STORM!

Last night we went to bed about 11:30,clueless of the pending storm. Just before midnight, the boat started to rock. We thought, wow, some huge boat must be going through the marina. Finally we got up to see lightning and horrific winds. We had to go outside, add lines and fenders. The wind blew like we have never seen. Our shore power was knocked out until 6AM this morning.

Hmmm.....maybe a red car to go with our

red   boat :-)

SOLOMONS DAY 2

We enjoyed exploring on our bikes today, even though it hit 102 degrees with no breeze. There was no one out and about....too hot! Our marina has a nice pool, so we spent a couple hours there. We found out where all the people were.

OOPS! Forgot to add........we had to steer out of our way for a couple miles due to some Navy gunfire exercises. They hailed us on the radio and instructed us that they were using live ammo, and it would be wise to move off our course.

SOLOMONS ISLAND, MD

This morning we got up early ready to pull out at 7 AM.....oh no, the engine would not start. John had changed the fuel filter just before and evedently air got into the fuel line (every day we learn something). Any how, a guy from nearby Zimmerman marine came over and fixed the problem. By 9:30 we were on our way.
It was a 9 knot 50' depth, flat day on the bay. We all appreciated it!
As you can see, we ended the day at the famous Tiki Bar on Solomons. Check that one off the list :-)

If you ever wondered where all the Hogmasters went, well, they are alive and well being used as marina courtesy cars. Here we have another one!

Here is a boat loaded with those damned crab traps :-(((

DELTAVILLE, VA..........ROCKIN' & ROLLIN' ACROSS THE CHESAPEAKE

Yesterday was another exhausting one. Everything had to be tied down and stowed. The boat, John and I did fine, but Dorsey and Jake suffered the seas.
We ended up in Deltaville at Regatta Pointe Marina.They had a wine and cheese party on the deck for all the transients. We enjoyed chatting with everyone and picking their brains for potentiall places to stop.

NORFOLK DAY 2

We were all set to head out again this morning, but a report of gale force winds on the Chesapeake changed our minds. It turned out that we had a beautiful day to explore more of downtown Norfolk. It is such a Navy town...navy ships, and all sorts of navy related stuff to see. The ship above passed by just outside our window. We have a great slip right on the channel. We have seen some interesting vessels pass by all day.
We walked passed this really neat statue this afternoon. I just loved it! Norfolk is what I would call a very "manicured" looking town. We would stop here again.

In the Clear Lake area they put Space Shuttles on Barges...in these parts, they put TUGS on barges.

NORFOLK, VA

Today was a day of bridges and a lock. We had been warned that there was a series of bridges up ahead that only opened at certain times. We departed Coinjock with our fingers crossed, that we could transit them all in a timely manner. As good friend Barb Dupuy says..."I love it when a plan comes together". ..and it did :-)
Very shortly after arriving in downtown Norfolk, a horrific storm hit. We had to add extra lines and fenders. Winds were clocked at 60+mph, along with hail. Our sturdy boat held strong though it all.
Today is John's birthday. He is now a medicare man, and not too happy about it. We had dinner on the boat, thanks to the storm. There will be time for birthday merriment on another day.

COINJOCK,NC (or as John has pronounced it all day....KOJACK)

Another long day on the water....85 miles! We wanted to get ahead of the wind again, as we crossed Albemarle Sound. It has a very nasty reputation . Turns out, it was OK, but the crap traps were everywhere. We had to be on high alert.
BTW, we were out in the middle of nowhere, so no phone or "words with friends" on my smartphone :-(

We had complained before about how closely marinas dock other boats to each other.....well here we are again. Boats docked stem to stern. This is the view off our stern. Their anchor is less than 6 " from our boat.
Every day we learn more. Our brains are tired when we go to bed at night.

BEAUFORT to BELHAVEN
Yesterday, was an extra day in Beaufort. We walked to the favorite local dive for breakfast. It was great, as were the people. We spent the day walking around town and getting caught up on things. The marina gave us their loaner car to pick up some supplies. As you can see, it was right out of the 80's.......a wood sided hogmaster station wagon. Nothing worked, the vinyl seats were all cracked, but it drove fine. We were told NOT to lock it as it would not reopen. We appreciated the wheels, and it was fun tooling around town in a "BEATER".

