Ponce de León Discovers Florida

Homeschooling can be easy sometimes.   When I want the girls to do something quietly for a long period of time that does not require me working directly with them, I will tell them to write in their journals or write a story or write a report.

"How long does it have to be?" they like to ask.

That depends on how much 'peace time' I want for myself.  Today I asked Phoenix to write a three page long report. 

I had her look up "how to write a biographical report," and she wrote the following: 

__________

Ponce de León Discovers Florida by Phoenix

Ponce de León discovered Florida.  He was an important person.  He discovered a land of gold.  He named Puerto Rico.  He did all of those things.  He is so impressive.

Ponce de León was born in San Fervas De Campos, Spain in 1460.  He was born into a noble family and was related to Spanish kings.

In 1493 Ponce de León and his family sailed with Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to the Americas.  He and his family settled on an island in the Caribbean called Hispaniola.  He became a military commander at this post and became deputy governor.

In 1506 Ponce de León found a nearby island called Borinqueu.  In Borinqueu Ponce de León found large amounts of gold.  He returned to Hispaniola and in 1508 he returned to Borinqueu with orders to explore and colonize the island.  He renamed the island Puerto Rico and was the island's governor for two years until he was replaced by Christopher Columbus's son. 

After leaving Puerto Rico he decided to sail north to the Bahamas in search of new land, treasures, and the fountain of youth.  He sailed through the Bahamas and Bimini, but didn't find anything.  In late March of 1513, he and his ships landed on the east coast of Florida and claimed it for Spain.  He named it Florida because there were so many flowers.

He decided to continue his search of Florida and sailed down its coast.  Along the way he encountered some rough currents.  He named the spot Cape Canaveral meaning cape of the rough currents. 

During a search inland for fresh water and wood near the Charlotte Harbor area the explorers saw a tribe of the Calusa Indians.  After finding out that the Calusa Indians were unfriendly, the explorers fled back to their ships and sailed back to Puerto Rico.

In 1521, Ponce de León returned to Florida with plans of making a farming colony.  He had over 200 settlers, horses, tools and seeds.  While going inland for fresh water, the Calusa Indians ambushed the settlers. 

The Indians had poisoned arrows, and one arrow entered Ponce de León's thigh. The settlers decided to abandom the settlement and sail back to Cuba.

Ponce de León died at the age of sixty-one because of the poisoned arrow and was buried under a rock that said, "Here lies the bones of the brave lion."


__________

WHERE WE ARE: Anchored just south of Memorial Bridge in Daytona Beach, Mile 830

WHERE WE STARTED: Docked at River's Edge Marina in St. Augustine, Mile 780

THERE TO HERE:  50 miles, 7 hours, Jamey at the helm.  Windy with NE winds peaking at 25-30 mph behind us.  We motorsailed most of the way and also had current on our side.  The weather was warmer than it has been over the past few days, but still very cold.

Not enough room for many toys or games on board, so the girls make do with what is here.  Yarn and blankets are super fun. 

So are towels.

Super models. 

Lots of big houses with nice lawns. 

What did it look like before houses and manicured lawns? 

The nice thing about having recently provisioned is fresh fruits and vegetables.  Jamey made a great salsa for afternoon snack.

Phoenix loves playing the ukulele and has been giving me lessons.  

Catching up with cello.  We did not practice while we were docked. 

Indy took this amazing picture of the sky. 

I am Civilization

Juan Ponce de León was an ambitious conquistador.  He is the European explorer credited with discovering Florida in 1513 (though it is likely that one or two Spanish slave expeditions reached Florida prior to his arrival).

Though finding Florida must have been a satisfying achievement, I wonder it was enough to make up for Ponce de León not finding the Fountain of Youth (believed to be on Bimini in the Bahamas) which was what he had been searching for on his journey.

A New World or an antidote to aging?  Which would you prefer?

Ponce de León gave Florida its name, calling it La Florida ("flowery land") because he landed there during the Easter Season which is known as Pascua Florida ("flowery Easter") in Spain.

There are now many things named after Ponce de León including a town, an avenue, a boulevard and at least a couple of hotels.

The Hotel Ponce de León in St. Augustine is a U.S. National Historic Landmark that now serves as the main hall of Flagler College.  This beautiful building was built to be an exclusive luxury hotel, and renowned architects, artists and designers were involved in its construction.   It was completed in 1888 and was one of the first buildings in the U.S. to be built out of poured-in-place concrete.  One of the architects' brothers worked for the Edison Electric Company, and the hotel also holds claim to being one of the first buildings in the nation to have electricity.

