Sunday: anchor up at Daytona, 0840. Late for us. Anchor had dug in. Larry had to wipe his legs and arms down with a wet towel. He was covered in mud (and he had just taken a shower)….Yuck……Another gorgeous day, but very hot. We tied up at Marineland Marina (AICW mile marker 796) by 2:00. Air conditioner on immediately. While at anchor, we get a breeze because always facing into the wind. At marinas, we turn the air on. Most of the time not facing into the wind…..

Life goes on while on board. Several people, not familiar with the cruising lifestyle, state that it’s not work, it’s a constant vacation. Well, cruisers have to deal with the same issues folks who live on land deal with daily. Homes have issues-boats have issues, sometimes more so than houses. Medical situations pop up everywhere. Last week it was my mom. Now it’s Larry. Larry has had melanomas in the past. Today, his left cheek has a large raw area that even the marina manager here told him looked like a melanoma! He had had one just like it, on the same place. Even had pics to prove it! So, we are going to St. Augustine and Mayo Clinic here we come. Larry has a great doctor at Dana Farber, Boston. I texted pictures and the response was to take him to the Mayo. It’s a holiday weekend. It will have to wait until Tuesday morning.

Monday, Memorial Day, left Marineland at 7:40. We usually depart on our own-unless dealing with nasty currents or high winds. On the way in yesterday, the marina hand is telling me to throw the the line. I knew I was too far away, not enough line and wind against me. Of course, fell short in the water. Sometimes, the marina hand insists on taking the bow line first (front line) while I am below, in the stern (back) with a line. We have a bow thruster…..not a stern thruster soooo Larry has control of the bow not the stern. The stern has to be tied first. Sometimes, Larry or I have to explain all this while docking! And the bottom line: the captain is always responsible for his boat. If it’s banged up, the marina is not responsible. Back to today’s trip……lots of dolphins feeding and peacefully swimming. Wow, pink pelicans, a first for us. We arrived early, by 9:30, at St. Augustine (AICW mile marker 778). We got here so fast, I was in the shower when Larry slowed the engine. Had to hurry and dry, get dressed, all in time to man my station for tying up. We went for a late walk, dinner and hockey game at Chadsworth. Seems like a few New Englanders go watch sports at this bar…. we discovered it during a Patriots game, last December. Now, the Bruins.

Tuesday, picked up the rental car and coordinated with the Mayo Clinic. We had a big lunch at Metro Diner. All plates there are huge. I always get the Monte Christo sandwich-it’s sinfully good and bad for you. It was so big, well, I managed to finish it. Larry had a chopped steak and enough mash potatoes to feed a family of four. He didn’t finish them……we did some shopping and driving around St. Augustine. While driving a residential back road , we encountered the “joining tree”. It’s a huge oak tree with a huge palm tree that took root between two split sections of the oak. Both seemed healthy.

Back at the boat, I was painting in the back porch, all enclosed and Lizzie the cat joined me. My toughest critic. The marina at St. Augustine has many birds on its docks. Because of our screens, the bird was next to me and didn’t realize I was there until I moved-we startled each other. That bird complained/ squawked for a good minute.

Wednesday, Mayo Clinic appointment. Larry got his biopsy. We shopped and returned the rental car. We went back to Chadsworth for the next Bruins game. We were joined by the crew of Sabrina, a gorgeous yellow Manatee.

Thursday, I got up early and went for a nice walk, over the bridge and the sea wall. We departed St. Augustine by 9AM. Lovely day but hot. This heat wave is pretty nasty. Long day, great run. We actually anchored off Cumberland Island, GA (AICW mile marker 710) by 6:30. 68 miles. Yep, out of Florida, with a day to spare. Light dinner, sandwich and salad-too hot for a heavy meal.

We had great news today. The biopsy report is: Basal cell carcinoma. They suggested he let the area heal and have it addressed at August Dana Faber appointment. We had a contingency plan of getting a car in Brunswick, GA and driving back to Mayo Clinic. Thankfully, not needed.

Friday, anchor up at 8:30. We had a very pleasant night because the wind was blowing down the hatch over us. Still blowing strongly. I noticed my water garden ( yes, I have a small water garden and a small dirt planter on the upper deck) was in bloom. My water hyacinth was blooming. The down side, the breeze blew some dirt away from my herbs and I have to sweep up. Swept in one direction-very windy….Still need my greenery. Since we got Lizzie, I can not have plants or fresh flowers below…..real or fake, she will nibble on either.

Saw some interesting stuff today. A helicopter was picking up what appeared to be pilings, and bringing them to a different island. While we were going by Jekyll Island, a dredge was working. We had to squeeze by, the depth read 1 foot, which means 4 feet and we need 3.2 feet. One of those “gulp” moments. Arrived at Brunswick Marina by 2:30. We leave the ICW and travel for about 5 miles off the ICW.

Saturday, sat. We walked around town…visited the farmers market, then Larry went to marina lounge to watch the hockey game. We met some folks here that we had met last year. Since then, they had acquired a gorgeous trawler. More folks going to the dark side (a power boat vs a sailboat). Very nice seeing them and catching up.