End of Bahamas - End of Florida

March 22, 2024

Spanish Key

It is the dream of every young kid to make it so big that they buy their own island.  We actually got to see that in action at Spanish Key as we were leaving the Abacos.  From Guana Cay to West End is about 140ish miles.  We decided to break up the trip by stopping at Spanish Cay Marina.  The only services on the island were a single marina with a restaurant.

We were shocked when we got there to see GIANT pleasure craft (like 120 ft plus) in a five star marina.  It was just a few of those boats and then us.  After checking in, we went for a walk to discover we had the entire island to ourselves plus a few workers.  We walked for miles and were stunned when we discovered an airfield at the far end.  We were even more shocked to find a large working plane in the hanger.  

Talking to a worker at the hanger we learned that the entire island is owned by a Texas entrepreneur named Don Davis.  He has a place for himself and family but the rest is either rentals or wide open country.  

The place was beautiful and having all to ourselves was special.  Super cool.


Headed Home

The cruise back to the states was fantastic with the ocean behaving so well that we decided to make the 100+ mile run from the West End to Fort Pierce.  No issues!  YEA!  AND ... great news.  Nebo tracked our entire side trip and uploaded it when we got back to US cell towers.

Stateside

What a shock it was to get back to the US Florida coastal cities.  WOW.  So many boats. So many people.  So many cars.  So much of so much.

But trust me, we were not suffering.  Once Nebo woke up and showed us on the move, we were surrounded by looping friends.  Docktails commenced immediately in Fort Pierce, Titusville, New Smyrna and Saint Augustine with friends from the last 7,000 miles. We saw Faith, Dreamcatcher, General Fun, Idaho Red and so many more.  Additionally, we met many newbies who were just starting their loop.  What fun!  Incredible. 

On the back of the Shorebilly

And the towns.  It is easy to take for granted the massive wealth of this great country.  Coming back to it renewed our faith in the American governance structure.  We are a country built to succeed and it shows.  These towns were beautiful with our favorite being St. Augustine.  SOOOO much fun.



And the food ... My gosh do we eat well in this country.  Even the food trucks were AMAZING.


Never Home

However, as great as all this was ... as much fun as we had ... as great as everyone greeted us ... NOTHING could touch what happened next.  NEVER HOME!

For those following, we traveled from the Hudson, all through Canada, down Lake Michigan and most of the rivers with Never Home.  Cathy and Atillio were side by side in all our adventures and proved to be phenomenal people.  Their home is in Ponte Vedra Beach Florida and they invited us to stay for a few days.  We did!

Atillio is one of the few self made men I know having built a seafood and real estate empire in that area.  Cathy is maybe the only woman in the world that could keep him in line.  Together they are a super couple.

In preparation for us, Atillio took one of his open lifts and had it configured for the Shorebilly.   How cool is that???

Never Home == Baby Blue,  Shorebilly = Tan



And BTW:  Cathy LOVES Yudee ....

Fernandina Beach, Amelia Island

We are now at our last stop before leaving Florida at Amelia Island / Fernandina Beach.  We entered Florida on December 4th and have cruised well over 1,100 miles of Florida coast not counting the Bahamas.  Tomorrow we will be in Georgia!

The marina here is located next to the picturesque town of Fernandina Beach.  We were treated by having a friend from college, DeeAnn Lloyd (sister of dear friend Don Lloyd) come join us for an evening with her friend John.  What a treat!  DeeAnn is the blonde standing right behind Terri and I.


But this marina is COOL.  Look what pulled in today!  This is an "across the ocean racing row boat".  One of the gals in this pic had already rowed across the Atlantic.


More on this can be found at: https://unitedrow.org/  {snip from their website}  

Best friends, Anna McLean & Jenny D'Anthony are attempting a record breaking challenge to be the youngest and fastest female pair to row across the Pacific Ocean.

They will leave on Saturday, June 8th 2024 from Monterey, California and finish at Hanalei Bay on the stunning island of Kaua’i, Hawaii

And THEN this pulled in:


What makes this special you ask? ... Well, I'm glad you asked.  It was built right down the road from my family farm in Salisbury Md.  Totally Cool!

On to Georgia!  Until later, Stay Safe.

With Love,

Terri and Aubrey






 

 

 





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