BACK TO BASE CAMP....HILTON HEAD, SC

We made it in about noon after a pretty morning on the water. The Marina (Windmill Harbour) is pretty full, so we did not get our old slip back :-( We will meet up with some old friends this week, then leave for Texas Saturday AM. When we picked up our SUV at the storage unit this afternoon, the battery was dead. This is a brand new car mind you. We picked it up one week before we drove here from Texas. What's with that???

Sunset behind our boat in Beaufort, SC

DOCK CART DOG

Precious Dorsey

We spent last night in Georgetown, SC....long dock to walk Dorsey. Because we are in SC where the tides are horrific, many of the marinas have long walks from the boat to land. The dock last night had large cracks between the boards. We were afraid one of her feet would fall between the cracks and hurt her leg badly. We started out carrying her, and then decided a Dock Cart would work. She wasn't thrilled about it, but finally accepted the ride. Today, we had to contend with some low tides again and really watch our depth in places. We had picked the Charleston City Marina on a recommendation. Well, again it was a loooooong walk to the grass for Dorsey and the docks had large spaces between the boards. We had already tied up and hooked up the electric. We decided it was just not going to work to stay here. So, we untied and went to the marina on the Stono River, where we had stayed on the way North....great docks and great dog walking area. We are all happily settled in for the night :-)))

MYRTLE BEACH, SC

We are back in SC once again. We got a late start this morning (10AM). We had a mechanic come to check the dripless seal...if you're not a boater, it is one of many parts that are vital to the boat running. It all checked out and we were on our way. It was slow going as there were many no wake zones. We managed to run abruptly aground near the Shalotte Inlet:-( It was a hard bump. Fortunately, there was a guy in a fishing boat nearby. He came over and manuevered his boat to wake us. It was enough to move us into the deeper water. It was really a damper on the whole day, very disheartening. We had planned to go farther, but at the end of the day, we had the notorious ROCK PILE to go through. We have been through here before, but it is always scary. (see earlier posts from last year). We called it a day once we got to Myrtle Beach. We always enjoy stopping here, lots to do. We walked to a the Flying Fish for dinner and are now relaxed and much happier!

SEE...MORE ORANGE...IT TRULY MUST BE "THE" COLOR FOR FALL!!!!

CRUISING SOUTH CONTINUES

never know what you'll see along the way

nose to nose with a 90 footer on our dock

high tide at a local restaurant...evidently this is "normal"

We spent the last 3 days continuing South. Last night, we had were in Swansboro, NC and met the people on a boat across the dock from us. We had seen their boat in St. Michaels, MD when we were there. We struck up a conversation and found out they knew the people from whom we bought our boat. Well, we enjoyed drinks on their fly bridge and headed into town for dinner. It was a great, fun evening. We will see them again when we are down in Florida next winter. Tonight we are in Southport, NC....love it. Charming seaside town where several movies have been made...including Safe Haven , a movie we saw last year. We walked into town and had dinner at Mr P's Bistro...a local favorite!! Believe it or not, John had prime rib.

Guess they got the memo that ORANGE is THE color for Fall

MORE FUN TO BE HAD!

NAVY SHIP WE PASSED IN HAMPTON ROADS

We had another long day of rolling down the Bay. Jake seems to finally be adjusting to it and did pretty well today. We are in Norfolk tonight at our favorite marina right downtown. There is an Indie Rock Festival here this weekend. We walked around it a bit later this afternoon and will head over there again after dinner. We will take our chairs, sit on the lawn, sip some wine, watch people and enjoy the music. Actually, the music is quite good. Did I mention the weather is gorgeous? It is in the low 70's. This is a very nice treat after a couple challenging days on the Bay.

INDIE ROCK FESTIVAL

ROCKIN' AND A ROLLIN'

Whew! What a day! Our departure from Vera's on the Patuxent River was beautiful with its forested hills and serene water. Then we hit the BAY. The winds were from the NW and the waves and swells were something to be dealt with. A front had come through and the water was disturbed...as was Jake. The only other boats we saw were sailboats who seemed to be loving it. It was a long ride, but we made it up the Rappahonock River to the Tides Inn, near Irvington, VA. It is a pretigious resort built in 1947. It still draws the who's who from DC and the East Coast. We enjoyed walking around the pretty property after our long day on the water.

Tides Inn

We had been told by several boaters that this was a must see stop...so we did \:-))

HEADING BACK SOUTH

We had mixed feelings as we departed Herrington Harbout this Morning. We had a wonderful month here. I have not felt this relaxed in a long time. We decided to head up the Patuxent River to Vera's White Sands Beach Resort for tonight's destination. This is a resort that has been around a very long time. It has a polynesian theme and was created by Miss Vera. She is the flamboyant hostess that welcomed her guests well into her 90's. It is a well known haunt on the Chesapeake, so we had to make a stop here. We want to come back some time again, on a summer weekend. Looks like a "happening" place!



