We blew into Palm Coast...and very friendly place...big space for Dakota to run but it was full of stickers...so once was enough. They had sweatshirts on sale...I couldn't resist. Another quiet evening at the fuel dock...I could  a barely get off the boat so I didn't! Winds died a little over night...but 48 degrees when we left there.

We spent a long day Wednesday  cruising to Jacksonville...we could have stopped at Matansas Inlet...where we anchored in a 13+ mph current last time....no! thank you!....or St Augustine, with those brutal tidal currents...no! Thank you very much!! Instead we opted for the Jacksonville City free docks...no electric, but a lovely, cement floating dock next to a city park and some sort of bus departure point. According to reviews we looked at, we thought maybe we'd be the only boat there but two other boats pulled in about 30 minutes behind us. Not loopers, and weren't very social...so another quiet evening on the TUMBLEWEED!!

Just a few words about dolphins and manatees...we never grow tired of seeing dolphins. They are a part of our daily sightings....sometimes singles but more often small groups, even babies. So graceful and sleek ....we've even watched them circle, hunt and catch....pretty exciting stuff. We try to keep track of how many we see... Often reaching 20+ per day. We love 'em. Those manatees are another issue....since arriving in Florida in January, numerous times during each day we are in " go slow zones" ...."manatee watch area"....and we have yet to see one in those areas. We did finally see one as we docked in Titusville...then later as we passed through the Canaveral Haulover Canal , we saw so many in the boat launch cove that we couldn't count them...or see how you could get a fishing boat in or out of there. Nothing pretty about a manatee...brown sludge, big back and tail, nostrils and snout like a hippo....and how do they know to stay in those manatee zones???

Tonight we'll be in Jekyll Island...working our way to Charleston. It is a little warmer but the sun has yet to make an appearance. Dakota seems to rest better during the day when we drive from below...which is the way we travel on cold cloudy days.