Welcome To Belize

Just a very brief update to let you know we have arrived in Belize on 5/1/11.  Please check in over the next week or so for a complete update.  Belize it or not we have been extremely busy since our last post on 3/1/11.  You won't believe some of the problems we've encountered.  As painful as it will be we'll share everything we've learned to help others who may wish to follow a similar course through life.  Stay tuned!

Belize or Bust



A Rose Amongst Thorns



Sunset Bay Marina

Well it's been sometime since our last post but Kris and I have covered a lot of territory over the past several weeks.  We are currently tied up at the dock at Sunset Bay Marina located on the St. Lucie river in Stuart, FL.  We plan to stay here until the first week of April and use the time to organize our move to Belize.  We anticipate leaving for Belize on or about the first week in May.  After our arrival in Stuart on 2/8/11 we rented a storage unit off I-95.  I had been negotiating with several car dealerships back in New York since early January.  Our 2009 Sonata was in storage in NY and it is not a suitable vehicle for the roads in Belize.  Therefore, we were searching for a 4WD pick up truck with 4 doors and good gas mileage.

Why move to Belize????

We made a deal on a 2011 Nissan Frontier with Marc Kuzio at Nissan North in Fulton, NY.  We flew back to NY on 2/16/11 to complete the deal.  We picked the truck up on the 17th and installed a tow hitch at U-Haul the next day.  All of our personal belongings were in storage at HC Storage in Westmoreland, NY.  We rented an 5'X8' trailer and packed up all of our possesions on Friday and Saturday.

Moving Day

On Sunday morning we met Kris's Mom and Dad for breakfast, packed a few remaining items into the trailer and set off on our drive back to Stuart towing a trailer full of memories of our life in Central New York.  As has been the case on this whole journey we have to thank several people for their assistance in helping us with this stage of the move.  Marc Kuzio the salesman at Nissan North understood our situation and negotiated openly an honestly by telephone and the internet.  Several other dealers who shall remain nameless refused to offer pricing or conduct negotiations on line.  Too bad for them because Kris and I got a great deal and they lost out on a sale.  Thanks again Marc!  My sister Marsey and her husband Alan let us store our Sonata in their garage from August until we traded it in.  It was great to have it inside and well protected during these many months.  Thanks Marsey and Alan!  My sister Becky opened her home to Kris and I while we were in CNY finalizing the car deal and packing up our belongings.  Her home was conveniently located to everything.  She was also instrumental in selling my 2001 Dodge Dakota Sport in mid January.  Thanks Becky!  Last but not least we'd like to thank Kris's dad Percy for his help loading the trailer.  It was a cold and blustery Sunday morning but Percy at age 96 was right there helping us load the last of our possessions.  What a man!  Thanks Percy!   While in NY we did have a chance to visit our old dockmates Sam and Barb for an evening of cocktails and laughs.  We keep the home fires burning knowing that the four of us will one day sail together again.  On Saturday evening Kris and I joined my sister Becky for dinner at Ventura's restaurant an East Utica landmark.  Without a doubt Utica has the best Italian restaurants in the country and Ventura's is one of the best in Utica.  We had a great time and the food was excellent.  We took our time driving back to Stuart making stops in Chambersburg Pennsylvania, North Myrtle Beach and St. Augustine FL.

View from Hotel Rosselle South, N Myrtle Beach

 While in North Myrtle Beach we stayed with Kris's sister Kathy and brother in law Mike at their condo on the beach.  We had a great time catching up but regrettably had to leave the next day to get back to Stuart.  We arrived back in Stuart on 2/23/11.  All of our belongings are now in storage and we're shopping for furniture and appliances for our home in Belize.  The next several weeks will be spent negotiating with shipping companies and getting the boat stored on the "Hard" at the Indiantown Marina.  This will be an extremely busy time for us but it's very exciting as well.  We love the Stuart area.  Sunset Bay Marina is friendly and the restaurant at the marina "Sailor's Return" has live music Wed - Sunday nights.  Acts very from Blues to Jazz to contemporary rock music.  A river walk runs from the marina to historic Stuart along the southfork of the St. Lucie river.  A bandstand is located on the river when you reach the historic district.  The City of Stuart sponsors live bands perfoming free of charge on weekends and holidays.

Riverwalk Concert

 We caught a fantastic latino group called the Mosca Project one Sunday afternoon.  They really got the crowd on their feet and rocking.

 

Bathtub Beach, Hutchinson Island

 

Don't tread on me!!!!!



