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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