Time to say good-bye to the lovely town of St. Augustine, FL and Municipal Marina and continue moving south. This was definitely another one of our favorite places to visit. 

Monday, morning (January 20) was chilly with a wind-chill temperature of 32 degrees as we eased out of our slip. It would be a short two-hour trip today with sunny skies and flat seas, kind of a boring trip really. Except….. as we were cruising along nicely, Michael suddenly says – there are NO markers here. I say – Yikes! What happened? Where do we go? Hmmm…. 

At the northeastern tip of Rattlesnake Island there were four missing green buoys. Buoys 81A, 81B, 81C, and 81D were all gone! We took it real slow, followed the Navionics route with a close eye on the depth sounder and made it through, but it was a little scary. The thought of being stranded on a place called Rattlesnake Island didn’t sound good to us or to Snooki and The Duke.  

Still in the St. Augustine area we arrived at Marineland Marina around noon. What a difference in personality. The Municipal Marina was buzzing with people, lights and activity. Marineland is secluded, quiet and cozy. Once settled we walked across the street to find a beautiful white sand beach on the Atlantic and the Marineland tourist attraction. It was still breezy and cold, so we didn’t stay at the beach long, but the dogs loved it. They went totally bananas running around in the sand. There’s nothing else within walking distance and we won’t take advantage of the Marineland attraction, so we’ll leave tomorrow morning continuing south. 

Up and underway by 7:30 this morning (Tuesday, January 21) and it was even colder (feels like 20-something). The weather report was for the wind to continue to build as the day progressed and we wanted to be ahead of it. The breeze did continue and reached 15 knots from the NNE while we were underway so, headed southbound, we weren’t adversely affected. It was an easy almost four-hour cruise with mostly residential homes lining both banks. Wow, incredible wildlife today -six deer enjoying grass on someone’s front lawn – amazing! Life is good as we cruise down the ICW this sunny cold Tuesday. 

We arrived at Halifax River Yacht Club in Daytona Beach, Fl around 11:30 and took the doggies for a stroll around the town square. A cute little town just steps from the Yacht Club. It was too cold and windy to lunch outside so we came back secured the dogs and went for lunch at the Club. Once back on the boat we realized we were out of a few things, one of which was dog food, so Michael Ubered to Publix. The breeze continued to blow through the night but we were snug as a bug inside. 

This morning, Wednsday (January 22), still at HRYC and it’s still cold and quite windy. Michael and I dressed warmly, Snooki has her own natural fur coat, and we suited Duke up in his sweater and all went for a brisk walk. I guess there’s no need to rush to try to get further south as it seems the whole state of Florida is a deep freeze. See the IFW (iguanas falling from trees warning) below. 

According to the Miami weather report – “This isn’t something we usually forecast, but don’t be surprised if you see iguanas falling from trees tonight as lows drop into the 30s and 40s. Brrr!”      Iguanas are cold blooded. They slow down or become immobile when temps drop in the 40s. They may fall from trees but they are not dead. Just cold! 

Today, we’re inside watching YouTube videos of boating in the Bahamas as we try to stay warm.  Will keep you posted as we move along.