12/23/16 Friday

Well it is difinitely a windy day in Florida!! In fact the last 3 days have been!! Not horrible but has made during the boat a struggle!!
We left Palm Beach this morning at 7:15am, we sure did enjoy the evening there!!! Travelled 78 miles today through some of the richest parts of Florida! It always amazes me how much money there is in this area from Palm Beach to Miami. Some of the biggest yachts in the world are in Fort Lauderdale!! Blows my mind!! Lol
Dave Wallace from Wallace sailing charters in Georgetown called us this afternoon and said he was in South Beach Miami and so was Danny aboard the Escargot
From Georgetown  and wanted us to come anchor with them for the night! When we got anchored they came over in their dinghy and visited for awhile. Always good to see old friends from home! Ha
I then fixed leftovers of chicken bog and we ate sitting on the back deck watching the cruise ships leave for the holiday weekend !! All lite up with Christmas lights was an incredible sight to see. They look like moving cities!!
My kitchen fairy took care of the dishes while I enjoyed face timing with Allie, Sherry, Triston and Mamaw Kay!! Allen I think was vegging out after the meal he just had!!lol  It's been a grand day!!
We will be in Key Largo tomorrow around noon per Rod's calculation!!
I do hope everyone is ready for Santa!!!
Love to all, Ms. Fran & Capn Rod

Docked beside Trump Plaza in Palm Beach

Trumps Resort!! The Coast Guard was guarding like a hawk!!

We see this mansion every year!!

Friends for Georgetown, Danny and Capt Dave

12/22/16 Thursday

We pulled up anchor this morning around 6:45am and was headed south again by 6:50am!!
We had a great travel day with a light wind that pushed us most of the day. All the windows were open and we still roasted all day!! A few times the temperature on the bridge where we drive was 90 degrees!! We had more dolphins swimming with us today than any day we have had yet this trip! Sure kept Lexie occupied all day!, lol
We traveled 83 miles today and decided to dock at the city docks in Palm beach. We thought maybe we would not be able to as all the reports we had gotten the last few days were part of the waterway was closed to boats as the Trumps arrived here in Palm beach today to spend Christmas. But there was no issues and all seemed to be fairly normal here. A company called Sandyland is here in Palm beach creating several fabulous Sand structures. There is a 40 ft Christmas tree and many other scenes of Christmas movie characters. I'll post some pics. We walked for a while through town and chose a Chinese restaurant, Chopsticks, for,some supper. It was fabulous! It havent had Chinese in a while so it was a real treat.
They had a big band in the park playing the oldies from the big band era! Crowds of people. We could hear it from the boat so most of it we just sat on the back deck and listened!
Looks like we are going to battle high winds for the next few days and really concerned with having to cross Biscayne Bay to get to the keys. So plans may change. Please pray for our travels and that we make the right decisions.
3 more days till Christmas!!!!!🎄
Love to all!!  Ms. Fran & Capn Rod

I took lots of dolphins pic today!!

A 40 ft sand Christmas tree!!

There were 12'pdthese sculptures herein the park!! 

Supper!!! Yummy!!!

12/21/16 Wednesday

Well Rod was up around 2:30 am this morning, said he was awake and had to get up! I think he accomplished most of the needed chores to prepare for our departure this morning!! Lol   He did come back to bed and rested for awhile then we both got up at 7am. We then discovered some dirty jeans that had grease and battery acid on them so we decided to wash clothes while we completed the preparation for leaving the dock here in Titusville. The wind was still blowing so we ask the marina dock hand to come assist us pulling out as we did have a boat beside us about 2 ft between us. Amber came and helped and without any issues we came right out of the slip and off we went!! We have had a grand week here but ready to head in south.
Traveled all day in cloudy skies, the sun would peek through a few times all day. The temp was 80 degrees and we had the windows open most of the day!! We also had the tide and the wind pushing us so we made good speed all day!! If you would call 9-10MPH good, and we do!! Lol
Rod had a good anchorage spot picked out just north of Vero Beach here at Wabasso Creek and it is a good spot for us to spend the night. The wind is considerability better so we are tucked in for the night. Bad news, NO TV reception!! So its been quiet, reading, watching the Christmas lights in the houses here on land beside us. OH and supper, I made in the crockpot last night of augraten potatoes and ham, served with green beans!! It was delish! Rod did dishes (I love my kitchen fairy) while I showered. PJ's on and resting up!!
We rode 65 miles today and hope to get in 70 miles tomorrow to be in Palm Beach. We want to beat Trump there as we are told they will be shutting down areas of the waterway when he arrives, and I don't think he even plans to come in by boat!! I guess they have to cover all the bases! Lol
Only a few days till Christmas and we do hope to be in Key Largo by Saturday!!!
Hope everyone is getting ready to celebrate!!
Love to all!! Ms. Fran & Capn Rod

