“You got the gold. What are you going to do now?”: We spent a few days enjoying Fort Myers after we raised the gold flag. We walked uptown for dinner and, of course, a smoked Old Fashioned at The 86 Room. There is always something going on. This evening, there was a free concert in front of the Arts Center.
Coastal Dayz is one of our favorite breweries. We had an awesome authentic German lunch from the food truck The Meat Cottage.
Long-awaited Reunion: We were blessed by a visit from mv Avocet -- SCOUT’s Previous Owners (POs). Thanks to Covid 😒, we had not seen them since 2018 when they delivered SCOUT to us in New Bern NC, but we know they were with us in spirit throughout our travels! We are grateful for them! 🙏
Edison & Ford Winter Estates: Finally, on our third stop in Fort Myers, we got to visit Edison & Ford Winter Estates! Our friends (former owners of Great Harbour mv Seven Tenths) joined us!
First, we enjoyed sunset drinks and appetizers at a new waterfront restaurant, Beacon Social Drinkery.
🎄Edison & Ford Winter Estates – Holiday Nights was awesome! The gorgeous weather and magical breezeway set the mood for a stroll through the riverside gardens.
(Left below) The local schools decorated small Christmas trees, which lined the meandering sidewalk in front of the estate.
(Right below) While the car museum was not open in the evening, there were a few old cars outside on the grounds, like this 1929 Ford Model A.
Lights along the Caloosahatchee River were enchanting.
The Moonlight Garden was my favorite spot. What better place to wrap up our stay in Fort Myers?
Heading East on the Okeechobee: We left Fort Myers “not so bright” and early. The river was foggy for about an hour. We planned to head up to Jacksonville FL (on the east coast) to dock for a few months.
By mid-morning, the fog cleared, revealing the beautiful winter colors.
1st stop – LaBelle FL.
LaBelle Brewing is another favorite. We planned for a short cruise so we could scooter-on-over for an early dinner.
2nd stop – Clewiston FL.
⚓Anchored. We had an uneventful cruise to Clewiston, where we anchored on the southwestern edge of Lake Okeechobee, to stage for a lake crossing the next day.
Around dusk the bugs came out, so we buttoned down the hatches and stayed inside with low lights for the night.
3rd stop – Stuart FL. We hauled anchor early. The light fog soon burned off, and we had a sunny cruise across the flat lake.
⚓Anchored. We anchored in Stuart FL, south of Sunset Bay Marina, just in time for a gorgeous sunset.
4th stop – Fort Pierce FL. After 4 days of cruising, it was time for break. 😉 We planned another short cruise so we could be in town to try to see the St. Lucie County Christmas boat parade. Boat parades are my new favorite “Christmas in Florida” tradition.
(Left below) 2019 St. Augustine boat parade, ending with cannon fire from Castillo de San Marcos.
(Right below) 2020 Jacksonville boat parade, highlighted by fireworks and a fireworks “waterfall” under the bridge.
We docked at Safe Harbor Harbortown Marina – a large marina with excellent facilities and a restaurant, Harbor Cove Bar and Grill, on-site.
We took an Uber to Islamorada Brewery North – newly opened since our previous visit to Fort Pierce. Ray went for the beer selection. I went for “Salty Music Bingo”! FUN! 😊 I had the steak grinder with fries; it was delicious & HUGE! In addition to a great beer and cocktail selection, this location offers a lot of fun events! There are plenty of seats inside and out. If you’re in the Fort Pierce area, we recommend checking their event schedule and taking an Uber over.
🎄St. Lucie County Christmas Boat Parade:
The next night, we got an Uber for early dinner at Manatee Island. We got VERY lucky to get the last table available without reservations. 🍀 (Apparently, the restaurant was fully booked for the boat parade many days earlier.)
The food was good, but the best part (for me 😉) was the warm pineapple upside down cake. (Yes, I splurged on gluten. 🙄)
There were about a dozen boats in the parade. This restaurant was near the Fort Pierce Inlet, and by the time the sun set, current was pretty strong. Watching the boats make the swirly turn back upstream to the Intracoastal Waterway was interesting.
5th stop – Melbourne FL. We left Fort Pierce at first light. The light fog had almost burned off by sunrise.
First Time in Melbourne: We had another quiet day on the water and docked by early afternoon at Melbourne Harbor Marina. This was a small, but well-protected marina with a restaurant dockside.
