Palm Coast to New Smyrna Beach

We had a wonderful 6 weeks in Iowa with our kids and grandkids. Thanksgiving and Christmas were soooo much fun! It wasn't even very cold. 

We flew back to Florida on the 4th and got re-acquainted with Mara Beel- which didn't take long! It's good to be back on the water. After dealing with several vehicle issues on land- 2 windshield cracks and a broken transfer case on our pickup- we once again realized that "dirt dwelling" can be a hassle. On the boat it's different concerns- such as forgetting to open the sea cock before starting an engine. Oops. It was time to change that impeller anyway. 

C-Life pulled into the Palm Coast marina on Tuesday night, so we picked up Robert and Kay and had a delicious dinner at JT's Seafood Shack. Yesterday Serenity's crew- John and Kathy drove over from their dirt dwelling in The Villages, and Alice and Chris (Leslee) drove from St. Augustine for a lunch get-together at Captain's BBQ. We first met Chris and Alice in Apalachicola in November 2014 and had not seen them since.

This morning we left our dock in Palm Coast, where our boat spent the holidays at the private dock of fellow MTOA members John and Mary, who graciously allowed us to leave MB at their home while we were away. We enjoyed a pleasant 46-mile cruise to New Smyrna Beach. We are spending the night in the city marina, located near 2 small islands used by hundreds of pelicans, egrets, anhingas, and other birds as a rookery. Apparently it is a local tourist attraction.

Rookery

Pelican antics

Tour boat

Tomorrow we will continue to head south (hoping for sunshine).