ROd had to try on the new Christmas socks Paula and Jim gave him for Christmas!! To hot to wear them long! Lol

12/20/16 Tuesday

This was our last day here in Titusville!!! It's been a fun week but we are ready to head on South!! We completed a last minute check of the motors this morning and Rod found a starter that appears to be failing periodically!! AND a battery that it not wanting to charge!! Soooo off comes this starter (this thing weighs 85lbs) and off to the Napa Store he goes with this thing strapped on the back of his bike with a bungee cord!!! They have a guy there that will check it out and see what needs to be repaired!  It's old so you never know!!
When he got back to the boat Paula and Jim were here, so off we all went to first eat lunch! EL Leonitico our favorite Mexican restaurant. It's Taco Tuesday!!! Along with Peach Margaritas!
Then for last minute shopping at Walmart and Lowes. On the way back to the marina we stop at the Napa store and retreave the rebuilt starter and decide to go ahead and purchase a new battery that Rod is pretty sure needs replacing!
We all come to the boat, unload our groceries and 85 lb starter, and we have Christmas!!!!!!
Jim gave Rod a much needed new pair of Levi's, 5lbs of Pistachios, and big bag that you put all you gun stuff in when you go to the shooting range and a fun pair of Christmas socks!!!
Paula gave me a beautiful new pillow for my couch, it's lime green and it has a beautiful blue bird on the front. I have a pic to post, a lg can of cashews, and a kitchen set of small cups for dips and dressings!!
The rest of the afternoon was putting in that 200 lb battery, and the 85 lb starter!!! HEAVY STUFF!!
Rod will feel this tomorrow!!!
Snacked and ate leftovers from lunch, got everything ready to pull out of here tomorrow morning. Praying the wind dies down a little. We are in a small tight boat slip and have a boat next to us like 2ft between us!! It will be tricky!!
Pray for our travel, and the health of our boat!!!
I can't believe Christmas is 5 days away!! We hope to be in Key Largo!!
Love to all, Ms. Fran & Capn Rod

One of our favorite places to eat!!

Rod just had to go check out the banana tree!

My new decorator pillow!!! It will always remind me of my Bird loving BBF!!! Thanks Paula!

12/19/16 Monday

What another beautiful day here in Titusville!!! Woke up this morning to 80 degrees weather!! We have today and tomorrow left here then we head on South again!! We finished up all the needed chores this morning, Rod performed battery maintence, checked all the fluids in the motors and generator, me I washed clothes and supervised his work!! lol
It was such a pretty day we just had to take off and ride our bike awhile!! We have really completed all the sightseeing we wanted to get done except to go back over to Cape Canaveral, but decided to wait and do that on our way back north. We need to plan ahead a little and rent a car as there is no public transportation there and 21 miles on a bike is just to far!! Lol
We decided to have a late lunch,and visit our last thing on our list to do, and go to Dixie Crossroads for lunch! They have Rock shrimp here that look and taste like miniature lobster tails!! They are wonderful and it was on my Christmas list to get!!  Thank you Mamaw Kay Roseman for the Christmas gift of food!!! We enjoyed it very much!! We also bought us each a T shirt with Dixie Crossroad Rock shrimp on them! 😁
We returned to the boat and completed the last few chores on the list and sat on the back deck and enjoyed the evening breeze!  A 70 ft beautiful wooden boat came in this evening and parked right beside us from Sag Harbor, NY named America! What a beautiful boat!! The wood was varnished to perfection, and she difinitely was a sight to see. We spoke to the Capt and deck hand, but the owners never came out for us to meet!
Left over lunch for supper, showered and ready for a fun day tomorrow with Jim and Paula. We will spend out last day here with them!
Hope everyone is almost ready for Santa!! You got less than a week!!!🎄🎁
Love to all, Ms. Fran & Capn Rod

The napkin was also the silverware holder!