John lusting over a Kubota



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MORE REPAIRS AND MORE BOAT BUCKS

Here we go again. While checking something else in the bilge, a mechanic noticed a crack in the exhaust pipe. So....we had to order the part built and have it express mailed ($$$$) from Washington State to get here today. It will be installed tomorrow. Since this happened last Thursday, we had several days to wait. We decided to drive up to Philly to see the grandkids. We got back today, and hope to start heading South on Thursday.

THE PRICEY PART

ROCKET TO THE MOON DOCK PARTY

Had a fun time last night. Our dock has a lot of Air Force, Navy, Government, Nasa workers or people retired from those fields. They were all excited about last night's launch of the rocket to the moon set to go off around 11:30 PM. Everyone brought a dish, nibbles and drinks. There was even Rocket Fuel provided by an ex CIA guy. We met a bunch of new people and enjoyed many laughs. We all managed to stay up until the launch and it was so worth it!!!! It shot across the clear night sky with a bright orange tail.....headed to the moon.

ENJOYING NEW FRIENDS

BLUEGRASS IN MARYLAND....WHO KNEW?

Wednesday night, 9/4/13, we went to Happy Harbour in Deale for dinner. It was open mike night and bluegrass pickers from the area show up there to jam. It was an incredible evening. There were probably 10-12 people that took turns singing, strumming, playing harmonicas, guitars and banjoes. There was even an elderly woman with a walker recovering from 2 broken hips up there belting out songs. It all ended at 9PM. They all came around and welcomed us and chatted a bit. I guess we city slickers didn't blend in to the local crowd, but they sure did embrace us.


KEN & KELLY PRESENTED JOHN WITH THIS VERY APROPRO T SHIRT



ST. MICHAELS, MD

Just returned from a trip across the Bay to St. Michaels. Trip there and back was a delight, with very little wind and wave action. What a charming town it is. We walked down to the Chesapeake Maritime Museum and did a tour. My favorite thing was the old Lighthouse. It is fascinating that people lived there for months at a time. What a good view they had.It actually seemed pretty roomy. We met up with Jim and Linda (boaters who live there) for dinner. It was seafood all around, except, of course, John enjoyed a chicken sandwich.

BOUNCING TO BALTIMORE



 Saturday, 8/31, we headed up to Baltimore. Winds were from the South, so not a bad ride. We took the water taxi to Fells Pt. and the Inner Harbor. There is a LOT to do in Baltimore, and we would definitely stop there again. We had to show K & K Dirty Dick's .....crazy restaurant, so stopped in for a beer. That evening we walked over to Mama's on the Half Shell for Oramge Crushes and dinner. Ken had a wonderful Boulibasse (sp?), Kelly had 2 types of crab soup and a fried oyster salad, I had crab soup and a smoked trout salad.....John had a chicken sandwich (his standard fare). The trip back was interesting for Ken and Kelly (sailboaters extraordinaire). Since it was Labor Day Wknd, there were sailing regattas all over the Bay for our trip back. Every sail class you could imagine. John was damning the sailboats, as we had to constantly zig zag around them :-( Kelly continues to try and befriend Jake. I'll keep you posted on that, but I believe that is not going to happen.


A FEW OF HUNDREDS



BALTIMORE SKYLINE

We took Labor Day off, lounged and ate lunch at the beach, went to a movie, and ate dinner at a local seafood Dive.....Neptunes...yum! Yes, John had the chicken sandwich.

SHEETS WASHED AND READY FOR KEN AND KELLY

K & K

Thursday, August 29, Ken and Kelly, Texas friends arrived. We had an easy drive into DC to pick them up at National. The ride back took much longer, as the Garmin lady couldn't keep up with the detours. That evening, we grilled on the beach. Friday AM we left for Annapolis. We got a slip on Ego Alley right in downtown "Nap Town". After a scrumptious lunch at Middletons, we headed over to the Naval Academy for a walking tour...such an impressive place! John and Ken headed back to the boat at that point, and Kelly and I explored the town. We were docked steps away from PUSSERS, so at happy hour we all strolled over there to listen to the live music on their dock and sip level 4 Painkillers....can't go to Annapolis without having a Painkiller (google it).

MUSSELS AT MIDDLETONS

We had dinner on the boat and then sat up on the bow to watch the parade of boats go by that evening. About 10PM, we got the idea to take the water taxi for an evening tour of the harbor. Great night!