Cheryl's Notes:

We are now anchored in front of the Castillo de San Marcos fort in St. Augustine, Florida. We spent Thanksgiving wandering around the old historic district. We were actually surprised at the number of people swarming the streets, and the fact that over half of the shops and restaurants were open on the holiday. We found a few restaurants offering a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. We settled on the one closest to the marina and gobbled it up. I am not saying that the food was good, but it was memorable. The pumpkin pie must have just come out of the freezer. It was so cold that I had a frozen headache when finished.

Yesterday we were on a mission to solve a few issues. We boarded the Sunshine Bus that took us to the nearest mall with the only Verizon dealer in the entire area. It turned out to be a little kiosk at the mall entrance. One hour later, I had a new phone and we had a new two year contract. It was cheaper than just buying a new phone. We walked an extra block and hit the local Walmart for a few necessary provisions. We did get sidetracked by all the cheap movie bins. It was our only nod to Black Friday. We then crossed the street to get some new spark plugs for a fellow cruiser. John has been trying to help him with outboard motor troubles.

Today will be a laundry day. We were going to wait until Vero Beach, but the lounge and laundry room is so nice here, that we decided to just do it now. We have pretty well exhausted all that there is to see in the historic area. Although, I still have not had any ice cream or purchased any goodies in the chocolate factories. Tomorrow will be a down day to watch football and then we will be on our way. It is four days to Vero Beach from here.

John's Notes:

At some point in time, spending money on the boat will probably stop. Yesterday we spent another $350 on necessities. We needed a new running light for the dingy. The old one was corroded. Not sure how water got into it but it did. The big purchase was a 100' piece of new anchor chain. On Lake Superior we only used 20' of chain and that was plenty. This last summer we upgraded to 50' and found that with the swift currents we have incurred farther down the ICW, we need 100' to cut down our swing room while at anchor, especially when we are in tight anchorages, which we always seem to be in now. Just when you think you are anchored in a perfect spot with plenty of room, some other cruiser thinks that he can squeeze in between you and any other surrounding boats. It's only going to get worse the farther we go.

As for the expenses, the last couple of weeks have been like living in a house and the washer, dryer, and hot water heater all fail at the same time. Everyone get the picture?

Not so long ago, someone make a comment on our blog that no way could they see themselves living in what they consider such a small space. They thought that maybe 200' would be their lower limit. Obviously, they don't have the courage or spirit of adventure that we do. This came to me the other night while we were offshore. As noted in a previous post, I was really under the weather but my Cheryl continued to soldier on. It can be quite intimidating if you are not prepared. The night was overcast, no stars or moon. What little light there was came from the reflection of our navigation lights on the water and the very low light given off by our navigation equipment. When you are 20 some miles offshore, it is a long way from the nearest help if something goes wrong. Still, Cheryl was more than up to the task. That takes courage and a keen spirit of adventure. If this life were easy, there would be thousands more cruising. Lucky for us, not everyone has that courage or spirit of adventure. We do lots of things wrong but always try to keep everything in perspective and be as safe as we can. Think about it. If you watch the news tonight, chances are that there will be a report of one or more people killed in an accident close to home or a murder somewhere local. The chances that we will hear about a fellow cruiser incurring the same fate today is virtually non existent. What that tells me is that there are lots of less courageous and adventurous people on this earth. As for the person wanting at least 200' of yacht, well, maybe the QE2 would be more to their liking. But then again..................................