River Trip Day 9: Orange Park to East Palakta

Day 9: Tuesday, Dec. 9 Orange Park to East Palatka:

Engine seems to be fine. What I took for smoke may well have been steam. Unfortunately, the time spent investigating the “problem” put an end to our hopes for an early start and means a longer day on the water. To be on the safe side, we motored at low speeds most of the day and into the night. This stretch of river is wide, but less developed than the area around Jacksonville and we were able to relax and enjoy the scenery.

Wanting to put some miles behind us, we continued past Palatka and arrived at Corky Bell’s seafood restaurant about two hours after dark – and about 10 minutes after the kitchen closed! Drats, I was looking forward to a delicious seafood dinner. Instead, we were forced to walk across the street to Burger King. We spent the night at the dock behind Corky Bell’s, not realizing that overnight dockage was not allowed. The large motor yacht on the dock in front of us hid the sign! In any case, Corky Bell owner Betty Bell was gracious and even filled our ice chest for free! Bell and her family have close ties to the river and I am sure we will be in contact in the future.