Bathtub Beach

We are just a few miles from the beaches on Hutchinson Island and plan to ride our bikes over several times each week time permitting.  Also we are close to many family and friends.  Son Marc is living in West Palm Beach and my sister Marsey is also down for a couple of months at their home in West Palm Beach.  This past weekend we drove over to Rotonda, Fl. located just south of Venice where we visited Ihor and our friends Gary and Gail Rushford who we worked with at the CNYDSO.  Gary and Gail have a home in Englewood and we went out to lunch for Gary's birthday.  We really had a good time. Now that we have a car and we're staying at a marina our life has become a bit more conventional.  We'll enjoy the relative stability for the next few weeks as we're certain to encounter many new adventures as we settle into our Belizean home.  The weather is outstanding with temperatures in the high 70's and low 80's with blue skies and sunshine everyday.  That's about it for now.  We'll keep you all posted on the move.  Belize or bust!

Extra Crew???

Titusville - Melbourne - Vero Beach & Nettles Island.

We left New Smyrna Beach at 8:40 on the morning of 1/24.  The weather continues to warm and we were able to take the Bimini down and catch the sunshine by early afternoon.  The intracoastal waterway is wide and well marked in this section.  We saw more dolphin on this leg of the journey than we have at any other location.  Kris also spotted a flock of flamingos on a small island in the Indian River.  This is the first time we have ever seen these birds in the wild.  Quite a sight! 

Titusville Memorial Park

We arrived at the Titusville City Marina at 1:35 in the afternoon.  Titusville is on the western shore of the intracoastal waterway directly across from the Cape Canaveral Space Center.  Several parks dot the coastline of the waterway commemorating significant achievements of the United States Space program.  A memorial park dedicated to the astronauts who lost their lives in the Apollo 1 fire in 1967, the Challenger explosion on January 28th 1986 and the Columbia disaster on February 1, 2003 is maintained by the City of Titusville.  While we were there the City held a large memorial service at the site commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Challenger explosion.

Gregory Jarvis Memorial Plaque

Gregory Jarvis a graduate of Mohawk High School a small town near our home in CNY was a technician aboard that flight.  While in Titusville we had a chance to talk with our friends from the Fair Haven Yacht Club Tom and Ruth Lee.  Tom and Ruth are wintering at New Smyrna Beach and we just missed a chance meeting at the Farmers Market we visited while in NSB.  As always it was nice to catch up with old friends and rewarding to know they enjoy reading our blog postings.  We're spending several days at each stop on the Florida intracoastal and enjoying every minute.

Beautiful Telemar Bay

After leaving Titusville on the morning of the 27th we continued down the ICW approximately 35 miles to Telemar Bay Marina located just north of Melbourne, FL.  This little marina had been recommended by a fellow sailor (Dan The Man) we met at the Castleton Yacht Club.  He told us he had lived at the marina for several years while residing in Florida and it catered to sailors.  He didn't steer us wrong.  We mentioned "Dan The Man" to the marina staff and although it had been several years since he resided there his legacy lives on!  Melbourne FL. sits in the middle of a great fruit and vegetable farming area.  Each morning we would visit a small vegetable stand a couple operated near the marina.  The tomatoes and strawberries were picked fresh daily and were out of this world!  We continued on to Vero Beach on the morning of the 29th.  We had been looking forward to Vero Beach as we had been told the City Marina had moorings at reasonable rates, free shuttle transportation and was well maintained.  We found all the reports to be true.  Highlights of our stop in Vero Beach included a reunion with John and Ann the couple we travelled with for 10 days while transitting the NC ICW.  John and Ann were staying with friends in Vero Beach. We got together for a wonderful evening which included dinner at Bobby's, conversation about family, friends and our continuing travels.

Marc & Ihor

 Our son Marc drove up from West Palm Beach for a visit the following day.  We had lunch, walked the beach and streets of Vero Beach, and took a ride in Marc's car to see a little more of the surrounding area.  Vero Beach is a very classy community and we liked the area very much.  Kris and I once again feel the need to express how much we value our family and friends.  Somehow our journey continues to heighten our awareness of how blessed we are to have such wonderful people in our lives.  Our original plan was to leave Vero Beach and head directly to Stuart Florida which is located at the beginning of the Okeechobee waterway.  However in looking at the charts we realized we would be passing by Hutchinson Island.  I had heard a great deal about this island from a former co-worker who vacationed here several times in recent years.  Being in no hurry we decided to stop and check it out.  We found a small marina located on Nettles Island at Jensen Beach.   This area is actually part of Hutchinson Island's intracoastal coastline.  We arrive on the afternoon of 2/1.  The marina sits in the middle of a gated residential development called Nettle's Island Estates.  It's less than a half mile walk to Jensen Beach.

