In St. Augustine and trying to catch up...

I don't know why I've missed so many blog opportunities - it seems like we've been crazy busy and I never had the time to do one.  I'm going to chalk it up to laziness, though :-)

We ARE in the States, got here on April 2.  I'm going to recap out last few stops in the beautiful Bahamas and our time in the States so far.

Grand Cay

Grand Cay is the home of the last settlement to the west in the Abacos.  The tiny town caters mostly to big game fishermen during the summer months but is also open to cruisers and their slow sailboats.  Apparently "Rosie" runs the town - he owns the marina, the grocery store, the 4 vacation apartments, the restaurant, the bar, the liquor store, the export of conch, and everything else.  We've heard that he makes all of the decisions.  Very nice fellow - we made a point of meeting him.

We had heard that the entrance to the channel that runs through town is very shallow so we opted to anchor outside of the channel, on the bay side of town.

Near the aging derelict ship of some sort.

But an excursion in the dinghy to check the channel water depths and the forecast of high winds from the west gave us the confidence to take Latitudes into the inner channel to anchor.  First thing you see is the brightly painted docks and pilings of Rosie's marina.

Those brightly painted houses behind the docks are the rentals for the visiting fishermen.

And a high bar on the dock

We asked where to eat for lunch and were taken - personally - to Rosie's Restaurant.  A neat and clean little place, we were the only ones there for a while.  But the clientele came ambling in later.  The waitress/cook accidently turned my beer over, so she graciously took it for herself and opened another for me.  We read that they make the second best "conch snack" in the Bahamas, and we believe it - it was the best we had our entire trip! BTY - "conch snack" is little strips of conch, deep fried in a light tempura type batter, served with a pink spicy sauce.  Very good!  That plate beside Luke is my HALF of the $12 lunch!

Outside of the restaurant, we watched men load huge bags of frozen conch for the 1 hour open air ride from there to Hope Town. They were tossed and stacked in every conceivable spot on that little boat.  I know these bags are deep frozen, but it was about 90 and sunny that day - I now wonder about ordering it...

A little walk around town showed us the usual Bahamian settlement, but certainly cleaner than many we've seen.  I particularly liked the angels painted on the wall of the cemetery.

Now, I know we put animals "to sleep" when they are old or sick.  But I must say, if my parents had told me THIS about "going to sleep", I'm not sure I would have ever slept as a child.

The waters outside of Grand Cay are not only grand fishing grounds, but also beautiful beaches, some of the prettiest in the Bahamas.

 Little birds line up on an ever narrowing spit of still dry sand as they await the high tide.

Mangrove Cay

From Grand Cay, we sailed to our chosen "waiting spot" to prepare for the early (3 a.m.) departure from the Bahamas to the States.  Mangrove Cay is an uninhabited island large enough for many boats to anchor around and then leave for their crossing.  Our only picture is our last Bahamian sunset shadows 2 of the 10 boats waiting with us.

Ft.Pierce and Vero Beach

Up at 2 a.m., anchor up by 3 a.m, sunrise at 6:30, and by 6 p.m. we arrived safe, sound, and sleepy at Ft. Pierce, FL, good 'ol USA.  Two hours at 10+ kts in the Gulf stream is always a thrill! It's ALWAYS nice to get home.  We did fish and lost a lure and also a mahi who almost landed in the boat.  Fishing this year wasn't meant to be.  After checking in with the Coast Guard and a good night's sleep, we motored the whopping 15 miles to a favorite place, Vero Beach.  The full moon that helped guide us in the dark night was still beautiful over the mooring field in Vero.

Our few days at Vero were busy - 6 loads of laundry for $17 instead of the $60 it would have cost in the Bahamas!  Everything is clean!  Easter with friend Marina and 9 of her other friends was wonderful.  Groceries, a haircut (lottsa hairs cut from both of us), repairs on the boat, a couple of "sundowners" with boat friends, and getting ready for our guest Ange and Ray filled our days.

ICW Cruise

Ange and Ray have been on Latitudes every time we visit Vero Beach, usually for a little cruise up and back down the ICW around Vero.  This time we planned a 3 night Grand Cruise for them - they arrived Wednesday afternoon and rode with us to New Smyrna Beach, leaving on Saturday morning.  What fun!  They were great sailors - Ange is a wonderful cook and helped out with those chores, while Ray mastered Piloting Latitudes up the ICW and through several bridges.  Here they are, sailing away with us.

At New Smyrna Beach, we found a Farmers Market just across from the marina.  Lots of wonderful fresh produce!

On Sunday, we headed northward again.  This time we made it as far as another fun place, St. Augustine.  This trip took us past the beautifully decorated bridge pilings in Daytona.

St. Augustine

St. Augustine is the oldest city in the US.  It is quaint, European, and full of lovely narrow streets.

Flowers bloom everywhere.

In window boxes hung on old homes.

Spilling over balconies

Balconies found on European style houses built on these narrow lanes.

We visited 2 churches today as we toured town (again).  Trinity Episcopal Church is the first Episcopal church in the state of Florida.  It is very plain and simple on the outside.

But  her stained glass windows are amazing.  28 windows, most of them created in Germany in the early 1800's, and also this Tiffany masterpiece. 

This window over the alter is awe inspiring.

The Catholic Cathedral Basilica has been recently renovated and the interior of the church is stunning in its quiet beauty.

It's raining.  Thunderstorms, showers, and wind are forecast for the entire week.  No outside runs for us.  We have made a great plan, though.  A long inside day up the ICW tomorrow will take us to St. Mary's, our starting point for this year's trip.  That means that our CAR is there! So, we will use our non-sailing days to move the car to NC, where we plan to keep Latitudes for at least a couple of months. We'll take a rental car back to St. Marys, take Latitudes up to NC as soon as we can, and our car will be waiting for us.  Or so goes the plan .