We left Daytona for mile 769 anchorage just north of St. Augustine. We originally planned to stay in St. Augustine but learned that there is a lot to see there so we decided to catch it on the way back and just anchor tonight.
It was a beautiful weather day. Jen drove, Kelly navigated, and Mike worked.
We had a small depth issue but easily recovered. Navionics routed us through an area that was shallow. As we approached, we were questioning if it was the right answer. The other option was going through a semi shallow inlet with potentially strong currents. Jen saw with the binoculars that the current wasn’t bad but with the choice fast approaching us, we decided to take the Navionics route. As soon as we made the turn, we ran aground and stalled the engines. We can’t restart at the flybridge, so Jen ran downstairs and restarted us. Another boat called us on the radio and told us we didn’t follow in the channel. When we pulled out, they followed our path and got stuck too! Fortunately, the ground was soft and we got out easily. We decided to go through the inlet instead. The current was ok but it was a challenge navigating the shallow areas. Kelly watched the charts and Mike drove us through.
We drove 60 miles in 8 hours and were a bit tired once we reached our anchorage.
The anchorage was a nice spot. Good depth and mud holding. We had a nice breeze and a new boater friend to anchor with. We met (via radio), Leslie on her boat “Avalon”. Leslie is traveling by herself with her 3 dogs!! It is a 31 foot (?) Camano Troll trawler. It is a cute boat. It is always fun to meet someone traveling by themselves. Not having extra hands is a lot of work and we are impressed by their ability to do it.
In the morning, the dockmaster said that he didn’t want to risk our electrical system to trip their system so we could not hook up to their power. He said we could stay at their marina free of charge, so we agreed. While it was disappointing to run our generator, we took advantage of the showers, laundry, and free ice.
Aside from the power issue, today was a fun day. Kelly and Jen took an Uber to the Daytona International Speedway. Unfortunately, Mike had to work, and Michael was not with us. We really missed them.
It was one of the highlights of our trip so far. We got to take a trolley ride around the racetrack. We also got to walk out on the finish line. The finish line is not flat like it appears on tv. Instead, it is an 18 degree angle and the curves are as much as 31 degrees. Standing at 18 degrees is a challenge. We also got close to the winner’s circle, garage pit stops, camper sites, and through the tunnels. It was such an awesome experience.
Afterwards, we got to tour the museum. One of the highlights was seeing the Hudson Hornet actual car! Most of us associate it with the movie “Cars” not realizing there was an actual Hudson Hornet in the 50’s. The 2022 Daytona 500 Champion, Austin Cindric’s car was there as well including the flat tire from his victory burn out! It was so much fun to learn the history of Daytona racing which started on the beach and see so many cars, boats, and motorcycles!
It was a really fun day. The only thing missing was Mike and Michael. XO
We made a commitment to come back and maybe Michael can join us.
Today we traveled 50 miles in 7 hours. It was a beautiful travel day. We traveled through small towns and saw nice houses and restaurants that people pull up to by boat. t was a little tricky navigating the Ponce Inlet. There was lots of boat traffic and the channel was narrow which beaches on either side.
We arrived at Coquina Marina in Daytona Beach. When we checked in we found out the this is labeled at the NASCAR marina. During the Daytona 500 this is where “the big shots” will bring their boat and stay, including Michael Jordan.
Florida is requiring marinas 2017 or older to upgrade their power to the newest standards which is a problem for older boats. Just like Loggerhead Marina in Vero Beach, our electrical system tripped their power when we turned our air conditioners on. It was a warm evening, so we needed to run our generator to have air. We decided to stay at the marina and work through the problem with the dockmaster when he arrived in the morning.
Goodbye Vero Beach!! We really liked the town and hope to come back. The marina will fully upgrade their power by then, so it may not be an option to go back to Loggerhead.
It was an easy trip to Titusville. We enjoyed seeing fellow “loopers” and send them pictures of their boats and talking with them on the radio. Jen made pasta salad and served it on a bed of fresh spinach, it was very very yummy!
