November 26-30 Ortega Landing Marina

I decided to take a stroll Thanksgiving Day before the festivities began and wandered down towards Huckins Boat yard and then up and over the Roosevelt Bridge and into the quaint neighborhood across the river.

Delightful day.  Lots of people out waling about among kids zooming around on skate boards through the tree lined streets.

I returned to the boat and showered in time for us to be fashionably late at 2:15.  The party began at 2 PM.  Mary discovered most everyone was already in the buffet line or eating so she had to dash back to the boat and quickly coax the Bob Evans Potatoes into something warm and palatable.

The clubhouse and party goers

Yeah, there's always one in a crowd

The buffet line

With warm mashed potatoes, we made it back in time to see the last few people in line dishing up plates of turkey and other goodies.  The marina graciously provide the turkey, mashed potatoes (we didn’t know that) and wine.  All very good.   Especially the cherry pie some kind soul brought.

There were a few tables set up but most of us 80 some people found chairs outside and little cocktail tables to eat at.

We talked with Monica who had hip replacement surgery about a week ago.  She’s up and walking albeit a bit gingerly.

I stumbled on another one of Rob and Sue’s friends, a couple on a wide body Krogen 42.  They were telling me about their Down East loop adventure.  It’s a trip we have been considering.

Short summary of the Down East Loop

• Head up the coast to NYC
• Go up the Hudson river to just north of Albany, NY
• Enter the Erie Canal and head west to around Syracuse, NY which is about the mid point of the Erie. 
• Follow the Oswego canal north to the southeast corner of Lake Ontario.
• Cross Ontario to its northeast corner to the Thousand Islands Region which is the headwaters of the St Lawrence River. 
• Continue north into the Rideau Canal system  all the way to Ottawa.
• In Ottawa, pick up the Ottawa River and follow it southeast until it rejoins the St Lawrence at Montreal.
• Then down the St Lawrence to Quebec City, and onward to the St Lawrence Gulf
• Prince Edward Island comes next, followed by Cape Breton Island, Bras d'Or Lake, then down the coast of Nova Scotia.
• At the end of Nova Scotia, we'll head across the Bay of Fundy and re-enter the US in northern Maine.
• Then down the coast of Maine towards sunny Florida again.

Actually most of the whole day was spent in conversations with various people either just keeping their boat here, or living on it and spending time in this great marina.  It was a very wonderful event.  And we had left over potatoes to take back with us.

Ortega River Marina's new deck

Ortega River Marina's new pool

Next morning we went to CVS so Mary could get a flu shot and pick up a few items.   And then back to the boat.  Later in the afternoon we took a stroll over to Huckins Boat Yard and then took a peek at Ortega River Marina which was Ortega Yacht Club where we stayed a few years ago.  Paul, the dock master, really spruced up the place.  Think we'll be staying here our next time through.

Later we began to hear, and see, fireworks close bye.  When I went out for a night time walk I passed a house that was throwing a huge party and sure enough, the county sheriff was there discussing fireworks.  

Saturday morning I ran into Mitch from Foxy Lady.  We had decided to take their cruise that night and see the Jacksonville Light Parade and Fireworks.  It's a big event, with a parade of boats all lit up at night, and then a spectacular fireworks show.  Foxy Lady is a participant in the parade of boats and they make it a public cruise with dinner.  So we are going.

He had originally thought we could leave our dock here at 3:30 but found out the dock master at River City Marina was anxious leaving Mitch's dock space open with all the boat traffic, so Mitch had to leave at 1 PM instead.  But he arranged for his wife Carolyn to pick us up on her way to meet the boat at River City Marina where they board passengers for their cruises.

So they left our dock and I went for a little run, showered and made it up to the clubhouse at 3:30.  But Carolyn was delayed and arrived around 4 PM though.  No big deal.

River City Marina dock and Foxy Lady

River City Marina.  Foxy Lady is the big boat at the end of the dock

We drove to River City Marina, about 15 minutes away.  River City Marina is adjacent to the Main Street Bridge and right across the river from Jacksonville Landing.   It's really a restaurant and brew house with plenty of slips on the river for patrons to tie up their boats.

Automobile traffic was beginning to build.  Seems this is a very well attended event.  We parked and went to the boat with Carolyn but Mary and I decided to walk around the river walk area to stay out of the crews way as they started setting up for dinner.  But we did have a drink on board.  Carolyn is  a good bar tender!

Looking across at Jacksonville Landing, Main Street Bridge to the right

We tried to get across the river over to Jacksonville Landing but the bridge was closed off.  The Main Street Bridge was going to be left in the open position (raised) to accommodate the seventy-some boats participating in the parade, starting around 7 PM.

Fireworks watchers beginning to gather

People were beginning to arrive to watch the fireworks, setting up chairs and blankets, hauling kids and coolers in wagons.  Reminiscent of the fireworks at Milwaukee's Lakefront when our kids were young.

We hung around the Marina and then boarded Foxy Lady with 50 other people.  Mitch took it out into the river and joined the other parade bound boats.  The marshaling point was a mile down the river (towards the ocean).

