"Oh What a Beautiful Morning, Oh What a Beautiful Day......"

Okay, so now I've become a seasoned boater (well, almost).  My hands don't shake quite so much when I have "line duty".  Patti had the boat as we backed out of our slip - effortlessly I might add, once Tom and I cast off the lines.  Another day cruising on the ICW was a dream come true. The day dawned clear and sunny with temps in the 70s and light winds - a perfect boating day. 

This leg of our trip took us past Punta Gorda, Tiger Woods' community.  What incredible homes!  I used my binoculars shamelessly nearly the entire day to see as much as I could behind the neatly trimmed hedges and azure pools.  Today found me asking to have not 1, but 2 bridges raised for us.  One time our arrival was slightly behind a big sailboat, who courteously waited for us to catch up (good thing he wasn't in a rush to get somewhere)!  I chatted with the bridge tender and thanked the sailboat as if I do this every day (I wish)!  This is really fun I found myself saying to myself.  I must have had a dumb look on my face while having these secret conversations - as evidenced by the quizzical look I found Tom giving me. 

Today in keeping with the exquisite scenery, we listened to beautiful classical music.  How wonderful it is to be listening to Mozart's Magic Flute while gliding past mansions!  After another glorious day, we saw the historic town of St. Augustine beckoning us.  Though it was only 3:30, we decided to call it a day and spend the late afternoon exploring this beautiful city.

 Once docked, we left the captain with his boat and set off for our adventure.  We were not disappointed!  Patti and I had a wonderful time walking around and marvelling at the sights.  After another wonderful dinner, we settled on the back porch for my knot tying class.  For this class, I used our chamois mop and a (getting frayed) piece of line.  Patti always has a plan and tonight's class consisted of learning the bow line and practicing the clove hitch until I was giddy with exhaustion.  In a later post, I'll tell you how the clove hitch saved us from a potential disaster (you have to wait for that post, sorry).  Another idyllic day came to a close (oh, if only every day could be like this one)!