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Day 392
We arrived back in Florida on April 18, and had planned to have moved the boat to Jacksonville by today. But we are still at Old Port Cove Marina in North Palm Beach. Greg, Mike and I flew home last Sunday as we all had business and appointments to take care of. We enjoyed a little mini-reunion dinner with family members after our flight.
We had the marina staff change our fuel filters while we were gone so the mechanic had Mike start up the engines when we got back to the boat. It was quickly apparent all was not right. The initial diagnosis was dire - expensive and setting us back a month before resuming the Loop. A second look the next day by an independent certified diesel mechanic was much better - seal replacement on heat exchanger (radiator) on both engines and he hopes to have the work completed by Friday afternoon.
In the making lemonade out of lemons category - there are A LOT of worse places to be "stuck" for a week than North Palm Beach Florida! Along with the great weather and nice marina, the biggest benefit is we are 20 minutes from our nephew Ryan and his wife Christine. Before we went back to Michigan, they had us over to their new home for dinner, took us to their favorite burger joint, and Ryan drove us to the Ft. Lauderdale airport. We met for breakfast after church this morning and made plans to have a cookout this week. It's been a real treat spending time with them!
Greg, Ryan, Christine and me.
The extra time here also gave me the chance to visit the Flagler Museum in Palm Beach (per Ryan's suggestion). Have learned of Henry Flagler during our RV trip to St. Augustine several years ago, and becoming more aware of his accomplishments during our time in the Keys (he built the Overseas Railroad to Key West), I was eager to go to the museum. (Mike not so much - I went alone!)
Henry Flagler was born in 1830, the son of a minister. He is a prime example of the American Dream. With an 8th grade education, he worked in his brother-in-law's store and saved enough money to open a salt company in Saginaw, Michigan in 1862. Salt was used as a preservative by the Union Army and when the Civil War ended, the demand for salt dropped and Henry was out of business. He then partnered with John D. Rockefeller to start Standard Oil, which made him one of the richest men in the world.
Flagler's first wife was in poor health and upon a doctor's advice, brought her from New York to the warmer Florida climate. After retiring from Standard Oil, he devoted himself to the development of Florida. He envisioned a land where people would live and work along with providing a place for tourists to vacation. "It would be no exaggeration to say that Henry Flagler literally invented modern Florida". (taken from a bio of Flagler).
The museum is housed in Whitehall, the 75-room winter home Henry built as a wedding present for his 3rd wife, Mary Lily Kenan. It is just down the street from The Breakers, a Flagler hotel that is still in operation today.
Of Flagler's 3 residences (New York and St. Augustine), this Palm Beach house is the only one still standing. But even as a home, it was like a museum in the decor and art contained inside. Built in 1902, it boasted indoor plumbing, central heating, and electric lights. The New York Herald described Whitehall as "more wonderful than any palace in Europe, grander and more magnificent than any other private dwelling in the world." It is a perfect example of life in the Gilded Age.
Henry Flagler
Instead of zooming in closer, I chose to stand back and include the statue on the right as an example of the art in the home.
The entrance hall
The Grand Ballroom
The dining room
Flagler wanted to keep automobiles out of Palm Beach and guests at his 2 hotels in here
were transported in these early versions of pedi-cabs. He would have loved Mackinaw Island!
This is his personal railroad car that he traveled in and that he arrived at Key West in when his Overseas Railroad from Homestead to Key West opened.
Henry died in 1913 and his wife Mary Lily in 1917. They had no children, so Mary Lily left Whitehall to her niece, who sold it to investors for a hotel in 1925. In 1959, when the hotel was struggling financially, Henry's granddaughter, Jean Flagler Matthews, purchased the property, saving it from demolition. It opened as a museum in 1960. Mrs. Matthews is the daughter of Henry's only son by his first wife, Henry (Harry) Harkness Flagler.
Homes along the intracoastal in West Palm Beach.
Just to keep us humble in the land of mansions and mega yachts and 70 to 80 ft Viking sport fish boats with tuna towers, when I went to the office to sign up for a pump out, explaining what boat we were, the worker said, "Right. You are the little sport fish on A dock."
Greg and Karen plan to return to True North this Wednesday, and if all goes well with seal replacement, we will be resuming our Loop by the weekend. Just like when we started out, we are excited and a little nervous. Back in 2016, it was being on the rivers and going through locks that were a first time experience for us. Now it is the large tide swings, strong currents and shallow water on the east coast that will demand our full attention and give us butterflies!
Unique and Random Photo of the Day:
Mike down in a hatch in the floor of the back cockpit replacing a burned out underwater light.
It is always something on a boat!
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