Pete and I chose to explore the St.John’s River so we headed south from Jacksonville. Our loop segments have consisted of exploring areas that are considered “Side Trips”. Our thoughts are we probably won’t ever have the opportunity to visit this area again, especially not in our boat, so let’s do it! We took a total of 7 days to head to Sanford and return to Jacksonville. This area of the St. John’s is known as OLD FLORIDA. Some people describe it as an era gone by with areas typically off the beaten path, consisting of two lane roads and very rural. Our entire trip along the river was quite rural, peaceful, and scenic and Pete and I both hoped that we would spot alligators along our journey. On Wednesday we traveled to Palatka, stayed at the marina, and amazingly we ate onboard – No alligator siting! Thursday we continued south and halfway in, we stopped, dropped anchor, lowered our dinghy and headed to Silver Glen Springs to explore. The water in the Springs was crystal clear and fairly shallow. It was so beautiful and we saw lots of turtles, sea birds, people and boats – but no manatees or alligators! We continued onward and anchored in a small, peaceful cove that night and were rewarded with a stunning sunset! No alligators!
Friday before arriving in Sanford, we stopped and took the dinghy into Blue Springs Run to walk along the Boardwalk. We were told there was a manatee and we managed to take a picture with it! LOL And there were no alligators either!
Sanford was an easy walk into town and had a variety of different restaurants. Friday night we chose The Old Jailhouse Kitchen & Spirits. Because living on a boat 24/7 can be challenging and stressful at times, a looper friend would sometimes tease her husband by holding up a fork in front of her face. She would then proceed to tell him if he pushed her too far that this is how she would look to him if she were behind bars and she had really killed him. We took the picture just for laughs! But sometimes it is stressful! Saturday we walked around the town where a multi-cultural Field Market was happening and we spotted Washburn Imports – of course we had to take a picture!! During the day we watched the Paddle Wheel Boat leave the harbor and return and that night we walked back into town for dinner at the German Restaurant. We were seated inside a huge restaurant at a long table with lots of other people. The staff was dressed in German clothing and our waiter’s name was Heinz. We had the best German food – Schnitzel, Potato Pancakes, Spatzle, and Red Cabbage. They had a small German Band playing Polkas. They sang a song about “Cleveland the Polka Town” and “Roll Out the Barrel”. They sang a song where they had you raise your drinks and yell out Hoy- Hoy – Hoy! What fun we had!
Sunday we headed back towards Jacksonville and stopped at Hontoon Marina. One of Pete’s former flight students’ Arnold, who lives in Daytona drove over and joined us along with his girlfriend, Connie. We all went hiking at Hontoon Island State Park. There were lots of signs warning about poisonous snakes and to beware of alligators! Were we nervous, scared, or excited? Yes! Thankfully no snakes but . . . Yes – we finally spotted a baby alligator! Afterwards we drove to a restaurant for dinner.
Monday we continued our journey north and headed back to Palatka Marina. That night we saw another Space Launch! Tuesday was an early morning and we went to Epping Yacht Club to meet up with our friends, Kim and Rob, a retired ABX Pilot who flew with Pete. We had fun catching up and exploring one another’s boat. Dinner at The Yacht Club – delicious! And a fierce card game afterwards to end the night! Wednesday we had breakfast together and then we headed back to Port 32 in Jacksonville to begin wrapping up our 3rd Segment!