Deserted Beach on Hutchison Island

The ocean side beaches in this area comprise a section of Florida's Atlantic coastline called the Treasure Coast.  We're told the many shipwrecks off this section of Florida result in various treasures being washed ashore after heavy storms and hurricanes.  In conversation with a fisherman I met on the beach he told me that the beaches were actually closed by law enforcements after the most recent hurricane until the debris had been sifted through.  Historic artifacts such as gold coins or relics from sunken ships routinely wash up on these shores.  Marc and his friend Ihor came up on Saturday the 5th and stayed overnight on the boat.  We had dinner at Shuckers on the beach Saturday night, went to church at Holy Family Church in Port St. Lucie on Sunday and walked a deserted section of beach on the northern section of the island looking for shells and relics Sunday afternoon.

Beachcombers

Great time!  Tomorrow 2/8 we'll be moving down to Stuart FL.  We plan to stay the next month at the Sunset Bay Marina in Stuart.  What's been left unreported in this blog is the time we're spending finalizing arrangements for our move to Belize.  Stay tuned for our next posting where we'll share specifics on our plans and timetable to make this move.

MISCELLANIOUS PICS

 



Space Park



JFK

Aerospace Park



Palm Coast - Daytona Beach & New Smyrna Beach

Wild life close up

We continue our casual cruise down the northeastern section of Florida's intracoastal waterway.  After our stay in St. Augustine we moved onto Palm Coast Marina located approximately halfway between St. Augustine and Daytona Beach.  Palm Coast is a medium sized marina connected to a rather large condominium complex.

Palm Coast Condos

 We discovered that many of the boats are seasonal return guests who travel from points farther north to winter at Palm Coast.  The marina is very well maintained and the staff treat you has though you've been their guests for years.  On 1/19/11 we left Palm Coast for the 34 mile trek to Daytona Beach.

Daytona Beach- Getting warmer!

 Daytona Beach represented one of those milestones in our journey.  We used to visit Kris's Mom and Dad in Daytona Beach before we owned Dalliance.  In those days we visited Inlet Harbor and the Marina adjacent the Boondocks restaurant in Daytona Beach Shores.

Boondocks Restaurant at Adventure Yacht Harbor

  At this time in our lives we had only distant dreams of someday setting sail and tying up at the various marinas in the Daytona Beach area.  Once again on 1/19/11 our dreams became reality and we tied up at the Adventure Yacht Harbor in Daytona Beach Shores adjacent to the Boondocks restaurant.  The two days we stayed at AYH were sunny with cool temperatures in the morning but warming into the 60's by mid - afternoon.  We were able to spend sometime on the beach, catch up on some reading and re - provision the boat thanks to Paul on Irish Rover.

Beach Club Condo

One afternoon we took a walk around the Shores and took photographs of the various condominiums Kris's Mom and Dad had stayed at over the 25 + years they wintered in Daytona Beach Shores.


Sea Shell Villa- Party central

 It was a pretty nostalgic experience.  We tried to meet an old friend of theirs Ray Barkey who still lived aboard his sailboat at AYH.  The morning we left we stopped by his boat but Ray wasn't aboard.  We were anxious to get underway on the morning of the 21st.  Over the Xmas holiday we had exchanged phone numbers with Kris's uncle Jack who was staying for a few months in New Smyrna Beach.

Dorothy, Kris & Jack at City Dock

 We spoke with Jack after our arrival in Daytona Beach and told him we planned to be in NSB by Friday the 21st.  We were anxious to get to NSB to see Jack and his lovely wife Dorothy.  We arrived at City Marina in NSB approximately noon.  The short trip down had been a wet one due to a steady rain.  We quickly secured the boat, took hot showers and called Jack and Dorothy to meet for a late lunch.  Jack recommended the Steakhouse restaurant and no one left disappointed with their meal.  After lunch Jack took Kris and I on a tour of the NSB area.  We gained a great deal of knowledge from Jack regarding the real estate in the area and the numerous condominium complexes along the ocean and river.