Nope not hush puppies!!! These are corn fritters with powered sugar! YUMMO!!!

Broiled Rock Shrimp!! I started eating then realized I needed a pic of these beauties!!

Fun on the bench outside!! Lol

12/18/16 Sunday

We woke up this morning to the wonderful smell of the ham I prepared in the crockpot last night!! Yummy!!!  We dressed and got the ham in a carry thermal bag, Jim picked us up at 9am to head to Sanford for the Spence family Christmas picnic!! It's a 45 min drive from Titusville to Sanford by car.  A beautiful sunny 85 degree day! I saw it snowed in Nashville this morning!! Hope you guys enjoyed!  Lol. We helped get the tables and food all set up at the park just across from the marina where Paula and Jim live on their boat. Everyone arrived around 1pm! Lots of good food. I baked the ham, Dale (Jim's son in law) fried a turkey, develed  eggs, corn pudding, sweet potato casserole, rolls and cookies brownies, and a real treat something called cherry pie lasanaya!! No one left hungry! The little ones played in the park and the adults just enjoyed each other company!! Paula and 2 other families brought scratch off lottery tickets for everyone to have one!! Rod and I won $3.00 between us. A few others won a dollar here and there, but one of the teenagers won $40.00!! A wonderful fun day and we appreciate them always including us in their family Christmas gathering each year. They all make us feel so welcomed!  Even being 60 miles from Titusville we were able to see the rocket launch today at 1:45pm at Cape Canavral! Always a treat!

We drove by and saw Paula and Jims new house they will be moving into early January. Difinitely a new chapter in their life! 

After we got home a little clean up of dishes and now just kicked back and resting. A fun but tiring day!! We have just 2 more days here at the marina in Titusville so we will be doing last minute sight seeing!! We have had lots of fun here but ready to move on down the waterway!!!

Much love to all, Ms. Fran & Capn Rod 

Our BBF's (Best Boater Friends) Paula and Jim Spence 

Our yearly Christmas photo!!

Just had to post this!! We stayed up late last night, Lexie got tired of waiting and went to bed without us!! Lol

12/17/16 Saturday

Saturday Morning!! Just like any other day when you are on vacation!! Lol  Rod gets up early make our coffee and decides he is going back to the Ace Hardware to exchange a tool that he purchased yesterday that is the wrong size he needed. Me I stayed home, drank my coffee, watched a little of the Today's show, then a nice walk with Lexie!! What a way to spend the morning!!! Lovin it!!!
Rod got back and said let's go get some breakfast! So off we go on our bike! It's 80 degrees light wind, What more could you ask for!!!
We went to a local place called Your Place!! If any of you have been to Georgetown, it was similar to Thomas Cafe!! Our local hangout at home!! We had a great breakfast but if I had to put Thomas Cafe up for a vote Thomas Cafe would win hands down!! But I am partial! lol
We then decided to ride the 3 miles to a Hobby Lobby we had seen a few days ago (on the day we had the flat tire and pushed the bike home). Rod needs a tool to pinch holes in the material of our curtains so we can raise them 1/2 way up when we only need a little breeze. He was told at ACE Hardware they had what he needed.
Got to Hobby Lobby and they had the perfect tool!!! Sherry you would be proud of me I pulled up a  coupon on my phone,!! She taught me well!! Lol  A $20.00 tool was just over 11 bucks!!
On the ride home we found a park that was a memorial to the Mercury and Apollo mission crews so we stop and went through there for awhile. Such a beautiful day it's easy to just want to be outside!!
We got back home and Rod worked on the curtains putting in the needed snaps and then a good wash job, me!! I supervised!! He said I was a real good at the job! hehe. Another good walk for Lexie was needed, then I prepared supper and got my ham in the crockpot for the Christmas luncheon at Paula and Jims tomorrow. Showered, PJ's on and got my feet up posting on the blog. Rod's enjoying a movie and Lexie, well she's doing what she does best, sleeping at the foot of Rods chair! All is good!
Love to all, Ms. Fran & Capn Rod

Enjoying our breakfast out!! 

A real locals hangout here!! Everyone knew each other! That was another thing that reminded me of Thomas Cafe in Gt. 

