In the shadow of the space shuttle

Beau, John and I left Eau Gallie on Sunday morning as the church bells pealed in the little village. It was a beautiful, sunny day, but there wasn't a breath of wind. So we motored up the ICW toward Titusville. We hadn't been moving long when we saw a gargantuan building off to the east. As we got a little closer, we could tell it was the NASA Space Shuttle Vehicle Assembly Building. If only we could have witnessed a launch.


We enjoyed the scenic beauty, even if we didn't have any wind to sail.
We arrived in Titusville about 2:30 and turned into the Municipal Marina after passing through a very large mooring field. It was so warm (78 degrees) that we considered running the air conditioning. We decided that it would cool off pretty quickly, so we just put on lighter clothing.

Late in the afternoon we walked about a mile to the only restaurant in Titusville that is open on Sunday night -- Cracker Jacks. There was live music and a beautiful moonrise.


"Stomp Box Steve" belts out a tune as the moon comes up


Moonrise under the Titusville Bridge

On Monday, we left Titusville and turned north up the Indian River. As we approached the "Haulover" we actually bumped the bottom as we motored in the middle of the channel. It spooked us a little bit and kept us on our toes throughout the day. The "Haulover" is a mile-long canal that connects the Indian River to Mosquito Lagoon.


These yachts reminded us of home.

A little after noon, the wind came up out of the east and we were able to motor sail our way into New Smyrna Beach, which we reached at about 2:00 p.m. We called the Municipal Marina and -- big surprise -- they had room for us. In all my travels I have only been turned away by one Marina that was totally full (Miami Beach Marina on New Year's Eve).

As we were filling out our paperwork in the Marina office, the harbormaster asked us if we knew the owners of the other sailboat in the marina from Chattanooga. Are you kidding?! We were introduced, and we had a great visit with the couple (who actually live in Dunlap). We also met their dogs...who barked at the cat on a leash. I'm not making this up.


We walked a few blocks into the town from the marina. It is a very pretty little town that is 200 years old, a rarity in Florida.


We had a great meal at a picnic table restaurant near the marina and then headed back to the boat to watch the BCS National Championship game on TV. Congratulations Alabama!




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