Heading home…bummer!

Nice night at anchor in the side channel N of Blue Springs. There is a small boat ramp across the river and we dingy Raisin over there for her walk.

This is the sunrise as we are headed back to the boat.

While Jim did the driving…I removed all the vinyl side panels for the trip home, and stowed everything that might blow out.

When we got to one of our favorite anchorages, Jim asked if I wanted to do a ride through and look for gators. This is usually a pretty good spot and we anchor here a lot for that reason. And look at the one we saw.

This gator is the largest we’ve seen in a long time.

Most of the big ones have been hunted out. I won’t be swimming in this area!

Loading the boat on the trailer went well. The day was sunny but not too hot. I spent the afternoon unloading the food stuffs and dirty laundry…need everything clean and  ready for the next trip.

Leaving Salt River Springs Run

We were up very early…there was an E wind forecast and that would give us a rough ride down the lake.

The sun was just starting to rise as we worked our way out the run.

With a hot cup of coffee in hand I rode on the deck. It was spectacular! The water was as smooth as glass.

We were across the lake before the wind picked up. A very pleasant morning.

Larry and Diane stopped at Astor Landing for water, pumpout and a trip to the store. We continued on to the Blue Springs area to anchor for the night.

Crossing Lake George

After leaving the island at G3, we made a lumpy crossing. The lake was really kicking up and we had to head almost into it until we got to the N end…then hung a L and headed to Salt River Run.

I got lots of pictures of Larry and Diane.

I wasn’t able to get any of the real good action….here he’s stuffing the bow a bit…but we were riding the same waves and I was having trouble holding the camera steady.

Diane took her turn at being “Captain”.

Come along for a short ride…..

It was a lumpy ride…but well worth the trip. The next morning we had 4 Manatees swim near the boat while we were snorkeling. We have been in here several times and never knew they came in. The lady who runs the gift shop told me there were 15 that made this one of their stops.  They come in so often the locals have names for all of them.

I doubt they would have bothered us…but since one of them was a youngster…we decided it best to get out of the water.

You see how close they came to the boat….and look at the size of this one.

All of them had multiple prop scars, even the small one. It was wonderful just  watching them. They really seem interested in us.

When we had a shallow draft boat we spent more time here than Silver Glen…unfortunately..with the 3’ draft..the lake has to be up for us to get over the bar at the entrance.

Silver Glen Springs to G3

We spent the weekend at Silver Glen Springs.  There were not a lot of boats…it was pretty cold, but there were a few that braved the weather.

Jim  and Larry listened to the football game on the radio during the afternoon. Even with the sun shining it was a bit cool for swimming.

With most of the weekenders gone by Sun night…the water was crystal clear.

Larry and Diane were up early and on their way to Astor Landing to get their truck and head to town for groceries. We hung around awhile and headed back to the island by G3. We took our usual side trip up Blue Creek. The Sand Hill Cranes were there again. They do make good guard animals. A couple even did a dance to warn me off as I started to take pictures.

The Hawk came in for a bite… she was a bit wary since it was so windy, and the Cranes were telling her there was someone about that didn’t belong there.

A little farther up the creek we spotted this pair of gators. The smaller one was resting his chin on a turtle.

The turtle looked more concerned about us than the gators, and decided to leave.

I really enjoy the gators and turtles.

Palatka and back to Silver Glen Springs

We were up early and headed for a restaurant’s floating dock. There is a grocery store within walking distance. So far, no one has said anything about us tying up for an hour or so. They don’t open until 11am and we are gone by then.

They have a nice deck for dining. We’ll have to stop here for a cool drink and dinner sometime.

Lake George had some ripples on it when we started across. It’s about 8 miles from Georgetown to the Springs.

The wind picked up as a few showers blew through, and the lake started kicking up.

You can just see Larry & Diane in the distance…when the storm bearing down on them hit…we couldn’t see them.

