Welaka

We stayed an extra day at our peaceful anchorage on Murphy Lake.  The Captain wanted to continue painting and it was windy so it was the perfect place to stay out of the wind. I just played the guitar and read all day.
We finally saw an alligator this morning.  The guide professed that this creek was a great place to see large ones and sure enough we had a 12 footer swim across the creek this morning.
Most of the navigation markers are host to Osprey nests. They line these with stick and Spanish moss since there is an abundance of it hanging in most trees.
We are now 14 miles down river in Welaka at a free town dock.  This one even has showers, haven't had one of those off the boat since Feb.10, what a treat. There is supposed to be a good seafood restaurant with a $2.95 breakfast,we will see tomorrow. This appears to be a small city like Crescent City, we will go explore later when the painting is done.

Big Alligator in Murphy Creek

Osprey nest on a navigation marker

The Spanish moss must make it a little more comfortable

Murphy Creek off the St. Johns River

The East wind kicked up to 17 miles per hour yesterday morning and poru North Star was being rocked and pounded against the town dock in Crescent City. We rode into town to get supplies and to have breakfast since it was too rough to cook. We had 2-3 foot waves at the dock. We managed to manually  swivel the boat around a piling so we could start it and leave. It was quite the maneuver with the Captain starting the boat while standing on the side deck. It was a lot better out on the water.  It is only an 8 mile run up the lake to peaceful Dunns Creek.
We are anchored in Murphy Creek (N29 35.0125 and W81 38.6277) in a quiet calm and wild spot.  There is greenery all around us and we have only seen 2 fishing boats.  Jerry is doing some paint work since there is no hurry to leave. There is supposed to be a lot of alligators here but I have yet to see any. Maybe they don't like the sound of our generator.
We will pull anchor later today and head into Welaka to a free town dock.

Entrance to Murphy Creek

Morning tea in Murphy Creek

A most beautiful anchorage

Crescent City on Crescent Lake

We had a leisurely 25 mile cruise from Palatka to Crescent City on the St. Johns River, Dunn's Creek and Crescent Lake. The river is now narrow and Dunn's Creek even more so.  There is a lot of slash pines and cypress trees with very little habitation on both shores. There is not much water, we had only 5-7 feet at several places and even a 4 foot depth on the chart. We did plow the muddy bottom at a few spots.

We found yet an other free dock so we are staying an extra day since it is nice and quiet here. We are next to the 3 Bananas Restaurant and Tiki Bar in a city with a population of 1500. We were told that you could stay at the restaurant for free overnight if you have dinner and drinks at the restaurant.  They have narrow slips with pilings which we don't like.  They do have power and water but we just can't get in there.  We ate at the restaurant, it is the usual bar fare with fish sandwich as the specialty.  The waitress told us they charge $1.00 per foot for the docks so we are happy to stay where we are at the town dock.
We will explore the town today and perhaps stay one more night.

Peaceful Dunn Creek

my kind of boating

Three Bananas Restaurant

Interesting decor

Town dock at Crescent City

not busy on a Monday night

interesting signs

Palatka

We decided to leave yesterday and make our way to Palatka thus completing the wide part of the river. The heavy rain prediction had been lifted and it was nice and sunny but still quite breezy.  The wind was mostly on our stern so it made for difficult steering but no banging and splashing for the most part.
We are tied up at a free town dock with no power or water so it was a cool night but we were cosy and warm in bed. It was still 60 degrees in the boat when we got up even after the outside temperature dropped to 40 degrees.
There was an Azalea Festival going on in town with street vendors lined up main street. Food, crafts and all sorts of activities for kids. We found a nice Blues Bar so we went back in the evening to listen to two acts.  It was quite pleasant.  They had a rack of used music books that I thought were for sale but the bar tender said to just take one, they were free, my favourite price.
This is a nice clean town, the dock is just off the waterfront park.  There is an old wooden dock that one can use during the day which includes power. The sign says no overnight without permission so I am sure we could have stayed there.  This dock is floating and brand new and has no signs about overnight.
We are off to explore the St. Johns river tributaries today.  We are now in a skinny river so no more 3-4 foot waves.

