Charleston, SC - part 4

December 27, 2018 - January 1, 2019

We didn’t do anything special between Christmas and New Year’s.  One of the highlights for me here in Charleston is bike riding.  The low country of South Carolina is very flat and most streets have light traffic making trips into town easy and safe.  I was an avid bicycler when I was in my 20’s and haven’t had my own bike since then until now.  I find myself thinking up errands just to have a reason to ride my bike.  Bob and I bike into town for lunch a couple of times every week.

This is a wall decoration at our favorite pizza restaurant,
The Mellow Mushroom.

Charleston’s nickname is The Holy City because of the numerous church steeples in the city’s skyline.  I always photograph the churches we pass so I should get lots of church pictures this winter.

This church is on Broad Street
near the French Quarter.

This church is also on Broad Street,
but closer to the marina.

The low country is distinctive in so many ways.  The large tidal range (over six feet) changes the shore line twice a day.  At low tide on the rivers the puff mud and tidal oysters clinging to pilings are exposed giving off a marsh mud fragrance.  At high tide the oysters disappear and the marsh returns to a spartina grass filled body of water. Charleston, specifically, has some of the best restaurants in the area - from five star elegance to neighborhood delis.  Gumbo, she crab soup, shrimp and grits, okra, and fried green tomatoes are some of the local specialties. The beauty of the tree and mansion lined old streets speak to the historical significance of Charleston. The residents are extra friendly and helpful.  One evening Bob and I were walking down a street checking our phone to locate a small neighborhood restaurant when a car pulled over and asked what we were looking for.  He gave us directions and then when he realized his directions were wrong he circled around the block and stopped to give us the right directions.  Overall, our winter in Charleston should be relaxing, yummy, and fun.

My next blog will be about some of the projects I may tackle while we are here.

Thank you for reading my blog.

Charleston, SC - part 3

December 18, 2018 - December 26, 2018

On Tuesday we took it easy, but were able to visit the Verizon store to register Bob’s veteran’s information to receive the veteran's discount on our phone service.  I did laundry and cleaned the interior of the cabin.  Keeping up with the cat hair is almost a full time job.

The first task we tackled on Wednesday was visiting the Apple store on King Street to try to get my iPhone unlocked.  Since before Thanksgiving, when we switched our cell phone carrier from T-Mobile to Verizon, I have been struggling with T-Mobile to get my phone unlocked.  I have spent hours on the phone going back and forth between carriers and Apple.  My last contact at T-Mobile was an "unlock specialist" and after following all of her directions my phone was still locked.  Her final suggestion was to visit the Apple store and get them to fix my phone.  I knew they would not be able to unlock a carrier locked phone, but went there anyway.  Of course, I was right and in desperation to end this headache I traded my phone in for an iPhone 7 and completed the set up process to port my number to Verizon.  I’m out about $200, but I’m done with T-Mobile, finally. 

Afterwards we visited the Mellow Mushroom for lunch and found a great pizza place that serves whole pizzas, pizza slices, and great salads.  Score!!!  We walked around King Street which is a shopping Mecca with small local shops and big national retailers.  Another good find!

Thursday and Friday were taken up with a minor repair to the facet in the galley and buying our groceries for the week.

Saturday was sunny and a good day to take our cameras on a bike ride.  Our first stop was Rainbow Row on East Bay Street.   

Rainbow Row is a series of 13 buildings that were restored in the 1930’s.

 It was named for the pastel colors they were painted
and are the most photographed buildings in Charleston.

Charlestonians are serious about their Christmas door decorations.

We stopped for lunch at the Brown Dog Deli.
The food was great. I'm sure we will be back here

On Christmas Eve we rode downtown for lunch at Blossom’s restaurant on Bay Street.  

I had a great cup of gumbo and this salad for lunch

The Christmas decorations in the restaurant were lovely.

Christmas was a quiet day for Bob and I.  Rachel (my daughter) is in Mexico with her boyfriend's family and face timed me in the morning.  I heard from my son and his family in Houston and my daughter, Jessica, who was in Cleveland visiting her mother-in-law. My sister’s and I all exchanged Christmas greetings by text message.  I enjoyed cooking a turkey dinner.

Turkey with all the trimmings!

Thank you for reading my blog.  Happy New Year!

