Oct 31, 2011-Georgia

I have to say that I am ready to be done with this trip South, it is nice to be somewhere that we could get on and off the boat everyday. Beaufort and Hilton Head have been the only two stops that we have made and stayed for more than a day. So, with this feeling of longing for some stationary time, I encouraged Chris to head off shore, so that we could do an overnight and just get to Florida. The forecast was for N-NE winds 15-20 knots. It sounded pretty good, even though there was a small craft advisory off shore. I should have known that was going to be a dumb idea, especially for me! I'm still suffering from the fetus flu.
We started to make our way out of the inlet, and the seas were 20-25 knot seas, but the wind was only blowing 10 knots. We were getting tossed around a fair amount, Deason wasn't happy, and I was throwing up! Nice! So we turned around and came back inside. Even with our little detour out to the ocean we still made it to Bear Island. The wind did pick up to 20 knots so we found a little protection from the wind behind a little bit of trees in the narrow Queen Bess Creek.

Oct 30, 2011

This weekend has flown by, we have had such a great time. The weather was a little cold, but compared to the NE weather we shouldn't complain. I guess I had figured that we would be spending our time in shorts and t-shirts, and we have spent a fair amount of time in cold weather gear.
Harbour Town had a Halloween parade today for the kids, and trick-o-treating around the shops. Dahlia loved wearing a costume, let's hope she doesn't want to wear it everyday. I made Deason's costume, he was the Harbour Town Lighthouse. We were too late for the costume contest, but everyone kept saying he would have won!
We head out tomorrow, and hopefully we will get to warmer weather soon!

Oct 28, 2011

While we waited for Grammy and Grampy to arrive, we washed the boat and got everything looking as nice as our boat can look. They didn't arrive on Hilton Head until noon time and we were all really happy to see them. Deason informed us that he doesn't plan on staying on the boat until we have to leave, and if we are lucky maybe one of those nights Dahlia can stay as well, and Chris and I can sleep in!
They drove up from Naples, Fl, and their car was completely filled with care packages that were sent to us and stuff we had purchased on-line. We got some great stuff in our care packages. Meme made Dahlia this new beautiful hat which she hasn't taken off yet, and Deason got some really cool building sets and a new game. We love playing games and have been really into the game Mancala lately!

Oct 27, 2011

got to see another bald eagle!

We anchored last night in Beaufort, SC (pronounced Bewfort), not to be confused with Beaufort, NC (pronounced like Bowford). It is amazing how much of a tidal range there is here. We anchored in 12ft of water at low tide, but since the tidal range was 10ft we had to put out 100ft of chain, it seemed absurd, but at high tide the water was over 22ft deep. There was no wind during the night so it was a nice and quite night sleep.
We hauled up the anchor at 9 am hoping to catch the bridge opening at 9:30, but when we approached the bridge, the bridge tender informed us that he wasn't opening until 10am. So we had to sit there and wait. It wasn't the best start to our day, but we only had a short trip to Hilton Head so we got over the disappointment real quick. The funny thing was that the bridge's name was Lady's Island Bridge, and the bridge tender had one of those deep soulful voices like Barry White. I kept waiting for him to say "this next openin' is for all you ladies out there"!
We made it to Hilton Head about 2pm, and went directly to the pool, the weather was nice, but boy was the pool cold! Dahlia turned blue instantly, and Deason who we usually have to drag out of the water, was not complaining when we decided to leave not long after getting there.
We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of my Dad and Jodi tomorrow, can't wait to see them.

Oct 25, 2011

We had an eventful night. We had the current with us all day yesterday, somehow we hit all the tide changes perfectly, and carried a favorable tide 60+ miles. When we got to our intended anchorage, it was just about 4pm. We had not been on this part of the ICW, because last year we had traveled off shore past this particular section. We had no idea what the anchorage was like.
When we pulled in, there was only one other boat there and they were attempting to anchor, the currents were swift and the wind was pretty strong as well. There was absolutely no tree protection from the wind, it was miles of marshland. The winds were pushing our boat one way, and the current the other. Our boat was moving in strange ways and we kept falling over our anchor and dragging. We couldn't seem to get it right, (the other sailboat seemed to be having the same problems as we were) so we decided to head to the next listed anchorage which was 10 miles away. We still had plenty of day light to make it there.
On our way we spotted a lonely looking dock that appeared to want company! We were happy to oblige. I am sure it was privately owned, or association owned, but there were no houses for miles, and they were all across the marsh from the dock. The water was a little skinny, and we figured we would probably end up on the ground in the middle of the night especially with a 6ft tidal range, but it would be high tide when we left in the morning so it wasn't going to be a big deal especially since it was a soft bottom.
Well, I woke up around midnight to go to the bathroom and fell into the wall. I was completely disoriented. The boat was tilted at what seemed to be a 30 degree angle. Yup, we were certainly on the ground. The starboard side hull that was tied to the dock was on the ground, but the port side was still floating. It was the weirdest feeling I have had on the boat in a while. It made it a little difficult to get back to sleep, but I will take that over waking up in the middle of the night while our anchor is dragging. At least we were safe!
This morning we woke up and our boat was happily floating again, we departed our borrowed dock and made our way to Charleston. On our way we saw a bald eagle, he was beautiful! I wish I could have got some better pictures, but he was too far away.

