Sunny? Florida

The Thanksgiving gathering in St. Marys hosted around 90 boats plus towns people.  Thanksgiving eve there was an oyster roast, thanksgiving day a lovely banquet, and Friday morning a boater's swap meet.  Many interesting life stories were heard from other boaters.  We  are certainly members of a diverse community.

After the holiday fete, Mary Ann and Doug and we returned to Cumberland Island for more sightseeing.

 Ruins of the Carnegie mansion on Cumberland
Island.  This island is really special.  I would encourage anyone coming this way to visit it.  Almost the entire island is a national park--and--if you are a senior citizen, your entry is free.

What about this starfish?

the beach is around 14 miles long and almost totally deserted.

The forest is full of very old live oaks and palms.

I have a new life bird--the sanderling.  I gather it is common around here.  And also have seen a number of white pelicans--always thrilling.  We now see routinely more of the southern shorebirds, which is also fun. 

St. Augustine is now our present port and it is a beautiful town, even though it has been cloudy and rainy since our arrival. The downtown has many lovely historical buildings and the whole town is now decorated with lights for their "Nights of Lights".   We have been benefitting greatly by having friends (Mike and Sonda Gabriel) who live here and have been wonderful about driving us hither and yon for errands. Today the farmer's market was a treat--fresh lettuce, citrus fruit, and seafood were big draws for us.

But it will soon be time to move on.  The Christmas trip to Austin is fast approaching.  So  it is time to wait for the rain to stop and continue on our way down the ICW.