M/V MAERIN

We arrived in Mosquito Lagoon on Tuesday, an easy cruise from New Smyrna Beach. Finally a sunny day with temps in  shirt sleeve and shorts range. We were on the lookout for friends Ray & Peggy aboard S/V Moriah. Ray & Peggy are our pier neighbors from Stansbury, our “home” marina, and had departed a month before we did on their 1st trip down the ICW. We were excited to finally catch up with them and hear the tales of their trip. We found them hiding in a corner just off the ICW just north of Titusville. We joined them in the anchorage and enjoyed cocktails and catching up on stories and news since they left.  Yes, you can run, but you can’t hide!

We joined them in the anchorage for the night, then moved to mooring balls Wednesday morning in anticipation of a frontal passage that was predicted to be accompanied by gale force winds. It was a good move, winds were 30-35 much of the night, pretty bumpy for sleeping, but we were secure.  The three night stay gave us an opportunity to catch up on laundry, and we enjoyed a cruiser’s outing to Walmart via public transportation! Always a memorable experience!  There’s just nothing like schlepping a grocery cart’s worth of provisions on the bus and then the 1/2 mile hoof from the bus stop to the marina. Oh, and the trip is only partly complete then, we still need to transfer the cargo to the dinghy and do the trip back to the boat. Getting groceries is usually a half-day activity! Still, beats going in the car in sub-zero weather!!

We awoke early this morning to an alarm we set so we could witness the Space-X Falcon 9 launch. SpaceX is a private company that is involved in the space program now that NASA’s focus is on some social program that has no technological benefit- our progressive goobermint at work. I digress.  The launch had been scrubbed on prior occasions, but went off this morning. This launch is unmanned, it’s delivering cargo to the International Space Station, and returning cargo to earth. The launch was impressive, although not as impressive as the Space Shuttle launch we witnessed two years ago from very close to this location. Photos are lifted from the Space-X web site, it was early and the launch happens very quickly!

From here we’ll head to Cocoa for a few days anchored by the park, and from there we’ll travel to Vero Beach, with Ray & Peggy joining us for a time. We’re planning to finally get the kayaks in the water and enjoy some leisure time, I’ll also be intercepting a new alternator to complete the repairs on that. A highlight will be the Saturday beach market at Vero Beach, always a fun outing!