The Ponce de León Hall at Flagler College

Built in Spanish Renaissance style

During our visit to the hotel turned college hall today, we were able to admire the ornate rotunda ceiling, painted by noted muralist George Maynard.

Around the dome are painted eight beautiful figures representing the four elements - Fire, Earth, Air and Water, and the four stages of Spanish exploration - Adventure, Discovery, Conquest and Civilization.

The girls immediately started finding themselves on the ceiling.



As I have discussed in an earlier post, names and their meanings and associations are very important to us.  A few months after Skye was born, we realized that without having planned it, each of the girls had a name that matched one of the four elements.

Phoenix - named after the magical and fiery bird that rises from its ashes = Fire.

Indigo - named after the deep blue color of the ocean = Water.

Sage - named for the definition of sage which means 'a profoundly wise person' also has a connection with sage, the fragrant herb, and thus = Earth.

Skye - named for the freedom and limitless boundaries that we associate with the sky = Air.

"There you are, the one with the white dress," one of the older girls showed Skye.

"I'm that one," another said.

"Which do you think are mom and dad?" I asked. "You can choose from the four left -- Adventure, Discovery, Conquest, and Civilization."

I thought they would connect at least one of us with Adventure or Discovery.

"Dad is Conquest, and you are Civilization," declared Phoenix.

There it is.  I am Civilization.

Which do you most associate yourself with?

Thank you, Phoenix!  I consider this association a compliment. 

_____________

WHAT WE DID TODAY: We had originally planned to leave St. Augustine today, but stayed an extra night as we had paid for the full week at the marina and we thought we had run out of diapers.  We ended up finding a pack of pull-ups and after doing some schoolwork, we walked to the SWING playground again.

Enroute to the playground, we pass by a chocolate store and a post office.  We were able to send off some thank-you gifts and cards. 

Family photo! We hardly have any of these. 

Thanksgiving: I Look Foul and Feel Fair

We are so grateful to the members of the St. Augustine Cruisers Net who graciously hosted an amazing Thanksgiving feast for us and the other transient boaters in St. Augustine.  The hosting boaters brought turkeys (at least 3 and maybe 4!), hams, and a ton of other scrumptious dishes.  With 70+ people at the potluck, there was an abundance of amazing food and good cheer.  I was so full from the main meal that I never made it to the dessert table -- shocking, I know! 

My favorite dish was the vegetarian pumpkin walnut lasagna.  Yum!  Jamey made haupia, a Hawaiian coconut pudding, and I baked some gingerbread for our potluck contributions. Jamey's haupia was quite tasty though it did not fully set the way it was supposed to.  The part that did set was the portion that had cooked the most, so we realized that it is probably better to overcook the mixture prior to chilling rather than err on undercooking like we did (out of fear of burning the mixture).   The part of the haupia that did not set was pudding-like and was still delicious. 

The recipe that we used for haupia is as follows, obtained from Food Network.  We opted for what Jamey called the "touristy" version for haupia -- a more authentic haupia would not use coconut extract and is much less sweet than this version:

HAUPIA:

Ingredients:

4 (12 oz) cans of coconut milk
1-1/4 cups sugar
1-1/4 cups cornstarch
3 cups water
2 teaspoons coconut extract (vanilla or coconut rum can be used)
toasted coconut, for topping (optional)

Directions:

1. Pour coconut milk into saucepan.
2. Combine sugar and cornstarch; stir in water and blend well.
3. Stir sugar mixture into coconut milk; cook and stir over low heat until thickened add coconut extract.
4. Pour into pan and chill until firm.
5. Cut into 2-inch squares. Garnish with toasted coconut as desired.

You know it's cold when Sage wears this much clothing.  She almost always dresses like she's still in Hawaii, and when we say, "Aren't you cold?!", she replies, "No, I'm Hawaiian, remember?!" She hasn't figured out that being from Hawaii means she should feel the cold more, not less.  It's so convenient to be 4 years old!

Thank you, St. Augustine Cruisers Net!!!

Food!

We continue to be ever thankful for family, friends, our health and especially for the wonderful gift we've been given of this year to spend with each other.  May your Thanksgiving surround you with love and loved ones!





NEW FRIENDS:  We had a ton of fun chatting with the cruisers at the potluck, some of whom we already knew from other ports.  It was great to meet everyone, find out where they were from, and hear each person's story. 

