Adventures of the "Q": Florida

We are sure that you are all well acquainted with Florida, but there were a few highlights that we wanted to share. We were relieved to find that although the water levels are still fairly shallow, the ICW is dredged so you can count on your 10-15 feet of water. We finally found some warm weather once we reached this area, so that was a real highlight.

A Bird of Paradise in the Lightner Museum courtyard.

Our favourite place was the city of St. Augustine. Established in 1565 it is the oldest European settlement in North America. It was established by the Spanish so was a change from the Antebellum era (we’d really had our fill by the time we left Georgia). When entering the city by sailboat you must wait for the impressive Bridge of Lions to open. We stayed on a mooring can at the Municipal Marina for eight days, your 7^th night is free, we are cruisers after all! We met many cruisers heading south all along the ICW route but the group we met here are the boats we have reunited with in the Exumas.

Tourism is probably the largest part of the economic plan for this place and they delivered. Because it was Christmas season the entire waterfront, palm trees and all, was wrapped in thousands of lights. The old town is fascinating and just a very interesting place to wander with the oldest house dating back to 1727 (the Brits burned the town down in 1702 so it’s our fault there is nothing from the first century and a half). There is a Spanish fort built in 1672 that survived numerous attacks and the British fire, a Colonial Spanish Quarter, and a lovely park area for public gatherings called Plaza de la Constitucion.

This is the ' Plaza' and was alive with visitors each night

Kim at the old city gates

Of course we stopped at the oldest wooden school house in the US.

Henry Flagler, who almost single handedly developed tourism in eastern Florida, built three fascinating buildings here. The Ponce de Leon Hotel (which was originally built as a seasonal hotel for the super rich but is now Flagler College), the Alcazar Hotel (now the Lightner Museum,) and the Memorial Presbyterian Church (built as a memorial to his daughter who died in child birth) were highlights.

The original art throughout Flagler College is stunning inside and out.

The frescoes in the student dining room are truly beautiful, apparently the food - less so!.

The Lightner Museum, originally the Alcazar Hotel,
now houses the extensive collectables of Henry Flagler. It feels as though there was nothing he didn't collect - quite fascinating. The entire lower level (now a cafe) was the swimming pool and the upper levels were open for guests to view the swimmers. In the evenings the orchestra played from a raft on the pool while guests danced along the upper ballroom that appears much like a very high class running track.

The dance floor that wrapped all around the pool area.

Flagler Memorial Church - hard to believe a Presbyterian built such a fancy place.

We enjoyed a Christmas event at the St. Augustine lighthouse, which was built in 1874, and returned the next day to climb the 219 steps to the top. What a view!

The keepers house ready for Christmas with the lighthouse peeking above.

There were some beautiful stretches of uninhabited Florida that make you realise it isn’t all about restaurants and shopping..

Looking for lunch south of St. Augustine.

Neither rain, wind or cold keeps us from the beach.

And then there are our friends Cyndy and Doug Nash who came with their car to Jensen Beach to boat sit and help provision the boat. ‘Provision’ sounds like such an organised process, but was actually the chaos of trying to do five months of shopping in stores that you don’t know with brands you’ve never heard of – thanks to Cyndy and Doug for their patience! In case you are ever in need of crew, they not only bring their car, but they shop, cook, clean AND bring their own wine! However, they did not leave a contact number for this space!

Cyndy and Doug enjoying the sun.

It took a few weeks of shopping,sorting, and packing all the supplies away.

We slipped home to freeze in the dark over Christmas (power outage) and escaped to Fergus where Cathy’s family had heat and light. Our flight back to Florida was cancelled due to ice and cold, but on our second try we were happy to return to the Q and our chauffeurs (Cyndy and Doug) who were waiting at Palm Beach airport. We enjoyed a few days anchored at West Palm Beach, great cafes and shopping. We were able to sail the outside route (the ocean for non-sailors) from Lake Worth to Fort Lauderdale and then to Miami, so escaped the endless line up of ICW bridges through south Florida. Of course the homes and boats were large and spectacular.