St. Augustine, FL to Johnstown, PA and back

November 25, 2019 - December 2, 2019

We got up bright and early on Monday so I could meet the airport shuttle by 5:00 am.  It was cold and dark as we waited in front of the marina.  When the shuttle arrived it had a flat tire. AHHHHH! I quickly called for an Uber and one arrived in fifteen minutes.  I explained my dilemma  and the driver got me to the airport in time to get through security and make it to my gate just as boarding began for my flight to Baltimore. Once in Baltimore I had to exit security find the terminal for Boutique Airlines, go back through security, walk to the end of the terminal to find my gate. Once there I found out my flight was further delayed.  As it turned out the flight to Johnstown that was supposed to leave at 11:05 am left at 2:30 pm.  It was a tiring and frustrating day at the airport to say the least, but I arrived safe a sound at Jessica and Joe’s house around 3:30 pm.  After a quick nap Joe and I met Jessica at a restaurant famous for its wings.  Delicious!

My plan for Tuesday and Wednesday was to make matching sleepwear for everyone coming for Thanksgiving and help with the food preparation.  I got everything cut out on Tuesday and sewn on Wednesday.  Nightgowns for Jessica, Rachel, and me - a tunic and leggings for Lilli - PJ pants for Joe and Juan - it was lots of fun sewing and watching Netflix.  

Here are the ladies modeling their sleepwear!

Rachel, Juan, and Lili arrived Wednesday evening from Oak Park, IL.  What a great reunion and a fun night playing UNO and listening to Lili display her skill on the trumpet.  She started playing in September and is very good for a beginner.  Music has always been a big part of my life and I’m happy Lili is finding joy in music as well.  I wish I had a picture of Lili playing her trumpet.

Rachel and Juan relaxing in the living room

Thanksgiving was fabulous.  We started the day with a long walk/hike through the nearby park which covers many acres of land hoping to stimulate our appetite for the feast planned for later in the day.  The turkey wasn’t done until about 4:00 pm, but Jessica had planned for this with light snacks to stave off hunger.  While the turkey rested we baked corn casserole, mac and cheese, potato filling, and mashed potatoes followed by rolls. I used the drippings from the turkey and the broth from cooking the neck and giblets to make the gravy and made the cucumber salad. The table was set and decorated by Jessica and Lili.  It was a once in a life time feast followed by pumpkin and pecan pie (baked by Joe) topped by homemade vanilla ice cream.

Beautiful Table setting waiting for our turkey.

Snacks in front of the fire

Beautiful turkey resting

On Friday morning Rachel made two of her famous apple pies to add to our wide variety of desserts.  Later in the day we were joined by Becky and Al (my sister and brother-in-law) and Melanie, Joe and their two boys Jack and Mathew (Jess and Joe’s dearest friends). What a wonderful day!!! For dinner Joe made his famous meat sauce over spaghetti noodles with garlic bread and salad.  What could be better.  Everyone had the best time ever.

Becky, Al, and I just before they had to leave.

On Saturday everyone, but Rachel, Juan and Lili had to leave.  We still had the core family members there for a great game of UNO and a fun evening.

Sunday, Rachel, Juan, and Lili had to drive back to Oak Park, IL  after a breakfast of scrapple and scrambled eggs with cheese.  On Monday I returned to St. Augustine where s/v Rainy Days has been moored.  It was such a great week with two of my daughters and their families (Jack and Mathew are Jess and Joe’s god sons) plus my sister and her husband.  I love Thanksgiving with family.

My next blog will be about our stay over in St. Augustine.

Thank you for reading my blog.

New River, SC to near St. Augustine, FL

November 18, 2019 - November 22, 2019

We left early Monday morning from our anchorage in New River so we would hit the trouble spots of the day close to high tide.  We were about five miles north of Fields Cut (where we went hard aground on our first trip down the ICW) which leads into the Savannah River. News from other cruisers indicated that Fields Cut had been dredged recently and we got through without touching bottom.  Savannah is one of the busiest ports around and we are always amazed at the number and size of the ships that pass in front of us as we cross the narrow river. 

