Florida East Coast Part 2

Willys is safely back in NC and we have enjoyed our week visiting back, but it is time to return to Journey in Titusville.  Deadpool has been keeping a good watch over her while we were gone.  We explore, some more of Titusville.  A friendly community that we loved.
Next we head out to anchor and stage for the rocket launch which we were able to return in time for.  We made our way out in front to the launch area and settled in, but the launch was delayed a day due to winds so we were rocking one extra day to see the launch.  We were not really enjoying our anchoring but after watching the launch we changed our minds and of course the sunsets tried to also make it all better.  WE were up early for the launch.  Pretty funny listening to us because the live stream was almost a minute behind, so the launch confused us a first.  This was a great experience.  Breathtaking to watch.  So glad we were able to experience this first hand.  
The rocket is up and the sun is rising so it is time to continue moving north.  Hoping to make Fort Matanza by sunset.  We passed through some remote areas before New Smyrna Beach and catching our first glimpse of the Ponce de Leon inlet lighthouse.  I just love lighthouses so sorry for all the different shots of this beautiful lighthouse.  As we pass through Daytona but continue on north to Fort Matanza Where we spot Poseidon looking over the waterway and catch sight of one of the many Bald Eagles we will see on our Journey north.
We make the fort and the anchorage and are welcomed by our dolphin friends.  The Fort is still closed due to Covid  Why is this fort here just 15 miles south of St. Augustine?  According to  OhRanger.com Here is some history on Fort Matanzas
 The Massacre:  The first conflict goes back to 1565, the year of the founding of St. Augustine and almost 175 years before the construction of Fort Matanzas. This is when another story was played out at the Matanzas Inlet--the massacre of the French Huguenots, the incident that led to the naming of the river, Matanzas, the Spanish word for "slaughters".  
The British Threat:  By 1740, it was no longer the French, but rather the British who were a threat to the Spanish Florida colony.  Whoever controlled Florida controlled the rich shipping lanes coming from the Spanish Caribbean. The British had unsuccessfully laid siege to St. Augustine twice (1702 and 1740). Florida Governor Montiano knew the British would be back and would most likely attempt to come through the unguarded inlet at Matanzas. So, he immediately ordered a fort to be built to guard these southern approaches-- Fort Matanzas. 
Oglethorpe's Attack of 1740:  Just as the 1702 Siege grew out of a larger European conflict, so would the next attack on St. Augustine-- James Oglethorpe's Siege of 1740, which grew out of the War of Jenkin's Ear, a dispute between Britain and Spain over trade in the Caribbean.
The Building of Fort Matanzas and British Challenges:  The British siege convinced Governor Manuel de Montiano that he needed more than just a wooden tower at Matanzas Inlet. Had the British been able to seize that point, they would probably have been able to starve the city into surrender. Montiano, therefore, put his career on the line. He did not even ask the king's permission before he ordered engineer Pedro Ruiz de Olano to build a strong, stone tower at Matanzas.

After a quiet night at the fort we headed north to pass through St. Augustine.  We soon started seeing some beautiful homes and the Bridge of lions.  The city is beautiful from the water and we caught a glimpse of Islena on a mooring ball in the mooring field.  As you round toward the inlet you get a view of Castillo de San Marcos.  According to Wikipedia , here is some history of Castillo de San Marcos.

The Castillo de San Marcos (Spanish for "St. Mark's Castle") is the oldest masonry fort in the continental United States; it is located on the western shore of Matanzas Bay in the city of St. Augustine, Florida.
It was designed by the Spanish engineer Ignacio Daza, with construction beginning in 1672, 107 years after the city's founding by Spanish 
The possession of the fort has changed six times, all peaceful, among four different governments: Spain, 1695–1763 and 1783–1821, Kingdom of Great Britain, 1763–1783, and the United States of America, 1821–date (during 1861–1865, under control of the Confederate States of America).  Under United States control the fort was used as a military prison to incarcerate members of Native American tribes starting with the Seminole
Also as we pass through St. Augustine we see the Great cross.  Here is history of the cross courtesy of RoadsideAmerica.com

The plaque at the base of the cross, which is 208 feet high, says that it "marks the approximate site where in 1565 the cross of Christianity was first permanently planted in what is now the United States." That's right -- Jesus arrived in America here first, over a half-century before the Pilgrims even touched their toes to Plymouth Rock.
"The Great Cross" (as it's known) was erected in 1966 to mark the 400th anniversary of that momentous day. It's built of 70 tons of stainless steel plates, packed with concrete in its lower third to prevent toppling by hurricanes. It's part of the Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche, and its height was designed so that everyone near St. Augustine could see it, and be reminded "of the religious beginning of our nation," according to the plaque. At the time it was also the World's Tallest Cross -- as noted on old postcards -- but its heaven-scraping record has since been surpassed. 
And finally the St. Augustine Lighthouse guarding the inlet.  We catch sight of another bald eagle and head on into the free dock at sister creek just before some storms make their way into the area.