Trip to Sarasota, FL and Houston, TX

December 10, 2018 - December 17, 2018

I left the marina at 5:30 am and took a taxi to Charleston Airport.  My flight to Tampa connected in Baltimore/Washington Airport so I didn’t arrive in Tampa until almost 1:00 pm.  Sarasota is about an hour drive  from Tampa and I arrived at Claire’s apartment a little before 3:00 pm.  During the three days that I was there Claire and I had a great visit.  I was able to take her to visit her husband Fred, who is in a rehabilitation facility recovering from a hip fracture, a couple of times.  We went shopping, out to dinner, and watched some great old westerns on the GRIT channel.  We always enjoy each others company and chatting about my children and grand child (Claire’s grandchildren and great-grandchild) and what’s going on with them.

I left Claire on 12/13 to fly to Houston to visit my son, Karl, and his family.  I was super surprised when my grandson (Acen) was waiting at the exit to the secure area with a big sign welcoming me! It was even better when he ran toward me and jumped into my arms. The big excitement for my visit was Acen’s birthday.  He turned 5 on 12/14.  He is growing up so fast.  Visiting Karl, Brandy, Maddixx, and Acen is always such a sweet time of reconnecting. We went to two skating parties (one was Acen’s), hosted a family Christmas party at home, went to church together, and had Sunday lunch at a great Mexican restaurant. My daughter-in-law Brandy is such a great photographer that I never take enough pictures of all the fun.  Consequently most of the pictures below were sent to me by Brandy.

I gave Acen this Nerf gun with "laser" sites for his birthday.
It was a big hit with him and his friends.

At his birthday party, Acen got to go in the money room
 and grab for dollar bills that were blowing around.

The theme of the party was "Gone Fishin"
Aden's favorite outdoor activity.

We all had a great time celebrating Acen's 5th birthday.

Here I am at the airport saying good bye to
everyone.  It's always the hardest part of the trip.

Thank you for reading my Blog, and Merry Christmas!!

Charleston, SC part 2

December 2, 2018 - December 9, 2018

Our first day in Charleston was a complete wash out.  It rained all Saturday night and all day Sunday.  It really poured with thunder and lightening as well.  During a brief let up we walked to the marina entrance and looked around.  We found a convenience store, a restaurant, and a wine and liquor store.  The marina provides a shuttle downtown which we want to use once it stops raining.

 I took this picture when it stopped raining.

On Monday morning it continued to rain, but only lightly.  We were able to fill our water tanks, get the dinghy off the fore deck and onto the dock, and hang our icicle christmas lights.  We, also, tracked down a leak in the water system that was causing our pump to run more than necessary and the water tanks to empty too quickly.  Once Bob tightened a few connections under the floor it seemed to be fixed.  We are both tired of the dampness that the rain brought with it. When the sun came out we opened the hatches and ran the fan in our heating system continuously to dry things out.  We walked to the restaurant for lunch. Neither of us were very impressed with the quality of the food so we won’t be going there very often. 

The lights add a festive air to the boat.

 Isn’t my yellow bike the cutest!

On Tuesday we rented a car to drive to Folly Beach Walmart to purchase bikes to use around town this winter.  After completing our purchase we found we couldn't get them into the car (we had originally thought they would be in boxes to be put together by us).  A man in a car next to us suggested that we buy a bike rack to transport the bikes and that’s what we did. While Bob was inside buying the bike rack several people offered their help- southern friendliness. I’m so excited to start biking around town.

Next problem was where to keep them so they wouldn’t wind up in the harbor.

Our first outing on the bikes was on Wednesday.  We rode to the Charleston City Market which is a long building housing various local vendors in the French Quarter.  You can find jewelry, scarves, designer clothing, wood carving, sweet grass baskets (a traditional craft of the Gullah people), and much more.  

 I love walking through the market looking at all the unique wares.

After perusing the offerings we walked to NewYork City Pizzeria for lunch.  It’s great to find a place that serves great pizza by the slice and good salads. I’m sure we will go there often.  Back at the boat bob slipped as he was entering the cockpit and smashed the screen of his iPhone.  We will have to find a place that makes iPhone repairs.

Early on Thursday morning we took an Uber to Mt. Pleasant to the iPhone repair store.  While the phone was being repaired we did some shopping at 

Walmart (in the same shopping center).  We purchased a new crock pot and enough food to sustain Bob while I am away next week visiting Claire (my children’s grandmother) and my son’s family.

