Fernandina Beach to St. Augustine, December 3-4

Judging from the reader responses we've received over the past few days, I think I'd better answer the burning question that you all seem to have before I do anything else.  Yes, we did finally manage to get our holding tanks pumped out.  Yippee!  No more looking for marina and restaurant bathrooms.  Wayne is also happy that I'm no longer forcing him to relieve himself in the trash can on the back deck to save toilet space.

We've been in St. Augustine since yesterday afternoon.  The trip getting here was beautiful, although still meandering.  The weather over the past two days has been perfect, averaging about 73 degrees and with more sun than clouds. We had more boat company along the way than we usually have.  At one point a sailboat passed us and Wayne commented that it looked like the brand owned by Tom Neal, a boating author whose writing we've enjoyed in Soundings magazine and who wrote a book about living on his boat with his family.  As we saw the rear of the boat Wayne exclaimed, "That's the name of Tom Neal's boat!"  He then contacted the boat by radio and, sure enough, it was Tom Neal, who graciously chatted with us for a while.

A beautiful day, good lunch, an interesting book - what  more could I ask for?

Another boat named "Cool Change," about 56 feet long

Thank goodness catching a mooring ball in the harbor this time was not the ordeal it was last year.  Feel free to reread my description.  This task can be really difficult when the wind is high and the waves are rough.  Imagine threading a needle in a strong wind while precariously hanging over an abyss.  That about describes it.

St. Augustine's pirate ship with the light house in the background

Today we went into the city to shop and tour.  We hadn't been to Potter's Wax Museum in a long time so we stopped by there.  It's much reduced in size from what it was twenty years ago but we enjoyed what we saw and I was happy to have my photo taken with Harry Potter since I'm a big fan.

Harry and me and - Eeek, Voldemort to my right

Another highlight of the day was stopping for a snack at Harry's, a restaurant on Avenida Menendez near the Bridge of the Lions.  Last winter we discovered they serve delicious Bananas Foster so we settled into a table in their lovely courtyard for a repeat.  They say they can't set this dessert aflame at the table anymore, something about a lady's hair being caught on fire, but we enjoyed it anyway.

We also took a free tour of the Government House Museum, a place we've never visited.  This is an exhibit of archeological finds from in and around St. Augustine in displays that give a lot of information on the city's more than 400 year history.  Nothing fancy but very interesting and, at the end, there's a cool timeline (this is the teacher talking).

Looking south on St George Street

One of the city's many beautiful courtyards

The lion and Colleen guarding the Bridge of Lions

The day was so beautiful that we stopped several times just to sit on a bench outside to soak it up.  Breezy and cool with delicious sunshine, it was Florida winter at its best in this delightful old city on the Matanzas River.  Tomorrow we'll cruise on down the river and plan to anchor out near Daytona in the evening.