On the move again
Sea Biscuit dropped her anchor in the Halifax River just outside our condo December 14th. We thought we would take two or three weeks off the boat around Christmas. Two or three weeks turned into nearly three months! During that time, we completed some routine maintenance, like oil changes, and replaced a solar controller. Overall, I suppose we just got too comfortable.
Nothing like a child to get us moving again! Our grandson, Parker, joined us for nearly two weeks for a visit!
He helped us get the boat ready to go and off we went. Well … not so fast. First we had some fun in Daytona Beach. We visited a local beach arcade where we played fun games followed by Parker choosing cool prizes with all the tickets we won and a bunch given to him by some generous teenagers.
We were now ready to go, but decided to delay another day, so we could ride a jet ski. What a blast! We were going over 50 mph and the acceleration was crazy quick!
The following morning we headed down the ICW with Parker calling the Daytona Main Street Bridge to request an opening.
We spent the night at Mosquito Lagoon and were pleasantly surprised that we weren’t greeted by mosquitoes.
The next morning, at sunrise, Parker and I went fishing. We took the dinghy over to a small island occupied by a flock of vultures. We weren’t sure why they were there, but I guess vultures have to hang out someplace. We also saw dolphins looking for their breakfast! No matter how many times we see dolphins, it’s always a treat. Best of all, Parker caught a trout! He put up a good fight and and we let him go back to enjoy the rest of his day.
We transitioned from Mosquito Lagoon to the Indian River through the Haulover Canal. This is a beautiful canal with a drawbridge. The area was beautiful with many fishermen, both on shore and in boats. Next time passing through this area, I hope to have time to anchor for a couple days to fish and just explore a bit.
After heading down the Indian River, past Titusville, we turned left, eastward into the Canaveral Barge Canal. Lots of boats were anchored just outside the canal with folks playing and enjoying the Florida sunshine. This canal cuts across Merritt Island, connecting the Indian and Banana Rivers. On the east bank of the Banana River is Port Canaveral. But first we had to go through a lock. Locks are like steps, raising or lowering the boat through a canal. To our surprise, there was a dolphin in the lock with us, giving us another reason to smile.
We tied up on the T-Head of A Dock at Cape Marina. It’s a nice marina with floating docks, a pool, great game room with air hockey, pool table, a couple video games, including classics like Asteroids! Best of all they don’t charge for the games. Cape Marina has friendly staff and the neatest and best stocked marina supply and gift store.
We spent time playing in the pool and playing in the game room.
The highlight of our time together was visiting the Kennedy Space Center. What a cool place to explore. We took a bus tour out to Apollo/Saturn V Center. The Space Shuttle Atlantis building with the Shuttle Launch Experience was exciting! Giving us just a taste of what astronauts experienced during a shuttle launch.
There was really too much to see and do for one day. So we added a little money to our day pass and purchased a season pass for the three of us. We really hope Parker returns again soon. The Space Center is opening yet another attraction this spring. We can’t wait to see that one. The Kennedy Space Center is definitely a first class attraction! One not to be missed during a Central Florida visit.
The next day we watched the Falcon9 rocket launch from the boat. The rocket carried satellites into space to provide internet connection.
The experience of having our grandson sailing with us was so rewarding. I think Parker learned a lot, showed great patience with boat maintenance issues and tried new things. Grandchildren are a free do-over and we are thankful to Parkers parents for letting us keep him these two weeks.
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