Life in the Slow Lane (The Pearl)

April 26 - Hontoon Island State Park

Park Dock
“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” —T.S. Eliot

We began our morning with a visit to the farmers market that is held on 3rd Street. It wasn't large but had a nice variety of things. We picked up some delicious strawberries and a loaf of bread. After lunch we began our return trip to Jacksonville...we are now moving downstream. It was a beautiful Saturday and boats were everywhere enjoying the day. A large part of the river we traveled on this afternoon was posted as low speed (because of manatees) so having so many boats around really wasn't a problem, but with all the activity and noise on the river, the only wildlife we saw today was human.

The weather is beginning to warm up in the afternoons, so we decided to dock at Hontoon Island State Park this evening, so we could have electricity and plug in the AC. The next few days we will be anchoring around Lake George, so we can visit a few more springs. Starting tomorrow night we’ll have to adjust to sleeping in warmer temperatures. We had a nice evening visiting with other boaters on the dock and fixing a wonderful steak dinner. Life on the river is good…at least for now!

Sanford waterfront

Farmers market in Sanford

The main street in the historic district of Sanford

A busy day on the river

The cutest boat we saw today

It was very busy around Blue Spring State Park

April 25 - Sanford, FL

Monroe Habour Marina

Today was a much needed workday. It's been over two weeks since the boat has been washed and longer since I've done laundry. So while Stan took care of the outside of the boat I did the inside. It wasn't an exciting morning, but no matter where you live the housework and yard have to be done...ok we don't have a yard, but who at home has to wash the outside of their house? After lunch we went to the grocery store...it's also been over two weeks for that too and we were out of everything fresh.

When we finished our work we went for a bike ride along the Riverwalk, it’s a wide path that runs along Lake Monroe. Sanford has done a good job in fixing up the waterfront and there are several pretty parks along the Riverwalk for families to play and people can fish from any spot along the path.

Sanford is known as the "Historic Waterfront Gateway City," it sits on the southern shore of Lake Monroe at the head of navigation on the St. Johns River. The city sits approximately 20 miles northeast of Orlando. The historic Sanford Memorial Stadium was built in 1951 on the site of the old Sanford Field, which was originally built in 1926. The new stadium was built as the spring training facility for the New York Giants. Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson, Willie Mays, Tim Raines, and David Eckstein have all played baseball in Sanford and it was the location where Jackie Robinson first took to the field in 1946 to play baseball as a member of a white Class AAA International League. Unfortunately, for us, this stadium is no longer used for a spring training facility for any team. It would have been fun to watch a team work out or see a game.

Monroe Harbour Marina

Downtown Sanford

One of the pretty homes along our route to the grocery store

Part of the Riverwalk

Veterans Memorial Park located on the Riverwalk

April 24 - Sanford, FL

Monroe Habour Marina

"There is more to us than we know. If we can be made to see it, perhaps, for the rest of our lives, we will be unwilling to settle for less." - Kurt Hahn

We woke up to fog this morning...good thing leaving early isn't part of our agenda this year. By the time we had a leisurely breakfast and got things ready on the boat the fog had lifted and we were left with another beautiful day. Our destination today was Sanford, our most southern point on the St. John's River. The river is narrow from Blue Spring to Lake Monroe and the banks seem to have a little more elevation, less marshy and few water hyacinth. It just seems to get prettier the further south we go. The area is known for having a lot of manatees, so travel is slow in this area of the river. We didn't see any manatees today but we did see A LOT of alligators. They seemed to be enjoying the sun as much as we were.

We arrived at our marina in downtown Sanford right after lunch. It'll be nice to be in a marina for a few days. We have a lot of things to catch up on...like laundry, grocery shopping and cleaning the boat, but those things can wait until tomorrow. This afternoon we wandered around the historic downtown section of Sanford and Stan got a much needed haircut.

This evening we went to the Breezeway Restaurant for happy hour. They have live music Thursday thru Saturday, today it was karaoke. Neither of us have been to a karaoke night and didn't know what to expect, but these folks were very good and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We had dinner at the Willow Tree Cafe. A German restaurant that we were told about from everyone who'd been to Sanford. We both had amazing meals and the atmosphere and music makes you think you've been transported to Germany.

One of the many alligators we saw today.