We especially enjoyed meeting Bryan from Canada of Northern Phoenix.  Bryan's family (dad, mom, and two kids, aged 13 years and 11 years) seems to have a ton in common with us.  His wife is taking a sabbatical year from her work as a kinesiology professor, he is a high school science teacher, and the family loves the beach and baking.  They have a blog that you can access here.  As we read their post from today (St. Augustine Day 3), written by Sahara, Bryan's 13-year-old daughter, we liked how she said she saw "a guy there who-facial features anyway- looked like Aragorn from Lord of the Rings." As we continued reading her post, we bust out laughing when we got to the part where she wrote, "When we went back to the boat, Dad stayed and talked with Aragorn dude and his wife, who are also heading down to the Bahamas with their 4 kids."  It is hilarious that Jamey is Aragorn dude!!  Jamey is quite pleased as Aragorn is his favorite character in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and the trilogy are his favorite books.  He is now walking around quoting Aragorn, "I look foul and feel fair."  We are looking forward to meeting up with Northern Phoenix soon!

River's Edge Marina also hosted a potluck feast.  We had RSVP'd for the other gathering already, so we did not go to the Marina dinner.  The marina did have a toasty fire going all day at their pavilion, and Jamey had a ton of fun hanging out by the fire chatting with the friends that he's made here this week.   The fire was close to the laundry room, so I did not feel too guilty making him do another load of laundry. 

The fire was fed all day long -- Floridians know how to deal with the cold after all!

Our Pets: Mooshy and Henry

Yes, we have pets.

I thought it would be great for the girls to have a pet on board, a chance to be responsible for something living, an opportunity to care for another creature.  We started taking care of Mooshy on November 1.  On November 10, Mooshy gave birth to Henry.

Like most pets, Mooshy and Henry have needed daily care.  They especially like being massaged and being burped.

Unlike our other pets, they have only needed to be fed every five days.

Similar to our other pets, the girls have ended up not taking care of the pets as much as Jamey or I do.  In the case of Mooshy and Henry, I am their primary caregiver.

Like all pets, Mooshy and Henry have earned their keep, giving back to us lots of love and affection in the form of…. CAKE!

Or more specifically, Amish friendship bread.

Amish friendship bread is neither Amish (I cannot imagine the Amish using packages of instant pudding mix in their recipes), nor is it necessarily a token of friendship (Here, friend, is more responsibility to add to your busy life), nor is it bread (It makes more of a sweetbread-like cake).

I was first introduced to Amish friendship bread by my dear sister, Grace, luckily before I had kids.  When she gave me the starter, I dutifully burped and massaged it daily and made some of the best tasting sweetbread I've ever had.  The starter is yeast-based, and is fed sugar, water, and flour every 5 days.  After 10 days, you have four times what you started with and can take one portion to bake bread for yourself, keep one portion to continue your supply, and give away two portions to friends.  I don't remember what happened with my starter back then.   I think I was only able to give away one bag, and that Jamey was dismayed by the time I was having to put into caring for the others. He may have dumped them down the sink one day when I was away.

As we don't have many friends around us on the boat, we thought about what would happen with Mooshy over time:  After ten days, we would have one loaf of bread and three portions of starter left over.  After twenty days, that would turn into one loaf of bread and 11 portions of starter.  After thirty days, a loaf of bread and 43 portions of starter.  After six cycles, we would have over 2700 bags of starter.

"Wow, the Amish are smart," said Phoenix.

"All pets have to go through customs before entering the Bahamas," said Jamey.

"Hmmm.  They might be quarantined.  The customs and immigration officials would have to burp 2700 bags every day," we giggled.

"Mooshy, Squooshy, Wooshy, Pooshy, Booshy,…" The girls had fun thinking of all the names we would need.

This is our third cycle since we made Mooshy.  Instead of allowing the boat to be overrun by the progeny of Mooshy, I have opted to bake like crazy.  I've learned that you can use a portion of the starter at any time during the cycle.  It has been convenient to bake during the cold fronts that have been hitting us; the oven helps the boat warm up.

The younger girls' favorite so far has been the Oreo Cookies and Cream with Chocolate Chips version.  They also love the Pistachio variation.  Jamey and I prefer Cinnamon flavor and together with Phoenix, our favorite has been the Gingerbread we made from Mooshy.  Or was it Henry?
 
In anticipation of our plans to be on and off the boat over the next month, I baked Mooshy and Henry all up today --- a euthanization done out of love (for cake).

May Mooshy and Henry rest in peace happily in our stomachs.

November 10.  Congratulations, Mooshy! You gave birth to a healthy, squishy baby Henry (named after the puppy we met in Beaufort, S.C., whose owner races horses and spoke using prose that reminded us of Faulkner). 

