Day #148 - Annapolis, MD

Yea..we made it to Annapolis. I was so excited coming into the harbor to see the Capitol Building and the Naval Academy. It was a cool and gloomy day, but made it here in 2.5 hrs. We are at a mooring ball with our boat buddy "Slow Churn". We walked to town and got lunch at Subway and continued on to a grocery store " Graul's". Couldn't buy beer in the grocery store so we had to go to Rite Aid next door to get our beverage of choice. Walked back admiring the old buildings and streets. It probably was a couple miles of hiking, but we needed the excercise and we were with good company.

Can't believe tomorrow is May 1st!  Home in July?  Time has really flown by.......

Day #147 - Gailsville, MD

Heading to Gailsville, MD. The Chesapeake was a little choppy this am but settles right down. It's sunny but a little cool...upper 50's. So many fishing boats to dodge. They are worse than crab pots because they drag two big weights, on top of the water,  way behind their boats.They look like plows going through the water but at least they are colorful (orange, red, yellow, etc) so you can spot them easily.

We  anchored along with "Slow Churn" after navigating down some "skiny" waters. It was nice to see our old boat buddies again.

Day #146 - Solomon's Island, MD

Heading to Solomon's Island. The Chesapeake was a little bumpy this morning but settled down about an hour later. Cloudy and cool.....in the low 60's. We got diesel fuel, just in time before the marina closed @ 5:00pm. We put in 120 gallons because it was the cheapest around @ $3.81. By the time we got to our anchorage at Mill Creek, it started to rain, but we cooked on the grill anyway. We could only get 2 TV stations which were nothing exciting to watch. So we just cuddled in bed with our books to get a good night's rest for tomorrow.

Day #145 - Deltaville, VA

Staying in Deltaville for one more day. We hope to rent bikes and explore the town a little bit more. Nice sunny day but very breezy on the Chesapeake. The next four days look good for traveling.

Day #144 - Deltaville, VA

Rainy day in Deltaville, VA. We might be here for a couple of days. We are anchored with "Cats Paw" in a beautiful area. Took dinghy and walked to town yesterday and hitchhiked back to boat. Some nice guy, who looked like Kenny Rogers, picked us up in his truck. He showed us around the area. There are some beautiful marinas with big boats as people come from Richmond to this area. Walked to a nearby boating museum which  had alot of history info and tools because this town was a big boat building area years ago. There is still some major boat repair work done in this area.

Day #143 - Deltaville, VA

Left Norfolk @ 6:40 am. There was so much commercial traffic going in and out of the Elizabeth River. Lots of aircraft carriers,  Hawaiian Express boats,submarines, etc., extra heavy duty boats!

The Chesapeake was a pretty good ride with about 10 mph winds, gusting at times and about 1-2 ft chop. There were about 5 sailboats and 2 trawlers making the trip to Deltaville. Arrived @ 2:30 pm and met "Cats Paw" anchored in Jackson Creek. Hoping to have a nice quiet night on the boat.

Day #142 - Norfolk, VA

Decided to wait one more day for take off. The winds will be picking up to 30 knots this afternoon. We took  a ferry to check out Portsmouth. At least it was a cheap ride $3.00 round trip but wasn't much there for shopping..but had some beautiful old homes in Old Towne.
Hope to start our trip up the Chesapeake Bay. We will try and leave early before the winds pick up.
This is a pix of our boat tied up at Waterside Marina, Norfolk, VA. Can you find our boat?

Day #141 - Norfolk, VA

Monday.....Monday......still another chilly, windy and rainy day!  We had a full boat of visitors spending the night....Britta, Ryan and Lisa. Scot made some delicious belgian waffles and sausages to warm up the boat and our company. While Ryan was working, Scot, Britta and I plus another couple from "Last Dance" took a free taxi ride to Harris Teeters for some groceries. Lisa left for home, and we ended up playing cribbage before Britta's flight @ 5:15. Not too much rain today, but winds still blowing hard.
"Parting is such sweet sorrow!".
Thanks Britta and Ryan for coming to visit.....Lisa and Mark too! You helped us to "weather" the time
with warmth and laughter! 

Here is a pix of some protestors who are against a couple of  ideas that the Norfolk planning commission has proposed for this area that is dying.

Day #140 - Norfolk, VA

Still @ Waterside Marina in Norfolk, VA. Mark and Lisa picked up Britta and I to go to church for 11:00am Mass @ Sacred Heart.
What a crappy day......all day....rain, wind blowing all day lone. Decided to check out the McArthur Center which is a 3 story mall about 6 blocks away. Thank goodness Lisa has her car and took Scot to West Marine for supplies and to the mall. Ended up getting a drink at a local bar and then back to the boat for pizza delivery.
In spite of the weather, we had tons of fun with family and friends and played scrabble, cards and shared stories about the good old days @ ND.

Today is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad!

Day #139 - Norfolk, VA

Cruised across Elizabeth River,from our anchorage @ Hospital Point , to Waterside Marina for a couple days while Britta and Ryan are visiting. Saturday turned out to be a beautiful sunny day in the high 70's. We did alot of exploring and sight seeing around this area.  We ate supper at "Snappers" for some fish tacos and other goodies. Found a bar, that was on a second story building  that had $1.00 PBR's. Britta's roommate from ND, Lisa Ruffer and Mark, another ND grad joined Britta and Ryan for a night on the town in Ghent, which was nearby. Life was good today!

Day #138 - Anchorage @ Hospital Point

Left the Dismal Swamp Visitors Center about 7:45ish. The fog was gently lifting. I t was a very quiet night rafted off with a trawler, Slow Churn" and "Cats Paw". Heading towards the lock which will drop us eight feet. There is a small town before the lock where we can tie up to go to a grocery store and have a nice lunch @ a mexican restaurant while we're waiting for the lock to open for us @ 1:00pm. Will anchor out another night before we pull into the marina for 3 days. We're getting excited for Britta's visit with Ryan and Lisa Ruffer.


Hospital Point

Just another bridge we had to open!

What a slow but beautiful cruise on the Dismal Swamp and not much boat traffic!

Day #137 - Dismal Swamp

Woke up to the pidder patter of raindrops and much cooler weather....50's. We will take off today around 9:30 am to open a bridge here and getting to a lock by the 12:30 pm opening. We will be heading toward the Dismal Swamp Visitors Center. Arrived by 3:00pm and rafted off another trawler that we met in Elizabeth City and then Cats Paw rafted off us. Had fun exchanging stories and cooked hamburgers on the grill, as it was getting late after the long social hour we had. We had to celebrate Bill's (Cats Paw) 60th birthday!

Day #136 - Elizabeth City, NC

Decided to stay another day in this fun and friendly city of Elizabeth City. We were walking to the laundromat which was about 5 blocks away when a very nice older couple asked us if we would like a ride......Amen, there are some wonderful people in this world!
After laundry, we visited the Elizabeth City Museum. We spent about 1 1/2 hrs. admiring all the memorabilia that was there. It was a beautiful building inside and out.
Rode our bikes through town looking at some of the older buildings and ended up eating a delicious burrito for lunch @ Mamasita's.

Winds are out of the NE @ 13 knots today....kind of bumpy sitting here at the dock. A few more boats came in today, so we're anxious to meet our new "neighbors".

Day #135 - Elizabeth City, NC

Up at 5:50 am to get ready for the great ride across the Abemarle Sound. Phew....what a rolely ride that was and so glad thae we arrived @ Elizabeth City around 12:30pm. and docked at the Mariner's Wharf for free for a maximum of 2 days. Another couple, off a trawler also, was getting a ride to "Farm  Fresh" grocery store so we tagged along. Went downtown and bought a delicious $1.00 chili dog with mustard and onions.....bargain of the day!

Had social hour @ 5:00pm with new boater friends here at the dock and exchanged boat cards, so we can remember their names, ha.  In bed by 8:00 pm, cuddled up with a book and blankets, after a long day being tossed around on the water, it felt good to be "home".

Day #134 - South Lake

Beautiful Sunset

Left Beltran @ 6:45am along with Cat's Paw, a sailboat we met @ the anchorage.
We traveled through the Alligator River/Swamp. Saw a sailboat that went aground.
There are lots of stumps and flies. We made it to the main Alligator River abbout 11:30am and
found it to be a very nice ride northward. You never know what weather you will get once
you get out into the open water!  Alas, a bridge to open....there was a sailboat in front of us and Cat's Paw
behind us. Finally, the swing bridge opens and lets the sailboat in front of us go through. A few moments
later, the bridge keeper announces that there is an ambulance in way, so the bridge will have to close, which
makes us and Cat's Paw wait until the bridge closes and opens again.
We headed to an anchorage off the ICW, South Lake, which took an extra hour to "inch" our way
in. Along came a park ranger in a boat and questioned Cats Paw why we were heading in this
direction. He warned Cats Paw that there is nothing but lions, tigers and bears at this anchorage, but we
continued on. We anchored around 4:00pm. Winds kicked up and threw us around all night.


