PALM BEACH to JACKSONVILLE

It has been an action packed couple of weeks moving up the Coast of Florida!

The entire time we were dealing with lots of rain, lightning and wind from subtropical storm ALBERTO. Constantly watching weather reports, we only traveled when we anticipated a safe weather window. Our goal was to get out of Florida by June 1st. (Actually, ALBERTO was chasing us out...😱...Maybe we outstayed our Florida welcome?)

May 16-19, Palm Beach

May 20, Stuart

May 21, Fort Pierce

May 22, Cocoa Village

May 23, New Smyrna

May 24, Marineland 

May 25-28, Saint Augustine 

May 29, Jacksonville 

We spent four nights in Palm Beach at the Palm Harbor Marina. A very nice marina and an easy bike ride to everything Palm Beach has to offer. They also gave us two very stylish PHM logo hats. This stop was longer than anticipated due to heavy rain and winds. It also worked out perfectly to have a bow thruster control switch overnighted to the Marina, that Captain Greg was able to successfully install. Palm Beach is know for it's glitzy estates and white sand beaches. Worth Avenue is not to be missed, with its upscale boutiques, galleries and restaurants. A visit to the Breakers nightclub was a Palm Beach highlight!

Our next stop was Stuart Bay Marina. It is about an hour off the ICW. We were greeted by the Marina manager with a nice gift bag and goodies. Stuart is frequently cited as one of the best small towns to visit in the United States. It is also, known as the "Sailfish" capital of the world. It boasts a funky downtown with a riverwalk. It was raining pretty hard so we enjoyed some local music and a nice dinner at the Gafford.

Next was Fort Pierce City Marina. Fort Pierce is know as the sunrise City, a sister City to San Francisco (FYI: We didn't notice much resemblance ?). It was named after Fort Pierce Army post, which was built nearby in 1838, during the Second Seminole War.

On to Cocoa Village Marina. Cocoa Beach is an iconic surf town. Home to some of the biggest names in the industry including Kelly Slater, nine time World Champion. Of all these stops we really 

enjoyed Cocoa Village :) It has a nice walking downtown area close to the Marina. 

Off the dock to New Smyrna the next day. New Smyrna is also a great beach town. It was ranked number nine on a list of  "Best Surf Towns" in Surfer Magazine. It was also recognized by National Geographic in 2012 as "One of the Worlds top 20 Surf Towns". We like the town, but can't get over cars being allowed to drive on the beach? 

Marineland was our next port. The town got its start when Marineland Dolphin Adventure opened in 1938 as Marine Studios. A facility designed for Hollywood film makers to create underwater footage. The Marineland Marina was wonderful...not a typical Looper stop. (The Thistle crew highly recommends:)

Then on to the Saint Augustine City Marina. The City of Saint Augustine was founded in 1565 by Spanish explorers. It is the oldest continuously occupied settlement within the continental United States. Henery Flagler (Yes, him again :) a co-founder of the Standard Oil Company, he spent a winter here in 1883. He found the City charming, but the hotels and transportation inadequate. So he connected Saint Augustine by his railroad and built two ornate hotels. One hotel is now the Saint Augustine City Hall and the other hotel is Flagler College. Fort Castillo de San Marcos is in Saint Augustine. It is the oldest masonry fort in the continental United States. Construction stated in 1672 and was completed in 1675. The fort changed control many times and is now a National Moment. 

During the Civil War Saint Augustine was mostly under Union control. In late 1963, local African American college students, held a sit-it at the Saint Augustine Woolworths. We found Saint Augustine to be charming and very full of interesting history. Today Saint Augustine is a well known tourist destination. 

One more night in Florida (weather permitting). We docked at the Jacksonville Free City dock! It was very remote and lovely (Thistle was the only boat there?)... No TV necessary tonight! We had quite the lightning show thanks to ALBERTO

XO Dreaming of Georgia 🍑

Our Great Loop Adventure "Big Picture".

The Blue line is the Great America Loop.

The Red line is what we have finished.

The Green line is what we have left to complete.

We started at the Statue of Liberty going counter clockwise and will "cross our wake" at the Statue of Liberty (hopefully this summer).

We have been in Florida since November 13, 2017 and 

plan to cross into Georgia tomorrow May 30, 2018.

That's a little over six months 🙂...  We like boating in Florida!

The yellow line is where we traveled the last couple of weeks.

Palm Beach to Jacksonville.

This part of the ICW typically has narrow navigation channels,  with signs of past hurricane damage and almost all of the homes have a screened in area (BUGS🐜). 

Palm Beach was glamorous, especially Worth Avenue. 

The famous Breakers Palm Beach, an historic 538 room Italian Renaissance hotel. It opened in 1896 and was built by Henry Flagler. 

Cheers from HMF...THE place to "SEE AND BE SEEN" in Palm Beach. 

This chique social club in the Breakers is named after the hotel founder Henry Morrison Flagler (HMF). 

It's steeped in glamor of an earlier era, yet totally current! 

Palm Beach to Stuart.

More bridges, big houses and funny boats 🦈. 

Jupiter lighthouse and inlet.

An eagles nest and two eagles (red circles).

We docked at Sunset Bay Marina. 

Lots of murals and a sailfish statue in the town. 

The next day...Stuart to Fort Pierce City Marina.

The Marina had a fun Tiki Bar where we watched the NBA Playoffs. 

The Fort Pierce Manatee Center 🇺🇸. 

The ICW... stay between the red and green atoms!

Fort Pierce to Cocoa Village Marina. 

Finally some Florida sunshine ☀️. 

Cocoa Village was a fun stop!

An English Pub, a German Bier Garden and a local brewery where we played Jenga. 

To end the evening we dined at a wonderful French Restaurant. 

Cocoa Village to New Smyrna City Marina.

A great surf town 🏄🏻. 

Sunset.

" Red sky at night, sailors delight." 

New Smyrna to Marineland Marina.

Thistle at the dock. 

A nice bike trail along the beach to a great BBQ restaurant. 

Marineland to the Saint Augustine City Marina.

(Originally we were docking here two nights, but ALBERTO changed our plans to four nights.) 

A visit with our cousin Jenny, who lives in Saint Augustine.

Two historic hotels in Saint Augustine. 

One is now City Hall and the other is Flagler College. 

Our favorite restaurants in Saint Augustine. 

Historical Trinity Church with a Tiffany window...

Mr. Flagler and Mr. Tiffany were buddies back in the day!

Saint Augustine Farmers Market. 

Beautiful and historic Saint Augustine.

(Full of tourists on Memorial weekend.)

Saint Augustine to the Jacksonville Free City Dock.

We had lots of rain and lightning courtesy of ALBERTO. 

Good night from Florida....with Georgia on our minds 🎼