Fabulous Fernandina - we are in Florida!

I could not be any happier than to be sitting in the incredibly friendly public library in Fernandina Beach, Florida! We were able to leave Jekyll Island yesterday on a warm and breezy 5 to 10 knot NE wind and make both the St. Andrews Sound and the Cumberland Sound with no trouble. Last night was rough at anchor, but hey, who cares, we are in Florida now! We took a mooring ball and Claude a slip at the marina as he will be engaged in engine maintenance the better part of the day - changing fuel filters and fuel pump - and we will be playing. Yes, playing! Fernandina Beach's primary employer is probably the large and fragrant paper mill just to the south of where we are moored. As long as the wind continues to blow from the north, no problem! If it blows too strongly we will have to think cautiously about where we are going tomorrow, but we hope to start journeying southward again then - provided engine maintenance is successful. We are experiencing a continuing issue with our glow plugs not receiving enough power at times to engage. This electrical quirk is concerning, but probably not life threatening since Claude removed the "bad" wires. As for the town, it is extremely cute, very touristy, caters to tourists. It has a great history as a former pirate enclave (no joke!) and has the distinction of having had the most flags flown claiming ownership of any location in the US (eight!). From the Spanish to the French, British, back to Spain, various pirates, the US, Mexico, and then finally again the US. Last night we stopped in at a saloon called "the Palace", built in 1878. It claims to be the oldest saloon in Florida continuously operating the in same location. It's pressed tin ceilings and magnificent wood carvings reminded me of some of the finer places in Marquette! We encountered the crew of the sailing vessel Sogno there, Brian and Sue, who hail from Mahhhblehead, Mass. (Marblehead is quite the ritzy address) They were so friendly, so willing to share advetures with us, that we stayed and chatted until sunset when Wayne remembered we would have to dinghy back and find the boat about 1/2 mile out in a river anchorage close to town. We found her, but in the nick of time, as it got dark moments after we got onto the boat and nobody had their masthead lights on yet. I did not have the change to ask Brian about his past life as a landlubber, but Sue explained she had been in Information Technology for all of her career, the had no kids, and so she was able to retire at 48 and start cruising full-time. Wow. Of course I would NOT trade my incredibly wonderful children for anything and I am at 48 living the cruising life, but I will certainly have to go back to work upon return. Ah, I miss them and will be so happy to see them again. At any rate, life is sure looking up. There are challenging stretches ahead on the ICW, and I read the internet updates frequently (causing Claude to laugh at me because he says as long as you stay in the middle of the channel you'll be alright...) Well, I just read that at mile 803.1 (the ICW is measured in "regular" or statute miles) there is a shoal encroaching on the starboard quarter into the midline of the channel which stopped a friend of ours dead and he ran HARD aground while in the middle of the channel. His, and other experiences with this hazard were posted on the CruisersNet website that I read as often as possible. This nice gentleman and excellent sailor, Jeff Bacon aboard Manatee (a beautiful Beneteau if I remember correctly) said that the force of the impact threw him out of his seat hehind the wheel and propelled him through the air into the forward portion of the cockpit. OK, that kind of action is not for me, so I am going to stay to port at mile 803.1 for sure. I am going to continue to neurotically read and note these updates, and stress about running aground (and other hazards) until we actually make it to Miami. Then, a whole different set of neuroses can be substituted for the present ones...but the best news is it looks like we are going to make it!