Home Show on Canal St

Canal Street

On Saturday morning Kris and I did breakfast at Jason's on historic Canal St.  After breakfast we took in the Home Show and Farmers Market all happening in the open air of historic downtown NSB.  We found a Sports Bar "Merk's" around noon and watched with disappointment as Syracuse got beat by Villanova in the Dome.  Of course the couple sitting next to us were from Philadelphia and took every opportunity to remind us of this fact.  Jack stopped by the boat for a few minutes on Saturday afternoon and confirmed arrangements to pick Kris and I up for Sunday Mass.  Sunday was full of surprises.  Jack got us to Mass a full half hour before it was scheduled to start.  He said it was to get his seat closest to the exit leading to the coffee and bagels in the parish center after mass.  Kris and I suspect he felt we needed the extra prayer time after months at sea.  We made plans after mass to meet Jack and Dorothy for a late lunch at "Merks" and watch some of the Green Bay - Chicago game.  When Jack arrived at 2:30pm he brought Molly and Howard Waddell old friends from the DDSO over to see us.  Kris and I knew Howard and Molly were in the Daytona - NSB area and had mentioned their names to Jack on Friday.  It was by complete coincidence they stopped by to visit Jack and Dorothy while we were in NSB.  It was a nice reunion and both Howard and Molly look fantastic.  Kris, Jack, Dorothy and I went onto "Merks" to watch the game.  The place was packed but Jack got us a table.  It turned out later the owner took a "shine" to uncle Jack.   We plan to leave NSB early tomorrow morning and head down to Titusville.  We'll leave with memories of a great time with Jack and Dorothy.  If we've learned anything on our "Journey" it's the value of family and friends.  Thanks for everything Jack and Dorothy.  We love you!


Crabby Joe's at the Daytona Beach Pier



On the Move!

We're underway once again!  We stayed an additional week at the Palm Cove Marina in Jacksonville Beach because we really liked the area.

Jacksonville Beach Pier

Several days were warm enough for us to get down to the beach and enjoy the sunshine.

Happy Captain

It's off season down there but most of the shops and restaurants were open.  Sneakers is a sports bar located on the beach where Kris and I stopped by to watch the NFL playoffs.  We had a few items shipped to the Marina office and used their fax machine to conduct some land based business.  We left Palm Cove on Sunday morining 1/16/2011 and took the ICW south to St. Augustine where this blog entry is being posted. 



Dalliance at the Bridge of Lions



Historic District land transportation




Fort Castillo de San Marcos by sea

 Yesterday afternoon and evening we took in the sites of St. Augustine's historic district.  The last time we visited the area was in 1995 on a family vacation.  Kris and I both were anxious to see if it was as nice as we remembered it.  We weren't disappointed.

Downtown at Night

Last night the temperatures warmed up and we were able to walk the streets well past dark in the warm evening air.  It felt real nice!



King St and Charlotte St

Progress on our home in Belize has been significant over the last couple of months.  We should be able to stay in our home the next time we go down which will be sometime early spring.  Kris and I have formulated a basic plan to make our move to Belize.

Fort Castillo by land

 We will bring Dalliance to the Indiantown Marina on the Okeechobee Waterway just west of Stuart Fla.  We expect to be there by early February.  We're going to take our time getting there planning to make stops and stay a few days in Daytona Beach, New Smyrna, Titusville, Vero Beach and Stuart.  While at Indiantown we will assemble all of our personal items for shipment to Belize.  These items will include our car, household appliances and furnishings.  We'll look to pull Dalliance out of the water in late spring and store it in the Indiantown area.  We're hopeful Indiantown Marina will be able to accommodate us.  We plan to remain in Belize until December 2011 at which time we'll return to Dalliance and make final preparations to sail her to Belize.  We expect this will be early in 2012.  Kris and I are both enjoying our journey more than ever.  So much of the uncertainty about our future plans has vanished.  Our home in Belize is a reality and we're actually going to be able to stay there although much finish work remains.  The pace we've set on Dalliance is leisurely and relaxed.  There's really no pressure or schedules we need to meet.  As a result we're seeing much more of Florida's east coast and enjoying every minute of it.  The weather is warming up down here and this only adds icing to the cake.  That's about it for now.  We'll be sure to keep you posted as we work to complete final arrangements for our move to Conesjo Belize, CA.  Stay tuned for our further adventures.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all our family and friends!  We had a wonderful Christmas Holiday back in central New York.  The whole family made it back to spend Christmas together.  It was a great time.

