Last night after dinner we strolled around the Hammock Beach Resort at Palm Coast. We got another look at the ocean there which featured whitecaps and few boats. We were happy to see that the golf course, which had been virtually destroyed by salt water from Hurricanes Matthew and Irma, had recovered.

We had a leisurely start this morning. We wanted to arrive at the Matanzas Inlet on a rising tide as it is sinuous and can be shallow.   So we slept in a bit and  delayed our departure until after 8 am. The ICW waters were still and beautiful and full of bird life as we traveled. We passed many small bass boats, dinghies, kayaks, and john boats outfitted for fishing and enjoying the quiet. Folks in the homes lining the ICW appeared to be still sleeping as all was silent except for a few pups that barked at our passage.

It was a very enjoyable trip, made more so by the comfort of seeing the approach of familiar landmarks like the 312 bridge and the historic and beautiful skyline of St. Augustine.

Our marina manager met us on the dock and we were tied up in nothing flat, right back in our old lucky slip C13. We met new neighbors on the pier and were welcomed back by old friends and acquaintances. As a bonus treat,  when we walked to the parking garage in downtown, our car started right up and looked as good as new except for a layer of dust and pollen.

We made it back to the marina just before the sky opened up in a brief but noisy thunderstorm. After a quick shower we went to a delicious boat-made dinner prepared by one of our closest friends in St. Augustine and attended by two more of our closest friends! We feel so fortunate and welcomed. It’s great to make journeys, and it’s great to be home.

In the next day or so we will post our “Wrap up: Bahamas Edition” detailing what worked well on our trip and what we could have done better. After that we will resume periodic postings on various “Life Aboard” topics until our next cruise.

Thank you all so much for keeping in contact with us via your readership and comments.  It made our trip just that much more fun.

The featured picture today is the quintessential view of what it looks like ahead of you when traveling on the ICW on a nice day.