Today we left early again to get ahead of the predicted winds. We had to cross two large bodies of water and were concerned for the pets.As luck would have it, it was a mill pond out on the water(as Ken Sherwin would call it).  Tonight we are in the middle of nowhere at a mom and pop marina. It is cutesy and the owners take a lot of pride in their operation. We are very happy here.

BEAUFORT, NC (pronounced Bow Fert)

Who would guess that we would stay not only at Beaufort, SC and Beaufort, NC! Both are charming little towns that we will repeat.
Yesterday we pulled out of Myrtle Beach @ 6:30 AM. We were about to enter the dreaded "ROCK PILE". It is a 5 mile stretch along the ICW that has submerged rock ledges on both sides of the channel. There is very little passing room for oncoming boats. Before entering that section, one is supposed to issue a "Securite" warning over the radio for any concerned vessels. By leaving early, we did not encounter anyone...a good thing! We cruised to Wrightsville Beach , arriving late afternoon. We were not happy with our marina. After we docked on the face dock, they proceeded to pack boats on it stem to stern. It could have been a nightmare departing in the AM. We expressed our concern to the dockmaster and he became quite surly....we'll never stop at that place again.
This AM, we departed early again and arrived at Beaufort, NC about 4:30. It was a long day, but we were rewarded by a cute town, a great marina, and friendly people. We will stay here until Saturday. We're going to explore and have fun tomorrow.

NORTH MYRTLE BEACH

We are currently at Barefoot Resort and Marina. We arrived Sunday and will leave in the AM. We extended our time here because we like it so much! It is bikeable to the grocery store, restaurants,beach, House of Blues, etc.There was a band sunday afternoon by the pool and fireworks last night. We will definitely return here.
We had to cross over a swing bridge to get to everything off the property. The bridge tender guy became our new best friend. This evening, we were biking across the bridge, he stopped us and asked if we were headed to a happy hour. We said yes. He told us where to find the very best one. We chatted quite a while with the guy. Tomorrow, we'll say hello when we pass through his bridge.

GEORGETOWN, SC

I am happy to report that we departed Charleston @ 6:30AM unscathed. Just for extra insurance, we had dock hand Bubba Gump on  standby.

Another great cruising day with just a slight glitch. We had reserved a slip at Harborwalk Marina in Georgetown, SC. Not only did we have to deal with a hugely crabby dockmaster, but he tried to have us shoehorn into a slip that looked to be a disaster. So....we used Ernie and Camille's axiom of "leave early, arrive early...which allows for options". We told Captain Crabby we would look elsewhere. We turned right around and headed back out to sea. We ended up at Georgetown Landing Marina and are happy as clams.

We did our usual walk into town and saw the sights. It, too, is just a fantastic stop! Beautiful old houses, old oaks lining the streets and a great place to stop for a beer. BTW, for those of you observant ones, yes, John is wearing the same outfit as yesterday...we are official "BOAT TRASH".

 

CHARMING CHARLESTON

After leaving Beaufort @ first light (6AM) to have the tide in our favor, we arrived Charleston about 2:30PM. We had another glorious day on the water through SC marshland....no issues with boat or

 depth :-) One highlight is that we got Dorsey to pee on her potty mat 2x while underway. That is a good thing . That way she can travel more comfortably.

Our marina is just off Charleston Harbor. We are on the inside of a linear dock just inside the breakwater. It is extremely rough on the other side. We are rocking and rolling way more than usual We have every fender we own in use. We're a bit concerned about getting off the dock in the AM...mega current here pushing us into the dock.

Today we took the Resort/Marina Trolley into the historic district. We enjoyed a Grayline bus tour that gave us a great overview of Charleston. We walked around afterwards and had lunch at Hyman's Seafood...evidently, a well known Charleston establishment. They had the very best hush puppies I have eaten in my life. Yum...we'll go back just for those!!!There are pictures on the wall and brass name plates on the tables with the names of all the celebs that have eaten there. The Beach Boys and Neil Armstrong "ate where we ate".

We head North tomorrow very early again...that is if we can get off this dock without taking out a few yachts along the way :-(

Goodbye, Hilton Head...Chesapeake here we come!

We left about 12:30PM....had to wait for the tide to rise. We have never seen such tide ranges as they have here. We had a gorgeous, uneventful day on the water, arriving in beautiful Beaufort, SC about 4PM. We docked right in the center of town, walked around a bit, and enjoyed a burger and brew. Unfortunately, we are only here one night this time, but will DEFINITELY be back! Next time, we'll spend a week.There is so much to see and do here.

Beautiful Beaufort!