See what I mean! We were just entering
the river and you can see how narrow it is.

Hell Gate was the next concern.  It is a short (less than a mile long) canal dug between the Little Ogeechee River and the Ogeechee River and has been treacherous for us on previous trips.  Bob let me navigate this area and the water was never lower than 21 feet.  We stopped for the night at Kilkenny Creek, one of our favorite anchorages,

 Lola was tormented by the water birds hiding in the spartina grass near our boat. 
When she was on deck the birds were screeching back and forth.

Killkenny Creek is a large anchorage
with room for other boats,

On Tuesday we were headed for Little Mud River about 40 miles away.   Apparently, the Army Core of Engineers had forgotten to dredge Little Mud River since it was still scary  even at high tide.  Given the 7-8 foot tidal range in this area anything under 14 feet at high tide is unpassable at low tide and we saw depths under 10 ft. 

 Bob and Lola relaxing while I’m at the helm.

We anchored in Wally’s Leg that night around 3:30 pm.  Just in time for a short photo shoot.

Whenever I see a flag I want to photograph it. 
This flag flies off the stern of our boat.

 Georgia low country is beautiful.

another beautiful sunset

Wednesday morning we only had 19 miles to travel to the Jekyll Island marina where we spent the night. 

We saw the wreck of the Golden Ray in
St. Simons Sound, GA on our way to Jekyll Island.
The Golden Ray had capsized on 9/8/19.
All 24 crew were rescued.

We arrived in time to get much needed showers and have lunch at Zachary's River Front Restaurant on the Marina grounds.  We borrowed a loaner golf cart to go to the Beach Side Village to get some groceries.  Shops and shops and shops tempted me to explore, but we had to get back to the boat to take care of boat chores.

These birds are resting on the bridge's fender and
painting it with what locals call "Georgia whitewash."

 I saw this egret sitting in the spartina grass near the marina.

Wednesday was our last day in Georgia.  I commented to Bob that Georgia hadn't been so bad this year. Soon after we went hard aground.  A power boat came along behind us and went aground close by.  We both put out fenders to prevent damage if the boats drifted into each other in the process of getting off the bottom.  Fortunately, it was dead low tide and the tide would soon lift us off the mud.  A friend of ours on "Sequel to" came along and showed us where we could find the deep water by getting through the area easily.  Both captains continued to try to back out of the mud and when the power boat broke free it drifted into us.  We helped to push it off (no damage to either boat) and it was on its way.  Bob tried once more to back out of the mud and we broke free.  Following our friend's example we made it into deeper water.  So much for Georgia not being so bad.

 These pelicans sat and watched us go aground.
I could almost hear them laughing.

We motored into Florida around 2:00 pm.

Shrimp boats docked at the Fernandina seafood plant.

The paper mill can be seen from afar
and is the first sign of Fernandina Beach.

That night we anchored in a new spot just off the ICW.

We enjoyed another spectacular sunset.

One more short day to go before our long stop over in St. Augustine.  With the warmer weather we have been keeping the front window out and Lola has become very bold.  She waits for a time when Bob and I are distracted and prances out to the cabin top.  One time while chasing a bug I was sure she would go over board.  What a disaster that would be!
We arrived at our anchorage just 19 miles north of St. Augustine by 12:30 right after we enjoyed a delicious lunch of meat loaf, peas, and baked apple.  I've been cooking more elaborate lunches on this trip.  It's easy to cook while we are underway in quiet rivers and canals and Bob and I have gotten used to eating our biggest meal at noon and snacking for supper.

One canal we traversed today was lined 

with one mansion after another.

Tomorrow St. Augustine...


Thank you for reading my blog.

Georgetown, SC to Beaufort, SC and beyond

November 10, 2019 - November 17, 2019

We left Georgetown just after sunrise to start our three day trip to Beaufort, SC.  Our first day we planned to motor 50 miles, but stopped short of that goal and anchored in Capers Creek.  We were definitely back in the lush South Carolina low country as we were surrounded by marsh.  The familiar smell of the pluff mud and the beauty of the spartina grass were a welcome sight.  We spent last winter in the low country and most of the winter of 2016/2017 and it has become one of my favorite eco-systems.  Shrimp boats, pelicans, egrets, and dolphins are abundant in the low country waterways.

