Gemini Loop

We left New Smyrna Beach for Daytona, with Sun Gypsy behind us. We will be in the ICW until we get home - mostly river, sometimes ditch. There are stretches of nature between the towns and cities now. We are not seeing as many manatees and dolphins, but there are LOTS of birds.

We had dinner with Rick and Leila at the Chart House, which was walking distance from the marina. The food was great and the atmosphere was beautiful. Leila made our reservations through the marina, so we got a free dessert to share. It was so rich, that there was no way we could have eaten more than one! Unfortunately the grocery stores were much farther from the marina than the Chart House, so Leila and I shared a cab to Publix and back.

We left Daytona for St. Augustine, but Rick was thinking they would stop at Palm Coast. We passed Palm Coast early enough that he decided to follow us on to St. Augustine. Throughout the day the wind picked up, which made docking pretty interesting. We wandered around a little, then had dinner at the Columbia. There are five or so of them in various Florida cities. We went to one with the Harwells when we were at Bird Key. We did several appetizers as tapas, and had their homemade sangria (yum!)

Steve and I went to tour Flagler College, which we have never visited on our trips to St. Augustine. Before becoming a college in the 1960s, it was a luxury hotel built by Henry Flagler. It is an interesting story. Henry was born poor, but had a great head for business. Eventually he went into business with JP Morgan and helped create Standard Oil. His first wife had consumption and was advised by her doctor to go to Florida for the winter. The Flaglers went there, but there was no easy way to get there and no place where a self-respecting upper class family would actually stay. Henry saw an opportunity there and built a railroad to Florida and eventually down the east coast and as far as Key West. He also built The Ponce de Leon luxury hotel in St. Augustine for the very wealthy. You had to be very wealthy, because to stay there for even a night or two you had to pay for three months (it was only open during the winter months). In today's dollars, that would be about $250,000.

The Ponce de Leon had the best of everything: stained glass and chandeliers designed by Louis Tiffany, beautiful carvings and murals, and new conveniences like electric lights and a telegraph room. Despite the hefty price tag, the hotel was sold out season after season. The railroad was a stroke of genius, because it moved goods and produce as well as people. It provided jobs for many, many people.

In the 1960s, descendents of Henry Flagler decided that the hotel should become a college. There was less and less call for hotels of that type, and they wanted to honor Henry with something that would reflect his entrepreneurial spirit. It began as a college for women only, but eventually became coed. It is regularly featured in the US News and World Report article on best schools. We really enjoyed the tour and recommend it for anyone going to St. Augustine.

There was another looper boat, Karma, at the dock with us. There was also another Grand Banks, Rachel, that goes north and south every year. You know what happens when you get four boats together... docktails! Since the wind was up again, we moved it inside to Sea Gypsy's flybridge. We were joined by Sterling Hart, one of Steve's "baby pilots" all grown up. (Sorry, Sterling!) He flies for FedEx and lives in St. Augustine. He had just gotten back into town from Germany. It was good to see him and catch up - it's been several years.

The lighthouse for Ponce Inlet

Near Daytona

Coming into the marina at Daytona

Leaving Daytona

This bridge was really beautiful

Tile mosaics of dolphins and manatees on the pilings

Crew team out practicing

Ooops!

The lighthouse near St. Augustine

The mooring field outside St. Augustine

The Lion Bridge

St. Augustine skyline

The charter "pirate ship"

Ponce de Leon himself

These coquina blocks are historic and beautiful

Inside the Columbia restaurant

The lions on the Lion Bridge

The Cathedral of St. Augustine

Flagler College

Twelve frogs in a fountain

The main entrance

Inside the lobby

Dragon water drains

The "bell tower" hid a fresh water tank

Lots of Spanish and Moorish details

Notice that the fountain looks like the hilt of a sword? We did too after the guide pointed it out!

Details around the front entrance

Tiffany lamps

The dining hall was the main dining room of the hotel. The windows are Tiffany, as are the chandeliers and the chairs

The murals on the walls and ceilings are gorgeous!

This is the Ladies' Parlor

Crystal Tiffany chandeliers - each prism is different!

Flagler built another hotel across the street for those less wealthy - it is now City Hall and a museum (something for another trip!)

We left Melbourne for Titusville, continuing along the Space Coast. For many miles of our cruise, you could see the huge NASA building across the mangroves. The launching towers were a little harder to get in the photos because they are so far away. We could only imagine what it would be like to see a shuttle launch from the water - which unfortunately will never happen now.

We saw lots of fishermen and kayaks as we headed north. We are also seeing more manatees! Some of the photos are from the Titusville to New Smyrna Beach stretch, and they are mostly swirls and a tail. They are actually pretty good at getting out of the way of slow boats like ours - not so much the fast boats.

At Titusville, we were docked directly across from Sun Gypsy, another Grand Banks 42 on the Loop. Rick and Leila started their Loop near Sarasota just a little while ago. They have been to some of the same places recently that we have, but we didn't see them until Titusville. We are both in New Smyrna Beach now, and will head to Daytona today.

The cruising days have been a little longer, so we haven't been sightseeing quite as much. I did get out this morning and take some photos of a very old foundation across the street from the marina. It was a fortress that was destroyed in the Civil War. Also, I discovered that a large group of colonists from Greece and nearby Mediterranean countries settled here in the late 1600s. The colony did well at first, but failed after 9 years. The remaining settlers, about 900, relocated to the St. Augustine area.

We plan to stay in Daytona for a couple of days, then head north again. As you can tell, we are very close to finishing our loop!