Now that we are this far along, we are taking time to enjoy Florida while we wait for hurricane season to be over in mid-November. Then, we will make the crossing to the Bahamas from Palm Beach, FL.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 28th to SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 4th — DAY 68 to 75 (Seeing Florida — St. Augustine, Palm Coast, Daytona Beach, Titusville, and Cocoa)

After weathering Sandy in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, we head to St. Augustine. Travelling the ICW through Florida is a better experience than some of the other states. Depths are better and the tides aren’t as extreme. The scenery and wildlife in Florida are fabulous too. We see dolphins, manatees, bald eagles, flamingos — it has been just incredible.

St. Augustine has a lot of great history, but unfortunately, the town is a bit of a tourist trap. As the birth place of Ripley’s Believe It or Not, the whole place has a bit of a ‘cheesy’ vibe. Nonetheless, we enjoy the visit and a walk around the Spanish fort.

From St. Augustine, we head to Palm Coast and stay for a couple of days at a small marina there. Our friends Marcie and Jim on their boat ‘Island Jim’ are there when we arrive. Dave and Anne on ‘Time 2 Go’ (from Port Elgin, ON) arrive the next day.  We take a break from travel to play and round of golf at a nearby course on Tuesday.  It is still windy and cold, but we enjoy the day anyway — being the hardy Canadian golfers we are.

Next, we head to Daytona Beach, Florida.  The Halifax Yacht Club in Daytona is just near the waterfront town that they are attempting to revitalize. We have a short walk around, but there isn’t much to see. Anne and Dave (Time 2 Go) meet us for a fun dinner at the Yacht Club.

After Daytona, we head to Titusville.  This is the best wildlife viewing day! We see 4 manatees and lots of dolphins. Wonderful! Time 2 Go follows us most of the day. Titusville is the final destination for them for this leg of the journey. They are flying home from there to spend the holidays before returning in January to continue the voyage south to the Bahamas. We have cocktails on their boat and agree to meet up in the Bahamas.

Just before we head to bed in Titusville, we hear what sounds like gun shots nearby. When we ask the guy at the marina the next day about it, he gives us the impression that it is normal. Needless to say, we are happy to leave Titusville and head to Cocoa, Florida.

When we arrive in Cocoa, we dock right next to our friends on ‘Island Jim’.  Small world! We keep seeing them. Near the marina, the town of Cocoa is lovely. Cute restaurants, art galleries and a great hardware store all within walking distance. We rent a car and stay for a few days. On Saturday we head to the Kennedy Space Center. Very cool! And, we run into Dave and Anne (Time 2 Go) there! Sunday (today) we play golf and its a beautiful sunny day and around 80 degrees F.

Tomorrow we are heading on to Vero Beach, Florida. It will be a slightly longer day for us of around 50 miles, but with the time change, the sun will be up early so we can get a good start.