12/16/16 Friday

It's Saturday and I just relized I fell asleep last night and never completed the post for Friday!!
With a new bike tire we are ready to ride again!! We decided to go to the space museum here in downtown Titusville. We saw it a few days and ago and thought today would be a good day to visit. What a treat!! We spent almost 2 hours there ad had a great guide/ docent that took us through the museum room by room and learned all about the history of the space program over at Cape Canerval. It was well worth the time we spent there!!
We then rode on out of the downtown area where someone told Rod there was a bigger ACE Hardware store. But we got there and it was not any bigger or better than the one we visited the other day on the the other side of town!!
After riding back to the boat we rested up as we decided to walk over to the park where there was a Christmas park set up with millions of displays venders and performers!! I do have some pics to share. Along tiring day but a fun one!! Oh by the way!! It's 80 degrees here!!! Hehe
Having fun in the South !!! Lol
Love to all, Ms. Fran & Capn Rod

These were some children traveling for 2 yrs with their parents. They enjoyed playing with Lexie!!

A manatee came to visit!! They kids were so excited about how Lexie was so excited to see him!! He even smiled for me to take his picture!! Lol

The Space museum!!

Me in control of a Mercury launching 1967! Hehe

Entrance to the Christmas park!!

This swan was Hugh!! I wish I could post all the pics!! It was georgeous!

12/15/16 Thursday Titusville, Fla

We woke this morning to much different weather than yesterday!! Wind blowing 25-30mph and 65 degrees! What a difference from yesterday! It was 85 degrees and sunny and no wind! We were just glad we were not traveling and having to anchor out in this kind of wind!! ROd was going to wash the boat but just not able to do that chore, so he cleaned out my dryer vent so I could do laundry! That took most of the morning. I cleaned house he did some small chores as we had to get ready for meeting Paula and Jim for lunch and some shopping time at the Walmart!! Mainly just some great time together since we have not seeen them since they left Georgetown in October. We all decided on a favorite restaurant New York New York a small local restaurant that we had eaten at before that has a special meal we only eat there!! Chicken gizzards!!!! Yep that's right I said chicken gizzards!! Lol
I would never eat them anywhere else! Ha  after a Walmart stop, we came back to our boat and enjoyed coffee and some good catching up with each other!! Great to see my BBF again (best boater friend)!!! The rest of the evening Rod and I watched movies and just relaxed!! Even at a dock this evening we still are rocking A LOT!!! Just very thankful we are not anchored out on the water!! We are hoping for a better day tomorrow, got some things planned to do!!
No pics to share to day as pics of cleaning and laundry are just not fun!! Lol We were talking so much I wished I had taken a pic of the restaurant!! 😖
Much love to all!! Ms. Fran & Capn Rod

12/14/16 Wednesday Titusville, Fla

Another wonderful day traveling done the ICW!! We pulled up anchor this morning and left New Smyrna Beach at 7am. We only had 35 miles to travel to arrive at Titusville Fla. at Titusville Marina. We will be staying here a week to spend some time with our friends Paula & Jim. We plan to spend tomorrow afternoon with them. They will be here to see us around noon.
After we got settled in our dockspace and fueled up the boat, we took off on our bike for some exercise and see if the town had changed since our last visit here. As most of you know we ride a tandem bike and we enjoy it soooo much. So nice to be able to talk while riding. We stopped at a Burger King and devoured a wonderful whooper!!! Lol Then rode about 3 miles to a Hugh ACE Hardware that we had visitied on past visits. We found a few needed supplies, and decided to get on back to the boat and get a few chores done this afternoon. Well we now have a new saying "NEVER ride a bike any farther than you are willing to walk back"!!! About 2 blocks after we left the Ace Hardware the back tire went flat!!! We walked Rod pushing the bike for about 2 miles or so and found an Advance auto. No bike tubes but they had fix a flat!! Nope!! Did not fix as the tube was torn to bad! So Rod kept pushing and I walked!! We figured about 3 miles of walking today!!! Our feet were the most tired as we have very sore feet still tonight!! Lol. We difinitely walked off the Burger King calories!! Rod repaired the bike with a new tube so we will be off riding again tomorrow!!
Showered and ready for bed but we do have TV tonight so that's what Rod is doing now!! Lol  we may make it past 9pm tonight before going to bed!! Ha. We will be doing some needed chores in the morning! Washing the boat and some clothes is a necessity!!
I hope to be able to share some pics I took today!
Love to all, Ms. Fran & Capn Rod

After I posted last night I just had to take this shot of my 2 tired pups last night as I walked into the bedroom!!