Jacksonville Landing and the big tree.  And huge crowds

By the time we arrived there, it was dark and the parade boats were all lit up.  Decorations were very neat.  My favorite was the small sport fisherman using its outriggers as goal posts and having a football seemingly go through them.  And there were others almost as good.

A Minion decorated power boat

On the right is the boat depicting a field goal

We did two circuits around the harbor area and it was pretty chaotic given that it was dark and 70 some boats were tying to follow a Harbor Patrol Boat.  And there were an assortment of other official and non-official boats milling about too.  I could feel Mitch cycle the boats transmissions trying to keep some distance between them all. 

The route took the parade by a viewing stand located somewhere on shore. Judges, seeing each boat twice, recorded their votes.  A party a few days from now is where they announce the winners.  Here's a youtube video of the parade someone posted.

Snow in Jacksonville

Foxy Lady had a snowman up top and somehow they got their hands on a snow generator which spewed out fake snow.  

Eon and Emily

During the journey we were served a yummy dinner.  Our table companions were a delightfully fun couple, Emily and Eon.  They were both in the Navy stationed at Jacksonville Naval Air Station.  Great time with them.

We and pulled back to the dock a few minutes before the fireworks began.  And what great fireworks they were.  Two barges, pushed by tugs pulled into position, one directly in front of us and the other on the opposite side of Main Street Bridge.  They didn't anchor but went into station keeping mode with the engines running.   

At some point a few minutes later the fireworks began shooting up from the barge.  Awesome!

Waterfall on the Main Street Bridge

During the display they somehow have the Main Street and Acosta Bridge suddenly erupt in this waterfall display which is really stunning.  I'm not sure if it was pyrotechnics or some form of lighting, but it sure was spectacular.

The fireworks lasted until about 9:30 and the boat was closed off to everyone by 10 PM when they shutdown the bar.  Conrad, another boating friend we met here, was bar tending on board and he offered to take Mary back to the Marina in his car.  I rode the boat back with Mitch and Ray, his first mate.  It was a nice ride cruising up the dark river for the 5 miles back to our marina.  

SkipperLiner, Foxy Lady's boat manufacturer,  was a boat builder in Wisconsin specializing in fabricating large houseboats or cruising boats like Foxy Lady.  These are flat bottom, hulls made of steel and are great dinner boats with volumes of space, multiple levels and outfitted very well.   They closed up operations in 2014.

We laid low the next day recovering from way too much partying for people our age.  We only began creeping out among the living around, yup, cocktail hour.   This explains why Mitch and Ray banged on our hull a few times requesting our presence on their upper deck for sunset cocktails.  Mary was just stirring from a long afternoon nap and was planning on starting dinner so I, exhibiting once gain that I dont retain life lessons, grabbed a glass of wine and went over to join them.

We had a great time.  Ray is a retired Coast Guard medic who, during his 20 years in, spent a few of them up in the Bearing Sea on some small little island at the end of the world, or so he tells it.   We had a good old time swapping sea stories.

The winner in the sailboat category 

I went out on my usual night time stroll and on our dock was a the rumored winner for best decorations in the sailboat category.

Monday is crunch day.  This is when we visit Huckins, and ready our selves to leave here and eventually go there.  I wanted to run the boat out on the St. Johns river and run the water maker, and check on our fuel imbalance.  We decided to have a relaxed breakfast at Metro Cafe and review our repair list before walking over to Huckins to see Sara and Tricia, Justin and PJ.

Sara and Tricia have taken over for our friend Debbie who was the superb business manager.  She  retired early this November.  Justin is the mechanic guy and PJ is the yard manager.

But before we even got coffee Curt & Marilyn contacted me.  They were in only a few miles away in Orange Park on their way down to Port Canaveral and eventually Marathon towing their sailboat.

They left the boat in the hotel parking lot and drove the 7 miles to visit us at Metro Cafe where they ate a late breakfast and we caught up since we haven't seen them since early spring.

We had to get to Huckins so they walked there with us.  While we went inside, they strolled the docks. We talked with everyone except PJ who was out sick.  They aren't too busy so we can come in anytime.  I'm thinking Thursday if we can get an early pump out at the marina (they do them every Thursday).

Our mail is supposed to be delivered here at the marina by Wednesday so we should be all set.

Marilyn trying to take a picture

Curt and Mary

We all walked back to our Marina except Curt and I walked over to get his truck so they wouldn't have to back track so far.  We talked some more before they had to leave.  We will be seeing them as we make our way down the coast.

After they left Mary started laundry and washing the boat while fiddled with the fuel manifold and cleaned off some battery terminals.  I know, exciting.

I went for a walk, hobbling now not running because I did something to my knee again.

While I was away I had all the shore power off and we were just running on the batteries.  They seemed to be holding up fairly well.  I'm anxious to see how they do with a real test Friday when Huckins does their analysis.

We had dinner, watched two episodes of West Wing and went to bed.

Another November in the books.  Have we really seen 64 Novembers come and go.  Wow are we ancient!