We traveled 72 miles and 8 hours and anchored in Titusville. It is a great anchorage spot to see launches from Cape Canaveral. Unfortunately, there was not a launch schedule. Next time we will try to schedule a stop here for a launch.
It was a bit windy, but the mud was good for holding our anchor. With that said, Mike doesn’t sleep well at anchorage. Our anchor monitor apps alarms seem to go off signaling that we moved when we didn’t. It seems to be a problem most boaters have. Mike was up 4 times which was likely due to the wind moving our boat in a circle.
Happy Birthday Grandpa Beck!! Mike’s dad passed away last August and we learned that one of the local bars called him “Miller Lite Bob”. He always sat at the bar and ordered 2 beers only. He had a routine with his friends to frequent the same bars on the same day of the week. While it was a very sad time, it was fun to hear the stories from his friends and the bars. It helped us feel close to him.
To celebrate his birthday today, we each had 2 Miller Lites! Michael and his friends did the same at Texas Tech!
I bet Grandpa was smiling upon us.
Since we were moving the next day, we spent the day cleaning and provisioning.
The 27th and 28th were uneventful days. It was nice to have some down time after the excitement of Disney. We did some provisioning in anticipation of leaving Vero Beach and turning in our car rental. We plan on doing some anchoring, so we need to make sure we are stocked! We did laundry and Jen did some dog grooming on the puppies.
The Blue Angles are preforming this weekend, and they were practicing the days leading up to their show. It was so so cool! Videos below.
We dropped off the dogs at Best Friends Pet Resort. The puppies will be staying for all four days, Harley will just be there for daycare today and on the last day of our trip. Since we can’t check in till after 3pm but we can go to the park when it opens and on the last day we have to check out of our hotel in the morning and will be going to the park afterwards.
We parked our car at the hotel, we are staying at the Port Orleans Riverside. It’s super cute and the rooms are Princess and the Frog themed.
We got on the Disney transportation bus and headed to Hollywood Studios. It was such a magical day, as always. the weather was perfect, and its wasn’t super packed. The new Star Wars section Galaxy’s Edge is amazing! The attention to detail is crazy. The new rides were super fun, Smugglers Run you get to fly the Millennium Falcon. And you really do fly it, if you turn your joystick to the right the ship really does go right. You gotta try and avoid getting shot at and hitting anything. Afterwards you get a score, Mike and Jen were great pilots and Kelly did a great job as a gunner protecting us and shooting down the enemy. We ate at Docking Bay 7… wow was that food yummy! We loved getting to go on our favorites as well. Jen’s favorite ride at Hollywood Studios is Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster featuring Aerosmith. It goes 0mph to 60mph in 2.8 seconds. Mike likes Toy Story Mania, it’s an interactive ride where you get to play different Toy Story themed arcade games. Jen got the the highest score, it’s always such a fun ride. Kelly and Jen both love the Beauty and the Beast Stage Show. See videos below!
After a wonderful day at the park, we got back on the bus to head back to the hotel. We got in the car and picked up Harley from daycare. He was so happy to see Jen! They went for a nice long walk around the hotel before cuddling up and going to sleep.
Total steps walked today: 21,797
Day 176: Magic Kingdom
The Wishes Crew woke up tired and ready for another day.
Jen took Harley for a nice long walk. He was worn out and ready for a nap afterwards. Which is good because he will be getting a nice long nap while we are at the park today.
We finished up getting ready and took Harley out to go potty one last time. The bus for the Magic Kingdom pulled up right when we got to the bus stop. While on the bus we were reminiscing on all our favorite bus rides. A few that came to mind were when the kids were young they would cuddle up and fall asleep on Mike, and when we came to Disney for Jen’s 21st she fell asleep on Mike again… only this time was because she was drunk from drinking around the world at Epcot. Which we will be doing again… wish us luck!
