Bahamas Bound

  Alli woke up from her nap when she heard Charlie’s voice because he always gives her a dog treat. We left Beaufort North Carolina this morning and made our way back to our home port of Blackbeard sailing club. Our good friends Chris and Jason surprised us by being on the dock to catch our lines at our slip. We stepped off onto the finger pier and gave them a big hug and we’re so happy to see them and be back in our slip A49. Jason brought some Prosecco, so we sat in the cockpit and toasted to a wonderful and safe trip. We saw Glen and Michele, our fellow cruisers who we had met up with in the Exuma‘s. They returned today, and we are expecting Steve and Donna to also return late today or tomorrow. On the ride home, we decided to get Smithfield‘s Chicken and BBQ because the vinegar based Eastern North Carolina barbecue has been a food that I have been craving and Jessica had an appetite for some fried chicken.    We made it into the house and it was such a joy to come hom...

  Similar to Day 183 Mural in a town with the same name, but a different state Two Soulmates In anticipation of leaving the boat, we are emptying out the pantry and refrigerator. This meal is a hodgepodge of rice, mahi-mahi, pepperoni, feta cheese, green peppers, tomatoes, croutons, cucumbers. Old postcard Mural from the past We left Camp Lejeune at the crack of dawn to make it underneath Onslow bridge before the four hour closing from 8 AM to noon. We made it to our old stomping grounds in Beaufort, North Carolina. Jessica took a nice long walk and got her steps in for the day, while I did some troubleshooting on the wind vane and anemometer.    Then we took Alli for a nice walk in the rusted stroller. Mind you, this stroller was brand new when Kim brought it to us in Florida five months ago. The saltwater has taken its toll. Then we celebrated our last night anchored out during our adventure by going to Clawson restaurant in Beaufort, North Carolina. Tomorrow we plan on...

  Jessica is so patient when we pull into an Anchorage because I take a lot of time to scout out the shallow areas and hazards that we could potentially hit during the night as we swing back-and-forth with the wind and current. This guy must not have scoped out his anchorage very well. We have a hammock to store our vegetables in. Jessica noticed that one of the Idaho potatoes was smiling at her!  Jessica and I left Carolina Beach first thing this morning. We made it to the Wrightsville Bridge before the 10 AM opening because the tide current was in our favor, so we spun in circles for 30 minutes until the bridge tender let us through. Then we revved up the RPMs in the ole’ diesel and made the Figure 8 bridge just in time without having to wait. We anchored up in Camp Lejeune near Jacksonville, North Carolina. We went for a walk and somehow the marine military police did not see us. Ha Ha. We are trying to eat food that has been laying in the pantry and in the freezer as our t...

    It was wonderful to share a meal with Jess and Beth in their beautiful home on the intercoastal waterway that I helped them move into 25 years ago. My favorite Cajun cook. If you have ever lost a pet and read the rainbow bridge poem, you will know why this bridge brought tears to Jessica‘s eyes today, especially one year and one day after we lost our beloved Ami. As Jessica was walking over the bridge, at first she was unaware that it was indeed THE rainbow bridge. But when she saw the dog collars and plaques of beloved best friends, she knew that she had found the Rainbow Bridge. Jessica is stepping up her game with wildlife photos. We left Shallotte this morning and made our way past Southport into the mouth of the Cape fear River.    We passed by the restaurant in Southport that had the shooting back in the Fall. It was nice to see that they had reopened and are moving forward.    It was a bit choppy to begin with the tide & current opposing the ...

  Left the beautiful Waccamaw River this morning after hearing wildlife overnight, including some Barred out. The cold front that came through left the warm river creating fog for the morning beach walk with Ali. The cypress trees with the Spanish moss hanging over them never get old to me because they are so beautiful.    Made our way through the infamous Myrtle Beach area and finally made it to North Carolina. We are anchored out near Shallotte Inlet at the intersection of Holden Beach and Ocean Isle. We chose this spot instead of making additional miles north because there are no other anchorages until you reach the Cape fear River. The impressive 4 knot ebb tide flowing down river prevents travel north on the Cape Fear until two hours after low tide (beginning of the flood tide). Jessica and I walked around Shallotte point and enjoyed a Monday on the water with very few boats around the waterway.    Today marks the one year anniversary in which are beloved S...

