Our Friday night anchorage in Rockhouse Creek off the Ponce de Leon Inlet proved to be excellent holding and we awoke rested to another calm windless morning.  With Daytona Beach only an hour and half away we decided to get a later start, giving us time for a workout and relaxed breakfast. 

Finally motoring North, our first day on the ICW, we caught sign of the Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse off starboard.  By 11:30 we were in sight of Daytona Beach’s Memorial Bridge and Halifax Harbor.  We were told the anchorage just south of the bridge was tricky, and seeing no one anchored there we sought the assistance of the bridge operator.  Following her precise directions we found plenty of depth and good holding.  We have found that many places where we anchor there are no dinghy docks, but the Halifax Yacht Club graciously gave permission to tie up to their convenient floating dinghy dock and we were off, trying out our boat legs on solid ground.  First we turned south and found West Marine for a couple of boat items we wanted.  Needing provisions, and the closest grocery store 3 plus miles away, we turned north along Beach Road and the Historic Beach Street Riverfront Marketplace, where we thankfully found a farmer’s market with many fruits and vegetables.  A few more blocks away was a CVS providing pricey provisions to get us by till our next port.  Last, we again headed south, past the Daytona Cubs Jackie Robinson Baseball Stadium to the boat and to Fritz awaiting his long walk.  What a patient dog!

Our doggie duty completed we returned once again to our anchorage and found another boat, “Breathless” a 39ft. Beneteau, not far from Aurora.  The Itensons from Canada were headed home after spending their 8^th winter in the Bahamas.  Avoiding cold winters and hot summers, sounds like a plan to us.  

Returning once more to the shore, we sampled some pizza from the Historic Riverfront, and finished the evening enjoying the fireworks from the ballpark illuminate the harbor.

Up and out early again this morning, the bridge tender kindly opened for both ourselves and Breathless around 7:00a.m.   Leading the way, they eventually turned off about 3 hours later at Palm Coast, leaving our next four hours as uneventful as the beginning, but it sure had been reasurring to follow Breathless knowing they had made this trek up and back the ICW numerous times.

As we motored along a Beneteau 43 passed us; it was one of the newer models with two wheels.  As Dennis told a dealer at the Miami boat show he really didn’t like the new 40 plus boats with the two wheels because you can’t easily see the chart plotter that is in the center console.  Well as we followed this Beneteau we could see the captain kept awkwardly trying to look at his chart plotter as he steered the boat…case closed.

 St. Augustine Municipal Marina was a frenzy of activity when we pulled to the fuel dock at the stern of the tall ship, “Bounty.”   People were lining the docks to take tours of the beautiful lady, and bobbing boats of all sizes were surrounding her for photos.  After fueling, filling with water, and a few pictures of our own, we backed away happy to go looking for our mooring ball.  Picking it up on the first try, YES!  I do think we’re getting the hang of it, but having very little wind certainly doesn’t hurt our efforts either.

Since 3:00p.m.--quick walking tour of the St. Augustine historic district, dinner, more pictures of the “Bounty,” Fritz another long walk, laundry, watching the sunset, showers, writing, and publishing the blog, and ready for bed.  Where does the time go?