At the Magic Kingdom we went on everyone’s favorite rides. Kelly’s favorite is Space Mountain and Mike likes Big Thunder Mountain, so we checked off two outta 3 of the mountains right away. Then finished off with Splash Mountain before heading over to The Haunted Mansion, Jen loves the into and can recite the whole thing. “When hinges creek in doorless chambers, that is the time when ghosts are present….”.
We got strawberry funnel cake and found a shady spot for the parade.
Jen got to see her favorite character, Stitch. We went on Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin, and Mike got the high score! That is Michael’s favorite ride, we miss Michael.
We had a late lunch at the Crystal Palace, it was so yummy like always. We were reminded soon the time Grandma and Grandpa Shimmin were with us in Disney and we ate at the Crystal Palace. Grandpa love that place.
Per usual, Jen took lots and lots of pictures.
We enjoyed the fireworks, although we still miss the old show they had… Wishes. For obvious reasons.
When we got back to our hotel Jen took Harley for a super long walk. When they got back both were very sleepy and cuddled up and went to sleep.
Total steps walked today: 20,391
Day 177: Epcot
Today we drank around the world! 11 drinks in 11 countries. We had an absolute blast! We did the same thing for Jen’s birthday when she turned 21. While we were there was the flower and garden festival, so in each country they had a cart that had special drinks and food to try. It was so yummy and we love it! Enjoy our silly pictures 🙂
We went on all the rides… before drinking. I feel like that’s important to add. Especially if you have ever been on Mission Space and done the orange team more intense training mission to mars.
While drinking around the world when we were in France we had Grey Goose lemonade slushes. We also went to the Beauty and the Beast sing along show. Kelly and Jen sung their hearts out. We had so many fun and yummy drinks around the countries.
An added extra bonus to the day we got to see Ashlyn! Michael’s girlfriend got selected for the Disney College Program, and her move in the same time as our trip. We went to dinner in Disney Springs.
When we got back to the hotel that night Jen took Harley for a walk and then crashed. Mike and Kelly were exhausted and struggling to remember how we used to do this for 10 days straight when the kids were little.
Total steps walked today: 21,452
Day 178: Animal Kingdom
Our final day in Disney 😦
We packed up our stuff and got ready for another park day. Since we had to check out of the hotel this morning, we dropped Harley off at the Pet Resort for another day of day care.
When we got to the park we raced over to Kilimanjaro’s Safari. The animals were out and about this morning, we got to see so many up close. See pics below 🙂
Kelly’s favorite thing to do in Animal Kingdom is the Flights of Passage bird show.
We got ice cream afterwards before riding Expedition Everest. Funny story about Everest, when Michael was little we thought he was tall enough to ride it the first year it was opened. But unfortunately he was about 2 inches too short 😦 The cast member working gave Michael a fast pass to bring back once he was tall enough. He saved it for two years until he was tall enough! When we went back to Disney he finally got to ride Expedition Everest and loved it!
We got more Dole Whip, because one in the Magic Kingdom was just not enough and we needed more.
Lucky us at 5:00 which is dinner time for the animals, Kilimanjaro’s Safari had only a 15 minute wait time. We were about to ride it again, this time seeing more animals than we did the first time! including the new baby hippo Logan.
We went on Flights of Passage, which is such an amazing experience. If you haven’t been, we highly recommend it.
We finished out the day by riding the Dinosaur ride. When Jen was little, her and Kelly rode it for the first time. Jen was probably about 5 or 6 years old at the time. The ride was so loud and dark, it scared her so much that to this day she hates riding it. Since then the sound has been turned down and lights brightened.
After an amazing day at the park we headed back to the hotel and had dinner. Then picked up the dogs from the Pet Resort. During their stay we were able to check in on them via Facebook and send them treats. Harley visited the spa today at got a haircut and bath. He looked so very handsome. The puppies were excited to see us, they had a fun time and upon future Disney trips they will be staying there again! We drove back to Vero Beach and got back to the boat, everyone was very tired and we went to bed right away.