We took another bike ride downtown on Friday to a to a restaurant we had visited before. It was a beautiful sunny day, but rain is predicted for the weekend.

Her's some amusing signs I found hanging in a
restaurant in Folly Beach on Tuesday.

Early Saturday morning we took the shuttle downtown to visit the Christmas market.  The sky was overcast and we had to bundle up against the cold northerly wind.  We bought vegetables and tomato sauce and looked at all of the unique items for sale by local artists and craftsmen.  Next on our agenda was to take the shuttle to West Marine.  The shuttle goes to the West Marine every day at 11:00 am and picks the riders up at 12:30.  That gave us just enough time to get the wire Bob needed to fix our electrical problem, buy some cat food and have lunch at the nearby deli.  It started raining just as we returned to the boat and didn’t stop until Sunday afternoon.  At high tide on Sunday morning there was coastal flooding downtown and at the marina office.  

Sunday afternoon I prepared for my trip to Sarasota and Houston.  My next blog will be about that trip.

Thank you for reading my blog.

Southport, NC to Charleston, SC

November 26, 2018 - December 1, 2018

Monday morning we left Southport at 7:15 am in order to hit the most troublesome sections of the ICW at rising and high tide.  Our trouble spots were Lockwoods Folly Inlet, Shallot Inlet, and Little River Inlet.  These are all inlets from the ocean with treacherous currents that can cause shoaling in the channel. With Bob at the helm and me manning the binoculars and the charts we made it through without hitting bottom once.  We also, had to traverse the worst section of the Rock Pile, which is a section of the ICW with rock ledges on each side of the channel caused by blasting through granite.  We made it to Barefoot Landing Marina at 3:00 pm unscathed.

It was up early again on Tuesday to head for Georgetown.  Our original plan was to anchor out, but the weather was predicted to be below freezing tonight so we changed plans and reserved a spot at Georgetown Landing Marina.  It was cold all day and Bob and I were both bundled up, but the chill got to us anyway.  The first half of the day we were fighting an opposing tide which slowed us down significantly.  By the time we got into the Waccamaw River the tide had turned and we were moving along between 7.5 and 9.5 mph.  The Waccamaw River is an easy section of the ICW.  It winds around just enough to keep it interesting at the helm, and is wide and deep, hence, no chance of going aground.  We arrived at the marina at 3:00 pm and after docking and getting settled we walked to, you guessed it, a pizzeria for dinner.

When we woke up the temperature outside was 35 degrees, but we were snug and warm inside the boat with our heater running.  Around mid-morning we walked to the historic section of Georgetown which consisted of five or six blocks along Front Street lined with historic homes, shops, and restaurants.  One block closer to the water was the Harbor Walk.  

 The town clock can be seen from all over the historic districts.
This view is through a live oak, one of the many lining Front Street.

We stopped into the Coffee Break Cafe to warm up with a cup of coffee.

 Harbor walk is lined with restaurants.

One of the restaurants is Big Tuna.  It gets 4.5 stars on Trip Advisor.

These shrimp boats are docked at the historic shrimp pier.

After, touring the town we had a fantastic lunch at Atlantic House Restaurant that served only Atlantic seaboard fresh seafood. Bob had fried oysters from Oriental, NC and I had shrimp salad.  Both were outstanding.

On Thursday morning we cast off at 8:00 am in order to be at mid and rising tide when traversing some of the ICW that have particularly shallow areas.  With a tidal range of 6 feet MLW (mean low water, which means the average depth at low tide) of 5 feet can be easy to get through at high tide.  That’s why Bob is so careful about tides. We made it through without any mishaps and tied up at Isle of Palms Marina at 4:00 pm.  Isle of Palms is almost like home to us as we stayed here for a month our first year of cruising when our engine conked out. It’s a great marina with a good restaurant, a small market, and great shower facilities.  We got settled in and had a light dinner on board.

We started out Friday morning by getting a ride to the Harris Teeters for provisioning.  The marina provided this complimentary service.  By the time we got back to the boat and stowed all the groceries it was time for lunch.  We walked to the restaurant on site and had some great hamburgers.  After lunch we walked to the beach.

