We’re going kayaking today! And it’s our daughter, Nikki’s 28th birthday!
Since Pacetti’s is a real fish camp, it’s geared for boats and fishing, and has a nice launch ramp.
We unloaded the kayaks off of the top of the truck and into the water. Marianne was concerned that we’d run into alligators, which of course gave me the willies too. I can tell you up front that we didn’t see any. And I looked.
We headed up the tributary for about a mile, passing fishing shacks and docks, trees hanging into the water, and an abundance of water lilies. We turned around and now headed downstream toward the St. John’s River, going underneath the bridge that crossed the highway, looking up we saw hundreds of bird’s nests. A little further we saw what appeared to me as two abandoned sailboats and one motorboat anchored on the side of the river; I paddled close to these craft and made it a point to find out about them.
We turned around, stopped in the river and had our snack of apple pieces and string cheese washed down with Coke Zero.
Back at Pacetti’s we loaded the kayaks onto the truck and headed to our campsite. As Marianne took a shower, I headed over to the main office to pay for an additional night’s stay, and ask about those boats.
It turns out the two sailboats owners come by every week to check on them. You can’t get to the boats by land, only by water. The motorboat which looked even shabbier turned out to be a boat that had sunk and then was salvaged. A man who already had a good boat bought it but didn’t want to tell his wife. He wanted to restore it to its former glory, but has since lost his job. So, in effect he’s literally up the creek without a paddle.
I got back to the trailer to take my shower, when Suzanne called to let us know that she was now officially done with school, and they’d let the staff off early. We all decided that we’d like to see St. Augustine again, as I’d been there twice, once in 1971 with Pete when he was only 12 on our way to watch a moon launch. We had driven my 1971 Ford Pinto from Montgomery to Cape Canaveral, and then once again with Marianne and Nikki twenty-five years later.
Our campground is about halfway between Jacksonville and St. Augustine, so Suzanne came to our site again to take us there. Peter was still at work, and Stephanie had to finish up a video project for her school.
St. Augustine is the oldest continuously inhabited white settlement in the United States, founded in 1565, less than 75 years after Columbus's sailing adventure. It’s a pretty city that grew up around a large Spanish fort, Castillo de San Marcos. Across the street from this fort is a large old town area that is filled full of great little shops.
It wasn’t quite as hot as we’d experienced because we were near the Atlantic Ocean, but it was still above 90°. We stopped in to a few shops, a gorgeous Catholic church, and had a tasty, albeit expensive, gelato.
A couple of hours later we were ready to head back. Suzanne took us to our trailer, where we freshened up a bit and then followed her to the house where Stephanie was waiting. About 90 minutes later Pete came home and we all went to Carrabba’s, a great Italian restaurant.
We’ve probably been going out to dinner too much, but it’s been so tempting to having the cooking and clean-up done for you. This being once-in-a-lifetime trip, we’re going to do it up right.
Unfortunately this attitude has played havoc with our diet plans, and since it’s been so hot we haven’t been able to exercise. Heck I’ve only take my bicycle out once and driven it about 500’. We’re hoping that as we leave the South, the weather will cool and then we won’t be able to use heat as an excuse.
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