Beautiful St. Johns River

We had been encouraged by many cruisers we met not to miss the St. Johns River as we were cruising the East coast of Florida.  We had finished visiting all the friends and relatives by the time we reached Jacksonville and it was time for the two of us to take some time to wind down and enjoy God's creation.  The St. Johns River was just the place to do that.  The strange thing about the St. Johns is that it is one of the only rivers in the US that flows north and, although we were heading south, we were going upriver.  Very confusing!!  We bypassed Jacksonville because we planned to visit there on our return trip and we were going to meet some friends in an anchorage in Doctors Lake.  We arrived at the lake and Paul and Stacey on SeaSea were waiting for us.  We drew up alongside them and tied our boats together, which is called rafting.  It is fun to do because you can walk next door and visit the neighbors.  Stacey made us chili for dinner and we thoroughly enjoyed visiting with them and getting some information about where to go and what to do on the river.  They had cruised it a couple of times and had some good information for us.  

Stacey and Paul Brannon



After spending the night attached to SeaSea, we released our lines and started our exploration of the St. Johns.  Our first stop was going to be Green Cove Springs where we had heard there was a town dock that we could use for a small amount of money.  Free or cheap are the two prices we usually look for when searching for a place to stay.  We arrived at the town and most of the slips were too small for us, but Paul and Stacey told us that there was a floating dock next to the pier that we could fit on and it worked great.  We had no sooner tied up when an older gentleman stopped to chat and ended up offering us a ride to the grocery store and anywhere else we would need to go.  He was a widower and he said that we "made his day" when we showed up and spent some time with him.  We love the opportunities we have to connect with people as we travel.  There is actually a spring in Green Cove Springs that they use to fill the town swimming pool.  The water flows out of the spring, through the pool and out the other side to the river.  The temperature of the water is a constant 78 degrees so I'll bet that feels very refreshing to the town residents in the heat of the summer.  When we arrived back at the boat after shopping, another gentleman came to the railing next to the boat, looked at the name of the boat, and asked if we were Christians.  He had a notebook open in his hand and, when we said that we were Christians, he closed the notebook and we talked for about 45 minutes about all kinds of things.  We found out he was a physician who worked for the DEA and we think he was checking us out, although he didn't actually state that was his purpose for engaging us in conversation.  It's hard to believe they have a drug running problem in this pretty little town.  We had a beautiful sunset to end our time at our first stop on this wonderful river.



We just fit



Sunset at Green Cove Springs



The Spring

 







It was time for our next adventure and we headed to Palatka where we intended to stay at their town dock.  When we arrived we realized that there was a Bassmaster Elite series fishing tournament being held there and the dock was full so we stayed down the road from town at the Boathouse Marina.  Not free, but not too expensive.  We had seen Bassmaster tournaments on TV and were excited to experience it in person.  We spent the afternoon walking around all the exhibits and at 4 they had the weigh-in for that day of fishing, which was going to cut the field of fisherman from 50 down to the 12 who were going to fish the last day for all the "marbles".  They would hold up their biggest bass for all to see and everyone would cheer.  The next day was Sunday so we asked about churches in the area and checked them out by bike and chose the one we wanted to go to in the morning.  We were greeted royally the next morning and made to feel very welcome.  We went back to the tournament grounds and they were giving demo rides on the Skeeter bass boats so we decided to give it a try.  Wow!!  We were going 75 mph across the water and I thought my cheeks were in my ears!  That was awesome.  Four o'clock came and the fishermen brought their catch to be weighed and Edwin Evers won the day with the biggest catch and the largest fish in the whole tournament.  Palatka was another gift of God for our pleasure.

So far the river has lived up to everyone's praises and we were anxious to see the rest of it. One more day of travel would bring us to Lake George and it was necessary for us to cross the lake in good weather as it was very shallow. We were going to check out the free dock at Porky's restaurant, but it looked a little to rickety and shallow so we chose to anchor across the river behind an island. We dropped our dinghy and rode to Porky's and then hiked to try to locate the nearby town of Georgetown. We asked a gentleman where the town was and he said, "What town?" We found out there was no town of Georgetown so we walked to the ferry crossing that took commuters to and from the island that we anchored behind. It only runs in the morning and late afternoon and it is a barge that only holds about three vehicles that is towed by a boat on its hip. Old Florida at its best! Our best sighting the next morning as we headed across the lake was a beautiful eagle perched on the first marker.

There was a lot more river to see so we cast off our lines the next morning and headed upriver to Blue Springs where we anchored near the state park.  This was the site of great commerce during the late 1800's as the river and the railroad moved a lot of people and goods from the coast to the interior of Florida.  There was a spring in the park, similar to the one in Green Cove Springs, but much larger.  People came and swam in the "boil" of the spring and rode tubes down to the river.  It looked like a lot of fun.  We were inundated with midges here, which some people call blind mosquitoes.  They don't bite but they are all over the place.  We had to make sure to keep all our doors and windows closed.  We anchored just off the river with two anchors to keep us from swinging out into the river or against the bank.  It worked great and we felt confident that we were not going to move as we slept.  Our alligator friend kept watch over us and we saw our first armadillo at the park. 

Swimming at the spring boil

Our protector

We were told that armadillos are blind

  The end of the river was in sight as we headed to Sanford on Lake Monroe.  We had been given the names of many cruisers who live on their boats in the Monroe Harbor Marina and we were anxious to meet them.  Bob lived on the boat just across from ours and he used to be a Chesapeake Bay pilot, Terry and Frank live on Frankly Terryific and we had met them twice before in Charleston and Demopolis, AL and Buddy and Mary live on Puffin.  We had a fun time getting to know all of them and Terry treated me to a Zumba class.  It was fun but my knees didn't appreciate it as I was in pain for a couple of days.  I guess that isn't going to be the exercise of choice for me.  It was soon time to head back down the river again and see a few things we didn't see on the way up.  We anchored in the same spot near Georgetown on the way back and then headed for the Outback Crab Shack on Six Mile Creek.  We were told by many that this was one place we couldn't miss.  They have a 1500 ft. long dock that boaters can tie up to for free if they eat at the restaurant and we were ready to splurge on a meal.  Flint parked all the way at the end of the dock so we could have some exercise.  We had connected with another boat coming downriver called Tony M so we enjoyed a grilled seafood platter with them.  We were given another gift from God here as we saw a sign at the restaurant indicating that the Providence Bible Church would be holding a service in the restaurant the next morning at 8:30 AM.  We were thrilled to be able to go to church and really enjoyed the service. 

Outback Crab Shack 1500 ft dock

After church was over, we chatted with the pastor for a bit and then headed to Jacksonville where we needed to fill 'er up!  We needed to wait our turn at the pump and it was really windy so we dropped our anchor until it was our turn.  It was time to see what Jacksonville had to offer and they had a free dock that we used for a couple of days.  We were rather disappointed in the fact that it is not a bike-friendly town.  No bike lanes and the sidewalks have trees and light poles in the middle of them.  Precarious riding!  We rode across the bridge to the south side of the river and were able to ride along the riverfront and see a beautiful live oak tree that was about 300 years old.  

Well the St. Johns River was wonderful and we would be happy to make the trip again someday.  It is time to start our trek north to Charleston so we will be back with you again after we reach our stopping place on James Island.  We chose a marina near our grandchildren's home so we can spend some time with them and go pick up our truck in Chapin, SC.  We will be spending about a month there.  See you up the ICW.

The beautiful St. Johns River