Meet Charlie
24 November 2009 | Comachee Cove Yacht Harbor, St. Augustine
This is Charlie, aka, Chuck. Charlie is First Mate and resident schmoozer on S/V Vixen. He and his Admiral and Captain were our gracious hosts last night in Jacksonville. Charlie may not hear much anymore but he sure knows how to wrangle an ear scratching and loves it - a really sweet little guy. Charlie introduced Blackie and Red to his very own fenced back yard, even his 'special spots' in his garden. The boyz were very appreciative. This is the first time they've been allowed off leash on shore since we left home so they ran circles around the yard until their tongues hung out. Charlie also let Blackie go for a swim in his pool. Blackie liked it - we think. He'd already covered every square foot of the back yard and had no idea what a pool was, so he jumped in! Red, on the other hand, took one look at that action and went the other way. You could almost hear Charlie chuckling to himself. Charlie also invited the boyz to dinner and shared his barbequed salmon. Charlie's stomach is not what it is used to be so he's on a special diet. Move over Charlie.
We had a wonderful time with Terri and Larry. On Sunday, we had lunch at a Japanese restaurant near the Naval Station. They encouraged us to dock PRIM next to Vixen at their home so we pulled in there Monday on our way back to the ICW. They have a gorgeous view of the St. Johns River and Jacksonville skyline, and a stunning house. We enjoyed a terrific BBQ dinner and sat on their deck talking boats, cruising, pets, harbors, lifestyles, and dreams in general. Larry gave me a tour of Vixen, their Beneteau 373. Nice boat. Hey, Beneteau, I really like that swivelling helm station. Good idea, great engineering. We couldn't have had a better evening. Thank you both again, very much. (At this moment, Red is sitting in my lap with his paws on the keyboard. He's thanking Charlie for his hospitaltiy. Blackie is still too pooped from his Ironman run/swim/jump and twirl to open his eyes.)
We cast off this morning at near low tide to catch the incoming on the ICW. We made St. Augustine about 2:30 in the afternoon, topped off the fuel, pumped out and settled in at Comachee Cove Yacht Harbor. Pokey and I just got back from dinner at the Kingfish Grill in the marina and I'm struggling to stay awake writing this post. A full tummy does that to me.
Tomorrow, we hope to get to Daytona. This evening, the weatherman is forecasting rain and scattered T-storms for tomorrow so we'll see what he comes up with in the morning. Maybe I'll tune to Wx 2 and the weatherlady will be kinder to us. If not, do they serve turkey at the Speedway?
Jacksonville has a very nice waterfront. The skyline stretches along the St. Johns, the Jaguar's stadium is prominent, freighters and car carriers abound and one of Carnival's liners was in town. I'm told it is one of the small ones, but it sure looked enormous to us. We thoroughly enjoyed the stopover and will be back. Even the Main Street Bridge operator is a good guy.