Ortega Landing

Ortega Landing

Settling in at Ortega is easy – Steve loves the hot tub on a regular basis. Seriously, it does not take long to readjust to consistent power, secure docks, and nearby groceries. We arrived in time for the Halloween Party which added some fun.  Then we moved our floating home a mile up the Ortega River to Huckins for some repairs on our baby.  While the men were working we made a run to our dentist and eye doctors in Panama City and made a visit to our storage sheds.  Following our friends on Alizann we are reverting to our full-size bikes that were in storage.   Just getting them tuned up and back to the boat challenged our rental vehicle but master packer Steve managed!  With the boat still in the shed – entrance a good trick – we have not hoisted them up just yet – photos on that will be coming!

Other than a few short runs for fun we will be in Ortega until some vague date in the spring.  We have room for company and projects a plenty so head our way if you can. 

Take a peek at Julia’s Etsy shop to see what she has been up to while Steve labors on the boat! The link is on the right.

Much for which to be thankful

Much for which to be thankful

After a brief stop in GA where we enjoyed visiting looping friends on St Simmons and fueling up at Brunswick Landing, we headed off shore to the St John’s River and our winter home at Ortega Landing.  The hospitality of GA needs a mention as we visited two spectacular restaurants with EJ and Charlie – their generosity and talent as hosts are impressive. We are hoping they will find time to visit us in J’ville so we can make an attempt to reciprocate. 

One final comment – about the kindness of fellow boaters which we experience so often:  We wanted to stop at the free dock on Sister’s Creek after our off shore run from  Brunswick but knew we would arrive about sunset during this busy season.  If the dock was already full we wanted to avoid the short run up the creek and just hunt a spot on the river.  This dock has a self-appointed welcome host – Captain Browne Altman – who gave us his card on a previous visit.  So, from off shore we called him to check on the status of the dock.  He not only agreed to keep us updated on the space available but was on the dock in the early evening to catch our lines.  It is kindness of folks like Captain Altman and our friends in St Simmons that make the cruising life so special.