The days following

This will be some accounting of our trip and what has happened since the last post. All of the inspections went well and we were able to take ownership on December 23rd. We stayed in Jacksonville through the holidays. The weather was cold and windy nearly everyday. We finally left on New Years Eve morning in the rain and spent the first night anchored out near St Augustine. We slept through the fireworks. We were in Florida for several weeks. We traveled with Dolphins most of the time. We saw beautiful estates, Cape Canaveral and private islands. We headed West through Lake Okeechobee to the Gulf and then North. We spent an evening with some high school buddies in North Ft Meyers. We loved the little Greek town of Tarpon Springs known for fabulous food and sponge divers. We went through locks and under bridges. I learned to steer and handle the lines. I learned to use my little stove and actually baked a pie for some fellow cruisers who had helped us a lot with charts and other things. Alabama was calm and clear and beautiful. When we crossed the Mississippi River it was foggy and full of tugs and barges. From time to time we anchored out in channels near barge traffic and of course ran with them all through Louisiana. We have a great respect for these tug boat captains. We got home on February 1st. Our biggest disappointment was that the computer didn't work most of the time. We will be sure our electronics are in better shape before we go in January 2011.