"Those who contemplate the beauty of the Earth find
reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts."—Rachel
Carson
Mar. 27 - Home in Texas
Mar. 25 – Jacksonville, FL
Ortega
Yacht Club Marina
We
had a beautiful day to explore our new surroundings. Stan spent a little time
this morning talking to a few boat yards in the area, getting information on a
haul out and work we’d like to have done on the boat later this year. The rest of
the day was spent relaxing, talking to other boaters we’ve met last year and
packing for our trip home.
Our home at Ortega Yacht Club
Mar. 24 – Jacksonville, FL
Ortega
Yacht Club Marina
“Friendship is the
shadow of the evening, which increases with the setting sun of life.” —Jean
de La Fontaine
After
we arrived yesterday and plugged into shore power we turned on our air
conditioner, the first time since last July when we were in Plymouth. In fact
we've hardly used our AC in the last two years. That's definitely going to
change this summer. Anyway...where was I going with this thought…oh yeah, winter
came back this morning! Now we have the heater running AGAIN.
Even
though we had a cold grey windy day we didn't let it slow us down. We've been
trying to figure out where and when we could catch up with our friends on Amici. It was beginning to look like we
wouldn't cross paths with them this year. Then we had a great thought...we'd drive
over to Maineland and see them. When you travel on a slow boat, 60 miles is a
long day on the water, but in a car on a freeway, it's only an hour away. We
spent the whole day visiting...catching up on each other's lives and making
plans for next winter in the Keys and Abaco. It's always a good day when it's
spent with friends and it’s especially nice catching up with friends we haven’t
seen in awhile.
Susie, Stan, Sally and Ted
Mar. 23 – Jacksonville, FL
Ortega
Yacht Club Marina
“The person who goes
farthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare. The sure-thing
boat never gets far from shore.” —Dale Carnegie
Our
cruise today took us down the eastern coast of Florida and up the St. John's
River past Jacksonville and then into the Ortega River. This area of the Ortega
River is very pretty with beautiful homes along the shore, each with lovely
yards with azaleas blooming.
Ortega
Yacht Club will be our home for the next couple of weeks. We plan to go home
for a quick visit later this week…we need a family and grand fix and thought
this would be the perfect time. When we return we will head further up the St.
John's River.
There
are quite a few boats in the area that we know...hopefully we'll be able to
catch up with a few. We spent the evening visiting with Greg and Leslie from Amalia, they were one of the first
cruising couples we met in 2011. It's always fun to spend time with them. Tomorrow
we'll drive down the coast to visit with our friends on Amici.
A beautiful sunrise over Fernandina Beach
Mar. 22 - Fernandina Beach, FL
Fernandina
Harbor Marina Mooring Field
“The most dangerous
risk of all - The risk of spending your life not doing what you want on the bet
you can buy yourself the freedom to do it later.”
We're
back in Florida! It seems a little strange...as we walked around Fernandina
Beach this evening it felt like we were just here…and it's been three years.
We
woke to grey skies and expected to get rain part of the day, but what we got was
a mix of sun and clouds. One minute we'd be cold and the next we would be
warm...by the time we arrived in Florida we had a beautiful sunny day. We
picked up a mooring ball, relaxed a little and then took the dinghy to town.
Fernandina Beach is a cute little town. It has a quaint downtown area with lots of shops and restaurants. We could tell it was spring break (and Saturday)...there
were people everywhere. It was a lot less crowded the first time we were here.
We wandered through a few shops and then had dinner at a Mexican restaurant
called Peppers.
We
passed more friends going north today...we were hoping we'd get to visit with
Jim and Betsy on Smiles before they
returned to Isle of Palms in South Carolina...we missed them in Florida by one
day. We are going to miss seeing a lot of people this summer, since we seem to
be doing things a little backwards this year. Oh well, there's always next year.
We had another relaxing night on the boat watching another beautiful sunset.
Still very flat and open...we can see forever!
Our view of Fernandina Beach from the mooring ball.
Mar. 21 - Sapelo Island, GA
Duplin
Creek - Anchorage
I
know we've been through this area before, but I'm finding it very difficult to find
any landmarks I remember. The reason could be...it all looks alike. The ICW
meanders through rivers, creeks and sounds that are surrounded by the Low
Country...marshy land with a few trees here and there. It's so flat that you
can see boats bends in the river miles away. Stan says he remembers a
few places, or least he thinks he does. Luckily it's mostly remote and there are
few things we have to slow down for. We have seen quite a few boats heading north;
in fact we passed some friends on another Monk this afternoon. Unfortunately I
didn't realize it was Mike and Barbara on Last
Chance until they had passed. It would have been nice to get a picture of
them. Stan and Mike did visit on the radio for a few minutes. It's always fun
to pass someone we know.
Our
anchorage tonight is very quiet and well protected. We are close to the ferry
landing on Sapelo Island. I believe there are several refuges and an estuary on
the island. We read we could take the dinghy to the ferry landing and do a
little exploring, but we arrived too late in the day to take advantage of
that...maybe next time. We spent the evening enjoying the sunset, making pizza
and relaxing.