Jim had a great time watching the rain squalls on the radar. He’d call Larry and tell him when they were going to hit. We had a few of those Florida downpours…then it would pass and another would hit. Both boats rode it out very well. A comfortable ride…a bit wet ..since I had left the rear screen in and at one point we had a strong tailwind…but…. By the time we got within a mile of the entrance to the springs…the clouds had passed and the sun was shinning bright.

Here we are anchored for the weekend.

Can you tell us apart?  We’re on the L. Look at that nice clear water…time for a swim.

Welaka & Palatka, FL

We decided to cruise up to the Welaka City Dock and hike up to Shrimp R US for an early supper. On the way, we spotted Muskrat Love, another Albin 27. She is available for charter, and was anchored next to us at Silver Glen several months ago.

I think this boat is the reason we now have a hardtop. After seeing it up close…we knew we had to have one.

After a very good dinner, we headed to the Palatka City Dock to spend the night.

We enjoyed the company of several very nice people. Two college students were working on the interior of a sailboat they plan to take to Columbia, and this youngster fell in love with Diane.

She has such a nice way with kids. She not only talks to them as an individual…but listens to what they have to say as if it is the most important and interesting thing she’s heard all day. She lets them all know just how special they are and they walk away with that feeling. It is truly a  God given gift that she has.

Cruising with Larry and Diane

Larry and Diane met us at G3 and we headed N to Silver Glen Springs.

We like the side trip up Blue Creek. It’s a narrow, winding creek. There are a few homes but most of it is pretty wild. Here come Larry & Diane.

We had a few sprinkles but not anything to worry about.

There is one home along the creek where you can sometimes see Sandhill Cranes…wild Turkey, Raccoon

and even a Red Shouldered Hawk.

Carol called her in, while we watched. It was  a treat. She really does share her beautiful place with the wildlife and enjoys them all. Isn’t she georgous!!!!

Diane takes her turn as “Captain”.

Lake George was relatively flat and there was a lot of floating beds of weeds.

Larry radioed over to let Jim know how much he enjoys his auto-pilot. (ours in still in a box)

This is such a nice boat…with lots of “goodies”…and we are glad Larry & Diane  are the proud owners.

Once at the springs..it was time for a wash-down & rinse-off. Larry is making sure all the shampoo is rinsed out….boy…what a life!   Gotta show this picture to Jim and see if he can catch on. It’s amazing how cold 72 degrees can feel on a 90 degree afternoon.

Boating and LOVING IT!!!

We launched on Tuesday and headed up the St Johns River. Beautiful weather. Hot but not as humid as it has been…and the forecast is for cooler weather this weekend.

We are meeting Larry and Diane in Astor, FL. They’ve spent the week on their “new” boat.

We made it to the island at G3 and anchored for the night.

The screened enclosure kept the bugs out and the cooler night air made an evening in the cockpit enjoyable. The white hardtop was so much cooler during the day than the blue bimini. I think we are going to like the setup.

We anchored here about 3 weeks ago, so were surprised to see this huge patch of floating grass and weeds. It covered an area the size of the island, almost closing off the river running around the backside. You can just see the tops of the trees over the it.

New Sunscreen covers & screen enclosure

I have been busy!!!  We decided to make screens to fit where all the vinyl panels go. It will be much cooler during the summer…but we will also leave them up all the time. It will keep the bugs and leaves out and our new vinyl enclosure will last much longer.

The center rear panel was made by AB Canvas Products. He used a much better grade of screen and you can see the difference. Mine will be much cheaper to replace if a limb blows through it or a storm damages them, though his is much nicer.

I ordered some SunShade, and Sunbrella for trim and made new window covers. It’s much cooler than the blue covers, and you can see through them a bit. Also made one for the front hatch and for the big window on our camper.

We’ll use the blue covers when the boat is stored on the trailer in the yard and save these for cruising.

The cover on the center window had a bit of an overhang and I made it even bigger. I’m hoping that will allow us to leave the window open in most rain storms. If it’s blowing hard..it will have to be closed but a lot of our summer storm are just downpours.

This is my first attempt at this…so please ignore all the errors.

Our “before”..hardtop, screens & covers.

It sure makes us look different.

We have a car show this weekend…and then we can go boating.!!!