Further Adventures Of SV Nutmeg

 12/31- Daytona Beach - We have had a couple of pleasant if cooler days here. Yesterday we walked over to the “Worlds Most Famous Beach”. The walk over Memorial Bridge was interesting as we walked right over where we had just sailed. They also had little plaques all along the way to commemorate the soldiers who fought in different wars. They had plaques for wars I barely knew about.      The beach itself was not that impressive. For one thing it was close to high tide so there wasn’t a lot of beach. Apparently a lot of the beach has been washed away in various storms over the last several years. By afternoon when the tide had gone out a bit they started letting cars on the beach. They even have designated traffic lanes on the beach. Other than that it looks like any other beach.      When we got back to the boat the couple next door invited us to go to Happy Hour with them so off we went. They were from NJ on a big Catalina I think. Drinks were cheap a...

 12/29- We left this morning on a chilly and windy ride. We were cold most of the trip as the wind was out of the north. At least the sun was shining and that made it feel better. We went under 5 bridges and 2 lift bridges today. The lift bridges were both on demand and I have to say those bridge tenders know their stuff. Both times the tender told me to keep coming that the bridge would be open when I got there. Both times I chickened out and slowed down. Both times the tender told me to pick it up. They were both right on.      In Palm Coast and most of the way down to Daytona we passed by some very expensive real estate. These were some very big fancy homes. Even as we got closer to Daytona and the homes got smaller they were undoubtedly still worth more than I have. It was some interesting architecture though as each rich person tried to make their own unique statement.     We are in this huge marina now and I think our boat may be one of the small...

 12/28- It was raining when we got up this morning so we decided to stay put another day. It rained until around noon or so and then we took a nice walk. There is a trail that goes through what must pass for a forest around here. We saw lots of unusual plants but no alligators or snakes. I did a bunch of boat projects and we just chilled.      The tides around here are weird. The tide here at the marina is  a whopping 18 inches. It’s hard to even tell when it’s high or low. Back in St Augustine the tide range was 5 feet. How do you go from a 5 foot tide to a foot and a half tide in 25 miles? The thing of it is these are all rivers running parallel to the ocean. What is interesting is that there is still considerable current. We came down here at almost 8 knots while the engine was only turning 1k rpm’s. I was trying to slow down but nothing doing. Where does that much current come from with only 1 1/2 feet of tide.      The skies cleared nicely fo...

 12/27- It felt good in away to be moving again. As much as we enjoyed St A it was time to move on. It was a pretty easy run as we only did about 20 miles and got here around noon. The waterways are starting to get a lot more crowded. It is winter break from school so there are a lot of people just out with their families tooling around without any kind of destination. Everyone is all bundled up though as it is supposed to get cold again this week.  Palm Coast is an actual town ( I think) that is mostly condos and such. There are lots of side canals that feed large networks of canals so everyone can have waterfront property. The marina is just a pool off the ICW with docks but they like transients here so we are welcome. We walked up to a place called European Village which was a condo development with a bunch of stores and restaurants surrounding a square. Alayne saw a sign for half price which was a dress marked down to $265. Not much I’ll be able to buy in that store. ...

 12/26- Finally we have some Florida weather. It was in the seventies all day and all night with very little wind. It did of course threaten rain all day but it never materialized and it was just plain humid.      This morning the town looked like it was getting over a hangover. The streets were deserted and the gnome like city workers were back on the job shoveling all the trash into bins and getting the streets ready for the next round. The locals call this week between Christmas and New Year’s hell week and I can see why. This evening we went out to dinner with Mike and Carla as they are staying another week while we are moving on. You are only allowed to spend 7 nights in a month on the moorings. Anyway the place was just as mobbed tonight. One restaurant said it was a 2 hour wait for a table. There are multiple restaurants and yet they are all full and the streets are packed. We did get in to eat by being in the right place at the right time.     ...

 12/25- Merry Christmas everyone and I hope Santa was good to you. We went into town last night and Alayne went to a service with our friends Mike and Carla. I went to a bar and watched football. Afterwords we tried to go out for a drink but we could not get in anywhere. Seriously on Christmas Eve all the bars and restaurants were filled. Even as late as 10:00 the streets were filled with families and the bars were packed. It eventually started to rain and that started to thin things out. We rode back to the boat in the rain. Thankfully it was a warm rain and it didn’t matter much. I just think of all those half drunk parents trying to wrap presents back home.      Christmas Day it pretty much rained all day and so we just hung out on the boat. We talked with some friends and family and got a few boat chores done. In the afternoon we went over to Mike and Carla’s boat and had a meal of sorts. We sat around and chatted while picking at different meats and cheeses. Som...

 12/23- We have been having some fun now. This city is very vibrant. We went out to dinner last night with our friends Mike and Carla. It was a trip to walk around at night. The city is famous for its display of lights and it did not disappoint. I thought the place was mobbed in the daytime but at night it was even more crowded. There were people just milling around on the main park not really doing anything but oohing and aahing.     On Saturday even the daytime was crowded. I didn’t want to be in there at night. We have been walking all over the place and seeing a lot of the sights. There are so many things to see but they all cost money. I think this is just a big attempt to separate you from your money. As tacky as this sounds it is still a very interesting place to visit. Flagler College has some very impressive buildings. Inlaid tile floors and carved wooden columns decorate the interior and there were gargoyles. Damn even the bathroom was solid marble.  ...