If you read my last blog, you read about the bridge being broken and stuck in the closed position so that left us at anchor an additional day.  Scott has been wanting to get the bottom of the boat scrubbed, but current, winds, muddy water etc. has prevented this.  We had a whole day of unplanned, so out came the wetsuit. He got everything set only to discover that the brown water, although it was clear, didn’t allow enough light under the boat to see more than a few inches.  So he scrubbed the yellow line off the bottom of the boat only to have it back in just a few hours of travel.  Oh how we miss the Bahama waters.

We stayed for 4 days in order to visit friends Alexandra and Michael.  We have been friends for 15 years. We met at the horse barn. They are the type of people that will be life-long friends even if we don’t see each other for years.  In fact they were in on this trip from the very beginning.  We came to Norfolk to  and AGLCA rendezvous 3 years ago to learn more about this trip and what kind of boat we needed. We met them several times that week and shared our dream and here we are on our boat living the dream, visiting again.

They lent us a car for the weekend so when they were busy we got shopping and errands done.  They were gracious to let us do our laundry at their house. They have a little ferret who lives to find dirty sock and streak through the house at lightning speed in order to hide them under the couch before being caught.  We set out laundry down and she immediately climbed in and started searching for socks.  Much to her dismay she didn’t find any because we live in flip flops and didn’t have any socks in the basket.  She’s adorable. Alexandra rescued her and her sister. The previous owners named her Steaks and the other one Milkshake, after  Steak and Shake.  Dumb name but she knows it so they didn’t change it.

There was the Chesapeake Jubilee going on this weekend, so we walked to the fireworks.  We were back home before most people were out of the parking lot.  The fireworks were amazing. They were choreographed to music.  They did a nice ceremony honoring all soldiers and public servants , like police, fire, ambulance etc.

 

The next day we went to see Magnum, Alexandra’s horse. We were able to see the airshow from the barn.  It was all WWII air planes.  I didn’t have my big camera and my phone just doesn’t cut it taking photos of plane. We spoiled Magnum with carrots and apples.  We let him graze and run around the arena.  He is a funny boy.  Beautiful too.

We spent an extra day to get maintenance done.  Scott got the oil changed in the engine and generator and changed the transmission fluid. Feels good to head up the coast with all that done.

Heading to the Chesapeake Bay next.  Hoping for calm winds as that is a huge body of water.

Until next time. Thanks for reading.

Karen and Scott

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After we visited Mallory and left Wilmington, we spend 5 days at anchor.  It isn’t that there weren’t places to stop and see but they were off the beaten path and we didn’t feel like spending our marina dollars in other places.  We are finding there is so many place to stop that it is overwhelming.  We are feeling a little pressure to get north further so we have plenty of time to enjoy the Trent Severn, Georgian Bay, North Channel and Lake Michigan’s islands etc.  We have already decided that this life is pretty good and once we cross our wake, we plan to head south again.  We are planning a much longer trip to the Bahamas and  want to see so many of the places we missed along the way. We aren’t sure if we will complete the loop a second time or not.  We are going to head north quicker than if we were not coming back.  We will hit things like Washington DC and spend more time in the Chesapeake next year.

We anchored right outside of Camp Lejeune along with about 15 other boats.  It is a big anchorage and popular because it is close to the area the military cuts off at times to do artillery firing drills.  We were told that if you get up and get moving through that area early you can get through before the drills start.  We called ahead and found out they weren’t doing live drills the next day so we slept in a little later as everyone else made the mad dash out of there.  One sailboat came in later and anchored next to us.  The wind was blowing and their anchor was obviously dragging.  We were watching them.  After a while something didn’t look right. His anchor line was underneath his boat.  Scott called him on the radio and asked if he was alright or if needed help.  He quickly accepted the help.  His windlass battery ran out of juice because he had already tried to re anchor twice. He was fearful that he would hit the cement boat ramp and dock behind him, so he had his motor running pushing into the wind.  He had already call the Coast Guard and Sea Tow but they were both an hour out.   Scott got on board and stepped on the windlass button and it came right up.  He had a wind generator that gave just enough power to get up the anchor.  But obviously the claw anchor he was using wasn’t holding at all in the mud.  Scott helped him get out his Danforth and he lowered it while the guy drove. It stuck but good. crisis averted.  He and his wife were older than us and were very frazzled.  They were so thankful for the help. Scott’s still the hero. (we always teased him about firemen being the hero)

 

As we got out of the Cypress Swamps we noticed a change in the scenery.  You could swear you were in Michigan or Wisconsin. We even saw a loon at one of the anchorages.  Not a pacific Loon but the loons you see up north.  That was a first for us.

We were on our way to Chesapeake, VA where we planned to stay a few days to visit friends. As we motored along there was a lot of chatter about North Landing Bridge stuck in the closed position.  It was close to our marina.  Boats that zoomed passed us were now zooming the other direction. Warning us the bridge was out.  We are like “No Biggie, we’ll just anchor”  Which is exactly what we did we went up the Blackwater river as far as we dared knowing that others will be following behind. We double anchored because it was a bit narrow.  We were right there were a lot of boats that followed and anchored behind us. We of course dropped the dinghy and found cool stuff.  Later in the day there were a lot of vintage planes flying. We found out there is a WWII vintage air show in Virginia Beach that weekend. We got to watch them practice for hours right above our boat.  We had entertainment with our docktails that night.