I love pics of the birds we see on the waterway!!

After docked today at the marina, I had turned on the air conditioner and when I came out on the dock this manatee was sucking on the water tube on the side of the boat!! Just tooo cute!! He/she stayed for a long time!! They LOVE fresh water!! And this little one must have thought it was fresh water but it's not!! The air conditioner pulls water up into the system for cooling! 

12/13/16 Tuesday

After a great nights sleep, we pulled up anchor this morning around 6:50am!! Traveled 87 mikes today!!! We had the best tides pushing us that we have had since we left Georgetown!! There was many times we saw 11mph, and that's moving for this boat!! Lol We again had to travel in the fog for only about and hour this morning. The rest of the day was beautiful!, Temperture was 70 degrees!! We had on T shirts and shorts most if the day. Some beautiful scenery, lots of dolphins, and also lots of hurricane damage. Almost unbelievable!! Since we had the tide pushing us so well we traveled on as far as we could before dark. AT 4:30pm we anchored just off the waterway in New Smyrna Beach. We enjoyed the sunset on our back deck, Rod repaired one of the shades I managed to break the pull chain on, and just relaxed!!! Ate all our leftovers with a salad for supper. Showered, playing on the internet, and soon to be ready for bed!! Boaters Midnight comes at 9pm!!!
I will agin try and post some pics, as I still have issues with the blog just not cooperating with me!!
LOve to all, Ms. Fran & Capn Rod

Sunrise this morning just as the fog was lifting!

The Fort as we came through St. AUgustine!! We have tour it many times but still Rod would like to go through again!! Lol

The white pelicans waiting for the tide to fall for their buffet!! Lol

The moon coming up just a few mins after we anchored this evening!! Picture just don't do justice to its beauty!!

12/12/16 Monday

Ok, so this morning Rod wakes me and says its 7am, we're late here's your coffee, let's get started!! So I jump up put my clothes on, tell Lexie to come on let's go for a walk, and I take the garbage to put in the dumpster!! While we are walking I am amazed it is still so dark to be 7am!! When I get back I look at my phone and it is 6:01am!!!!! The digital clocks in the house sometime are slow to recalibrate when we us the generator!! So we sat on the back deck and had coffee for an hour!! Daylight was up about 6:50 so we untied and took off from Jekyll Marina. In about 15 mins after the crossing of St Andrews Sound, which by the way overall a good ride but I still got VERY nauseated as we pitched and rolled for an hour!! We then ran into the most awful fog bank ever!! This lasted almost 2 hours. It really makes you trust your navigational system!! By then the water was smooth as glass and we muddled through the fog! The rest of the day 72 miles worth, was fabulous!! We decided to anchor at Pine Island cove again in the middle of no where I think about 30 miles befor St Augustine. It was such a warm evening we sat in the back deck and just enjoyed a magnificent moon and discussed our day and the day to come. A great way to end our day! I have many pics and will try to post a few. Saw many eagles today!! And some great views coming through Jacksonville!
Overall another great travel day!!
Love to all!! Please continue to pray for our travels!! Ms. Fran & Capn Rod

Our first viewing of the white pelicans only seen in Florida

Only in Florida do people paddle board in December!!

Hard to see but we watched an eagle carry material up to this nest!! Must be doing renovations to their home!!

12/11/16 SUnday Jekyll Island Ga.

We pulled up anchor this morning an left Walburg Creek (in nowhere Ga) and headed on down the waterway. 60 miles we decided to stop at Jekyll Island Marina for the night for some ground walking time for us and Lexie. We took the marinas golf cart and went to a near by market area for some away from the boat time!! Lol
The dock guys told us about the Christmas decorations in the historic district downtown, so we decided to take our bike and go check them out!! What a treat!! We're so glad we took the time to go! The 65 ft tree and the large oaks all covered in lights were magnificent!!
I will post some pics if I can!! We will only spend the night and leave early in the morning to get across the dreaded St. Andrews Sound as early as we can!!
It was another great day in the waterway headed South!
Love to all, Ms. Fran & Capn Rod

65 ft Christmas Tree

Now that's a chair!,

Thenhugh oaks all covered in lights

A Christmas Carriage to be had!! Too late for us to take!!