Oct 23, 2011- S. Carolina

We made it to Myrtle Beach. We stayed here last year. The dock is fairly inexpensive (as far as docks go) and it has a large plaza that is right off the dock which is convenient to walk around. I do find it amazing that people flock here in the masses for a vacation. While the beaches are beautiful, it is plaza after plaza and they are all filled with souvenir shops with the same old merchandise made in China, and the same chain restaurants you can find anywhere else in America. The other thing is that there are no side walks, so we couldn't walk to a grocery store, unless we had a death wish. We definitely prefer the small towns to this. Beaufort has this great little place called The Community Market, which sells all organic foods and the woman who runs it is so nice and helpful. I wish we could find another one of those markets in our travels.

Oct 22, 2011

So much for just popping back onto the ICW, we anchored last night at high tide while it was flooding in. At the time we had 7 ft of water under us, when we woke up this morning at 6am it was mid way through the ebbing tide. We had swung around with the tide and ended up in shallow water with our port side hull in the mud. We were fortunate enough to be in soft sand/mud. Thankfully, the water was still up to our waterline and we were able to slowly motor off and the windlass helped to pull us forward while we hauled in the anchor. It was pitch dark, but if we had waited any longer we would have been hard aground. There is a 3.5 ft tidal range there, and if we weren't lucky enough to get off the shoal we would have been stuck until almost high tide at 3pm.
Luck was on our side!
We were only able to get to Carolina Beach today, we missed the tide to head down the Cape Fear River because of the bridge timing. We will head down through there tomorrow and hopefully stay in Myrtle Beach.
Not long after we anchored we watched a fishing boat pull onto the small island that is behind us (it was almost like watching Forest Gump) then they proceeded to off load what must have been their left over bait or their unwanted catch. The sea birds and pelicans were going mental. It was a huge swarm of birds. After that, we saw a deer swimming across the anchorage, he hopped out of the water near the docks and then ran down the length of some condos. It has certainly been an interesting day!

Oct 21, 2011

We miss Beaufort already. We traveled a fair bit today, and had pretty good luck on all the bridges. We barely had to wait for one. The only bad side to traveling down the coast of NC is that there are so many inlets that run into the ICW, and you end up fighting the current just as much as it helps you. If there is an outgoing tide, it helps you right up to where that inlet is, then as soon as you pass it you are fighting the rushing tide heading out.
We have seen quite a few remnants of the destruction of hurricane Irene. Some of the boats that ended up on dry land look as if people have just abandoned them and won't even try to get them off. Today we passed a boat that was on the ground, and it might possibly be in the water part of the time, but this boat actually had a "for sale" sign on it. We thought it was quite funny, at least they weren't trying to hide the fact that the boat wasn't 100%.
We ended up anchoring in a place called Sloop Point which is right by Top Sail Inlet. It was a quiet protected spot, and close to the ICW, so we can just pop right back on in the AM.

Oct 20, 2011

We plan to head out tomorrow, the weather yesterday and today were not suitable for travel. Wednesday was windy and very rainy, then in the evening the wind started to pick up. Overnight the winds were steady at 30 knots with gusts over 35 knots. We were giving our mooring a pretty good workout. It is hard to sleep on the boat when it is like that. The wind was whistling so loud, and the boat was moving in strange ways due to the choppy water and the pull of the wind. Chris got about 2 hrs of sleep and at 1:30am I gave up and put in ear plugs. It was amazing the difference the ear plugs made. I fell asleep instantly (it was also easy to fall asleep knowing that someone else was up worrying). Thanks Chris!
We did some final errands today and our trip to shore on the dinghy was a wet one. The winds didn't exactly let up for the day, it was still blowing 20 knots with some stronger gusts. The harbor was one choppy mess, and it is usually flat calm in there.
We are all sad to leave Beaufort, it was a great stop, but we are looking forward to warmer climates!

Oct 17, 2011

Kristin left today, she had to cut her trip a little short. Something about work, dealing with getting her credentialing all settled and typical adult responsibilities.....sounds awful to me! She will be missed, Dahlia actually woke up from her nap after I returned from dropping Kristin off at the airport, and asked "Kristin go?", the kids already miss her. It was really great to have her here!
We did have ourselves an adventure before she left. Her flight was at 10am, so we left at 8am. The airport is only 40 miles away. I was told to stay on route 70 until New Bern, and take a left, there will be signs for the airport. Sounds simple, right? Well, apparently it sounded too simple because for some odd reason, I didn't ask if I should go East or West on 70. Nor, did I think it was necessary to look at a map or even google it. I figured I will go "that way".....wrong! I don't even have a good excuse for such stupidity! We traveled 40 miles East on rt 70, and the whole time I was actually thinking "Wow....this is really rural, I can't believe there is even an airport out here"! I should have read into those thoughts a little more seriously, but I didn't, I kept driving. Until finally, we reached the END of rt 70. At the end there was a dock and some commercial fishing boats, and that's it. No airport! It was pretty obvious at that point that I had gone in the wrong direction on rt 70. Thankfully, Kristin's flight had been canceled and rescheduled for 12:40. So we had something going for us. There was also no cell phone service so we couldn't consult anyone. At the time I was so embarrassed, I wouldn't have dreamed of calling my Uncle Bobby to admit what I had done.
So we drove back on 70 WEST through Beaufort and eventually made it to the airport with plenty of time to spare. We saw some beautiful land on our adventures, but it definitely reminded me of that old saying about what happens when you "assume"!

Oct 15, 2011

We got to go out on another fishing excursion on Uncle Bobby's boat, this time we actually caught some fish! Well, Deason caught fish, I lost a lot of bait, and Bobby hooked some oysters. Deason caught a lizard fish, and a sea trout. He was happy to have caught the fish, but less than thrilled to stick his fingers in the trouts gills to hold it up for the pictures.
We also saw some really cool birds while we were out, they are American Oystercatchers. They can open oysters with their beaks. Which is pretty amazing considering that a lot of humans with two hands, thumbs and a knife couldn't even open an oyster.

Oct 14, 2011

We had an educational day. We went over to Fort Macon, which is just across the way from Beaufort. It was built in 1826 and took 8 years to construct, with the purpose of defending Beaufort Inlet. I guess at and before that time Beaufort was the only real port on the N. Carolina coast, and there was a constant threat of attack from the British and Spanish navies. The Fort was later used as a defense during the Civil War which started in 1841. It was originally maned by the Union army until the local Confederate army seized it in the beginning of the war. It later fell to the Union forces in the 1860's. When people of the South speak of "The War" they are referring to the Civil War. The Civil War is such a large part of the heritage here, where as up North it is rarely spoken of, except for in high school history classes! It is quite fascinating to be here and know that Chris had a relative that fought in the Civil War here in Beaufort.
Later on, we went to have dinner on the back deck of Stillwaters restaurant with Bobby and Sherry. We watched a beautiful sunset and had some great food.

Oct 12, 2011

What a great day! There are some times in your life when you can step back and say that was a perfect day, and this one is up there. We got to go fishing on Uncle Bobby's new boat. We traveled to Cape Lookout Bight which is one of the nicest natural harbors out there and beautiful empty beaches.
We packed a big picnic and made the trip out to the bight taking the inside (local knowledge only) route where we saw tons of dolphins and pelicans. I can never get enough of seeing wild dolphins. Once we got there, we tried to do a bit of fishing, but the fish just weren't biting. Deason and Bobby dropped the rest of us off on shore and hoped that they would have had better luck fishing with out us. They didn't have luck, but Chris had some luck catching small mullet bait fish with the casting net. He was so excited! He now wants to buy multiple casting nets, he is addicted. Kristin and I didn't have that same luck, the casting net is harder to do than it looks. We now just have to learn how to use those bait fish to catch larger fish that we can actually eat!
Deason got to drive Bobby's boat back to Beaufort, and we took the outside route along Shackleford Banks (one of the barrier islands) on the way back. He was definitely in his element!