Greetings from "Hooter"ville!

The Admiral has informed the Captain that he will be writing this installment of the blog, seems there were too many "Man-Thangs" over the past five days for her to write about!

When we last left you the Admiral & I were getting ready to take my parents to Hooter's at the Jacksonville Landing. Mom had never been to a Hooter's and wanted to know what all the fuss was about. We enjoyed happy hour with the parents and mom now knows what "hooters" means to the rest of mankind! After leaving Hooter's we went next door to a new Mexican restaurant called Cinco de Mayo and filled up on some pretty good Mexican food. By the time we left the restaurant it was getting late so we each retired to our own boat.

Mom with our waitress, Janee.


The Happy Hooter's gang!


Thursday morning found "Vagabond IV" with dead batteries - another boat, another project. I got on the phone and found a NAPA warehouse about two miles from the Landing and by 9:30 we had new batteries delivered and installed in the parents' boat. After many hugs, thank-you's, and good-byes, "Life's2Short" pulled off the dock at the Landing and continued south, leaving "Vagabond IV" to wait for more company the following day.

We cruised for five hours on Thursday, enjoying being back in the saltwater and watching the dolphins surface and the ospreys catch lunch. While underway we called some fellow boaters, Jim & Danette aboard "Peace," who we talked to on the radio this past fall on the St. John's River. "Peace" had told us they had a dock in Palm Coast that we were welcome to tie up to, and to be sure and call them when we were headed south.

After talking with Jim & Danette we made plans to see them on their dock about 2:00 the following day. Just a short while later our phone rang and some friends that were also traveling with "Peace" this past fall, Barry & Barbara aboard "Iffin," invited us to join them on Friday evening for a free concert at the Palm Coast branch of Daytona Beach State College. The outdoor concert was featuring big band music by a group called The Moonlighters Swing Band. We happily accepted "Iffin's" invitation to the concert since Jim & Danette had a house full of visitors and we knew they would be busy and didn't need any more interruptions.  We dropped the hook Thursday afternoon at Pine Island and enjoyed a sunny afternoon and calm evening before retiring to the aft cabin.

A few shots of some "Fixer-Uppers" along the Intracoastal Waterway.



As planned we arrived in Palm Coast about 2:00 p.m. and got tied up to Jim & Danette's dock, after we finally figured out which one it was...it was the dock with Danette waving her arms at us! We met Danette and talked a little about boaters we both know, then invited her back down to the boat for happy hour, where we were joined by Barry & Barbara before leaving for the concert.  Jim joined us briefly but had other commitments up at the house.

During happy hour we found out that the next day (Saturday) was going to be the final day of Bike Week in Daytona Beach and that we should really attend...more on that later! We left for the concert around 6:45 and had a most enjoyable time listening to the wonderful music. After the concert we stopped by Barbara & Barry's home for a tour, and the Captain even got to tour "Iffin," a 50-foot Marine Trader. Thanks again "Iffin," for a fun evening!

Our hosts for the evening, Barbara & Barry.


The Moonlighters Swing Band.


Jim & Danette at their beautiful home in Palm Coast.


A shot of "L2S" tied up to the dock in Palm Coast.


Saturday morning we got up and spent a little time with Jim & Danette and one of the guys staying with them, also named Todd. Jim & Danette actually had four guys from Texas who rode their Harleys to Daytona Beach for the week's events, and they were hosting a couple of them aboard "Peace," which made a perfect "Hog-Heaven" and two more in their house!

We pulled off their dock about 9:30 as the Captain was very excited to experience the final day of Bike Week. The Admiral, however, was a little scared about what she was getting herself into! A BIG thanks to Jim & Danette for hosting us for the night. We hope to see you again along the waterway!

It was an uneventful three-hour cruise to Daytona Beach and we had dropped the hook by 1:30 just south of the dual Seabreeze Bridges. After having a little lunch and putting the dinghy down we motored over to a dock that Jim & Danette told us about and tied up. Everywhere around you you could hear the roar of motorcycles, seems Daytona Beach was very much alive!  We walked the four blocks to downtown Daytona Beach and were immediately absorbed into the huge crowd of bikes, bikers, wanna-be-bikers, babes, and not-so-much-babes! I don't know how many thousands of bikes were there, or how many people, let's just say it was a BUNCH!

