Happy Thanksgiving

I am writing from our 36’ Sabreline trawler in Pelican Bay a dinghy ride to the Cayo Costa State Park on the gulf coast of Florida. We are very excited about spending Thanksgiving here. The only time it really wasn’t fun was the time that we spent three days here in the wind and rain. The most exciting thing that happened while we were there was watching a boat go to shore with a dog, 3 people, lawn chairs and beer. When the dog has to go, so goes the crew.

Before we left Myrtle Beach we met people on an Island Packet sailboat headed for the Keys. It is their first time south and they were having a really good time. While we were in Myrtle Beach we also enjoyed many a meal, laughter and crafts with our MB family. We attended church with them and spent time with their friends. We have missed having Sunday dinner with them since then.

I distracted myself, so let me go back to what we have been doing since we left Myrtle Beach. Then onto the picture that I am sure is everyone’s favorite.

We anchored 7 nights on our way to River’s Edge Marina in St. Augustine. It was a great time, the weather was perfect, the seas were calm and the views were outstanding. Six years ago I could not have told you the port from the starboard or how seas and winds can combine to make a rough ride. I have an entirely new language now.

When I tell you the names of the anchorages, they will mean something to many of you and to others just know that most of them are wonderful places.

The day we left Myrtle Beach we went as far as Minum Creek mm (mile marker) 415.
Day 2-Wappoo Creek (Charleston) on Eliot’s Cut mm 470
Day 3-Brickyard Creek mm 529
Day 4-New River mm 570
Georgia
Day 5-Wahoo River mm 630 (We love this anchorage)
Day 6-Lanier Island at St. Simons Island mm 675
Florida
Day 7-Alligator Pass mm726

At the Lanier Island Anchorage we saw the exact same boat as ours, only it was a 90 and ours is a 92.
         
In general, Florida doesn’t have well protected anchorages and there aren’t a whole lot of places we can get out of the wind.  We will never stay at Alligator Pass again.  If Fernandina Marina had been open we would have stayed there, but it has been closed since Hurricane Matthew which devastated all the docks. We can’t stay at an anchorage there either, because there isn’t any place to dock the dinghy.

Day 8 of our trip to Fort Myers.  We stopped at River’s Edge Marina in St. Augustine for a few days.  We had a nice time visiting with our friends from Chesapeake a cute Manatee.

Leaving St. Augustine our first stop was Shady Place in Daytona.  This is an anchorage with no protection from anywhere unless perhaps there is a westerly wind and very little seas otherwise it works fine.

Next stop was Banana River, a favorite of ours.  There are young people sculling.

“Sculling is the use of oars to propel a boat by moving the oars through the water on both sides of the craft, or moving a single oar over the stern. By extension, the oars themselves are often referred to as sculls when used in this manner, and the boat itself may be referred to as a scull.”

Next stop Fabre Cove in Ft. Pierce lots of boats well protected from weather we didn’t have.

The several stops were Four Rivers in Stuart, Clewiston, the dolphins, Franklin Locks Marina then Fort Myers.

I had a spell of being very sad thinking about going to Fort Myers Yacht Basin.  Several of our friends had moved on to other ways to spend their winters. By the time we reached FMYB I was fine and looked forward to seeing the people that were coming back.

It was quite cold coming down the East Coast many times we had a wool blanket and a down comforter.  

We have this very special person in our lives, Cousin Susan.  I don’t know how refer to her so people know who I am talking about so rather than say, “Rob’s cousin Susan” I affectionately refer to her as Cousin Susan. I don’t know why I needed to tell you that but I did.

I am also doing my blog from my iPad rather than my computer for the first time. They say “an apple a day keeps the doctor away”.  I this case they are wrong

Another Apple product has gone dark so it is at the Computer Medics in Ft. Myers.
We wish you all the joy that you can hold in your heart and that you are always warm, fed and loved.
Tricia and Rob

Country Music: Live at the Ryman

October 31, 2019

If you haven't watched Country Music, a film by Ken Burns, you need to put it on the top of your must do list. The 9th episode is a live concert at the Ryman in Nashville, TN.  The Ryman is the original Grand Ole Opry. After we watched the  concert we headed out the door for Myrtle Beach to start our fifth year on the boat.

We left home on Tuesday October 15th, stopped in Fishkill for the night and the next day we landed in beautiful Middlebrook, VA.  We have met special people on our adventures, Debbie and Robb are two for example.  They opened their home and hearts to us for two nights. Their house sits in Shenandoah Valley and no matter which window you look out, you can see rolling hills and winding road.  Ideal!  There are 6 of them that live in this fine setting, two humans, two dachshunds and two horses. So in addition to Robb and Debbie there is Willow and Daisy, dachshunds and Eli and Eddy, horses.

We took a ride into Lexington to be tourists, Washington Lee University was one of stops after having lunch.

Debbie

Robb

 

Our day in Lexington.

 

Day four we arrived at my nephew's for a great weekend.  We headed, and landed, at the boat in Myrtle Beach on Monday.  Noon o'clock we walked into the boat to the mess created from setting up the boat for her summer.  But much more than that we walked into a boat that was upside down from the work we had done.  We had the heads changed out from seawater to fresh water and a new air conditioner installed.  It took us the better part of four days to clean up the mess, put most things away and start bringing stuff from the truck. In the spring we had moved everything in the boat either because we were preparing it for summer, making it ready for the hose work and installation of the heads.  The air conditioner died during the summer, so that was an additional mess that added to the beauty below.  Sprinkled in with the work we had to do were the good times we had with people at the marina and local friends.

On the outside there was a lot to do as well that fell on Rob.

I can't tell you how much time it took me to get this picture into the right place of this blog but I really wanted you to see what I was raving about. It still is not in the right place but I had to settle.

We had two of these installed this summer and life couldn't be better for a trip to the head.

Sometimes I think about the response that people might have while reading my blog and I came up with so many it might be.  Here are just a few.

• Laughter from those who know personally what it is like to own a boat
• Frowns from those who personally know what it is like to own a boat and comments about the blog-oh get over it this is what boating is all about.  We all spend gobs of time and money working on our boats.
• Smiles of envy as they read the blog and romanticize traveling by boat. The key word here is romanticize.
• Amazement that Rob and I are doing this.
• They must be rich to be able to do this. If we had been rich when started this, we aren't any more.
• That doesn't look like any fun at all. Why would anyone want to do this. These reactions to my blog are short lived, because those people stop reading my blog.

Where was I?  Oh yes, I am sitting on our boat on a gorgeous day eating Smarties and writing. Smarties are a candy I often had as a kid.  Don't tell anybody it really is a disgusting habit.

Silence is the way to knowledge.  If we expound on what we already know we miss the opportunity to learn from others.

Nice to see you again.
Tricia