Flagler Beach, Florida to Micco, Florida
Got up at 4:50 in Flagler Beach to get an early start AND to get ready to film the SpaceX launch scheduled for 5:06 am, which would’ve been great if the area wasn’t completely covered in clouds. Couldn’t see a thing. Oops. But it turned out fine because we got an early start, even though we don’t love heading out in the dark as I mentioned in an earlier post. We needed to get out of the middle of the ICW, and we had some “ground” to make up if we were going to get to Miami by 12.23 as planned.
Rainy, gloomy day, but still beautiful in its own way . . . just being out in the elements and enjoying the mystery of what we might see next. Frustrated with my lack of internet, so I’m typing my blog posts in my Notes on my laptop, and am trying to manage them on the app on my phone that’s tied to the website. It’s a large PITA, but I don’t really have any options. My hotspot data is so slow I could make coffee, eat my breakfast, come back to my laptop and a website — any website — would still be trying to load. Hoping that situation will improve but it remains to be seen.
Started my day with my favorite way to keep the blood flowing and the mind clear: Fonda Interactive Training (F.I.T.). It's pretty amazing how she can design a full-body workout that includes weights AND cardio, AND can make it suitable for any fitness level. She always demonstrates proper form, and shows you how to take the exercise up or down a notch, depending on your needs. This format is so flexible you can literally do it anywhere . . . even on a floating condo! I strapped a GoPro on my head to give you a front row seat, but kept it short because it might make you seasick. 😳 Not many workouts let you exercise with your dog, and Fonda's class even lets you turn OFF the video so you can hide while you exercise but still see Fonda . . . another bonus for those who aren't really keen on being "seen" at the gym. But if anyone would be the LAST to judge, it would be Fonda, as well as the supportive participants in this class.
I was pleasantly surprised to find some vacuum-sealed (!!!) squares of sausage, egg, and cheese casserole in the freezer that I had forgotten allll about!! I am very much the out-of-sight, out-of-mind girl. For example, it only took me around 30 years to figure out that I operated better with an actual physical CALENDAR vs a digital version, because the first can be staring you in the face at all times, and the latter you have to remember to look at. So if “it” isn’t in front of my face, it doesn’t exist. 🤷♀️
Skeet has been driving the boat a lot, which relieves Ron from the duty of always playing captain. Greta takes a lot of shifts at the helm as well, and I fill in occasionally but am too busy being, you know, bow candy, to be very helpful. At one point as Skeet was driving this morning he said, “I think Greta’s up — I heard a door open, and my ears don’t lie.” 😂
KORKZcrew traveled through some really wide stretches of the ICW today, and we could see that the water was beginning to turn a little more blue. Pretty exciting!
Another day of bridges, bridges, and more bridges, and the one in Daytona was particularly lovely — The Veterans Memorial Bridge. Following Daytona, there was a notably gorgeous area just beyond the Haulover Canal Bridge, where we saw the craziest assortment of wildlife all in one short stretch. It was as if this was the “it” place to be if you happen to be an osprey, a manatee, or an egret. Sadly I couldn’t get my camera to cooperate and I’m sure it had nothing to do with user error. 😂 (I mention manatee casually, as if they were all around us, but I only saw one's TAIL pop up out of the water, and being my first EVER sighting of even a PIECE of a manatee, it was still pretty exciting. There were also signs everywhere imploring you to go at idle speed because of the abundance of manatees.)
Soon after this injection of happy was an unfortunate injection of a$$hole. A huge motorboat went flying by us on our port side, kicking up a monstrous wake that resulted in some pretty violent rocking on board. Violent rocking translates to everything that isn’t tied down being thrown around, and while we always take care to put things away that could become projectiles, this episode was so rough there were things you just couldn’t anticipate that got thrown everywhere, including in the engine room. No major damage, thankfully, but it was super frustrating — and supremely inconsiderate.
Dinner tonight was SIMPLE and delicious, thanks to some amazing friends of ours who put together the most generous bon voyage package imaginable. Included in the package were ravioli and marinara sauce that were to DIE for, and Italian breadsticks. YUM. We eat dinner in the pilot house at a table that has two leaves you can either fold or unfold depending on how much room you need. 4 or 5 people can eat comfortably around the table if you add a bar stool on one side. This same table is mounted on a retractable pedestal, so you can push it all the way down to where it's level with the other seat cushions, fold out the leaves, and add another big cushion to make a queen-size bed. Pretty smart! There's also a TV that flips down from the ceiling. We use our hotspot and usually watch Netflix or YouTube, and if it's YouTube, it's typically one of the channels we've watched for years that have inspired us to take this journey. Some of those include:
Can’t believe we’ve made it this far, but Ron and Skeet remind me we still have a lonnnggg way to go. I’ll take it. I love living in small quarters. I hope that love lasts a while, but I swear I feel optimistic that it will. One tiny bathroom is kind of a challenge, but we’re making it work. Stay tuned.
I'll leave you with Skeet making notes about the bridges we will encounter tomorrow, and which ones will require us to stop.
14 hours underway / 106 nautical miles