The Tilbe's

Special thanks go out to our hosts for the holidays Kathy and Mike Rosselle.  The accommodations and service at Hotel Rosselle is definitely five star.  Thanks again Kathy and Mike.  Kris and I returned to Dalliance on 1/4/11.  We're still at Palm Cove Marina in Jacksonville Beach Fla.  We're going to complete some routine maintenance and continue south on or shortly after 1/8/11.  Stay tuned for further posts as our journey continues.

Kris' mom and dad-Aggie & Percy Bush

Hotel Rosselle Host - Mike





The hostess with the mostest - Kathi

Christmas Day with Shannon's Family

The ICW Part V - St. Mary's con't, Fernandina & Jacksonville Beaches

Hello All!  It's been a couple weeks since our last post and we thought it would be a good time to check in with everyone.  We stayed at St. Mary's, GA. for twelve days.  This certainly wasn't planned but we really liked the place.  We also realized we were within a long days sail to our Christmas lay up at Palm Cove Marina in Jacksonville Beach, FL.  Why stay so long in St. Marys you might ask?  The last of the Thanksgiving cruisers had not yet left the harbor when the town held it's annual Christmas Tree lighting.

St Mary's Christmas Tree

Santa arrived in a white carriage with Mrs. Claus by his side.  At each intersection on the ride down the main thoroughfare lights decorating the trees would illuminate making for a truly magical entrance.  Of course when Santa touched the large Christmas tree located in the middle of the downtown square the tree lit up. The lights on the tree blended into a background of several sailboats with their rigging adorn with Christmas lights.  We'd only seen such a nautical Christmas scene in Holiday cards.  It was beautiful!

Nautical Decorations

Kris and I had not really thought much about Christmas until this night.  Thoughts of family and friends were on our minds and we both confessed to feeling a little homesick.  A visit from our son Marc was just the medicine we needed to take the blues away.

Marc's visit

Marc drove up to St. Mary's from West Palm Beach and stayed with us on Dalliance for two days.  We had a great time together.  Marc had a car which enabled us to do some provisioning.  We went out to dinner at the Silver City Steak House (one of the best T-Bone steaks I've ever had) and took the ferry over to Cumberland Island a must see if you're passing through this area.

Dungeness Ruins

The highlight of the Cumberland Island tour is the ruins of Dungeness, the former estate owned by Thomas and Lucy Carnegie in the late 1800 and early 1900's.  Horses roam freely around the island and in this very small ecosystem you'll see Oak lined lanes, a maritime forest, and white sand beaches.
Marc, Kris and I had a great time exploring the island and I think we were all a bit sad to see the sunset on the ferry ride back to St. Mary's.

Cumberland marsh

 For the remainder of our stay we enjoyed the company and hospitality of the residents of St. Mary's and the small town holiday atmosphere.

Cumberland Island Beach

 We left on St. Marys on Monday 12/6 and did a short ten miles to Fernandina Beach, FL.  Fernandina is located on Amelia Island bordered by the Atlantic Ocean and the Amelia River.  As you may be able to tell by it's name Spanish explorers settled Fernandina and it remained a Spanish military outpost well into the 18th century.  The town's architecture and historic points of reference highlight Spain's influence on the area. Fernandina boasts as being the home to the Palace Saloon famous the oldest bar in continuous operation in the state of Florida.  Of course Kris and I had to stop by to check it out.  We weren't disappointed.  The very attractive 20 something bar tender gave us information on the saloon's history.  We met Tony a local who really gave us the low down on the areas economy, real estate and restaurants.  The bar is famous for it's "Pirates Punch".  This drink is made with a combination of (7) different rums and fruit juice.  We were told one is not enough and (2) is too much!  Kris sampled the drink and endorses this recommendation.  Once again we reconnected with friends we met on the trip down.  Jim and Carol aboard White Lillie were in port.  We first met Jim and Carol in Oriental, NC.  We had not seen them since and were happy to get reacquainted.  We enjoyed a relaxing dinner together at O'Kanes Irish Pub and shared a little about our families and future plans.  We're almost sure that everyone we've met on the way down will be in the Florida Keys and the Bahamas when we return from the Christmas holidays  We're at Palm Cove Marina in Jacksonville Beach, Fl. at this posting.  We're preparing Dalliance for a month lay up and plan to fly out of Jacksonville on the 14th of December.  The weather hasn't been the best in Florida, but Kris or I are not looking forward to the severe winter weather we've been following in Central N.Y.  However, maybe McCauley Mountain will be open!  Kris and I want to wish all our friends and family a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!               

Armadillo