Green Cove Springs and Jacksonville Landing

From Deep Water Creek we headed to Green Cove Springs, eventually anchoring near the mouth of Governors Creek. We met up with Herb and Margie, folks we had run into a couple of times while they were cruising the river on their Grand Banks. The four of us walked to the heart of the town, visiting this amazingly preserved church that was built in the 1800's. All the side windows had small fire exit doors under them.

Yesterday we headed to Jacksonville, spending the night at Jacksonville Landing. We did a quick tour in the afternoon, riding the elevated across the river to check out the micro brewery, then walking back on the older lift bridge. The 223' Kismet was in town to meet us.

We enjoyed a nice evening checking out more than one of the nice restaurants on the landing.

Before daylight this morning we were awakened by some schlep throwing a large wake in the no wake area, causing our binoculars to crash to the floor and self destruct... Today we headed south, stopping at Palatka to find the town dock is no longer encouraging boaters to stop for the evening... We are now anchored in the Little Sister Islands, planning on heading to Acosta Creek Harbor tomorrow, hauling out on Friday and heading home.

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Lazyboy!

Prior to our 2011 winter cruise Cathie came up with a simple solution to the too short v-berth. This winter she came up with another use: my lazyboy!

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Go ahead, back up!

On Thursday we took the free ferry across the river and hopped on our bikes for a 12 mile bike ride to DeLand for provisions. Friday we got together with one of my brothers and family for a day of cruising the back side of the island in search of alligators. We then lunched 3.5 miles down river at a small waterfront fish shack. Friday night got a bit busy at the marina, with locals coming in for a bluegrass band on Saturday. On the advice of more than one cruiser familiar with the river, we decided to head back north.




We followed our track through Lake George, taking a detour for an hour's ride into Jurassic Park - the Oklawawa River. Unfortunately, it was a weekend with too much boat traffic so there wasn't much to see. We then headed the short distance to Welaka, tieing up at the free town dock for the night. After a short walking tour of the Town (pop. 300) we decided to eat at The Palms Cafe Bleuu, right next door to the town dock. Good food...




This morning we continued north, stopping at Crystal Cove Marina in Palatka for fuel, then Deep Creek for a night on the hook. The name is appropriate. After lunch we took a hour ride up the creek and back. I saw a maximum depth of 35 feet...

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St. Johns River South

Today we headed south. We didn't really have a destination... We traveled a total of 45km, with a side trip up Silver Spring, on the west side of Lake George.

So far, the water on the St. Johns has had allot of tannin. As we approached Silver Spring, the water became crystal clear. We were able to see rays on the bottom, allot of turtles, bald eagles, and of course, alligators.

We then continued south, passing through Volusia. South of Volusia there was no development until we approached DeLand and Hontoon Island State Park. The facilities here are good, with clean restrooms and showers. Total dock fee is $20.25, any size boat, including electricity and water.

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Fresh water bath

Monday we hauled Buddy and headed to the east coast. First stop was an overnight visit with my sister in Titusville. Here is Buddy parked for the night with the Indian River and one of the NASA launch pads in the background.

Today we hopped on I-95, heading about 2 hours NW to Acosta Creek Harbor, Satsuma, FL. Here we launched and will cruise the St. Johns River for a while. Tomorrow we will head south...

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