Monday, April 9, 2012

Nov 21st - April 3rd, 2012: Clearwater FL to Charleston, SC

      When we left Clearwater, FL we travelled a few miles down the west coast of Florida to Fort Myers, than took a left turn on the Caloosahatchee River to LaBelle, Fl. Teresa's Mom and Stepdad live here and we left GREAT ESCAPE for the months of December, January and February.
    On March 1st, we got underway and crossed Lake Okeechobee in the center of the state.  Our first stop was a little marina about 8 miles east of the lake called Indiantown.  As we crossed the lake, I noted a strange sound coming from the starboard engine.  To make a long story short (and it pains me to repeat it) we had to stay in Indiantown for almost three weeks making engine repairs.
   Underway again on March 21st, we stopped at Titusville, Fl and than headed toward Jacksonville.  We had an overnight stay in St. Augustine and had a chance to meet with our Canadian friends the Tovel's  before they headed back north to Toronto.  From St. Augustine we continued to the St. Johns River and than headed south toward our hometown of Green Cove Springs.
    We arrived in Green Cove on March 25th and spent 4 days taking care of personal business, restocking the boat and saying good-bye to friends for the summer.
   On March 30th, we began the final stretch on Loop #2, heading toward the Intracoastal Waterway with stops in Fernandia Beach, FL, Brunswick, GA, Savannah, GA  and today north of Charleston SC harbor. 
   The last couple of months have been spent enjoying the Holidays, enjoying get togethers with friends and family, and just relaxing.  We're ready for this final run to the Chesapeake, hoping to arrive in the Norfolk VA area around April 20th. 

Enjoying dinner with friends Skip and Sharon Moore
in Clearwater, FL

Kelly Cromer on board GREAT ESCAPE with his buddy Shipmate



The Clearwater, FL skyline

Teresa's mom Bailey joined us in Clearwater for the trip to LaBelle.
We now had three dogs on board with her Portuguese water dog Jessie

The Sarasota, FL waterfront

The inn at Cabbage Key just north of Fort Meyer's on the west coast


Deb and John Blom, good neighbors in Green Cove Springs,
at Deb's birthday dinner (hence the tiara)

Friends Maggie and Sam Short visiting from Charlottsville, VA for the Daytona 500

Everett Grey Koncius enjoying a portion of his first Christmas
Celebrating Jack and Emma Delarm's 50th wedding anniversary
  with their daughter Krist and grandson Troy

Enjoying a dinner in LaBelle with Teresa's Mom and Stepdad
as well as friends Evelyn and Al Love

Underway from LaBelle with fog on the river

In Indiantown, we had a dinner on board with Teresa's highschool
friends Yvonne and Dan Moncrief

The dockmaster in Indiantown marina



Teresa's Mom Bailey visited Indiantown with her girlfriends Mary, Betty
and Ike (who won our March Madness tournament this year)












This 80 foot Burger yacht stayed in Indiantown
prior to crossing Lake Okeechobee

Some trouble on the Intracoastal just north of Daytona

A warship in dry-dock near the Mayport Naval Base

The Landing in downtown Jacksonville

This little beauty belongs to the new owner of the
Jacksonville Jaguars

The city dock in Green Cove Springs

Having dinner onboard with Deb and John Blom and Ruby Parrish

Sunrise in Green Cove as we got underway

The Jacksonville skyline heading into town

Wild horses on Jekyll Island, GA

These shrimp boats are actually floating, but there is a significant
tidal change in the Georgia Intra-coastal

Mufasa on dolphin lookout during a windy day  

The Battery in Charleston

Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor