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Happy Thanksgiving

Most likely you will not receive this blog on the great American holiday. I looked up the meaning of Thanksgiving on Wikipedia  and it told me more than I needed to know. Thank you immigrants for bringing with you this great day.  You can read all about it at Wikipedia, but be forewarned that you will need a cup of coffee and a lot of hours to read all it has to say about  the Thanksgiving celebration and did you know that there are several countries that celebrate a Thanksgiving?
Australia
Canada
Grenada
Liberia
Netherlands
Philippines
Saint Lucia

November 9, 2018 (backing up)

We anchored at Brickyard Creek.

November 10, 2018
Herb River Anchorage very close to the Thunderbolt Marina

Thunderbolt is a familiar  stop for boaters, because there is a bus that takes them into Savanah.  We have never been to Savanah from Thunderbolt, so at the last minute we decided to see if we could get a slip.  No slip available because it was the week of Thanksgiving.  I heard that boaters gather at Thunderbolt to celebrate T-Day.
So we found an anchorage around the corner from Thunderbolt in the Herb River. I thought it would be nice to at least go for a short dinghy ride to the marina and maybe even have a place to empty the trash.  Foiled again. The motor wouldn't run, it kept choking out.  We put some Stabl in the fuel, but that didn't help. Turns out after filling the fuel tank the air vent was not opened.  We have not taken the dinghy out again since then, so we don't know how it will run.

Enough about that let me tell you about Herb River anchorage.  I watched Law and Order  Special Victims Unit a few times  one of the actors on the show, Mariska Hargitay as Olivia Benson, had this one line that I remember so clear.  When Olivia was working on a case she could understand how a victim felt because she was also "afraid of things that go bump in the night".  We were sound asleep when a sailboat's anchor dragged and their boat ran into our boat. Both of the sailors were up and the admiral pushed us off. We looked for another place to anchor in the narrow anchorage with a bit of wind making it hard to do. We tried to set the anchor once and it wouldn't set I looked back and we were backing into a dock. Quick thinking on our part was to lift the anchor and motor forward. We finally set the anchor but sat up watching the chart plotter from 2am on until sunrise, so we could be on our way. Gosh this boating is challenging.

November 11, 2018
Wahoo River
I love this anchorage. I can't explain why we like it so much, just like I can't understand why bell bottoms were so popular in the 60's and 70's.  This is the place that has a street light that comes on at dusk and off at dawn. There isn't anything else around the area that explains it.

November 12, 2018
We left the following day for Lanier Island (south) only a 4.75 hour run but again we were keeping our eye on the weather.  You see when cruising you have to keep your eye on the weather, read about the seas,  look at wind, and check your anxiety at the door.   There are a couple of harmless inlets we had to navigate, but there is also St. Andrew Sound.  I am not going to cross St. Andrews Sound unless the weather is very clear, that the wind and the seas are in our favor.

November 13, 14 and 15, 2018
Rather than more detail about that whole "get across the sounds" let's talk about Brunswick Landing Marina.  There are rave reviews of the marina and the town.  The marina was very nice with lots of slips, they have free beer every night and wine a few nights a week.  It was very cold there and mostly rainy. We did take two walks for a windshield wiper and ice cream, other boaters offered to take me to Walmart. The downtown was sad with most of the stores closed out of business. Rob washed the deck.  I have a deck wash and work diligently to clean all the mud off as the anchor comes up but it still stains the deck.
I almost forgot to tell you about the court house. We were walking through a beautiful live oak park and stopped to look at the buildings one on either side of the walkway the one on the right was unidentified and the one on the left was the active court house.  Did you know in Georgia they will not let you in the court house more than 3 feet. I was interrogated about what my business was in the court house. They weren't buying it so I left, not very friendly in Georgia!  We did tour the old court house and it is beautiful.

November 16, 2018
Off to Fernandina.  We were lucky to be able to stay at a slip there since most of the marina is still damaged from Hurricane Matthew.  There is a promise that the marina will be all new in May or June of 2019.  Notable is my two ice cream cones in one afternoon please don't try this.

November 17, 2018
Yeah a good day to head to St. Augustine.  We have friends that stay at River's Edge Marina every year. Since we wanted to see our friends, we tried out the marina. Our friends had dinner for us on their boat which was so lovely.  We rather enjoyed ourselves! There is a vegetable stand with a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. I loaded up with a fridge full of goodies.

November 18, 2018
Laundry day.  It is nice to have the laundry so close to your boat. $1.75 for wash and $1.00 for the dryer. This is the talk that boaters do, only women that I have met, and this information can be passed down the waterway, so the marinas need to stay sharp about their facilities.

Rob and I walked into town during the day and stopped at the Villa Zorayda "a 19th century architectural masterpiece and astounding art and antiques collection"   The villa is a "Gilded age house museum."  It was a nice visit very inexpensive and with audio guides. It was well worth the trip.  I couldn't take any pictures, so I bought a postcard and I took a picture of the postcard for you.

Hold onto your wine while I try to recount the dinner out with our friends.  The Creekside Dinery is a lovely place to eat. It was too chilly to eat outside, but hopefully it won't be the next time we go.  Outside there is a large pit with a wood fire and marshmallows to roast, making it a nice end to our dining experience.

Let me step back and tell you more about our meal.  It was awhile before we were attended to, but we were chatting and didn't mind when our server finally came. She seemed rather anxious and that is when we found out that it was only her third night. I empathized with her and while she was getting our drinks my friend and I shared experiences of waiting tables, her for a couple of years and me for one and a half days. After a fashion Shay brought me my club soda with a twist of lime, but I ordered a tonic with a twist of lime. Eventually that was fixed.  My friend ordered sauvignon wine and finally she got her Sprite well really it was white wine but Shay called it Sprite.

Rob ordered Caesar salad to eat before the meal and he got it after the meal with bleu cheese dressing other than that his meal was in order.  The other friend ordered pasta with shrimp and sausage and they delivered the meal without the shrimp. Another meal received was a nice dinner to go with her Sprite.  My meal had not been made yet. My crab cakes were wonderful once they arrived.

The course of events gave us lots to chat about and no one was upset, just miffed at how so many things could go wrong.  I quietly went to talk to the manager and gave her a list of our experiences so she could train this poor very young woman before she sent her out on the floor alone again.  Our meal was free.

November 19, 2018
Our friends left on a road trip for Thanksgiving and we stayed on for another day.  We walked into town late afternoon and walked around just enjoying the famous Night of Lights in downtown St. Augustine.  Even though we have walked St. George Street each time we are there we never tire of it because watching the people is always different. That night was friend egg sandwiches the meal you have when you are too tired and old to fix anything different.  My husband bought me a lovely neckless, but I can't wear it while setting the anchor.

November 20, 2018
Left River's Edge Marina headed for Daytona and the Shady Place anchorage.  On the ICW Facebook page I asked for recommendations for that area.  The ICW is quite wide at Daytona so I am glad there wasn't any wind. We had another late start from River's Edge because there was a mix up with the fuel truck. You see at this marina a truck delivers fuel rather than the marina having pumps.

November 21,22 and 23, 2018
We left the Shady Place anchorage as soon as it was light around 6:30 because we had a long day ahead of us. Yeah onto Banana River anchorage to spend a couple of days and to enjoy a nice Thanksgiving Dinner of Beef Barley Stew made in the Instant Pot. When we searched for a good place to drop anchor there were five dolphins breaching and giving us a fantastic welcome. This anchorage is in sight of two yacht clubs and in front of houses now that all sounds busy but on T-Day there were very few boats out and on the water and the 23rd there was a lot of boat traffic that was very fun to watch.  Rob was amused by a catamaran that tried setting their anchor about 8 times and then decided to leave the river.  We saw a few trawlers and several other catamarans and one trimaran.  I enjoyed working on Christmas cards.

From Wikipedia
Let me tell you a little more about our trip from Daytona.  We traveled the Indian River from Daytona to Banana River.  "The Indian River is 121 miles long and is part of the Indian River Lagoon system, which in turn forms part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway". The river from the Ponce de Leon inlet in New Smyrna Beach, across the Haulover Canal and along the western shore of Merritt Island.  Merritt Island is home of Kennedy Space Center and the Merritt Island Wildlife Sanctuary. We have been to both places and it feels like we traveled 121 miles just of the western shore of Merritt Island of course we didn't.

This is what you need to know about Merritt Island.

From Wikipedia
Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge is located due east of Titusville on Merritt Island in Brevard County, Florida, and occupies 140,000 acres (570 km²), overlaid with the Kennedy Space Center. To the north, it borders on the Canaveral National Seashore; to the south it encompasses non-public portions of the Kennedy Space Center (with which it also shares some history), which in turn abuts Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Mosquito Lagoon and the Indian River run through the refuge.^[1] Since public access to all these areas is controlled in various ways, the refuge is part of a very substantial area of relatively undisturbed wildlife habitat.

Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge is a 140,000 acres (57,000 ha) U.S. National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) on the Atlantic coast of Florida's largest barrier island. NASA's Kennedy Space Center and visitor complex are also situated on the island and NASA can restrict access to the refuge based on its operational needs. 

The NWR contains over 1000 species of plants, 117 species of fish, 68 amphibians and reptiles, 330 birds, and 31 mammal species, of which 21 species are listed as endangered by the state of Florida or by the US federal government. Management of the NWR is provided through the Merritt Island NWR Complex, which provides hiking and driving trails for the public, subject to access restrictions from NASA. It is a 'gateway site' for the Great Florida Birding Trail.

November 23, 2018

Today we leave this anchorage for Ft. Pierce, Faber Cove anchorage. It is well protected from most weather conditions. Then we will be on our way to Stuart for a few days before heading across the Okeechobee for the west coast.

I almost forgot to tell you that someone took our cooler from the back deck but no love loss here I didn't like it because the lid wouldn't stay open and kept falling on my head.

Leaving Fernandina

Wahoo Light at Dusk

Pagers!

Inside the old court house

The beautiful park with live oak and Spanish moss

Husband. Just one of the scenes of our walk to Auto Zone for a windshield wiper blade in Brunswick. We were told to be careful where we walked so we didn't end up in dangerous neighborhoods this we heard from a retired sheriff.  The town is in a lot of disrepair and that is sad.

As they say, the captain is in charge

Maybe Max (not his real name) is in charge he is pretty cute.  He has complete run of the River's Edge Marina and goes back to his boat at night.  He is so friendly I guess you have to be for the rats to respect you.

Kitties everywhere

Another piece of Harley bike art 

I don't know you tell me

Every year the town is like this for a couple of months I think that we have been there all 4 years of your travels.

The perfect ending to a mixed up meal

Yup this is me but my Faux Paws are hopefully getting much better.

Walking Speed

That cute little Manatee

Trumpy, no relation to the president.

Haulover canal part of the Indian River System

Always a wedding going in St. Augustine

Motor anyone catch me if you can 

Rob took this so I could send it to my card making friends

Playing with self portrait

You know what I miss the most about growing old?  my hearing...but I don't have to hear to do this, Thanksgiving Day.

 Hope those of you in the north stay warm.

Tricia

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Boat Goats

October 17, 2018

I vowed I was not going to do a blog this year, but then I started taking pictures I wanted to share with you, so here I am.

I always have a hard time leaving Maine, specifically home, but we manage to get out the door and head down the road with a truck full of stuff we and the boat cannot live without for six months.

First stop was Monroe NY to spend the night in a hotel.

October 18, 2018
We spent the night in Alexandria, VA with a nephew, then on to my Raleigh NC family on October 19th.

October 22, 2018- November 6, 2018
Arrived at Osprey Marina where we feel like family. The staff is outstanding, the marina is small, pleasant and quiet.

We leave our boat at this marina for the summer, it is taken care as if we were the only boat in the marina. Miles, the harbormaster, washes our boat once a month and checks to make sure the dehumidifier and air conditioner are still working. Kimberly, one of the dock hands, cleaned and waxed our boat and it is beautiful, more beautiful than when we bought her.

Hurricane Florence, the ugly force of nature, destroyed a beautiful town, New Bern, NC three hours north of Myrtle Beach.

"New Bern is a riverfront city near the North Carolina coast. The Tryon Palace complex includes a replica of the state's 1st capitol, historic homes, gardens and the North Carolina History Center. The Birthplace of Pepsi is the drugstore where the drink was invented in the 1890s. Nearby, the New Bern Firemen’s Museum highlights the Great Fire of 1922. South, Croatan National Forest has estuaries and diverse wildlife."

Osprey Marina is on the Waccamaw River and is always effected by the flooding following hurricanes.Florence was the worst yet, rising 22 feet. The staff at the Marina added to pilings, so when the flood waters came the docks wouldn't float off the pilings and take all the bots with them.


The Waccamaw River is a river, approximately 140 miles long, in southeastern North Carolina and eastern South Carolina in the United States. It drains an area of approximately 1110 square miles in the coastal plain along the eastern border between the two states into the Atlantic Ocean. 

Obviously we have our truck here making it very different from all the other places we will be in the next 6 months.  It is so easy to get in the truck and go to the store for anything we might need or want in order to stock up for our journey south. We have been to Brookgreen Gardens, a lush multi acre center with sculptures, live oak, a boat ride through acres of beauty, an apiary and zoo.  We didn't get to see even the tip of the preverbal iceberg, but will go back next year or in the spring.  If you are in the area please take time to go. Although there isn't any way to see it all in one day, you can use the same ticket for seven days.

