19 December 2006

Titusville, Florida

December 19, 2006

We arrived in Titusville, Florida last night after motoring for two days from St. Augustine. We spent one night in Daytona Beach, Florida, but did not get off the boat and, alas, did not see the speedway. The scenery along the waterway has changed from marshland and barrier islands to paved over marshland and barrier islands with condos and high-rise buildings. We listen to NPR (National Public Radio) quite a lot (what a shocker, right?) and there is considerable discussion on the local stations about the amount of development in Florida with lots of pros and cons on both sides of the issue. Fittingly, on Sunday morning’s broadcast of “A Prairie Home Companion” the guest was Billy Collins, poet laureate, who read one of his poems which joked about the names of modern housing developments being requiems to the animals they displace (Fox Run, Pheasant Hollow, Deer Lane, etc.). The weather, however, can’t be beat and it’s pretty hard to complain about 75+ degree weather a few days before Christmas. But we’re planning on making some more lussebullar, pepparkakor and other Christmas food to remind ourselves that it’s Christmas.


The typical clutter in the cockpit towards the afternoon.


The backside of Daytona Beach in the morning.


The Jay Jay Railroad bridge open for boats to pass through.



Hans hoisted Kristen to the top of the mast last night to install the new and revised SSB antenna (thanks James Baldwin!) so she took the opportunity to take a couple photos of Whisper and the anchorage.