 

Day#133 - Belhaven, NC

We left @ 7:00 am to begin another day on the river system. Needless to say....with southern winds even though we were going north, were not in our favor. Anyway, as we press along and turn heading toward Belhaven, after a tow boat crossed our path, we were on the "open divide". Thanks to the Captain on board, because I (Nancy) was no help. I honkered down and rode through the waves and wind. I knew that it would only be about 6 miles, but.....I didn't bother the captain.....who was busy at work...thank goodness!
Arrived @ Belhaven about 2:00pm. We followed "Cats Paws" a 37 ft. Irwin into our anchorage for the night. Its so nice to have a neighbor near by. We took the dinghy to shore and stopped to talk to "Cats Paws" from Savannah, GA. He gave us some local knowledge about the area. They are also heading north and will probably see them again.
We are on a mission to get to Norfolk, VA by next Sat. to spend some time with Britta and Ryan.

Maintenance:  shower wand in aft cabin.

Day #132 - Oriental, NC

Got up at the crack of dawn @ 6:15ish because we needed to get to the bridge for a 7:00am opening and we made it with about 10 minutes to wait. A bit chilly, but sunny this am and put the old thermal underwear on again. Of course it is always low tide when we take off and thank goodness a boat "Deliverance" was ahead of us and talked to us on the marine radio to warn us that they went aground at mile marker G55 and we were headed that way.

Hoping to get about 50 miles or so under our belts today and heading for another anchorage.

Day #131 - Mile Hammock Bay

Left our quiet state park marina @ 6:45am. It was nice and calm but a bit chilly....another day for cuddle duds, which are long underware!  Wanted to get an early start because there was a bridge in Surf City that only opens on the hour. Long story short, we knew we couldn't make it by noon, so we back down the engine in order to get there by 1:00pm. There were two other boats in the same situation. So we "kind of " wasted about 45 minutes waiting, eating lunch and watching smaller fast boats go by.
We need to get a long day in. We would like to get to Norfolk, VA by Oct, 21st. Hopefully Britta will be coming to meet up with us for a couple of days to enjoy the city life there. We're also hoping to get some cheap diesel in NC.We took on  101.5 gallons today @ $358.9! It was the cheapest around @ Sneads Ferry, NC.
The scenery is still beautiful with green trees, dolphins near the inlets to the ocean and some huge mansions worth millions.
Looking to anchor out tonight after a couple days on land.  At least it won't be so cold in the mornings!
We actually had the space heater on this am.
Today is everyone's lucky day....Friday the 13th!

Anchored @ Mile Hammock Bay which is owned by Camp Lejeune with 3 other boats. It was a beautiful spot for the night.

Day #130 - North Carolina State Beach Park

Stayed another day at the North Carolina State Beach park. We actually did laundry yesterday beating, the camping crowd. We unloaded our bikes and went exploring through some nature trails in  the park. Their claim to fame is that venus flytraps grow quite abundantly here, but of course we didn't see any. Then we rode our bikes onward toward Carolina Beach and shopped @ Food Lion and got supplies. I can't tell you how many cards that I had to sign up for to get store discounts on this trip! On our way, we saw an American Legion and decided that we would come back after taking our treasures back to the boat. About 3:00 pm, we arrived at the American Legion on our bikes.  We were ready for a couple of cold beers. Some people were very welcoming once we entered the Legion, after checking out Scot's membership from Michigan.
It was interesting to note that the Hwy 421 runs in Michigan City, IN  and runs through this area.
It was a wonderful idea to cook in the slow cooker to warm up the boat for the chilly evening.

We need to take off tomorrow and get back on the ICW.

Day #129 - North Carolina State Beach Park

Left about 7:45 am and heading north for adventure. We could see the Atlantic Ocean through a coupl e of inlets...it was pretty rough! Finally tied up at North Carolina State Beach Marina and Campground. It was pretty windy crossing Cape Fear. The river was really busy with boat activity, esp. a cargo vessel on the ICW. 

Hopefully soon pix will be posted!

Day #128 - Myrtle Beach

Golfers crossing the ICW

Left Thoroughfare Creek around 8:15ish. Slow going all day long. The tide was not in our favor. We were lucky if we could go 5 mph. The cruise through Myrtle Beach was very intertaining with all the beautiful homes along the ICW. Finally the tide was in our favor and then we picked up speed...up to 8 mph. Ended up with an anchorage north of Myrtle Beach called "Lightkeepers Marina in Coquina Harbor". It was a beautiful marina and we walked to a local bar and had an ice cold refreshment overlooking the 3 yacht clubs. We hardly had any cell or internet services last night. We also did have a little bit of rain, but nothing like they predicted.

Day #127 - Thoroughfare Creek, SC

Looks like home!

We left noisy Georgetown, due to factories running all night,  about 8:15am waiting for high tide to start coming in. Well, we only went about 2.5 hrs. and anchored at a beautiful anchorage called "Thoroughfare Creek". It really reminded us of Lake Michigan because there was a sandy dune and calm waters to relax after yesterday's anchorage at Georgetown, which was too windy and the anchorage was "iffy" all day long! Georgetown was more of a ghost town because all of the shops were closed due to the Easter holiday! We are looking forward to a quiet evening among a beautiful natural environment.