  Jessica and I woke up and since there were no docks or beaches within 1 mile for walking Alli, we made the one hour trip north to downtown Georgetown to walk Alli. Additionally, I noticed that they had a country kitchen open for breakfast so I could not resist us getting another omelette. We are still in food appreciation mode from having to do our own thing in the Bahamas (for the most part) for four months. We walked around the cute streets of Georgetown and thoroughly enjoyed the Live Oaks, Riverwalk, & historic homes. After brunch, we made 30 miles north to the Waccamaw River, which is absolutely beautiful. The Cypress trees, gum trees, Tupelo trees with Spanish moss hanging off the limbs in the slow meandering current of the Waccamaw River along with the barred owl sounds is absolute paradise! Tonight is taco night and tomorrow we will motor through the Myrtle Beach area. 

  Someone’s old anchor line fouled ours for a bit. Woke up this morning, anchored off of the Battery in Charleston and took advantage of a rare opportunity, which is to have a Low Country omelette prepared for Jessica and I at the mega Dock Marina in Charleston. It was delicious!! We started making our way north and saw our friends from Blackbeard sailing club heading out of the Charleston Harbor for the second day of their Charleston race week regatta. Dutch Wind came in first in their class in the ocean series race yesterday. We had to wait 30 minutes for the Ben Sawyer Bridge over to Sullivans Island to open, but fortunately a commercial barge was coming and they opened a little early. We made our way through the infamous shallow areas in McLeansville, South Carolina, safe and sound. We ended up anchoring in Winyah Bay, just one hour south of Georgetown, South Carolina. During our eight hour adventure today we passed time by playing music trivia in which you guess the song and a...

  Today we stayed anchored off Charleston in front of the beautiful Battery. We met Jessica’s father and Trish for lunch at the marina restaurant overlooking the water. We shared stories about our trip and enjoyed catching up since we saw them on our way south in October. We took a scenic walk around the Battery and saw where the Declaration of Independence was read. We enjoyed looking at the antebellum houses and even got a modified tour of the old mill that was now being used as a wedding venue. It seems like we can never get enough of the beautiful streets in Charleston. But after a good long walk, we ended the visit with a drink at the Blind Tiger and said our “see you soons” to Don And Trish!    Just like the rest of our trip, a highlight has been the people that we meet along the way. The family that we have seen on our venture north of the southeast coast has been a highlight!

  Woke up this morning anchored beside Fenwick Island nature preserve and took Ali on her morning walk and kept a close eye out for alligators and armadillos. We made our way north of the Stono River motoring into the current most of the day. We made it underneath the Wappoo bridge on the last opening at 3:30 before rush-hour keeps the bridge closed until 7:30 PM. We are anchored adjacent to the Charleston Battery, such a historic and beautiful sight to see. We met up with our good friends, Steve and Donna from Blackbeard sailing club and enjoyed sundowners on their boat, Restless. We shared stories about our adventures since we had last met up in Vero Beach a few weeks ago. Tomorrow we are looking forward to meeting up with Jessica‘s Dad and Trish for lunch since they live nearby on John’s Island.

  This is an armadillo, don’t worry we kept Ali safe. Alligator  First thing this morning, we had to wait until after rush-hour for the Ladies Island Bridge to open at 9:30. We made our way north, and of course, had to traverse the shallow areas at dead low tide, only bumped the bottom once, but we made it OK. We saw one alligator and only a few green headed horse flies today. We dropped anchor at South Fenwick State natural area. We hiked around the island preserve and witnessed two armadillos and had a nice walk with Alli. This state natural area is a special place that we discovered on the way south that we have been talking about ever since. Then we pulled the mashed potatoes, asparagus, New York strips from the fridge and brought them over to the campfire area and had an excellent dinner grilling over the open flames.    While we had the fire going in the grate over the grill, we followed in Jessica‘s father‘s footsteps and did not waste the flames by also grill...