One advantage of getting up early
is seeing a beautiful sunrise!

A pelican resting on a day marker

A shrimp boat out early

On Monday we had planned to get a later start to hit Elliot Cut at slack tide, but Bob couldn’t wait.  We got through the Ben Sawyer Bridge at 10:00am and entered Charleston harbor.

The Ravenell Bridge connects Charleston with Mount Pleasant.

Boats are anchored in Charleston Harbor
just in front of the City Marina.

Because of Bob’s impatience we hit Elliot Cut when the tidal current was still about four knots  against us which slowed us down considerably.  Bob had to “white knuckle” it through the cut, but we safely made it into the Stono River.  We anchored off Stono River in Church Creek.

I finally photographed a beautiful sunset.

Tuesday dawned overcast and rain was predicted for later in the day.  We hoped we could make it to Beaufort before the deluge.  We had a few cuts (small dredged canals between rivers or creeks) to navigate, but high tide helped us through them without a problem.  We passed under the Ladies Island Bridge and docked at Bueafort Downtown Marina at 2:00 pm in the pouring rain.  I was soaked to the skin by the time we were settled in our slip.  Hot rum drinks helped us to warm up and relax after the stressful docking.  

Wednesday was sunny, but with a cold wind.  We braved the elements and had breakfast at Common Ground just off the harbor side park and later lunch at Plum’s.  I had Shrimp and Grits, one of my favorite low country offerings.

The park extends from the Ladies Island Bridge to the Downtown Marina.
 It has porch swing type seats and in warmer weather
I would have been swinging on one.

Bob wasn’t interested in looking in many of the stores on Bay Street (the first street away from the park) and after a while he headed back to the boat while I completed my exploration.  One shop that intrigued me was a kitchen store that had such a plethora of items it took me quite awhile to look at everything.

 I have started to collect kitchen towels and
found this one in the kitchen store.

  

One side of Bay street is mostly shops
and the other side is mostly restaurants.    

 Many of the historic homes have been converted
to Bed and Breakfast Inns.

Beaufort has several trading libraries
like this one all around town.
The policy is "take one - leave one".

Beaufort has some family history attached.  My in-laws (Sig and Claire Hanel) married here during WW II.  Sig was stationed at Parris Island at the time and later was deployed to the Pacific.

Thursday was cloudy and a light rain started in the morning.  I got the laundry done before the deluge that afternoon.  The rain continued all day, all day Friday and all day Saturday. Ugh!  We still managed to get groceries and rum. I got out some fabric and cut out the pieces for my next quilt. On Saturday we watched Penn State beat Indiana University 27-24.  

Sunday morning we left the marina at 9:00 am heading south on the Beaufort River past Port Royal and Parris Island.   

This is the water tower at Parris Island which states “We Make Marines”.

The wind and current were both strong causing a rocky ride.  The waves and wind calmed down once we got across Port Royal Sound and into Skull Creek.  The rest of the trip was calm with sunshine warming up the enclosure nicely. We anchored in New Creek around 2:30.

Lola relaxing in the cockpit after a long day of travel.

Tomorrow we leave South Carolina and enter Georgia which has some trouble spots on the ICW.

Thank you for reading my blog.

Beaufort, NC to Georgetown, SC

November 3, 2019 - November 9, 2019

We left Beaufort at around 7:45 am on Sunday which is later than usual, but we needed to time the tides to some areas we would be encountering later in the day.  The weather for the first two days of travel was mild and sunny and our days ended by 3:00pm.  The first night we anchored in Mile Hammock Bay which is within the grounds of Camp LeJuene.  We were one of the first of twelve other boats to anchor there for the night.  Lola had been a little lethargic lately so I made a point of playing with her out on the cabin top that afternoon.  She attacked a line I teased her with with great vigor.  We have to remember that she needs this kind of play time. 

