Days 271–277 May 24-30

A week in Titusville and then to Mosquito Lagoon (New Smyrna Beach)

We paid for a week with intentions to leave immediately after the launch on Wednesday afternoon.  We spent these days chilling out, reading, walking, and doing routine chores of living on a boat.  As much as we enjoy anchoring out (free), a week of it wears on the body.  I normally awake at least once in the night, to make sure my anchor is holding well, and that the anchor of the neighboring boat is doing the same.  So, being in a marina (even an old one) provides a better quality of sleep for the old captain.  For that, I am very grateful.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

The rainy season is now underway for the east coast of Florida.  Our days on the water since leaving Marathon have shown us that.  Thunderstorms continue to be a part of nearly every day.  Monday, we got lots of rain and stiff 20 knot winds out of the east. We spent the afternoon with Steve and Susie on their boat, plotting our course for the next week or so.  Rocking and rolling on their boat, even though we were tied up with many fenders out, made for a pretty unpleasant day.  By the time we finished our planning, we felt like we had been at sea all day in 4-5’ waves.  This was certainly not one of our more enjoyable days.

Tuesday night, John and Karen came from New Smyrna to visit us.  We met them last year at a marina just south of Chicago.  The marina was their home marina and they were gracious enough to keep an eye on our boat while we were in Savannah for Emmaus and our barn dance.  We became friends instantly.  They have a second home in New Smyrna, so they usually winter down here.  But with Covid and lots of rain in Illinois, they decided to come back here for a few days.  Last week, I texted them to see if they happened to be in the area.  They had just left home (Illinois) and were in the car driving south.  So, they came to the marina, picked us up, and took us to their favorite restaurant in Titusville. We enjoyed dinner and a visit with them.  They even let us invite Steve and Susie to tag along.

Wednesday, launch day, finally arrived.  The weather was not real cooperative, and there were rumors the mission would be postponed.  I cleaned up the boat and had it all shiny, just in time for the rain to start (you know, if you need rain, just wash your car).  Steve and I went back and forth about whether to stay on the dock to watch from the distance, take the dinghy out into the ICW, as near the launch site as the authorities would permit, or take my boat and make a fun day of it, doing lunch, watching the launch, and cruising on back in at our leisure.  As the weather became more ominous, going on our boat became the obvious choice.  We left the slip at 3:00 and cruised about an hour south, until we were almost straight in front of the launching pad.  We were still a significant distance away, but we had a great view.  I threw out the anchor and we sat on the bow chatting and talking about how cool this was. 

• 

The launch was scheduled for 4:33 pm.  At 4:08, the announcement came:  NO LAUNCH TODAY.  Rescheduled for Saturday, 3:22.  What a letdown.  The 4 of us were like kids who had been promised a trip to Disney but had just gotten word that Mickey and Minnie Mouse were out of town.  We pouted for a while, whined that we would not be able to witness this historical moment, and then I pulled the anchor and we puttered back to the marina.  Thursday, our plan is to move on northward.  Maybe someday, we can be back and see a launch, up close.  For this one, we will have to enjoy it on television.

We did enjoy what we thought was our last meal in Titusville that night.  The ladies had been to the fish market on Tuesday, buying shrimp and tuna.  We had a fancy meal of tuna steaks, orzo salad, and Brussel sprouts on their boat. We ate till we hurt, and after about 5 yawns each, Amanda and I waddled back to our boat.  She was asleep in about 5 minutes and I sat up doing what I’ve enjoyed for the last year:  writing about this incredible journey.  Yes, many days are forgettable. It certainly hasn’t been all glamour.  That is clear by some of my drier moments of writing.  But isn’t that, too, just like life itself?Not every day holds a memorable event.  The days of the mundane routine are what make the special days, special.  Today was a good reminder that some of the days, your rocket just can’t get off the ground.  But I’m lucky enough to have a rocket and most days, it does take off.

I woke up Thursday morning to a text from Steve.  He said his bride was REALLY interested in seeing the launch on Saturday.  Amanda was all about it, so we made the decision to stay, hoping the weather would cooperate and not delay the launch till Sunday.

