Quote of the Week...from Guy Fieri

I have a boat, but when I first thought about taking a cruise, I thought, "You're going to trap me on a boat, and I'm going to walk in circles and go crazy", but it's awesome.         ---Guy Fieri

Guy Fieri, if the name doesn't ring a bell for you, is the host and traveling chef of the popular Food Network TV series Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.  I haven't watched the show for some time but I did appreciate that Fieri departed from the stereotypical image of a famous gourmet chef as being something of an overly critical, fit-pitching prima donna type (as Gordon Ramsey is, for example).  Not that I want to devote this article to talking about him, though.  Melissa and I will be going on our first cruise this Sunday and it will be leaving Ft. Lauderdale and making stops at the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgins Islands over the course of its week-long voyage before returning.  I'm personally not too keen on the notion of thousands of people being crowded together with us on a boat...albeit a very, very big boat...but it's a new adventure and I'm looking forward to it...especially the idea of standing outside at night looking at the ocean and stars with Melissa.  Regarding the crowding, we'll see...I'm holding you to your words, Guy!

Our St. Augustine Eco Tour Holiday Boat Ride

Friday Melissa and I drove over to St. Augustine again to go on the Eco Tour holiday lights boat ride up and down the Matanzas River (Intracoastal Waterway there).  I say "again" because on Saturday, the 16th we had gone there for the very same reason but the traffic was so congested that we missed our appointed time...we simply could not park or even approach the downtown marina area in time.  But the good folks at Eco Tour were sympathetic and graciously put us on last Friday's 6 pm boat...no problem with the traffic or parking this time!  Just to be safe, though, we got there early in the afternoon and walked up and down St. George's and King Streets, exploring stores (and drinking coffee) in misty, very chilly, windy, and overcast weather throughout the day and evening.  At the city marina just south of where the main bridge crosses, we found our group and departed on time for our hour-long tour on an open motorboat seating around 12-14.  Most of the other passengers were couples like us, but there was a large family at the end with three excited little kids...I found their noisiness to enhance the experience although at times I couldn't make out what the tour guide was saying.  We first went south toward the southern bridge, stopped facing the famous lighthouse, turned back north, passing a "party pirate" yacht, went under the Bridge of Lions, and passed the spooky Spanish fort, on whose walls folks were casting big shadows.  The guide told us that it had never fallen in battle and that this was largely because it was virtually indestructible, made from little seashells that absorbed bombardment instead of collapsing.  Interesting...

We kept going further north until we reached that beautiful, 200-foot tall cross on the edge of the river.  Because of the intense ground lights and the overcast sky, a giant, dark shadow of the cross was etched onto the clouds...an amazing sight.  Then we headed back, with the brilliant downtown city's Christmas lighting making it almost seem to be on fire (see photo above).  I really liked Eco Tours, although there are other tour companies operating out of this marina that are probably fine, too.  They also have more nature-based boating excursions where the natural flora and fauna of the area are explored...

All in all, Friday's adventure was very fun, and Melissa and I enjoyed it.  I got to drink lots of coffee, we ate at Scarlett O'Hara's, and went into an extraordinary art gallery off King Street near the marina.  But that's St. Augustine for you: a different, memorable experience each time you go there...

Went Boating With Friends Yesterday

Yesterday our friends Richard and Kelly invited Melissa and me to join them on their boat, going up the St. John's River (which is actually southward).  Their marina, the launch and return point of our excursion, is on the river's east bank in Satsuma, a small community in eastern Putnam County.  We went a few miles up river, with thick forests on its west side and numerous homes, apartments, and docks on the east.  Along the way we encountered several osprey nests, rising high above water in the center of the river, built at the top of man-made markers.  The parent ospreys were very protective of their nests, which at this time of year were full of their young offspring...our passing by didn't exactly please them as they hovered about and threatened to buzz us.  Eventually we made our way to where the Ocklawaha River empties into the St. John's and veered to the right.  At this point we encountered numerous manatees, who seemed naturally curious about our boat and its occupants.  One of them got very close to Melissa as she was leaning over the edge, and it gave her a friendly snort with its muzzle sticking out of the water as it looked at her.  Richard piloted the boat very carefully and skillfully around these gentle and noble beasts...unfortunately, we saw several other crafts that whizzed by without any apparent regard for the wildlife around them.  After hanging around the mouth of the Ocklawaha for a while among the manatees, we made our way up that river, whose flow has been greatly stemmed since the construction of the Rodman Dam in 1971 that created a reservoir behind it.  Going up the Ocklawaha River for a few miles was marked by many sharp meanderings, and we were surrounded by wilderness...much different from our St. John's River experience and probably a lot different from the Ocklawaha on the other side of that dam...

After we made our way back to the marina, we all went to a seafood restaurant, called "Shrimp R Us and More", which is in the small town of Welaka...incidentally, also situated on the St. John's River just opposite of where the Oklawaha empties into it (and where we encountered the manatees).  The food and service there was top-notch, with generous portions of shrimp for the price...and I was happy to be able to order cheesy grits, one of my favorites, as a side dish...

As you can see from the photos, the weather couldn't have been better for our trip...I only regret that during our close encounter with that manatee I got lost in the moment and forgot to take a picture, although in another I've posted you can see a couple of them breaking the water's surface in the distance.  Richard and Kelly were wonderful and thoughtful, and we deeply appreciate having been able to spend some very enjoyable hours with them yesterday...