Dy 212 – 213
As I stated earlier, both of us were enamored with the town of Fernandina Beach, FL. Saturday morning, 04/10/21, we ate brunch at Brett’s Waterway Cafe, which was literally just a few steps away from our transient wall tie-up at Fernandina Harbor Marina. The weather was glorious as we walked around downtown, exploring. As with many of the stops on our Loop, Fernandina Beach was filled with charming older buildings and houses, palm trees, and mature Live Oak trees whose branches spread out for blocks and were laden with Spanish moss. We stopped at Fantastic Fudge for afternoon fudge and ice cream, where we sat outside eating at a tiny wrought iron bistro table and chairs in dappled sunlight and people-watched. A strong line of storms was predicted to come through later in the evening, so we took advantage of the time we had left in the late afternoon to sample adult beverages on the outdoor patio of PJD’s Beer and Wine Garden. We loved that place! We’ve found that the wonderful weather we so often experience on this trip greatly enhances most of the places we visit.
Saturday evening’s skies began to darken, so we hiked back to the boat post-haste. We were barely aboard when the menacing line of storms comin’ down real slow hit Legacy hard from the west at 5:00 pm. Both of our cell phones went crazy with severe weather alerts, so Steve poured himself a boat drink. (It was happy hour, after all – storms or no storms!) We stared out the starboard windows of the salon, watching the approaching curtain of rain actually sheet across the harbor toward us. 30 to 60 knot gusts were predicted with this line, and our wind gauge proved the forecast to be correct. Lightning was popping and residual thunder rumbling all around us. Legacy rocked against her lines there on the transient wall (Steve had reinforced them earlier that day, thankfully), and the waves bouncing our boat were 2 to 3 feet in height. We were very glad we were tied-up at the marina, rather than being one of the many boats anchored to our east in the harbor on mooring balls. Our friends, Bruce and Linda Higginbotham, were aboard their small sailboat, Esther B, tied to one of those mooring balls, close enough in for us to watch them through the storm to make sure they didn’t sink. They were there for a few days with family visiting them. This was definitely not a good time to have guests aboard! Those rains lasted way into the night, the waves pushing Legacy up against the wall and loudly lapping on the hull, and we remembered why tying up on walls is not always ideal.
On Sunday morning, 04/11/21, we woke up to a red sky at morning, which is sailor’s warning. More storms rolling in across northern Florida from the west again, and basically set in for most of the day. I stayed aboard all morning, since it was raining, and worked on this blog. Steve opted to ride the area shuttle in to Publix and back, getting soaked, cold, and bitten by no-seeums the whole time. (I definitely made the wiser choice…) Mid-morning, I looked out the salon windows, checking on our friends, and witnessed an unusual-looking rowboat full of men rowing right past Legacy. Their boat was marked with the logo, FoarFromHome.com, so I looked them up online. This group is four veterans that are rowing together across America to raise awareness of PTSD and the high rates of veterans’ suicides. I was so impressed with their story that I made a donation to their cause right then, while on their website.
Late that afternoon, and just like magic, the dreary weather cleared-up and the sun came out. The temperatures warmed up just enough for us to walk into town for a delicious dinner at Joe’s 2nd Street Bistro. I ordered chicken cordon blue with mashed garlic potatoes and collard greens, while Steve enjoyed a rib-eye steak, the preparation of which he gave a thumbs-up, which is uncommon. There was a couple at a table adjacent to us who were meticulous about taking pictures of each of their plates almost before the waiter could set them onto the table. First appetizers, then entrees. That immediately made me think of our oldest daughter, Tara, who just despises seeing meals posted on Facebook! (She’s even been known to hide any of her FB friends who post too much food.) But then it occurred to me that perhaps this couple were foodies and kept a blog just like ours, only all about FOOD.
Position: N 30° 40.280, W 81° 27.965
Total marina nights: 191
Total nights at anchor: 21
Locks today: 0
Locks Total: 27