The river is 4-5 miles wide at parts

One side is wilderness and one side has some houses

we had some waves splashing over the bow

The view from the free dock

Submarine torpedo in the park at Palatka

There are several very nice murals around town

The Azalea festival

North Star at the free dock in Palatka

Jacksonville to Green Cove Springs

We had a really nice time in Jacksonville. We rode the skyway train that provides a quick ride with an elevated view of the city.  It was free on Friday because they were working on setting the new fare. It is not a long route but it does go over the St. John's river so we got lots of pictures.
We also rode the trolley that is free for seniors but I had to pay $1.50. Still a good deal but not as nice a view.  All the malls and shopping is way on the outskirts so the only hub of activity is right there at the Landing where we were docked.
We strolled along the boardwalk that lines the north shore of the river and discovered a whole new section of the park we had missed.  The weather was nice and hot so it was perfect.
We finished off the day with a free concert at the landing.
We left at slack tide even with high winds predicted for later in the day and heavy rain. We came 28 miles down river to a nice little town called Green Cove Springs. There is a do it yourself boat yard here that we wanted to investigate to see if we will move from Glades to here. It was a fair bike ride over but we managed it before the rain came. We don't think we will be moving the boat here, it is more expensive and colder.
We are at a town dock that has water and power for $20.00 a night.  Quite reasonable.   It is supposed to drop down to 38 degrees so we want power.  With the high winds and heavy rain coming, we prefer to beat a dock. We found a place to do laundry then we went out to dinner at Ronnie's wings and Oyster Bar. There is a nice park with springs that heat a swimming pool to 78 degrees but it is closed for the winter.
The rain and wind did come in the night. The boat was ans is still rocking and the water is slapping and we hear all kinds of banging.  The weather has turned cold so we are not leaving today. 

Skyway train

Jacksonville skiline from the Skyway train

Skyway train

Navy pier converted to Green Cove Springs Marina and boat yard

Grenn Cove Springs Marina

Jacksonville Landings

We are enjoying our stay is this lovely city. There is no end to the excitement.
The Customs and Border Patrol came over yesterday morning as we were leaving to go explore. They boarded the sailboat from France and then questioned the American sailboat. We came back to the boat at lunch and soon the Border Agents returned, they had lunch at a Mexican restaurant and we waited knowing they would want to visit us as well. Sure enough, after their lengthy lunch, the boys came aboard and this time they had a sheriff with them. They were very courteous, they enquired about our trip and what our intended route would be from here. hey checked our registration, passports and where and when we crossed.  They looked around the boat, opened the fridge and that was it. We told them we had applied for an extension and were waiting to hear back from Immigration.  They did not ask about our boat decal that is sitting in Newfoundland.  They made the French folks walk 12 kilometers to go get one.  All was well with us, they chatted for a while about the price of alcohol in our respective countries and shook hands then left.  We were really pleased that these boys were aware of the Immigration laws governing an extension to stay beyond six months.
We rode our bikes around town and to the supermarket but the poor things are so rusted from the sea salt, we don't think they are going to last the trip. We walked across the bridge to the south bank to go look at the water fountain that is computer programmed and the marine museum.  The museum is closed but there is a science and technology museum, not our sort of thing. The River City Marina across the way offers a free shower and ice with the purchase of fuel.  We will probably stop there on the way back as their fuel is the best price on the river.
We went for dinner at the American Grill and had Jambalaya pot pie and chicken pot pie.  It was very tasty and reasonably priced. I have never seen so many TVs in one place but Jerry tells me that in Chicago Pizza, there is one TV for each urinal.  There are none in the women's bathroom, go figure.
We went to Maverick's for a night cap last night, they boast of a mechanical bull.  Sure enough there it was and for 5 dollars I could get the same ride as riding North Star at anchor on a windy night.  I passed. However, there was some fine line dancing.  A very slim lady teaches the steps to anyone who wants to come up and then the music plays and the newly learned dance begins.  Some were very good at it, especially one very cute cowboy with tight...oh...never mind. The Captain was less impressed than I with this show.

The city was named after him

View of the Landing from the main street bridge

This fountain is all colourful at night but hard to capture on film

Jacksonville as seen from the south bank

City Hall...very ornate gables

Jacksonville

We had a perfect day on the water yesterday.  The weather was perfect, the seas calm and there was lots to see.The ICW from St. Augustine is narrow with more wildlife and vegetation and less populated. As you near Jacksonville, you cross sections with more modest homes than we are used to seeing.
We entered the ST. John's River and were thankful that we had timed the tide correctly.  The currents are strong and the traffic increases.  We travelled on shipping lanes for the first time since Lake Michigan.  The shores are lined with boat yards and container ships, barges and all manner of industrial installations.  The river and the lanes are quite wide with lots of water so no problem for little old North Star.
We are tied up at the Jacksonville Landings free dock.   There are 3 other boats here including a French couple from France who sailed across the Atlantic 2 years ago. I had a nice long chat with them last night.
The current is strong here and it is better to arrive at slack tide, we have learned our lesson from tying up at Bonita Bill's which is similar to this. The docks are floating so we need not worry about adjusting dock lines.  This is a festive kind of place with restaurants and sports bars and entertainment. We opted for cheap wings at Hooters during happy hour. We cased out all the restaurants and went for the cheap deal.  Not like us is it? You are not allowed to cook on a bar-b-que at this dock. You are allowed 3 nights stay and we may just do that.
We sat out in the square last night and listened to the free concert.  They were celebrating leap year, that's one I'd never thought of. It was the perfect night for it, warm and calm winds.
We hear the bus service is free for seniors over 60.  We are going to ride our bikes to explore around so more on Jacksonville tomorrow.

Navy ship being repaired

traffic in the shipping lane

love those tugs

Jerry paced it out at 275 feet and it's private

free dock

view from our back deck at dusk