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Titusville to New Smyrna Beach, to Palm Coast, to St.Augustine

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On Wednesday, we left Titusville and motored 32 miles to New Smyrna Beach.  What a great little artsy town. It is briming with local eateries, galleries, museums, and one-of -a-kind boutiques. We walked the town, went to the historical museum which had a surfing section, which Don loved, of course.  We ate dinner at the restaurant closet to the marina because we were in the midst of an East Coast Thunder and Lightning storm. Can you say wet? Needless to say, the Space Center liftoff was scrubbed again - postponed until Friday. Thursday, we motored 45 miles to Palm Coast and docked at the Palm Coast Marina. Along the way we saw lots of dolphins and manatees and crazy unqualified Floridian boat captains. Historically, in the late 1950's most of the land that would become Palm Coast consisted of swamp and pine forest. It was developed in 1969 and was incorporated in 1999.  It is definitely a retirement, condo, mall type of city - with no locals - all transplants. But very cl...
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Indiantown, Fort Pierce, Melbourne, to Titusville (the Space Coast)

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We left Indiantown with high hopes of cruising along the St Lucie Canal.  Unfortunately, a train bridge was closed, and we had to wait 1 hour for it to reopen.  And if that wasn't bad enough, when we reached our last lock, St. Lucie Lock, the gate wouldn't close, so we sat in the lock until the lock master figured out what was wrong. UGH - and of course, it was hot and humid.  Neither Don nor I are a fan of the Okeechobee waterway. By the time we landed at the Pelican Yacht Club in Ft Pierce, a 53-mile trip, we were done.  The dock hands were great, and they had a swimming pool.  So, we were in Heaven!  After a refreshing swim we walked to Chuck's Seafood for Mother's Day dinner. On Monday, we motored 49 miles to Melbourne and anchored on the Indian River, part of the intercoastal waterway, just past the main bridge.  That ride was one of the best Dolphin shows ever. 5 dolphins surfed our wake, played and rolled over for about 2 miles.  Incredible...
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Hot BaBa's - Fort Myers, Okeechobee Waterway, LaBelle, Clewiston to Indiantown

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HOT BaBa's as my friend Storma used to say. It has been in the 90's for the past three days - what with 90% humidity, it's not been fun piloting Cady Girl.  No air conditioning on the fly bridge. Thursday morning, we left Fort Myers and motored 41 miles to La Belle. While docking the boat, our neighbor told us to watch out for an alligator. Guess one had harassed his cute little dog.  Alas, we did not encounter one there. We did, however, see one in the middle of the Caloosahatchee River after departing the marina the next morning. Alligators are as sneaky as the dolphins - so no photos yet. La Belle is known as the Belle of the Caloosahatchee River and the City Under the Oaks for its oak-lined streets.  It is a small town with a rich history in cattle ranching and small-town charm. We walked the town to see if the history museum was open, but it was not. We did see an old "Rotary" Steam engine from the 1920's. It was an experimental engine used to power JP Mo...
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Fort Meyers, Captiva Island and Sanibel - back to Fort Meyers

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Ed and Heather arrived Sunday at the Marina at Edison Ford in Fort Meyers. Thanks to Hazel, Heather's mom, for picking them up at the airport and delivering them. We ate an early dinner at Pinchers and then took a walk around the Edison Ford Winter Estates, a Florida Heritage Landmark Site.  Thomas Edison purchased his land in 1885 for a place to relax and spend the winter. Automobile magnate Henry Ford developed a deep friendship with Edison that began when Ford started working for Detroit Edison Illuminating Company in 1890. After the Ford family visited Edison in 1914, they purchased the property next door.  In 1947, Mina Edison deeded her beloved home to the city of Fort Meyers, and it opened to the public in November of that year.  In 1988, the Ford estate was sold to the city and after two years restoration, was open to the public. On Monday we motored over to Captiva and docked at Tween Waters Island Resort and Spa!  What a find that was!  We secured Cady...
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