We walked 1/4 mile for early dinner at Hell 'n Blazes Brewing in a c.1898 building that has served as a Hardware Store, Bank and then a Mortuary. Ray had Mr. Pinks Porter with a flatbread. I enjoyed a Pedaler’s Cinnamon Bourbon Barrel Aged Hard Apple Cider and a Goat Burger. Delicious!
6th stop – New Smyrna Beach FL. Again, we had a gorgeous day of cruising. As we approached the NASA Causeway Bridge, Ray spotted this delivery that appears to be part of a rocket ship heading over to the Canaveral area.
We always enjoy cruising the Haulover Canal and Indian River, where we usually see interesting wildlife.
First Time in New Smyrna Beach: During our previous travels up & down the Atlantic Coast, we had hoped to stop at the city marina in New Smyrna Beach, but were repeatedly unsuccessful –due either to slips unavailable or transients prohibited due to Covid. 😒 This time was no different, but we did find dockage at the nearby New Smyrna Marina dba The Fishing Store, where we were docked by mid-afternoon.
We walked 2 miles, round-trip, for beer tasting at New Smyrna Beach Brewing. Back at the marina, we had delicious happy hour appetizers for dinner outside at Outriggers Tiki Bar & Grille. Christmas lights and decorations made for a festive Christmas by the shore atmosphere.
7th stop – Daytona FL. Our cruise to Daytona was mostly cloudy. The highlight was just outside the channel to enter the marina – a double rainbow! The 2nd rainbow is barely visible in this photo. (By the time it was brighter, we were too close to get the full arc in frame.)
Just after we snapped SCOUT’s rainbow photo, we passed a fellow Great Harbour, mv Sadie Belle.
First Time in Daytona: We had a short cruise to Halifax Harbor Marina, a large marina in a protected harbor.
We walked 5 miles, round-trip, to Red Pig Brewery, located in The Market, a c.1938 coquina building in Holly Hill, FL. Wait! We walked to the next city for Ray to taste a beer!? 😮 I must admit, though, sitting in the courtyard garden was relaxing! 😊
8th stop – Palm Coast FL. We made a short cruise to Palm Coast Marina, where we arrived early enough to take a 5-mile round-trip walk along the riverside St Joe Walkway. 5 miles of walking 2 days in a row! 👍😊
After freshening up, we walked another mile, round-trip, for dinner at one of our favorite breweries, Moonrise Brewing. The crispy brussels sprouts were delicious, as usual!
9th stop – Pine Island anchorage near St. Augustine FL. We made a leisurely departure from Palm Coast.
Along the way, Ray got a great photo of this muster of wood storks.
Passing through St. Augustine FL, we saw the shrimp trawler, Sapelo River Red – the same trawler we photographed at sunset in Georgia on our way north in May 2021.
⚓Anchored. Around mid-afternoon, we were the first to anchor at one of our favorite anchorages, Pine Island – just north of St. Augustine FL. We relaxed and watched a number of other boats enter and anchor. The moonlight provided a beautiful blue backdrop for this photo of boats at anchor.
10th and final stop – Jacksonville FL. Anticipating a long day of cruising, we hauled anchor early – before sunrise.
Sunrise against the glassy water was gorgeous as we motored north, …
… as was the layer of mist along the river.
Mid-morning, we passed another Great Harbour, our taller (with flybridge) twin, mv Roadie. It was almost like looking in a mirror. 😊 I can’t believe how many Great Harbour boats we saw this December! 😮
Commercial traffic increased as we neared Jacksonville. I like Ray’s photo of this tug pushing the tanker, Overseas Nkiski, around a tight corner on the St. John’s River, …
… but what we saw at the bow of the cargo ship was more fascinating. Dolphins jumping and playing in the bow wave!
Traffic and currents were in our favor this time, and we arrived at Marina at Ortega Landing by mid-afternoon. It was good to be back “home” – our first home-port after moving to Florida from North Carolina! It was great to see familiar faces. And the marina – decorated for Christmas -- is even prettier than we remember.
Our son, who lives nearby, welcomed us “home” at the marina! 😊 Thanks to his help, we retrieved our car from a nearby storage yard. 🙏
We then made a quick road trip to the Carolinas to see family for Christmas.
What’s next? After 9 months of cruising the Great Loop, we will continue deep cleaning and organizing SCOUT and get hauled out for some “bottom TLC”, as Ray calls it. 😊
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