The Admiral and I spent the afternoon walking up one side of the street and then the other side, stopping many times for refreshments & photo opportunities. As the sun was setting we were beginning to cool off so we snuck back over to "Life's2Short" to change into warmer clothes and then we headed back out again. The dark didn't seem to slow the crowds down at all, in fact we think it got even busier. One of the reasons, I'm sure, for the even bigger crowds was the wet t-shirt & bikini contests that seemed to be happening in every bar...oh darn for that! ;-) We finally called it a night about 10:00 and were happy to be back on board "L2S" safe & sound, well maybe safe but I can't say real sound!

Welcome to Daytona Beach, FL...


Home of...


The gang's all here!




Hoochie Mama!


Kind of like an adult "Big-Wheel"...kind of.


Love that leather & lace!


The Captain with Playmate Mia McKinley, I'm the one on the left.


Miss "Can U C Yourself in Me!" If you can't tell, her breasts have mirrors on them.

Seems the City Council has banned nudity in Daytona Beach, this poor young girl had to wear tape on her nipples...look hard and you will see it!


At the time of the photo we didn't realize we were posing with a true White Supremacist.


What a great slogan!


A very entertaining lineup.


Loved the shirt, only at Bike Week.


Some very nice rides!




Pulling a coffin?


Sorry guys, this was the best shot I could get of the pole-dancing bikini contest. There were way too many rough-looking folks to wade through to get to the stage.


Sunday morning we slept in until 9:30, thanks to the time change. However, we awoke with some pretty foggy brains and had to laugh at all the fun we had the previous day. After finally getting motivated we pulled up the anchor about noon and started off for New Smyrna Beach. I thought I was leaving all the craziness behind but we hadn't been underway more than a half mile when, as we were passing under the Main Street Bridge, there stood a rough-looking "Harley-Mama" on the bridge. She was dressed in complete leathers, top pulled down, and boobs hanging to her waist...what a way to remember our last sight of Bike Week...too funny! Damn, now where did I put my camera?

Daytona Beach at this time of year has to be one on-going party. They had the Daytona 500 two weeks ago, Bike Week this past week, and Spring Break crowds start arriving next week. I wonder how long it takes the police and locals to wind down after these party-charged events?

Back to Sunday.... We had a long seventeen-mile day and arrived in New Smyrna Beach about 2:00. The anchorage we had planned to use was full of abandoned sailboats, a sight more & more common with the bad economy, so we checked out a new anchorage that is located between the two bridges here in town. The anchorage worked out great, wonderful holding in a no-wake zone. The rest of the day Sunday was spent napping, reading, relaxing, and recouping from the previous day. Sunday evening I barbecued chicken on the grill and the Admiral steamed a big batch of fresh asparagus. Oddly enough, we were in bed by 9:00 and sound asleep by 9:01!

Monday we decided not to move. We were enjoying our new anchorage and wanted to walk around New Smyrna Beach. The Captain spent the morning writing the blog and both the Admiral & Captain cleaned up for their trip into town. We dinghied over to The Grille at Riverview, and since the docks at the restaurant are fixed and very high, they allowed us to raft to a commercial dive boat that had not moved in weeks...another sign of the economic times. The bartender said it would be okay for us to leave our dinghy rafted up to the dive boat while we walked through town and did a little shopping.

New Smyrna is a pretty, sleepy little tourist trap with many gift shops and restaurants. The main street is a half mile, running from the Intracoastal Waterway east to the Atlantic Ocean. On our way back we again stopped in at The Grille at Riverview and enjoyed a couple of their half-priced happy hour hors d' oeuvres. While sitting there nibbling on our food we met Woody, the former mayor of Mount Crested Butte, CO. Woody and I starting talking, no surprise there, and come to find out we both know a guy I fished with this past summer while I was back in Colorado...small world! Woody has since relocated to Seattle but is in Florida visiting family.

A group of fishermen coming in from a day on the water.


Brenda enjoying the sunshine at The Grille. "L2S" is in the distant background.


A serious pasttime in New Smyrna Beach.


It is now Tuesday, March 10th, and we had an uneventful four-hour cruise from New Smyrna to Titusville. Our goal is to be in the Cape Canaveral area by tomorrow afternoon to watch the launch of the Discovery space shuttle, currently scheduled for 9:20 p.m. Wednesday evening. We hope to be anchored nearby to witness this moment in history. It should be quite a site!