We set off at dawn this morning after a quiet night at anchor. We kept going all day and have now left the lagoons of central Florida behind us. We are once again plying the creeks and canals of northern Florida. This starts to get into the parts of the ICW that I really enjoy because the waterway is lined with homes, some palatial and others very modest, and we cruise slowly through their backyards.

This being Saturday, lots and lots of people were out on their docks fishing, sunbathing, or just enjoying the day. There were also lots of families out on their boats and entrepreneurs to meet their needs, too!

Now, the astute observers in the crowd have determined that we seem to be heading north along the east coast of Florida, which is somewhat incompatible with our scheme to follow the Great Loop the wrong way around and go up the Midwestern rivers. This is one of those decisions we made so long ago that it no longer even a source of comment for us but, having not previously announced it in our blog perhaps I should do so! Having met a great many boaters who had come to south Florida by way of the Midwestern rivers, we were able to determine that trying to drive an underpowered sailboat UP the Mississippi during the spring was likely a bad idea. Certainly the currents are close to our hull speed and the prospect of covering hundreds of miles at barely one mile/hour over ground just wasn't very appealing....

So we are returning to Nova Scotia via the east coast. We'll retrace our steps as far as New York City, re-visiting some of our favorite ports and places and exploring others that we haven't seen before. From New York, there are several options and we'll see what happens between here and there before we make our choice. After all, we're cruising!