Leaving Thunderbolt this morning
Mar. 20 - Thunderbolt, GA (Savannah)
Bahia Blue Marina
“When the sun is shining I can do anything; no mountain is
too high, no trouble is too difficult to overcome.” —Wilma Rudolph
The first day of spring was beautiful, and we enjoyed every minute of it. We slept in and didn't pull away from the dock until noon. The tides around Savannah are a little crazy...10-12 feet and the current is very strong. For that reason the captain decided we'd leave later today so we could arrive at the marine close to slack tide. Leaving late meant we would arrive late, but that's ok, we spent a month in this area on our way north in 2011 and did a lot of exploring then. We did make it in time to go to Tubby's for their sunset celebration and wonderful crab stew. It's one of our favorite places to eat in Savannah.
We had lots of company today...dolphins were everywhere. They seemed to be enjoying the first day of spring as much as we were. We never get tired of watching them play in our wake or gliding in front of our bow.
Beaufort, SC
What a great way to enjoy the first day of spring
Spring...being enjoyed by everyone
The Captain
Musical entertainment at Tubby's
Beaufort, SC
Mar. 19 - Lady's Island, SC
Lady's
Island Marina
“It is the set of the
sails, not the direction of the wind that determines which way we will go.”—Jim
Rohn
We're
finally on the move...we left Charleston this morning on a cold grey day. All
bundled up to stay warm. It definitely felt and looked like winter. By the time we arrived at Lady's Island the sun was shining and it felt
more like spring...hopefully this will be our last real cold day. We passed
seven or eight boats heading north...that's the expected flow of traffic for
this time of year. Everyone heading north to spend the summer in cooler places
or on their way home from spending the winter somewhere warm. Heading further
south definitely is going against the grain, but we've never been ones to do
the expected or follow the crowd. We've traveled this way before in 2011, but
it's been long enough that neither of us remembered that much about this section
of the waterway...it's kind of like having a new adventure. I guess living on a
boat is a new adventure every day...definitely not your ordinary
life.
Lady's
Island is across the river from Beaufort, an old southern town packed with
history and charm. We enjoyed exploring it during our first stop here. Today we
stayed close to the boat, we visited with people
on the dock, walked to the grocery store and had dinner at a very casual spot
above the boat. It was really more of a bar that grills on their
deck...hamburger on Wednesdays, pork chops on Thursdays and steaks on Fridays.
One
of the best things about cruising is making new friends and spending time with
friends we've made through the years. One of the hardest things about cruising
is leaving those friends behind when our plans take us in opposite directions.
Although saying good-bye is a little sad, we know our paths will cross again
somewhere on the water, and it will be like we've never been apart. We've made
a lot of good friends in the past three years and look forward to meeting many
more. It's fun to pull into a marina or anchorage and see a familiar boat and
have a chance to catch up on all their adventures.
Last picture with Pam
Mar. 18 - Charleston, SC
Ashley
Marina
Last
weekend we made the rounds to our favorite places one more time. Friday was a
beautiful day, so we spent the afternoon riding our bikes through town, eating
a late lunch, watching people at the Market and soaking in the sights. We love
this town and it might be a long time before we are back this way. Pearlz has
always been our favorite place to go on Fridays for happy hour, although any
day is just as fun. We met five other cruising couples there and had a
wonderful time. In fact we had so much fun visiting that we planned a dock
party for Saturday evening. We met at the Maritime Center Marina, where two of
the other couples are docked...we shared lots of good food, stories and laughs.
The best part of cruising has always been the people we meet.
We
are one step closer to releasing the lines and moving south...yesterday we
rented a car and moved our car to Jacksonville. It was a rainy cold day...not
the best day to be on the road, but not a good day to be on the boat either.
Our trip down in the morning wasn't too bad, we only had heavy rain when we got
to the sunny state of Florida. We have friends that are in the area, so we had
a nice lunch aboard Amalia before we headed back. It's always fun to run into
friends. Our trip back to Charleston was slow...lots of traffic and rain. It
felt nice to be back on the boat and relax.
Our
plan is to leave Charleston on Wednesday and move towards the St. John's River
in northern Florida. Once we get to Jacksonville we will drive home for a short
visit. When we return to the boat we will spend a month or so exploring the St.
John's River. After that...who knows!
Taking a carriage tour is one of the most popular things to do in Charleston.
Fun at Pearlz
Mar. 12 - Charleston, SC
Ashley Marina
"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny
matters compared to what lies within us."―Ralph Waldo Emerson
Our time in Charleston is quickly coming to an end. We've been enjoying this beautiful city and some wonderful spring weather...finally. Charleston is a great city to explore on bikes when the weather is pretty and we definitely love to spend time here. Besides exploring the city we've spent time visiting with old friends and making a few new ones and eating some great food. Stan has finished installing our new batteries and inverter, rigged a new system on the dinghy to carry our bikes, installed a couple of new electrical breakers, cleaned and waxed the haul and completed a few other minor projects. There's always something to keep him busy. I haven't been quite as productive, but I have gotten the boat provisioned and the cabin cleaned and in good shape for the coming season. I have also stayed busy with yoga classes, shopping, coffee with friends and every day chores that have to be done...no matter where you live.
We are renting a car next Monday to shuttle our car to
Ortega Yacht Club near Jacksonville, Florida. We will drive down and back in
one day and be ready to leave Charleston on Tuesday or Wednesday…depending on
weather. It's been three years since we've been south of Charleston, so our
plan is to move south slowly, revisiting some of our favorite places. As usual
with cruising the details all depend on the weather.
The beautiful sunrise Sunday morning...I only got to see this because of the time change!
On the second Sunday of the month King Street is closed to traffic, so people can shop, eat and enjoy the day.
Sites around town on a wonderful spring day.
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