Jacksonville is on the Georgia border...well, about half an hour south, to be more precise, so it is the most northerly of Florida cities, on the peninsula, that is. There are more northerly cities on the Panhandle.
We are so enjoying the cold...sounds silly, but this is the first winter we have experienced for three years. Yes, it got cold briefly (two weeks?) in Port Charlotte where we wintered for 10 months over two Christmases, but not THIS cold.
One of our slip mates came out the other morning to walk her pup, and the poor thing almost slid off the duck board into the water...ICE! Aieee!
One thing we have been getting more of, are the gorgeous clear days, with Ccccoooold winds and stunning sunsets. The sunset below was snapped after we got home from our second walk of the day to the bridge (to watch it open:) ) and back...we noticed the bright orange sky and what looked like smoke. Eventually we smelled the smoke, and while it made for a stunning sunset, we learned later that is was a controlled burn, further south. They still burn the sugar cane here, in Florida....which reminds me...Alexander and Baldwin, the owners of the Sugar plantations on Maui ,are going to cease operations starting in March. 600+ families will be affected. This is tough for a small community like Maui, whose resident population is no more than about 130,000.
You can see the dark on the left hand side...that is the smoke.
So, I have been taking the cast off my right hand before I shower. I had to really scrub to get the old dried blood off, and there is still some to come off when the scars are more healed, but it feels wonderful to let the hot water run over the hand. I have three weeks to go before taking the cast off for good and undergoing therapy...I cant wait! I so want to do so many things...not the least of which is to clean the boat. She isn't too dirty, but I just love getting out there on a nice day and scrubbing her. Very satisfying!
We have planned to do some work on the outside of the boat, for a while. This was really a matter of finding someone we could trust to do the job in the way we thought it should be done, without the five arms and three legs some quotes have wanted. We don't agree with the way the quoters were wanting to do the jobs, so we waited.
The good thing about being in a city marina is that tradespeople can be found working on boats on every dock. We have been watching a fellow working on a lovely Symbol down the dock and he was doing the job the way we liked. He came and gave us a quote, which was waaayy more sensible than previous ones, and we have come to an arrangement to get the work done in March at the boat yard of his choice. We drove out there on Sunday afternoon, about 3pm, which really was a bit late, but it was good to see where we would be taking our girl out of the water for the duration, to be worked on.
While in those parts, we visited the Kingsley Plantation. It was bitterly cold, with the wind off the water, which is exactly why the plantation house was built by the water...
This house, though ransacked during the civil war, was built in the late 1700's and is exactly the same today! It is truly remarkable. The slave quarters are further down the road, away from the house.
I didn't photograph them. I have an aversion to recording the sad lives of these folks.
The old Cherokee Rose Bush is still blooming. Such a pretty open blossom.
Perhaps we will go back to Fort George Island and the plantation when we are working on the boat out there. Hopefully on a fine day.
In the meantime, the lovely little Phalaenopsis Orchid I grow on the dashboard of the pilot house is in full bloom. It has three spikes, and is amazing!
I love these kittle Moth Orchids, and it seems to thrive where it gets first of the morning sun, and lots of light, with a fan blowing a light breeze onto it.
On Monday, our friends Enid and Richard...fellow kiwis...left the dock to go south. We have so enjoyed their company and miss them dreadfully!! They have some work to complete, also, and will lay up in Ft Lauderdale where they have some warranty work to do.
Our other friends are in the process of selling their boat, and we had expected to hear that the sale had gone through on Wednesday, but there is a hold up with one aspect of that so they are in limbo for now. They really don't mind, as they have nowhere to go 'home' to. This is where we will find ourselves, should Untide be sold. I guess we need to get onto that???tomorrow!
Well, Waz has gone for his shower and the bedroom feels like Siberia, is it that cold, so I will go and put the heater on before I get ready for bed also.
We have to have the car at the Honda Dealership at 8am tomorrow for her 60k mile check up and oil change. We aren't allowed to do an oil change in the parking lot at the marina!!:)
Ciao for now...life is carrying on per normal otherwise. Stay warm, all you northerners, and enjoy the kiwi summer, the rest of you.
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