It was warm enough to walk along the beach and look for shells.

Two shrimp boats were working the ocean just off shore
to the delight of brown pelicans and seagulls.

Saturday we waited until 11:45 to leave for our winter slip in Charleston City Marina.  Since the current in the marina is notoriously strong we wanted to dock at slack tide (the point where the high tide crests).  It poured for most of the trip and when we entered Charleston harbor the visibility was low and I had to be on the lookout for ships and other boats.  Even though we have an AIS receiver not all boats have a transponder so some boats do not show up on our chart plotter.  This experience solidified our need to have a transponder, too. We arrived before slack tide and docked at the Mega Dock for about a half hour before moving into our slip.  Bob’s expert boat handling and the help of an experienced dock hand made our docking go smoothly.  After getting all the lines out and hooking up to shore power we decided to bring the dinghy up onto the foredeck (not an easy task).  I bailed out the rainwater, hooked up the halyard to the dinghy, and guided the dinghy into place with only a small amount of yelling back and forth between Bob and I.  Like I said it’s not an easy task.  We were glad to be settled in our spot for the winter.

My next blog will begin to chronicle our stay in Charleston.

Thank you for reading my blog.

Belhaven, NC to Beaufort, NC

November 11, 2018 - November 17, 2018

The weekend was predicted to be cold so we stayed put in Belhaven, NC to take advantage of our heater that we can only use when we are plugged in to shore power.  On Saturday we watched Penn State beat Wisconsin and then went out to dinner at The Tavern at Jack’s Neck.  Apparently Belhaven used to be called Jack’s Neck.  the restaurant interior was beautiful with wood everywhere and several alcoves and levels to make the dinner more intimate.  The food was excellent as well.  On Sunday we relaxed, watched NFL football, and prepared for our departure on Monday.

We had two sailboats behind us.  One was from Galesville, where we have the boat maintenance done and kept our boat there for several years.  The second boat was from Newark, DE where I grew up.  The boat owner went to Christiana H S and graduated in ’68.  I went to the same HS and graduated in ’69.  Small world!

Early Monday morning we helped the boat behind us push off and then we had room to take off, too.  It was a narrow channel, but Bob’s expert boat handling got us out without incident.  We are always thankful for our full cockpit enclosure on these cold mornings.  While other sailors are bundled up in their foul weather gear we are comfortable with a light fleece jacket.  Later in the day on the Nuese River the wind picked up and we had a choppy ride.  The waves were hitting us from the port stern which caused the boat to roll sideways.  I didn’t get sick, but I wasn’t a happy sailor.  We anchored just off the ICW in Adams Creek.  Later that night the wind picked up bringing heavy rains and lightening.  At about 3am my phone alerted us to a tornado warning that was on until 5am and to take shelter immediately.  Needless to say we didn’t get much sleep after that.  In the morning all was calm, but Bob discovered that we had dragged anchor about 500 ft. putting us in shallow water.  We moved the boat into deeper water and anchored again.  It is fortunate that we didn’t have a worse outcome from dragging.  We waited for the Beaufort Docks Marina to contact us to let us know that our slip was available.  We left the anchorage at 9:30 am and were docked in Beaufort by 12:15.  After checking in we enjoyed the daily special (meatloaf, coleslaw, string beans) at the Dockside Restaurant. Yummy! 

The town built a boardwalk at the water front that is lined with 

restaurants and shops and, of course, the Beaufort Docks Marina.

Rainy Days is safely tied up at the marina for a few days.

My phone was whacked out and I couldn’t use the hot spot to get WiFi so I walked to a coffee and wine bar to use their WiFi.  I needed to make flight reservations to visit Claire (my children’s grandmother and a dear friend) and her husband Fred in Sarasota, FL.  I decided to combine  the trip with a trip to Houston to visit my son’s family and be there for my grandson’s 5th birthday.  Using the WiFi with a glass of chardonnay was much less frustrating than fighting with the WiFi on the boat.  I did finally fix my phone though - yes, I just had to turn it off and turn it back on again to get it back to normal.

Beaufort reminds us of a little Annapolis with its history and focus on boating.  Bob has challenged me to visit all of the shops in town in one afternoon.

Shops and restaurants line the main street (Front Street)
which is parallel to the water front.

