Day Eleven: Homeward Bound

 Around 4 am the last section of the air mattress exploded and it was time to get moving. For Debbie anyway. I slept in a little more. The air mattress was rolled up and left in a trash can.   

As we pulled away from the St. Augustine municipal marina, the church bells were ringing, marking seven o’clock. I stowed the lines then joined Debbie and the cats inside. 

It is so nice to be in warmer weather. It allows Deb to use the upper station which affords great visibility for docking. Then she moves to the lower helm so we are all together. Except we weren’t all together. A cat was missing. 

It would be easy for a cat to escape while we are running in and out leaving the dock. But I initiated an interior search first. Peanut has a few favorite spots but he was not in any of them. We tried calling and even getting out the bag of treats. When he didn’t appear for food, we knew he was either dead or not on board. 

As Debbie was preparing to return to port, I checked the final place I saw him. I opened the clothes locker on the starboard side and there he was!

The trip to New Smyrna in the river is 68 miles from St. Augustine. We anticipate arriving around 3 or 4. Because of the anticipated increase in fuel prices, we plan to fill up along the way. We will also pump out the head.

One quick comment about marine toilet paper. Instead of two ply, they should indicate grit instead. My butt will be happy to get some of that soft toilet paper the animated bears promote. 

We saw some pretty white pelicans outside of Matanzas. 

There was a welcoming committee under the Granada Bridge in Ormond!

We stopped in Daytona and topped off the fuel and emptied the holding tanks. We continued on to New Smyrna Beach and arrived around 4 pm. 

Jay and Yonna greeted us and helped us tie up at the Rintelmann marina and brothel. We unloaded the cats and some gear. 

Peanut and Gaffer were relieved to stand on something that didn’t sway!

Cat, Robin and Donna arrived with pizza for everyone!

Tomorrow we will begin the cleaning process and getting The boat into shape. Feel free to drop by and we can teach you the benefits of the all new “Waxing Diet.”

Thanks for joining us on our big adventure!