The Pink House, as we have named it,
sits on its own island on the west side of the ICW. 

Our second night we anchored at Wrightsville Beach.  The wind had picked up in the afternoon, but calmed down in the evening.  We woke up to cloudy skies, warm temperatures, and a short rain storm. We raised our anchor and headed off to Southport. On the Cape Fear River we were joined by a pair of dolphins.  They swam, dived, and surfaced along side the boat for several minutes.  The pair was most likely a female and her young as the young dolphins stay with their mother for about three years to learn the social and food gathering behaviors necessary for survival.  It was a short trip and we arrived in time to have lunch at one of our favorite spots, Fishy Fishy. As we were walking home the rain that had been threatening all day began in earnest. We relaxed inside listening to the sound of the rain on the boat.  Southport is one of our favorite stops on the ICW, it seems almost like a home port.  On our stay over day in Southport we got out our folding bikes and road around town and out Howe Street to a great Italian Restaurant, Bambini’s. The whole trip was about five miles. 

Brightly painted shutters at Fishy, Fishy

The seafood market with brightly colored floats hanging outside

Pelicans are one of my favorite marine birds.

On Thursday we had three trouble spots to get through.  We left at 6:30 am just as the sun was rising in order to hit these spots with a favorable tide.  At low tide we would be more likely to go aground or touch bottom at some point.  Lockwood’s Folly Inlet was the first trouble spot, next came Shallot Inlet.  We got through both with no trouble.  Bob studies many sources of information on issues like these and plots our course meticulously saving us from making mistakes. He is usually at the helm through these tough spots and I am watching with binoculars to identify buoys and day markers. We make a good team. The last spot of concern was Little River Inlet which we breezed through with no problems.  Inlets from the ocean like these are particularly difficult to navigate because of the strong currents which produce ever changing areas of shoaling. 

Seeing this large casino boat as we rounded
a bend in the ICW channel was quite a surprise!

We docked at Barefoot Landing Marina by 2:00 pm, tired, but happy to be through the trouble spots.  Barefoot Landing is in the Myrtle Beach area.  Jimmy Buffet’s sister, Lulu, has recently completed a complex including a restaurant, arcade and rope climbing area across the ICW from Barefoot Landing Marina.  It looks like the area is headed toward being a major stop on the ICW.

 At night Lulu’s takes on a carnival spirit with bright lights and music.

Leaving the marina at 7:30 am we were in for a rather boring day of canals and a long the winding Waccamaw River. The weather changed drastically from the day before.  I was in shorts and a tank top yesterday, but in jeans and a sweatshirt today.

 Palatial houses lined the ICW in the Myrtle Beach area.

We were docked at the Dry Stack Marina in Georgetown, SC by 2:30pm.  After checking in we walked downtown to get some ice cream.

Sweeties has delicious ice-cream.

On Saturday the marina dock master gave us a ride to the Food Lion and back to the marina after we purchased all of the supplies we needed.  After I stowed all of the groceries I took my camera for a walk around the marina and town. Georgetown is the third oldest town in South Carolina and contains historic houses, the rice museum, and the old shrimp dock.  Nearby are old rice and indigo plantations that can be toured.

This is the view of the harbor and Harbour Walk
from our dock.  The shrimp boats are docked
in front of the old shrimp processing plant.

Here's the entrance to our Marina.

This is a window in the old fish house
next to the marina.

The Cleland House, pictured here, was built in 1737
by John and Mary Perry Cleland on Front Street.
Local legend claims it is haunted.
To read the story go to this link
.https://www.hauntedplaces.org › item › leland-house

Front Street is lined on both sides by live oaks.

The Harbor Walk a is lined
with restaurants and shops.

Costal Carolina University docks its
marine research vessel in Georgetown.

On Saturday afternoon we watched the PennState vs. Minnesota game.  Penn State lost (their first loss of the season) 26 - 31.

Tomorrow we will start our three day trip to Beaufort, SC.


Thanks for reading my blog.