We went to a new restaurant on the boardwalk and had great pizza.
 You can see the brick oven in this photo.

I love to photograph flags.

Thursday was a bust.  it poured down rain from early morning until the afternoon.  It let up just long enough for me to do two loads of laundry at the laundry mat.

The laundry mat is conveniently located across Front street
from the marina and at the back of the General Store (white building).

On Friday we borrowed the loaner car and drove to the Verizon in Moorehead City to change our carrier. We just weren’t getting the coverage we needed in the more rural areas that we travel through.  Hopefully, this switch will solve that problem, and with Bob’s former military discount it won’t cost us much more than T-Mobile.   We walked around town a bit enjoying the bright sunshine and cool temperature.

Provisioning was the main task for Saturday.  We stopped at the town’s farmer’s market hoping to find some fresh produce, but the market was mostly crafts at this time of year.  We borrowed the loaner car and got our groceries at the local Food Lion.  In the afternoon we listened to Penn State football.  

Thank you for reading my blog.

Beaufort, NC to Southport, NC

November 18, 2018 - November 25, 2018

Early Sunday (11/18) morning we cast off and headed south on the ICW.  The weather was beautiful and by the time we anchored in Mile Hammock Bay (near Camp Lejeune) I was wearing shorts.  Since we have the full cockpit enclosure up the sun warms us up nicely even if the air is chilly.  Along the way today we saw evidence of the destruction of Hurricane Florence mostly in blue tarps covering roof damage and missing siding.  

On Monday we left our anchorage at 7:15 in heavy rain that had started early in the morning.  We wanted to make sure we got past New River Inlet at mid and falling tide.  It’s nice to get what we thought was the only tough spot done early.  We had three opening bridges to contend with today, and Bob timed our travel so we wouldn’t have to wait too long for openings.  It is stressful to circle around in front of a bridge with other boats lined up for the opening as well. Between the Figure Eight Bridge and Wrightsville Beach Bridge we went aground briefly at an inlet, but Bob was able to power through the shallow section. After traversing a part of the ICW with incredible mansions lining the west side, we arrived in Wrightsville Beach.  It is a beautiful area, and we are hoping our favorite restaurants here have not been damaged by Florence.

Since our reservation in Southport doesn’t start until Wednesday, November, 21 we enjoyed a stopover day in Wrightsville. Our favorite Mexican restaurant, Tower 7, was open and the food was a delicious as we remembered.

The beach was deserted except for this lone fisherman.

Of course, when I saw this shop advertising
 hurricane sale bargains I had to check it out.  

This view of Wrightsville beach shows the fishing pier.

We left Wrightsville Beach at 7:15 on Wednesday morning headed for Southport, NC.  With a favorable tide helping us on the Cape Fear River we arrived by 11:00am.  The bright sunshine and cool breeze made it perfect for a walk over to Fishy Fishy for lunch.  On our way back to the boat we stopped to admire an American Tug and were invited aboard for a tour. It has a beautiful roomy layout with a great galley.  

That afternoon I made a pumpkin pie (sugar free, of course) and Bob made cranberry relish in preparation for our Thanksgiving “feast”.  While I was baking the pie the propane tank ran out and Bob had to switch to the spare. Thanksgiving was great; good food, nice weather, and lots of football. 

On Friday morning we walked to the outpatient clinic at the local hospital (about 1 mile) for Bob to have his eye examined.  Since there were no eye doctor’s offices open until Monday the hospital was our only recourse.  Bob was seen quickly and diagnosed with an eye infection and prescribed drops to clear it up.  We then walked a half mile further to the pharmacy, had lunch at a pizzeria, and then walked to Walmart to buy our needed groceries.  By the time the Uber driver dropped us off at the marina it was 3:00 pm.  In the pouring rain on Saturday we took an Uber to Oak Island hardware to get our propane tank refilled.  Then we watched college football.  Penn State handily beat Maryland in their final regular season game.

Sunday we were busy all day with the chores to get ready to head out on Monday - laundry, changing engine oil and filter, cleaning our composting toilet, cleaning the water filters, and the cleaning interior of the boat.  It was another exhausting day, but I did take time to walk to the Christmas store to buy some decorations for the boat.

My next blog post will be about the final leg of our journey and will be posted from Charleston, SC our final destination for the season.

Thank you for reading my blog.