Yeast is an eukaryotic microorganism that Wikipedia calls "probably one of the earliest domesticated organisms."  We loved petting and squeezing Mooshy and Henry.  Very therapeutic.  And no litter box!
 

"You're getting rid of Mooshy and Henry?  Can we get a cat to replace them?" asked Phoenix.

The grief over losing Mooshy and Henry was short-lived as the girls were much more interested in Purry, the cat that belongs to the girls' new friend, Kinsey. 

We were able to share our friendship bread with a few new friends.  It was a small token of our appreciation to Lori and Mike on S/V Cheshire for the kind loan of their oil change pump.  It was also fun to share with our new French friends, Jessy and Pierre, who visited right when the last of Henry (gingerbread flavor) was coming out of the oven.

Jessy and Pierre

Jessy and Pierre loved the cake so much that they asked me for the Gingerbread recipe, so here it is (adapted from the recipe found on Allrecipes.com):

STARTER RECIPE:

Ingredients:

1 (0.25 ounce) package of active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
3 cups flour, divided
3 cups white sugar, divided
3 cups milk

Directions:

1. Dissolve yeast in warm water.  Let stand for 10 minutes.  In a separate bowl, combine 1 cup flour and 1 cup sugar.  Mix thoroughly and then slowly stir in 1 cup milk and the dissolved yeast mixture.  Let stand until bubbly.  This is day 1 of the 10 day cycle.  Put into a large Ziploc bag.

2. On days 2 through 4, mix starter by massaging and squeezing the bag.  Open the bag to "burp" the starter as necessary.

3. On day 5, stir in 1 cup of flour, 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of milk.

4. On days 6 through 9, massage and burp.

5. On day 10, add 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, and 1 cup milk.  Remove 1 cup to make your first bread, give 2 cups to friends along with this recipe and your favorite Amish Bread recipe.  Store the last cup in a bag and begin the 10 day cycle again, starting with step 2.

BASIC FRIENDSHIP BREAD RECIPE:

Ingredients:

1 cup starter
1 cup oil (I use 1/2 cup of oil and replace it with 1/2 cup of starter; oil can also be replaced with banana or applesauce)
1/2 cup milk
3 eggs
2 cups flour (I like to use 1 cup whole wheat and 1 cup white flour)
1 cup sugar (can lessen or use brown sugar as desired)
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

To the above ingredients, add different things to create a variety of flavors:

PISTACHIO: Add 1 large or 2 small boxes of pistachio instant pudding mix and a cup of chopped pistachios.  A tsp of almond extract enhances the pistachio flavor.

CINNAMON: Add 2 tsp cinnamon and 1 tsp vanilla

GINGERBREAD:  Add 2 tsp ginger, 2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, and 1/2 tsp cloves (I did not have nutmeg or cloves, but it was fine without these) and 1 or 2 cups of molasses.  The recipe calls for 1 cup of molasses, but for the loaf I shared with Jessy and Pierre, I accidentally doubled the molasses which made it super yummy and moist!  Luckily I had lessened the sugar to 1/2 a cup, so it wasn't too sweet.  It would probably be fine to use 2 cups of molasses and no sugar.  I also made another version of gingerbread that had some orange zest added.

Directions:

1. Mix dry ingredients. 

2. Mix wet ingredients.

3. Combine dry and wet ingredients and pour into greased pans.

4. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour (Due to the size of the boat's oven, I bake the bread in two portions and bake each for less than 1 hour).

There are a zillion more variations for this bread that can be found online.  The starter is super versatile and adds a rich moistness that enhances any version of sweetbread.

The girls love "Mooshy Cake"!

WHAT WE DID TODAY: After baking and doing some schoolwork, the girls and I walked into town, did some window shopping, and went to the playground again. Jamey stayed at home and did some chores including refilling the propane tank and fixing a couple of leaks in the fresh water pump system.  Jamey joined us after he finished the water pump repair.

I do not allow us to eat out often, but luckily Jamey convinced me that pizza at Pizza Time on St. George St. would be a good idea.  We had the best garlic rolls ($2.99 for 6) and pizza (Italian sausage) ever!  The large pizza ($16.99 for a large + $2.50 for one topping) was super large and the amount of sausage they put on was downright decadent.  We had over 1/3 of the pizza left over -- an unusual thing for us.   Jamey and I think the pizza here is even better than our favorite place back home, Bob's Pizza in Kailua.  The girls loved the pizza tonight, but remain loyal to Bob's as their #1.  Given Bob's location close to Kailua Beach, we concede.