saw s/v Civil Twilight and we anchored near them. That evening we did not launch our dinghy as we were not planning to go ashore until the next morning. They were gone from the anchorage first thing the next morning. However, we got a chance to bestow our gift of thanks as we were once again anchored nearby each other at St Marys. They kindly invited us over to share a glass of wine and company. Plus, we saw them periodically during our several day stay at St Marys for Thanksgiving. Thanks, Alan and Gerry, for your hospitality; we hope to see you again!

The day we were traveling from Cumberland to St Marys, we received an email from Chris and Sheila on s/v Neverbored, with an invitation to anchor near them at St Marys. After our arrival in the anchorage, they dinghied over to greet us and bring us up to speed on the happenings for the week. We got a chance to spend time with them nearly every day at the various gatherings for cruisers. Chris and Sheila: it was great to see you, and we hope to connect again soon ~ thank you so much for including us in your table at Thanksgiving dinner!

At Cumberland we met Rob and Sue on s/v Mandate, and have had the opportunity to spend time with them on many occasions since then. Rob was one of the facilitators at the seminars we attended at St Marys. They are from Albany, New York area and have been members of the Castleton Boat Club in Castleton on Hudson, New York. Thanks, Rob and Susan, for sharing your experiences and knowledge!

At St Marys we met the crews of two other Lake Champlain sailboats ~ Charlie, Meg, and their daughter Mary, on s/v White Seal; and Bob and Carol of s/v Time Enough. Plus, we met the crew of s/v Windemere, who bought their boat at Tidewater Marina in Havre de Grace, Maryland, which is where we had Grace for a month last fall.

We left St Marys, Georgia the day after Thanksgiving, and picked up a mooring ball that afternoon at Fernandina Harbor Marina in Fernandina Beach, Florida. We spent the afternoon enjoying traditional stews at the local Irish Pub, purchasing goods from the newly opened general store and a local bakery, and touring the maritime museum.

After pulling in for services at the marina the next morning, we only travelled a few hours to a nearby anchorage at the mouth of Alligator Creek at ICW mile 726, where we got to see a pod of dolphin swimming around in the anchorage while Kevin was preparing to go up the mast using, for the first time, the Topclimber we have had onboard for over a year. The above photo was taken while he was aloft replacing the spreader light bulb.

The next day we arrived at St Augustine, Florida, picking up a mooring ball which we stayed at for the last four nights. As we passed the St Augustine Inlet the day we arrived, we experienced the best dolphin sightings to date as a pod came near Grace and jumped out of the water several times. The historic, picturesque downtown area, with its million white holiday lights that are on each night through January, and endless places for delicious grub/grog/live music, was our playground for touring the lighthouse and maritime museum, meeting up with the crews of s/v Mandate, s/v Sail Away, and s/v Kajon when we were listening to the tunes of a local musician and they spotted us and invited us to join them at their table. Kevin took the time to build a temporary windlass switch on the bow. When yesterday's foul weather brought us to the decision to stay there another night and get some laundry done, little did we know the blessings that would come from that decision. Yet another blog that I had been following, while we were shopping for Grace, was that of s/v Freedom; yesterday in the laundry room, we got to meet Jim and Deb of s/v Freedom ~ a totally surreal experience! Through the course of conversation we learned that we had a mutual acquaintance, Mike and Liz of s/v Wanderer, whom we met and spent time with during some stops as we travelled north last spring. Jim and Deb told us that Mike and Liz would be arriving in St Augustine at about 4:30 PM yesterday, and we all met for happy hour. Jim and Deb: how wonderful to meet you both after following your journey! Mike and Liz: how wonderful to see you again!

This morning we left St Augustine at the 7:30 bridge opening, travelled about 52 miles, which included several opening bridges ~ so, we got to hear many of the boat crews we had met hailing the bridge tenders on the radio. Shortly after our 3 PM arrival in the anchorage, s/v White Seal dropped the hook nearby and Meg dinghied over to invite us for dessert.