Kelly and Jen spent these few days doing laundry and gettin the boat ready as we will be leaving for Disney in just a few days! We’re so excited to have a few days off the boat and getting to relax and have some fun… oh you cant forget about all the exciting aspects of sleeping in a hotel for a few days. Flushing toilet paper, leaving the water on while brushing your teeth, 20 minute showers, flat screen TV, big bathroom counter and mirror, and Jen and Harley got to spread out on a queen size mattress. Which all all things we don’t have or don’t on the boat.
Mike worked, he had a few meetings and the dogs were good and didn’t bark. Which is always fear of ours lol
We went and hung out in the ‘captain’s lounge’ at the marina and watched the Big Bang Theory. Super beautiful and colorful sunset that day as well.
Our gulf crossing friends Steve and Terri on In Custody are staying in a marina about 40 minutes north of us. We picked up a rental car and drove up to them and had dinner together. It’s always so so nice to see boat friends. We can bond over the trials and tribulations of boat life, which helps to remind us we’re not the only one who go though troubles and get stressed. It’s also fun to share in the joy and adventure of boat life as well.
While we are in Disney the puppies will be staying at the Best Friends Pet Resort on Disney property. We were told they could bring a sweatshirt from a. family member to cuddle with at night. So we each slept and wore a sweatshirt on and off for 4 days straight to make sure it really really got our sent on it for them. Hopefully it works and they feel comfort from it!
We left the Lake Worth Anchorage around 7:00 this morning. It was the perfect stop on our way to Vero Beach.
We had a few bridges that needed to be opened today. For Christmas Michael bought us a small white board to use on the boat, we write our bridges down for the day and erase them as we go. It’s super helpful to keep track of the names of them without having to look them up. We use it when docking too, we can draw out the slip and a plan of how to get in it and out when that time comes. So big shout out to Michael for the perfect Christmas present for us!
We saw a few bright green golf courses, all looked like lots of fun and busy too. Lots of beautiful homes on the water as well, and many of them had small putting greens in their backyards. Jen made sure to send Michael pictures of all the pretty green courses. The ones up in Lubbock where he goes to school are on the browner side. He was very jealous.
We made it to Vero Beach with no issues, it was a pretty long day and we were all tired. We docked on the face dock, which used to be kinda intimidating but we’ve realized it’s not so bad. We plugged in the power and as soon as we turned on the A/C we tripped the breaker. There are new laws regarding the power on docks being newly renovated. The new GFCI breakers don’t seem to work with older boats. The NFPA updated codes for the electrical pedestals to trip at 30mA, lowered from the previous threshold of 100mA. When a leakage of 30mA or greater occurs, new pedestal breakers detect the imbalance within the electrical loop, and trip the pedestal, which stops the flow of current from leaking into the water. The NFPA updated codes for the electrical pedestals to trip at 30mA, lowered from the previous threshold of 100mA. When a leakage of 30mA or greater occurs, new pedestal breakers detect the imbalance within the electrical loop, and trip the pedestal, which stops the flow of current from leaking into the water.
They had the older kind of power on a different dock, so we started up the engines to move slips. We got into the new slip with no issues, except we had a dock hand who didn’t exactly know how to help us. He didn’t understand what a spring line was (a front and back spring line that are vital when docking as they prevent the boat from going forward or backwards). We kept drifting backwards and Kelly had to push us away from the dock well Jen tired to get a line lassoed around the pilings at the bow. It was a bit of a hot mess, but we got it all figured out.
After docking we had a drink by the pool before Jen cooked us dinner. We watched Game of Thrones and called it a night.
It was an uneventful two days, we relaxed and enjoyed the peace and quiet. We took Jen’s bed apart to get under the mattresses to where we store a few things, and Harley was very concerned about where we were taking his bed.
Jen took another picture of Bonnie and Harley playing.
We had ice cream from Paradise Flavors in Marathon. We stocked up big time before leaving there as it was the best ice cream bars we’ve ever had.
Cruising Wishes 