We have reconnected with a friend from Maine that moved down here years ago and lives on a houseboat three miles away.  During hurricane Florence he checked on our boat to see how it was doing and reported back.  We had dinner out with another boater and met with dear friends several times including attending church and had brunch at their home.

But let me tell you that Rob has been working hard ever since we got here the list is long and he is a trooper I am so glad we are doing this together however you might not think I am happy about it sometimes but "I don't have a better" idea.

Here is the daunting list of chores he has done on the boat.  I feel so useless when it comes to helping out since they are a one person job. My job was cleaning the boat, buying food and running errands.

1. There wasn't any water when we arrived and that was an easy fix once the problem was identified.  A hot water handle and valve popped of the shower at the swim platform.
2. Varmints had made themselves at home in our boat leaving evidence of there stay, only it wasn't the varmints we thought it was.  Since we didn't have any hot water I was done the inside of the boat with Lysol wipes.
3.  No hot water to clean up or wash dishes and you can imagine the rest it was about a week before it was fixed.  It was not an easy fix a few days to get parts, one day to replace coil and half day to replace low/high switches on the tank.
4. The three water tanks have to be bleached, rinsed and filled.
5. We sprayed a protectant/sealer on the Bimini, placed it over stainless steel frame, then cleaned and hung the clear Strataglass.
6. We replaced the undersink drinking water filter.
7. Repaired the aft head (two different problems).
8. Changed oil in both diesels.
9. added distilled water to the battery bank.
10. Because the generator was often difficult to start, a new starter was ordered, FedExed and replaced.

A regatta of 16 with very difficult sailors arrived at the marina.  Now obviously all sailors are not difficult, but you do know that there used to be a stereotype of a sailor perhaps the pirate type.  We saw one in the flesh while at the marina. They swore like pirates, they were beyond slobs, leaving the trash everywhere, and loud. But you know the funny thing is that they kicked one of their mates out because of his behavior.  Although we thought he was harmless, he was drunk most of the time, so we didn't dare to leave the female staff alone in the office. A couple of us took turns.

We finally left the marina on November 6th, Election Day.  A country divided. Thank you God there isn't any politics or religion discussed between boaters.

Enough about that. Here are the pictures I want to share with you.

Halloween Speaker Spiders

I have a favorite joke probably my favorite because I can remember it I probably have repeated it to my friends but they might not remember it either. 

There was a man who sat at the bar and drank one beer after another going to the head several times as the night when on.  Finally at closing time he order a beer took it to the head an dumped it in the toilet.  The bartender curious asked the man why he did that and he answered "I am tired of being the middle man".

This is Lucy, not a lamb but a poodle, that took me for a walk everyday.  Wayne, her owner, is thrilled that I will take her for a walk.

Krispy Kreme doughnuts every morning

Krispy Kreme Eater (NOT)

The owners goats are regular visitors to the marina. The bottom of the shrubs are gone because of the flood waters.

The photographer

                                                            The visit to the Brookgreen Gardens.

Many beautiful sculptures.

Beautiful carvings of birds.

It was hard to not be emotional when I saw this beautiful piece of art.

Women discussing the making of a felted bear.

I don't know what happened to Rob

Val, the sister of a very good friends, has become our good friends

Rick a good friend's brother-in-law

One can always find a fair. These are electric guitars. Myrtle Beach.

There are lots more pics but if I don't stop here or I will never send out my blog.

November 6th we anchored in Butler Island, November 7th we anchored at Mimim Creek, November  8th we anchored at Wappoo Creek.  We had easy travel days.  The first two days were short days. On the day we left it was short because Garmin charts had to be loaded again.  The second day was short because we wanted to time it right for going through McClellanville, a well known spot with very shallow water so best to pass through at high tide.  We didn't have any problems.

Going back a bit to when we crossed Winyah Bay, the inlet to Georgetown, we saw lots of debris probably from hurricane Florence most of it was harmless but there were logs that luckily we missed.

Today we are headed to Brickyard Creek, about an 8 hour day.  We are trying to make it to Wahoo Creek before it starts raining. The prediction is for 2 full days of rain, so we will be there a while. We were trying to make it to Fernandina for the two days of rain but we are not going to make it.

All for now I hope you enjoyed reading my first blog of the 2018-2019 cruising season.

Tricia