Thursday is a complete blur, so not much must have happened.  We talked about renting a car and getting off the boat, just to break up the boredom.  That plan materialized and Friday morning, so Steve and I caught an Uber to the car rental place. We picked up the car, ran by the drug store, and swung back by the marina to pick up the girls.  It was now well past lunchtime so we talked about where to go for lunch.  The Uber driver had told us about a place we passed on the way to pick up the rental.  It was called:  Loyd Have Mercy. 

• 

• 

• 

We didn’t know the details at the time, but it was recently featured on the Food Network show, Restaurant Impossible.  Purely soul food, we were there for fried chicken and veggies.  We were immediately seated, ordered ice tea, and then proceeded to order meat loaf, fried chicken, chicken livers, collard greens, mashed potatoes, and fried green tomatoes. Man, we pigged out.  As we wrapped up (a few quiet burps), Andrew Loyd walked by our table.  Steve told him how much we enjoyed lunch.  From there, we interviewed him and got all the details of his “success” story.  He had planned to close the restaurant when the producers of Restaurant Impossible gave him a call.  Long story short, the show saved his business.  He told us about the whole experience with Robert Irvine, the host of the show. Andrew’s business was up 75% when the word got out. He was $60,000 in debt, before.  Covid temporarily slowed things down for him, but business is slowly picking back up.  Since the filming in January, he has been able to pay down a chunk of the debt, and if things stay on track, he said he would be out of debt by the end of June.  What a great, humble guy.  A part time preacher, he clearly said the call from the show was Divine Intervention.  And now that his place has been mentioned in this blog, his business is destined to grow exponentially. We enjoyed the conversation as much as the lunch.

Titusville is just north of Cocoa Beach.  So, after lunch we headed that way.  Cocoa is a nice town, catering to tourists.  We split from the ladies and they did “girl stuff” (I’m over 60, so I can still get away with saying that). Steve and I went to the hardware store.  The Travis Company is one of those old hardware stores like you grew up with.  For the Savannah readers, you will remember White Hardware.  It was so much like that.  Compartmentalized, 2 stories, and rambling aisles that seem to have no real order, I enjoyed it so much I felt like I should have paid an admission price at the door. Steve and I made small purchases for items we needed on the boat.  From there, we looked for a place where Steve could get a haircut.  He really looks rough.  But no luck in barber shops or beauty shops, so we ended up at the ice cream shop, which was much more fun.  Having had all the fun we could, we piled back into the car and headed back to exciting Titusville.

Saturday morning, Amanda and the Muck’s went to the grocery and I went walking and got the boat ready for the next leg of the journey.  Check out time is 11, so we packed the refrigerator with the groceries, and headed back to our observation spot on the ICW for the launch.  We rafted up with All Talk II, grilled burgers and hot dogs, and added bean salad and potato salad to our menu.  We ate lunch, watched the hype of the build up to the launch on TV, took a short snooze, and then got ready for the launch of a lifetime at 3:22 pm. 

With questionable weather, we wondered if we would be stuck another night in Titusville, to wait on the Sunday attempt at the launch.  But the weather cooperated today and at exactly 3:22 pm, the launch took place, without a hitch.  I must admit, it was pretty exciting.  Watching that fire ball lift off the ground in front of us, feeling the boat shake, and then seeing then seeing it disappear into the clouds in just a few short seconds was nothing short of spectacular. I’m still laughing at Amanda’s reaction. I videoed the whole thing and her “noises” were better than any professional play by play commentary. I’m trying to figure out how to post videos on this blog. I’m working on that, but I probably need a little techy advice. She really is funny, and the launch is awesome.

We did make the right decision to stay for the launch on Saturday.

• 

• 

With the launch behind us, we boated about 20 miles north and arrived just south of New Smyrna Beach just after 7 pm.  We anchored in Mosquito Lagoon.  Fortunately, most of the mosquitoes took the night off.  We had a nice breeze keeping us comfortable all night.  Amanda and I watched a Hallmark movie and we turned in for the night.  

• 

• 

• 

• 

Tomorrow, we will be in Daytona, as we draw closer to our Loop completion.