May 4 - Florida

We departed Amelia Island Yacht Basin early and headed south.

These bridges are still cool.  This is a railroad swing bridge with a road passing over the intracoastal.

Motoring to the ocean from Amelia Island was further than anticipated so we opted to stay in the intracoastal.

The babies had their usual setup.

The bridge from the intracoastal to the St. Johns River in Jacksonville FL.  We just love watching them open upon request.

After passing under the bridge and entering the very busy St. Johns River we were met with this.

Boating in this area gives a whole new meaning to "Big Boat Rules".  This particular ship was 649 ft long to give you an idea of "big boat". The commercial captains we have encountered have been very professional and courteous.  While being around these big ships is intimidating, all those rules in the captain's manual I read apply to these guys and its great knowing what they know.

Approaching Jacksonville FL

We took a right, away from the ocean and the intracoastal and headed for the Jacksonville Municipal Marina. The great thing about this concrete floating dock marina was the price.  It was FREE for as long as 72 hours and free dockage along our route is a fantastic find.  Power and water were available and of course you have to pay for power but the rates were great and did I mention the dockage was FREE :)
The Marina is a bit out of the way.  After passing the Dames Point Bridge, it was another 12 miles to the marina.  All up, about 20 miles one way out of the way.

Lots of bridges in Jacksonville.

The view from the marina.

The marina was in protected water from the St. Johns River so it was calm and quiet.  There were numerous cranes and other birds that liked hanging out on the dock.

Second Chance at the Jacksonville Municipal Marina.

As we arrived at just about dark, we settled in and chilled for the evening.