It’s the first day of spring, yet decidedly unspring-like in Fernandina Beach, Florida. We have awakened to dense fog, and the scenery in late March looks just like the little tapestry I did of our view here back in early January. I am always going to think of St. Mary’s River in the gloaming…
There was a lunar eclipse this morning that I’ve heard was quite dramatic throughout northern Europe. Here, I was quite excited to get up early (5.30 am) and view it, but since we had thick fog it was not meant to be!
On the morning when we left St. Augustine I saw a most alluring trick of light. At one point during the sun’s rise from the horizon the water of St. Augustine turned a lovely color of cornflower blue! I’ve never seen anything like it! And the boats at anchor were glowing white as if they were lit from within. It only lasted a moment—maybe not even 10 minutes—and it was so lovely!
The day we traveled north from St. Augustine to Fernandina Beach got windier and grey as the day wore on. By early afternoon we had apparent wind of 25 – 30 mph coming straight at us. It was screaming! And with the tide against us as well we made very slow progress. Long day. We were exhausted when we got to Fernandina.
So it was lovely to wake up to a beautiful morning here yesterday. We took advantage of the day to spend some time ashore. Along the residential streets there are azaleas in bloom, along with camellias and even some wistera blooming amidst the palm trees. Now that’s an odd sight!
Charming houses along the residential streets…
The business district of town has some classic early 20th buildings. Here are the courthouse and the Post Office.
And a view down the main street in town.
There are some great shops in Fernandina and some enticing restaurants. I am particularly tempted by a shop with some funky, hand-made looking shoes. Since we have fog this morning I may go back and try on a couple of pairs.
When Bob filled some water jugs on the dock yesterday, he was right near the fish cleaning station. Several pelicans thought it was handout time for fish scraps, and they stared Bob down waiting. Unfortunately he had nothing to give them and they were not happy about that! None of my photos quite catch the condescending looks these birds give you!–probably due to always having their beaks down so they look like they are looking down their ‘noses’ at everyone!
My coral sweater is finished!—I even wore it during the windy, cloudy travel day here. No photo yet, but here is the pattern I used—sort of. My sweater doesn’t look much like this photo at all.
First of all, I don’t do hoods, so my sweater has a K2, P2 ribbed neckline leading into the Henley neck opening. Then the color is bright watermelon, or coral, linen/cotton blend of Berrocco’s “Linsey.” I finished the bottom of the sweater and the sleeve cuffs with the same K2, P2 ribbing that I used on the neck. Voila!
I still have to sew on the 2nd sleeve of my “For Irene” sweater designed by Carol Sunday. I don’t know how successful my version is. I made the body rather A-line below the armscythe. That is a good look on me, but I may have overdone it! It is quite large at the bottom. I don’t have a full length mirror on board, so I can’t tell. I guess I’ll find out when we get to our hotel in April for the upcoming wedding. If I don’t like it, it will not be hard to fix, although not in time to wear for the wedding. I can leave the sweater completely sewn together at the sleeves and shoulders and just undo the side seams near the bottom of the sweater and re-knit with fewer increases. Luckily it was knit from the top down, so it will unravel easily! Hoping I don’t have to do this—and hoping I can muster some energy for sewing in that final sleeve! I am a slug when it comes to assembling sweaters.
So after a bit of shoe shopping this morning, we plan to sail to Cumberland Island midday—if the fog lifts. Cumberland is a lovely spot, with wild horses, and wonderful shells. I always meant to make some wreaths with the shells I gathered here two years ago. Maybe I’ll finally get to that this summer…
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