 

 

We had plans to have dinner with our friend Alexandra and Michael the next night in Chesapeake, VA.  The bridge master thought the bridge be would be fixed the next day.  At about 3 we heard radio chatter that the bridge is fixed.  Off we went. We were so focused on the broken bridge that we failed to look at the next bridge right before our marina.  Guess what?  It stays closed between 4 and 6 pm for rush hour.  We and many other boats did what we call “the Dance” Floating and navigating as little as possible.  Once that bridge opened there was a huge collection of boats AND a a barge needing to go through after all the boats went through.  I bet the traffic was really backed up.  Of course by now a storm has blown in and the dockmaster is swamped.  We did The Dance again and finally docked in the pouring rain.   We luckily had reservations because the place was jammed.  We are halfway into the fuel dock.  Alex was there by the time we docked and whisked us home for dinner.

More about our visit in the next blog.

Thanks for reading,

Karen and Scott

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We got into Georgetown just in time for lunch at the The Big Tuna.  It was on the water and very rustic.  There was a small alligator hanging out below the dock and several turtles.  I am quite sure they get quite a few handouts from the patrons. The town is lovely quiet and quaint. Not too touristy but just enough shops of good quality to make it interesting. We walked down to the fish market where the shrimp were still in the baskets from the boat. Dinner was delicious.

We stopped at a shop next door that was half store and half workshop. The gentleman was making a replica of an old skiff for a family that owns the original.

After that we had a few rainy days and just sat on the boat with nothing pressing to do. I broke out my jewelry making stuff, got on youtube and tried my hand at turning some of the treasures I found into jewelry.  It was really fun to be creative!

The second rainy day, we dug in and got all our bookeeping, old and new mail taken care of.  I was way behind and Scott ready me numbers from columns to speed things up. It feels good to get that monkey off my back.

We had great dinners on board and watched a few movies. It felt refreshing to just sit with no planning and map reading. I hadn’t realized there is a certain amount of stress with the planning every day where to go, check ing tides, checking weathers and finding safe anchorages or inexpensive marinas.  When we do get to a location then we have to learn where to go and choose what to see and not see.  Sitting felt good.

South Port was a cute tiny town we dinghied in from anchor.  Walked and saw some cute houses and a handful of small stores. Love these little towns.

 

Some of the ships we see are giant. This thing is miles away with a strip of land between us and it still looks this big.Sorry some of my  posts are out of order.  I was having some difficulties with my pictures, but think I have it all sorted out…for now

Thanks for reading,

Karen and Scott

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Cypress Swamp doesn’t necessarily sound like a great place, but it was beautiful.  It was also nice to see trees instead of swamp marshes.  We were fortunate that the weather was cool so we had virtually no bugs.  We could imagine they are bad when it warms up.

We anchored in a beautiful spot just off the ICW (Intracostal Waterway) We were in need of bread, so we dropped the dinghy and went jetting around the swamp looking for bread.  Yes you are right, we didn’t find bread but we found a couple neat marinas.  Who would have thought there would be marinas here. The first one we came to is called Osprey.  It is in a little keyhole.  Once we got back to the marina, we were amazed at how big it was.  This would be the perfect place to ride out a hurricane. I went into the store and didn’t see any bread on the shelf, but low and behold there was a loaf in the refrigerator.  I took it up to the counter and the gal informed me that is the bread for the marina people to make toast in the mornings.  It is not for sale.  When I put it back, I saw the little toasting station and was a little embarrassed.  Off we went to another marina, Bucksport Plantation.  The door was locked and there was no one around.  There was a large old school bell on top of a post.  The sign said ring for service.  However, the string was broken off about 8 feet up.  Jokes on us.  We hung around for a few minutes. A truck pulls up and 3 men get out.  One was the owner, I think Jeff and his son Jeff and another guy.  They greeted us warmly and when the owner didn’t have bread he offered to have his son take us to town 5 miles away to get some.  Now that is southern hospitality. We didn’t feel right taking advantage of this service not staying in their marina. We turned the offer down.  The son offered several more times. He says that what he does anytime for anyone.   As we were leaving he started talking to us.   There is  something different about him.  He had visible scars sticking out of his shirt. He had a slight speech impediment. There was something slow about him, yet he was very sharp at the same time and had an incredible memory.  We heard later he is an injured war veteran.  He told us Jackie Gleason kept one of his boats there and the other in California.  In fact the boat is still there.  He remembered the dates and years of the sale of the boat. It has seen better days. He told us about another boat of some famous rock musician. (Can’t remember who)  That boat  is still there too.  He told us the inside is completely customized and beautiful even though the boat is older. He told us his Daddy called the island across the way Alligator Island.  He told us the most dangerous alligator is a moma with babies……. I think we might still be there talking to him if we didn’t break away.  Later we thought about it and probably should have let us take us into town.  That is probably how he makes money and something he could do. Our thinking that we would be taking advantage of him was all wrong.  Hind sight…

Thanks for reading.  Enjoy your day!

