 Today
is Thanksgiving. We meet Joe and Barbara from S/V Next Step. They
suggest that we all get together for a communal Thanksgiving
dinner at the local picnic table. Great idea! S/V Jule III, S/V
Next Step, M/V Whonos, and S/V Odyssey shared food, wine and
company. Unfortunately, M/V Outbound could not join us. We even
got some free food from the local Methodist Church! At 0650 (aka
o dark early) the next day we left for St. Auguustine via the
ICW. We had to really haul to counter the current and make the
distance. We did it. At 1610, we were tied up at the St Augustine
Municipal Marina. S/V Next Step and M/V Whonos tied up at a
nearby marina while S/V Odyssey arrived in our marina later in
the day.
 At
0830 the next morning we got a call from our younger son (Chris)
on the cell phone. He said "look outside". We did and
there he was along with Levi (Husky), Gina(Lab), and Samantha
Jane (cat). He had driven throughout the night to surprise us. Of
course, they were so tired they slept most of that day. It was
great! We were lucky enough to have them on our boat for two
days. We got our kid and doggie fixes.
 The
weather was mostly overcast and wet the entire time we were at
St. Augustine. M/V Outbound arrived two days after our tie-up.
KitKat was not quite as brave as she had been at other ports of
call. We talked with Kevin and Doris about the upcoming Shuttle
launch. We suggested that they watch it with us at Port
Canaveral. The Art Festival was in full swing when we strolled
the streets of St. Augustine. Too many people!!! We were not used
to crowds and it did detract from the experience.
 El
Castillo de San Marco is a 'must see' site. It had special
interest to us as our goal was Fort Jefferson (Dry Tortugas). We
wanted to become 'smart' concerning forts and this was a great
place to start. We managed to miss most of the rain and got a
really neat tour from the Park Ranger. Chris and Toby went
earlier and also had a great time. Ann, the pig collector found
many pig ornaments to adorn our boat. Oh boy!!!
 All
good things must come to an end. Chris has to leave and return to
work. He has another 13 hour drive with kids. We don't envy him!
But we really appreciated his visit. The next day we got another
doggie fix. A couple with two golden retrievers were playing
tennis ball catch in the rain. Wow, we wish our dogs were as well
behaved as these two. We were now thinking of our next passage:
Port Canaveral on the 'outside'. The Coast Pilot doesn't think
much of the St. Augustine inlet. Sea Tow provided some useful
information on how to navigate the inlet.
 We
left the marina at 0820, passed through the North anchorage at
0845, and entered the inlet at 0900 with minimum depths of 8 feet
(at high tide). NOAA was predicting light and variable winds for
the next 36 hours. That is good as we are doing an overnight
passage close to the Gulf Stream. Liar, liar, pants on fire!. At
2100, the winds went from 0 knots to 15 knots. By 2400, the winds
were up to 20 knots with 2-3 foot seas. By 0300, the winds were
gusting to 30 knots with 5-6 foot seas. We were getting pounded
and it was really, really dark!
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