Welcome to Florida ICW M 716

They say that Florida is the Sunshine State, they never promised it would be warm! We are here, it is sunny, but it is really cold.

Our road trip to DC was two days each way. We made a stop in Richmond for baked goods and a birthday cake for Micah and found a great brasserie, Can Can. Shades of Paris put us in a land lover mood, we savored this treat, then ignored the traffic for the rest of the day. I actually got chills as we entered DC, feeling a city fix for a few days, and no, I didn't go shopping. It was warm and comfortable to visit with Leslie and Micah and Leslie's family, and they did a wonderful job on Thanksgiving dinner. The only drawback to the kids cooking dinner was the we didn't have leftovers when we got home. On Friday night we walked through the National Zoo for the holiday light display and ate at a cute place called Medium Rare, we highly recommend it to sailors but you'll need a cab to the Cleaveland Park neighborhood.

The Jekyll Island Club

Traveling back to Georgia over the weekend was exhausting as there was steady traffic, but it also felt good to get back to the boat. We made the most of the rental car on Monday by exploring the historic sights on Jekyll Island. There are 29 of 34 "summer cottages" remaining from the founding "club", including members like Pulitzer, Rockefeller, Gould, Crane, and Theodore Vail, (whose yacht was named Speedwell.) We indulged at the Jekyll Island Club for breakfast and dinner at the Crane Cottage. Both were deserted- how do they stay open? In retrospect, I wish we had played croquette because that's what the founding members would have done. The original heat plant has been transformed to a turtle rescue and education center; it’s a huge endeavor and we were moved to visit the sea turtles in the hospital on the grounds.

Mistletow Cottage
Summer home of the Rockerfellers

Details on Mistletoe

The water was too shallow to sail Promise
in the wake of the great yachts of the past. Sorry, captain.  

The weather kicked up again so we stayed on Jekyll another day. By Wednesday morning the winds were predicted to be down to 5-10 knots so we left the dock early and eagerly for Fernandina Beach, Florida. (Note: we'd like to fire Noah when our windex says 18 knots and when he warns us of the 33 degrees we expect tonight.) We traveled past the ruins of the "cottage" owned by the Carnegie family on Cumberland Island, 20 miles of pristine seashoreline and nature reserve they eventually gave to the state of Georgia, complete with their herd of  wild european horses Mrs. Carnegie desiganeted would run free after her passing. We are secure in Fernandina Beach for two days with a host of sailors hunkered down with stories of wicked winds in recent days and dread for tonight's Florida frost warnings. We know not to go out in those 25-30 knot winds (what were they thinking) but we can't change the temperature, just our attitude! We are grateful to have heat tonight and we are excited to be in Florida.