Good-bye to Florida!

Sunset at Fernandina Harbor 

Yesterday in Fernandina was our last day in Florida on the loop.  We have been in Florida for five months.  We have enjoyed the small towns and the water and the welcoming marinas along the way.  We really appreciated being in the keys during January.  What a treat!   I hope we can come back every winter.

Today we left Fernandina twice:  First we left at 9:25 am and went two miles into a fog bank.  Yikes! We turned around and headed back to the marina to wait for a while.  We left again at 10:45 am and had sunny skies and calm water all day.  For most of the trip we were beside Cumberland Island, which we have visited several times.  It is lovely.  We saw walkers, kayakers, and a horse out on the beach.  We had read about crossing St. Andrews Sound, so we hit that at low tide and with no wind.  It was interesting (There's the ocean! There's the end of Jekyll Island!)  but safe and manageable.

We anchored behind Jekyll Island in 8 - 10 feet of water at just past low tide.  We are now in 15 feet.
We are bouncing a bit, but not too badly unless a boat comes by.  Two sailboats are on either side of Aunt Aggie.

 After setting the anchor, we took the dinghy across to Jekyll.  We walked to the beach and had a fun time there.  (It is a sunny day, and we are at the beach!)  To top off my pleasure, there was a class of middle schoolers playing in the water with their teacher and parents watching.  I wanted it to be a Paideia class, but no, they were from Roswell.  They were having a blast.  The best part was that the teacher had a bullhorn and shouted directions at them.  Why didn't I ever think of that?  We sat off a ways and drank a beer.  George remarked that we could probably sell a beer to one of the dads for $20.

Can you see the bullhorn?

Shady walk to the beach. I have not appreciated Jekyll properly.  It is quiet.

                                     

Here is an expanse of beach where we sat. What a state treasure this is!

This is the first time we have anchored out in quite a while.  I love the idea of anchoring - the quiet, the stars, the cost.  Lately, however,  I have not been able to sleep well at anchor.  I am optimistic about tonight. Let's hope all the spring break visitors go home at dark, and the water and wind are calm.