12/10/16 Saturday

What a grand day of travel today!! The Georgia coast has beautiful landscape but nothing else!! We anchored at Walburg creek near nothing!! We traveled 72 miles !! I do have a few pics from today and pray I will get them posted!! I am still having much difficulty with the workings of the blog!
We plan to dock at Jekyll Island tomorrow night for fuel (as it is cheaper than Florida). And a night to walk a little on land!! Lexie is ready for some grass too!!
Love to all, Ms. Fran & Capn Rod

Sunrise this morning!!

Lexie and her Dad at the potty patch!!

These guys flew by us today!!

12/10/16 Saturday

I'm still trying to work on my blog!! Having a lot of difficulty. Seem to be in the blog rather than my internet!! I can't post any pictures so far!! I will keep trying!!

Don't be concerned if you don't see a post daily until I get some tech help!!

LOve to all, Ms. Fran & Capn Rod 

12/9/16 Friday Beaufort, SC

I am really having difficulty with the blog!!! Today started at 7am a beautiful morning but a bit chilly!! THank you Lord for a generator and heat!! I did not get yesterday post  travels till this morning!! Slow internet on the waterway!!
We traveled 85 miles today and averaged 10MPH a beautiful sunny 66 but almost 80 degrees on the bridge. We wore shirts and shirts most of the day. Saw several pods of dolphins and a few eagles and some great scenery!! If the internet will cooperate I will post some pick of Parris Island I took as we went by. Triston will be there in basic training in March!!
We anchored this evening around 4:45pm just south of Beaufort at Scull Creek. Pizza for supper, some much needed relaxation time and will be ready for bed by Boaters Midnight (9pm).
Love to all, Ms. Fran & Capn Rod

12/8/16 Thursday Charleston SC

We left our home port this morning at 8:30am it took almost an hour to put in 322 gals of diesel fuel!!
We had a beautiful 65 degree sunny travel day. Leaving so late we did not anchor just south of Charleston at Elliott's Cut until 6pm. I don't like to anchor after dark, just to hard to see what your doing!! Trusting your navigational system is a necessity!!
I prepared chicken strips and leftover broccoli rice and called it dinner!
Rod was asleep in his recliner by 7:45 I worked on the blog till 8:30 and we went to bed!! We did not make it to "Boaters Midnight" 9m!!
Ready for another travel day tomorrow!
LOve to all, Ms. Fran & Capn Rod

2/27/16 Saturday Georgetown, SC

I feel like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, "There's no place like home"!!!  

We pulled up anchor this morning and was cruising by 6:30am. We knew it was 102 miles home and was not sure how the tides were going to push us faster or slow us down!!! We had a few places today we did not think we would be able to get through if the tide was not high enough. BUT we made it without any problem. We arrived at our dock space at Harborwalk Marina right at 6:30pm. A full 12 hours of travel today!!! We just wanted to get home and knew if we did we would have a nice warm bedroom to sleep in tonight!! It was cold last night!!

We came in late so we had to dock ourselves, but we had called and let them know we were coming in late. I think Lexie was more excited than we were!!  Lol  She could not hardly wait to potty on her home turf!!! Ha  She also went straight to look for Lucy her friend, the dock master Chris's black lab.

We are all glad to be home!! We had a great 3 months of travel. We have met many new friends. Got to spend some fantastic time with our BBF's (best boater friends) Jim and Paula!!! And had some great adventures!! Rod calculated our mileage this trip!! a little over 1600 miles!!

We will get back into the mode of working on Monday!! 

Thank you all for your many prayers for safe trip!  We were blessed again this year!!

We love you all that have followed our journey in 2016!!!  Fran & Capn Rod 

Here are a few last pics I took on this trip! Total taken this trip 667 pictures and 6 videos!! Lots of memories!!! 

Sailing school as we were coming through Charleston this morning!

Have we seen an eagle everyday??? It's always a great sight to see! I wish I could post my dolphin videos on the blog!! We saw many of them today!!

Here's a shot of a couple!! The one on the lower limb has a fish he is eating!

Harborwalk Marina!!! Home Sweet Home!!