Thanks, St. Augustine (part 2!)

Woo hoo!  So excited that we get to add a “part 2” to our STA chapter!  We skipped off our mooring ball Wednesday and anchored across the channel by marker 7.  Our plan was to hang out until about 1600 and it we didn’t get a call about the wait list, move to Vilano Beach for a relaxing holiday.  Well, at 1400 we got the call!  We were green-lighted for two more nights in the mooring field and even got to go right next to our old ball!  This also meant that we could attend the St. Augustine Cruisers Net Thanksgiving Potluck the next day!  We kept the rest of the day pretty low-key, only heading into town for another great pizza happy hour dinner before enjoying sunset from the boat.

Of course Thursday was Thanksgiving!!!  Changing from dinner for four to a potluck dish was a little scary at first, but I decided to go with a trio of roasted veggies (brussel sprouts, carrots, and potatoes) flavored with a trio of doTerra essential oils and garlic—it was delicious!

The potluck was amazing!  We saw some old friends from Herrington Harbour and met some new folks.  The kids met a few kids, but are still a little shy. Maybe Trent isn’t—he ended up down the way with another family playing football!  I’m an introvert so these things can be tough for me, but it was really a fabulous (and delicious!) event and I’m so glad that our family could be a part of it.  It’s really a great community.

Afterward we turned to laundry, showers, and preparing to leave.  Next stop, Lake Worth or Fort Pierce!

St. Augustine (part 1!)

After a MUCH more restful night anchored off Pine Island, we weighed anchor for the brief cruise down the ICW to St. Augustine!  The very professional team at the municipal marina guided us to our reserved mooring ball and we were tied up in the north mooring field just after 1100.  

Due to the holiday, we only managed to get a two-night reservation so after a quick check of the facilities we headed straight out to explore! After a quick Cuban lunch we headed to Castillo de San Marcos National Monument—pristine and educational!  From there we expanded our science studies with a tour and tasting at Whetstone Chocolates—highly recommended!  As we are on a budget, we hit Pizzalleys for their awesome weekday happy hour food and drink specials—the whole crew loved it!  We closed the night wandering around the town and enjoying the holiday lights.

After a morning repair to the dinghy engine (replacing the pull-start cord) we hit the St. Augustine Distillery for a fantastic, generous tour and tasting!  After returning our goodies to the boat and knocking out a round of mini golf, we hit Barley Republic’s happy hour before heading to our first St. Augustine Cruisers Net social at the Dog Rose Brewing Company! This is a fabulous bunch of folks, and we got to meet up with friends from our old spot in Maryland (Photo credit to “John Sparrow”)!  

We ended the night with ice cream and a walk through the city.  As first-timers we are impressed!  The marina’s amenities and staff are wonderful and the town has a lot to offer.  I’d like to visit again when it’s not a holiday week to see what the normal vibe is, but we definitely want to come back!  For now, we wait to see if our standby request for two more nights makes it through the queue! 🤞🏼