It was time for us to depart Abaco & head back across to the U.S. Apparently everyone else had the same idea (the AIS symbols only show about 1/2 of the boats which were underway).

Halfway across the Atlantic, our tired little friend took a much needed a rest.

Nearing Florida (with our “Q” flag raised) – note the CALM, CALM Atlantic Ocean!!

Our first order of business once in Vero Beach was to replace our genset exhaust hoses – my tape, foil & cable ties just barely held up while in the Bahamas. The new hose is at the bottom of the photo – it turns out the old hose was only rated for water (not hot exhaust water or gases) so it was literally baking apart.

We’re not in the Bahamas anymore 😦

This cute Doggie Library is located next to the Vero Beach City Marina.

Our first donuts in 4 months! From St. Augustine, we Ubered to Parlour Donuts – a new favorite mini-chain expanding in the south with flaky, layered donuts – great flavors without being too sweet.

Springtime – with osprey nests on nearly every marker.

Diane (head of table in right hand photo) & Alex (not shown) invited us to a fantastic gourmet dinner at their condo in Cocoa Beach, overlooking our Twin Sisters (circled). This dinner was years in the making as we passed each other on the Connecticut River 3 years ago, Lori kept in touch & we finally met in person – such is the cruising life! Mike & Ann (seated to the right) we met 12 years ago & frequently meet up, especially as missing cruising since selling their boat, just bought another boat!

Paddlewheel boats aren’t something we often see on the ICW, but this one was being re-located from Florida to North Carolina for the summer.

Passing a dredge is always a challenge, especially at 1′ LESS than a normal low tide. This one used boom anchors (cables I highlighted in yellow) to move back & forth. The operator told us to hug the boom by 15′, then turn sharply around to its stern – he DIDN’T warn me that we first had to go over a shallow 4′ spot (likely formed by the dredging operation, as depth immediately climbed to 13′).

We have now crossed into Georgia, hiding out for 2 days waiting the passing of a nasty front (complete with a nearby tornado warning). Every time our radio blared with an alert tone & “TORNADO WARNING! … evacuate to your basement or strong structure …”, Lori just gave me a dirty look & went back to her beading…

The upcoming week or so shows nearly perfect traveling weather, so we’ll likely “zoom” getting thru Georgia, South Carolina & into North Carolina as springtime is often volatile with nasty thunderstorms & more.