10.24.08 - 10.29.08

After a good day in Salt River Springs we decided to cruise up to Welaka, FL to see if an Albin 25, "Southern Cross", was still on the hard. She was. We had looked at her just before we bought the A27 that we now have. The A25 can also be used with a sailing setup and though we really liked the idea there just wasnt enough headroom for Jim. We were hopeing to meet the owners.

After checking that out we headed back S and made a quick trip up the Old Oklawaha River. Didnt go the whole lenght..we were unable to find any high ground for Raisin so turned around and headed back down to the St Johns River and S to Drayton Island for the night. It rained most of the night. We had a few minor leaks but nothing that caused any problem.

The next morning we headed back to Silver Glen Springs to meet with Ron and Karen. A couple of their friends also showed up and they did a "raft-up". Ron and Karen's is the houseboat on the R. Joe and Marsha have the one on the far left...they have "lived aboard" for 9 years and the boat is in imaculate shape. It's for sale, too!! Unfortunately it's not trailerable ...so Jim cant have it.

We spent a few days at Silver Springs and the batteries held up well. It was pretty cold at night...in the 40's...and we dont have a generator or heater...but once the sun shines on us it warms up nicely. We did try starting the engine for 15 minutes...then after we shut down...we opened the engine compartment and let the heat from the engine rise into the cockpit. Since it is only enclosed with canvas and vinyl windows it doesnt hold out much of the cold air..Kinda like being in a tent. We'll come up with something for heat for the next trip.

On Monday, 27th, we headed out into Lake George and S on the St Johns. We got across Lake George before it kicked up too much.

We still cant get over how much water is still over the banks of the river. Our trip into Mullet Lake Park was a big surprise. We couldnt even find the dock . This is a picture we took a year ago. If you look closely at the end of the dock you can see a couple of poles. The very

tips of them were all that was above the water. And the sign half way out the dock was only a ft or two out of the water. Everything was flooded and I doubt the park was even open. I was so surprised at what we saw..I forgot to take a picture.

We turned around and headed back up near the entrance to Lake Jessup and found a spot of high ground for Raisin and anchored for the night. We had a beautiful sunset.

Thurs we hauled out at Lake Monroe Park. Unfortunately there is no long term parking and may not be any for a month or more. It will depend on how their parking area drys out. The loading of Slow Motion went well. It's a bit of a job getting it on the trailer if windy but we had a great day. Now for a few more "fixes" and we'll be ready to get back on the water when Larry and Diane and their Nimble Nomad, get her mid Nov.

10.20.08- 10.23.08

Lake George was a bit choppy today..but the A27 handles it well. Beautiful in Silver Glen. Only a half dozen boats. Nice and quiet. Saw 2 small (5') gators just outside the anchoring area. They've been there each time we have. I've never seen them in the anchorage but I also dont swim after dark. (feeding time). there used to be a little one that swam around the boats, but I didn't see him this time.

We look pretty small behind this houseboat. He can stay here for months at a time. 4 solar panels across the front and 1 on the R side. He has it positioned so it gets full sun all day. We spent the night and then headed up the lake to Salt River Run. It's at the NW end of Lake George and even with a 3' draft we were able to get in. It's about 4 miles up the run to the springs. The water is clear but has a hint of green to it. We anchor near the spring entrance ..over a sandy spot and swim near the boat. This morning we watched a couple of otters cruising about. The fishing is pretty good in here.The marina has icecream, charts and T's..not much else but you can hike a mile to the grocery store if you are out of supplies.

After a good night's sleep we headed to Georgetown Marina to top off the tank. Since the boat is new to us we arnt sure how much fuel it uses. We dont cruise very fast. Right now it looks like we are averaging a bit over a 1/2 gal an hour. Paid $4.15 for fuel...+tax and -our BoatUs discount (be sure to ask for it).

We cruised N to Welaka to see if "Southern Cross", an albin 25, was still on the hard...it was. We wanted to anchor in the Old Oklawaha river for the night but couldnt find any dry ground for the dog. It's a beautiful ride. We only went part way up, but have been to the dam in another boat. headed back down the river and are tucked up behind Drayton Island, at the N end of Lake George. It's Thurs night. We'll cross Lake George in the morning if the weather permits. Hope to spend the weekend at Silver Glen Springs.

10 .18.08 & 10.19.08 St Johns River

Sat

We launched at Lake Monroe park. (N end of Lake Monroe, FL) I had called ahead to see if the ramp was open..it was...forgot to ask if the long term parking was available..it wasn't..evidently it had been flooded so long, they wanted it to dry out so it wouldnt tear up the grass etc. Jim's brother, Carl, had followed us up and we were going to spend some time on the lake with him. Jim took the truck and trailer back to the house and Carl brought him back to the boat. I had everything stowed and was ready to go..except for airing up the dingy.

We spent a few hours on the lake. They close the park at sunset so we had to have Carl back by then. As we cruised up to G109, our usual beaching spot for the dogs, we were treated to an absolutely beautiful sunset.

The island was underwater...no place to find dry land....the water went back into the trees so far we wernt able to get to shore...even if there was any.We had a nice night at anchor...even got cool enough for a light blanket.

Sun. We headed N...got to Hontoon Island..another nice beaching spot...no beach and they have put up a fence to prevent beaching..bummer...we like that spot..it's a short walk to the Indian Mounds from there.. a good hour or more if you tie up at their docks and walk in. We dingied in to high ground and gave the dog a quick walk.

We are anchored for the night behind G3. Nice "little" island....it used to be a pretty big one...only the highest spot is dry. It's still a good place to walk Raisin. She'll get an extra one tonight before it's too dark.

We look pretty good at anchor.

The tree blocking the view of the boat used to have at least 10 ft of beach between it and the water. It is going down, but very slowly.

Tomorrow we'll head across Lake George to Silver Glen Springs.

new fridge, & storage bins 10.12.08

This area of Florida has been forgotten with the disasters created by Ike and Gustav...but Faye really dumped a lot of water here and many are just starting to dry out.

While waiting for the river to get below flood level...and the boat ramps to open..we made a couple of changes. The small cube fridge was replaced by a 4.4 cu fridge. It has a better freezer compartment and more space below. I hope the 4 house batteries can keep up. We took the table out....we're using the cushions from the bench seat as back rest in the V berth. The fridge is anchored to the bench...a board was secured to where the table would be in the down position for makeing a bed...and bins bungied to it. They can be easily removed, should we decide we want to sleep here. We could sit the bins in the cockpit..take the board that's in front of the fridge (with the green mat) put it in the spot in front of the bin board and drop in a cushion..I doubt we'll need it for sleeping but we'll be on the water this winter and it can get down in the high 30's in this area..farther N it can get a bit colder. That could make a trip from the rear sleeping area ..thru the cockpit for a midnight trip to the head a bit chilly....so we'll be prepared.

We took 6 wire baskets and stacked and wired tied them together for clothing storage in between the bunks. They arn't fancy but "T"s and shorts etc are handy...plenty of air circulation..and arnt visually intrusive in a small space.

The water has come down enough so the boating restrictions on the St Johns River have been lifted...our favorite boat ramp at the N end of Lake Monroe is open...so we plan to launch Mon or Tues ..next week...for a few weeks to see if we like our changes.