Day #126 - Georgetown, SC

I (Nancy) was up early for the Easter Sunrise and it was beautiful. We took off early around 7:15 am
to get back on the waterway heading to Georgetown, SC. It was a very nice ride with the high tide and the current in our favor. We arrived about 12:30pm. We took a long time to anchor because of all the boats that were anchored in this small water inlet. We took the dinghy to town and walked to our new favorite store "Piggly Wiggly" and thank goodness they were opened because all the shops near the Georgetown boardwalk were closed because of the Easter Holiday.
We will be heading north again tomorrow.....who knows where we will end up at....maybe Myrtle Beach or some quiet anchorage along the way.
Weather was chilly this am but quickly warmed up to the high 70's by the time we anchored.
Happy Easter to all of our family and friends who are following us with our blog.

"Alleluia....what a lenten journey it has been this year!"

Day #125 - Five Fathom Creek, McClellanville, SC

We left Charleston, NC @ 9:15am. Nice sunny day to find an anchorage to relax in. Ended up in  Five Fathom Creek near McClellanville, SC. Low tide was closing in on us and so we anchored here @ 3:15pm. One sailboat, that was ahead of us, ran aground. Of course, that makes me (Nancy) nervous, so we decided to cruise into the next anchorage. Scot did a marvelous job on inching in the creek. There were a dozen dolphins that greeted us when we arrived, but then took off.  I (Nancy) dyed my Easter eggs while anchored.
Hopefully, pictures will follow soon......

We will be taking off tomorrow am for another anchorage. Weather should be good for a couple days, but another cold front will be coming through on Tuesday.

Day #124 - Charleston, SC

Enjoyed  a day to relax, do some laundry and shop. It sure was chilly this am after the storm and cold front came through. We are back to wearing our long pants, hats and sweatshirts. We used the marina courtesy van to take us to the local grocery store " Harris Teeter" and then walked around town to explore the area before we bought groceries and called the van to take us back "home". 

Day #123 - Charleston, SC

Looking for a good beer!

Left Beaufort around 7:15am knowing that we had a long road ahead of us....like 72 miles...the weather was coming in across the state and we were hoping to beat it for a couple of days and headed for Charleston, SC. We finally tied up around 5:15 pm. That's like a 10 hr. day averaging about 7 mph. Thank goodness we made reservations at the city marina downtown where "Mark's Ark" and "Twenty Bucks" were heading also. The winds picked up considerably and the tide was rising, after a couple bumps off the docks, we were tied up for the night at the "Mega Dock". Then, of course, the stormy weather picked up around 7:00pm and was pitch dark! Yikes.......well we weathered another storm at a marina...safe and sound. Will probably stay here for a couple days due to the weather.

Day #122 - Beaufort, SC

Live Oak Tree

Free Chocolate Sand Dollar

Gorgeous Weather

Heading over to the municipal dock in Beaufort, SC for the night.  Many beautiful houses and interesting trees in the area. We rode bikes to check out the scenery.

Day #121 - Factory Creek, SC

Took off today around 7:30 am and back on the waterway heading by Hilton Head, SC. and then would like to anchor in Factory Creek in Beaufort, SC.This anchorage was pretty quiet but very shallow.  Made reservations for a slip downtown, Beaufort SC,  at the marina so we can go exploring tomorrow on our bikes.

Day #120 - Herb River, SC

Breathtaking Sunset

Boat pulling parasailors

Took off about 7:30 am to get an early start to the day. Another beautiful and sunny day for a boat ride.

Day #119 - Wahoo Creek, SC

Tried to leave early after Jim and Gail took off around 7:00am, but our monitor in the upper helm was not working. Scot had to modify a plug so after an 1/2 hour of repairing plugs we finally hit the open water once again. Not much to see today......just marshes, dolphins, flies and "no-see ums".

Sojourner

Friendly barge

We finally decided to anchor in Wahoo Creek. Took about an extra 1/2 hr. to make our way in slowly without running aground. We finally anchored about 4:00ish. We had the whole anchorage to ourselves but 'lo and behold, here's comes a bigger trawler "Sojourner" from Kenosha, WI inching their way into our territory. It truly was a beautiful and tranquil spot among the trees and marshlands. Cruised about 52 miles today!

Day #118 - Jekyll Island

Nothing like a rainy day to dampen your spirits....anyway, more sight seeing with Jim and Gail via their truck and some umbrellas.  Also went to Palm Sunday Mass @ St. Francis Xavier in Brunswick, GA.

Cooked some hamburgers on the grill and watched some Final Four basketball. Plan on taking off early Sunday am.