Sun! Warm! Nice! A perfectly lovely day for enjoying the top deck without having to huddle at the driving station to avoid cold breezes. Roger and Will headed into St. Augustine’s old town to capture photographs of potential painting scenes. Roger declared that the morning’s light was “painterly” and they took dozens of shots that may be turned into watercolors for Roger’s ICW series. Ann and Cliff couldn’t resist lazing on the top deck, luxuriating in the warmth and enjoying the views. They spent a little time cleaning, too. Salt air = salt grime and only a good scrubbing can wash it away. Dot.Calm looks pretty spiffy in its slip at the St. Augustine Municipal Marina. We are all happy with a slip rather than a mooring on the headwall (which is what we’ve had most of the time until now). In the slip we are protected from the slap of waves on the hull and the motion set off by the wakes of passing boats. Very comfortable. Playing Mexican Train at the big round table on the top deck is a treat — and our trains don’t get too squished either. St. Augustine has a robust tourist trade with parades of trolley tours nearly nose-to-nose on the road in front of the marina. The marina also has a fair number of tour boats in the form of pirate ships (those groups looked and sounded like they were having a blast!), galleons, three-masted schooners and just plain two-decker tour platforms The small back streets are filled with shops of every description along with local restaurants. We noticed how many of the restaurants had live music which drifted pleasantly into the streets. Had an late lunch/early dinner at Harry’s (New Orleans inspired cuisine) and then hiked (nearly a mile!) to the ABC Liquor Store. Good exercise following a chocolate bread pudding with ice cream indulgence.