Karen and Scott

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The park has tons of trails to some pretty amazing places.  We hiked many miles and climbed lots of rock steps but every step was worth it.

 

We had a lovely time and the weather was perfect. If you ever get to North Carolina look up “Hanging Rock State Park”  you won’t be disappointed.

Thanks for viewing as there were more pictures than reading,

Karen and Scott

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Look closely at the fish peeking out from under the log.  He has huge bug eyes.

We docked our boat for two weeks, rented a car and spent a week with our Daughter Mallory, Marcelo and the granddogs.

Mallory is an instructor at Legacy Saddlebreds in Winston Salem.  She love her job.  Everyone works as a team and the business is run very well, so things go smoothly.  I have been in a lot of barns in my life and nothing compares to this amazing barn.

Will post the rest of the week in another post. Had a wonderful time. Sure glad to see them all again.

Enjoy your day.

Karen and Scott

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We left Charleston and took our own boat out to see Fort Sumter.  The only way to get there is by boat, so rather than pay a cruise boat to take us there, we took ourselves.  We anchored just outside and took the dinghy into the dock.

It was a huge, tall dock meant for the big tour boats.  We had quite a climb to the top.  When we got to the gate it was locked and didn’t open for another half an hour. We waited. Pretty soon the tour boat showed up.  All the park rangers that had to open the park were on this boat.  They got off while the captain gave the tourists instructions about leaving and getting back on time.  It was great for us, we walked right in with the rangers and I took some photos before 100 other people arrived.  It was also good because we were able to listen to the history talk given to the people from the boat.

Did you know the first shot of the Civil War was shot at Fort Sumter. Here’s a brief history. The Union had several forts in the area. Fort Sumter was first built after the War of 1812.They literally built the island by bringing in stone from New England. It was started in 1829 and not yet completed by 1860 when South Carolina seceded from the union.  Army Major Anderson  moved all  112 of  his troops from near by forts to Fort Sumter.  South Carolina was demanding the President give up the fort but he declined. This along with the secession heated up things which made Major Anderson make his move.  South Carolina saw this as an act of war. The first shot was shot from nearby Fort Johnson by cadets from the Citadel, Fort Sumter and to the Fort. Heavy shelling lasted only one day before Major Anderson surrendered Fort Sumter. The fort had not been completed and many of the cannons were not set up yet and they were not able to provision appropriately for food and other necessities.  There is an incredible amount of history at the fort, but I gave you a small tidbit.  We found one piece of information in the museum that was not in the history talks. After the Civil War ended, Major Anderson went back to Fort Sumter and raised the American flag.  That was the same day that President Lincoln was shot.

 

It was great to be there on our boat.  When all the tour boat people left, we were the only ones left in the fort, except a few rangers. We had the place to ourselves. By the time we were leaving the next boat was letting people off.  Great timing!

It is amazing what we are learning on this trip.  I hope you are enjoying learning too.

Thanks for reading,

Karen and Scott

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Charleston is a bigger city than Beaufort SC.

We stayed at the Harborage at Ashley Marina and glad that we did.  They didn’t have a courtesy car, but the next best thing.  They will drive you to places close by. We didn’t need to grocery shop or run errands, so we just played tourist.  We went right to the Historic District.  They had a large market in several long buildings that have been the market  since 1807.

.  It was mostly jewelry and craft items.  Seeing we have little room on the boat we didn’t buy anything. It was fun to look.

We took a historic carriage ride. We enjoyed the last two that we did, and learned so much we figured why not.  Well our driver wasn’t that great AND there are so many carriages in the historic district that the city manages each carriage. We pulled up they told our driver which small section we got to see. They also keep track of how many carriages are in an area and hold you up until one comes back.  We didn’t get the whole feel for the city but we got to see some beautiful homes, but didn’t get the fun stories like we got in Beaufort.

We met fellow Loopers Mark and Karen from Captain’s Choice at Low Country Bistro for a late lunch.  It was great catching up with them again.  Scott had their famous Chicken and Waffles.  I am not a fan of mixing dinner and breakfast.  I had they Jumbalaya.  Talk about southern meals!

We walked through a huge cemetery next to a huge church. One of the signer’s of the United States Constitution and one of the signers of  Declaration of Independence is buried there.  I don’t know why we find old cemeteries interesting.  There is a certain mystery and sense of history walking through them.

The next day we visited the Citadel. We learned it is a state run military college. I can’t explain it, but there was a an air about the place that made you want to go to school there.  Good think it’s too late for me I would never make it through the work outs.  We went to their Museum, the church and were able to walk the grounds. It was oddly interesting.  Glad we went.

There was a huge park across the street from the Citadel so we walked through it and enjoyed the trees, flowers, pond, fountain and trails.  We made a full day of it.

There is so much to see at each town, we are thankful for just a few day to see what we can see knowing there is more at the next stop.

Thank you for reading,

Karen and Scott

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