Cheryl's Notes:

We are really glad that we stuck around for the shuttle launch. It was really impressive. It started out with a burst of orange light, and then the shuttle started to move up into the sky. The orange ball of light was topped with a stream of white light that shot up into the sky. John had just made the comment that there was no noise, when we heard a great rumbling and then the water around the boat started to shimmer. Wow! It was really impressive. Unfortunately, our video camera wasn't working. We had used it a few days prior and made sure that it was completely charged. That morning we turned it on and received an error message that operation was disrupted by condensation. Oh the joys of living on a boat. Everything gets damp. We took some video with our new digital camera, but it doesn't have the same zoom ability of the bigger video camera. John did get some really cool pictures of the vapor trails left behind when the sun came up.

As soon as things settled down, we hauled anchor and moved our way up to Daytona Beach. We anchored next to Time Ode, and had a fun happy hour with Don and Cathy. Again, we have met some really great people along this journey. Tuesday morning we fueled up in Daytona and then moved up to St. Augustine. This one of our favorite cities, so we decided to stay for a few days. We spent yesterday exploring the old part of town. Today we ventured a little farther out and got some great pictures of some old buildings.

Tomorrow we are going to start heading farther north. We have a little over 600 miles to go, and should be back to New Bern in 15-20 days. Depends on whether we get sidetracked again and decide to explore more new towns.

John's Notes:

I thought we were finished with severe navigation and shallow water. Unfortunately, we had to navigate Mantanza Pass on the ICW. We had been apprised that there was severe shoaling in some spots but as we got closer we kept hearing on the VHF about people running aground. Sure enough, one of the two boats in front of us ran aground. After a few attempts, they were able to back off the sand and followed us through the narrow but deep channel. We were only about 50' off the shoreline but the water was 12-17' deep. You would think that because this is such a problem that the Coast Guard or Corps of Engineers would place some temporary markers in the area to make it easier to pass. I'm sure that Tow-Boat US and Sea Tow would prefer that they keep everything as it is.

The last time I saw a launch at the Cape, I was a contractor rep aboard the USS Observation Island, a submarine tender. That was a lifetime ago. The Shuttle launch was fantastic but only lasts for a couple of minutes. It is way down range before you know it. Glad we stayed though.

We are getting closer to home. I'm actually looking forward to getting back to North Carolina and seeing old friends and not having to worry about navigation and weather with every breath I take.

Just about every day we run into someone who we met along the way this winter. This will probably continue for as long as we are boating. You might not see someone for a couple of years or more, but, eventually, they will turn up.

I would like to be able to make about 50 miles a day till we get home. Cheryl is being more conservative than I am. We have lots of work to do on the boat before we leave for Minnesota.