December 28, 2014

Christmas on the Water 12.27.14 a gator day

Last night we saw a couple sailboats cruise up the river. We were surprised to see one of them had anchored just down the river from us when we got up this morning.

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Looked like there might be another fishing contest today…there were a lot of boats heading up the river ..in a  hurry.102_0321cs

We did see a few people on the island but no one was camping. This used to be a favorite spot for beaching and camping out.102_0319csAfter coffee,we worked our way down to Hontoon Island and took Hontoon River. It runs behind the island and takes you to a channel that brings you back to the St Johns River.

This Bald Eagle watched us leave the island.

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A group of about 11 jet skis passed us. Looked like they were having a great time…and a beautiful day for it.

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Once we got on the Hontoon River we started spotting gators.

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This is a beautiful ride. Not a lot of wind and plenty of sunshine…great for gator sunning.

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A little cutie…

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I thought these turtles made a good picture with that curly log.

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Jim really liked this one….it is so relaxed…

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This is probably the biggest one we saw….sorry I couldn’t get all of him.

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This is the back entrance to Hontoon Island. No longer are we able to beach and go ashore.

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We’ve always liked this river because it is so secluded….at least when it isn’t a holiday.

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This is our anchorage for the night….we were surprised to see at least 20 or more pontoon boats run this river while we were anchored.

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It is a nice warm night…even when the sun went down. We took our wine out on the rear deck and enjoyed the sunset.

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It kept getting prettier and prettier…

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While we were out there we saw a bat dart past us. We’ve had a bat get aboard this boat last year and 2 get aboard Slow Motion. They are drawn to the flying insects that are flying around our anchor light.

We went to bed and watched them from the side windows. Jim was sure there were at least 3. I was hoping to find a few inside the screen on the rear deck waiting to go home with us…but no luck.

Another great day on the water….and the night was even better. Loved the flying bat show.