The Next 30 Years

July 2, 2009: Headed Home

2009-07-11T20:31:00.000-07:00

We packed up to leave the Next Thirty Years today and reflected on the marvelous journey. It was filled with new experiences and sights of nature and culture. We left on April 20, 2008 and returned on July 1, 2009 – 14 months and 2 weeks in duration (although we did spend some time at home). We traveled 7000 miles in our 46 foot cruiser and it has really been a cozy home, navigating rivers and creeks and canals and locks and great lakes and even the Atlantic to the Bahamas. This has been a once in a lifetime adventure never to be forgotten.

How could we forget:

Mackinaw Island
Cruising around Manhattan at night and seeing the lights of NYC
Anchoring out for a couple of days in secluded Lake Champlain
Watching the fireworks over the Jacque-Cartier bridge in Montreal
Tangier island and the crab hotel
Our Beaver Island rescue after running out of fuel in Lake Michigan
The Big Chute Marine Railroad
The massive rocks in the terrain of the Georgia Bay
The engineering of the see saw lock
Cruising through Chicago
The colonies of white pelicans
The turbulent and silty Mississippi with her loaded barges
Being stranded in Ottawa, Ill by the flooding of the Illinois River
Cheering at the Titans football game in Nashville
The flying fish in the deep Atlantic
Snorkeling in the Florida Keys
Being caught in the thunderstorm at Edisto Island
The white sand and turquoise water of the Abaco Islands
The Old Bahama Baptist Church worship service
The primitive beauty of the still waters or Black Creek, Fl
Taking the dinghy to lunch across Bogue Sound to the Crab Shack
The sunset over the railroad bridge in New Bern

July 1, 2009: New Bern, NC

2009-07-10T20:23:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful last day of the journey. It began with a cruise from Morehead across the bay around Radio Island to Beaufort. We saw wild ponies grazing in the marsh grass on the western edge of Carro Island. What an exotic taste of nature. We passed the boats on the pier at the Duke University Marine Lab and docked across from the tall commercial fishing boat, the Morgan Grace. These piers were part of the charming Beaufort Inn where Tom had arranged for us to have breakfast. They served a yummy warm quiche with a wide selection of pastries and juices to our table where we were seated with round backed wooden captain chairs. The last time we were here, we had brought Tom’s mom with us, so we had bitter sweet memories.

We squeezed in a quick ride through lovely Beaufort along the water front and enjoyed the old white frame homes on Ann Street some dating back to the 1740s. Back on the boat, we waited for the opening of the Cedar Street, Beaufort Bridge. Passing through we found a bevy of little colorful sailboats congregated at the red channel marker, apparently a boating class. There was a huge tug boat, the Island Progress, pushing a barge full of sand. Heading up Adams Creek towards the Neuse River, we saw the Joy Boy II, the YMCA Camp Sea Gull vessel full of campers on their way to the beach. It brought back memories of Penny’s summers there as the Art Director we really are almost home where everything has instant recognition. At lunch time we tossed the anchor out in the intersection of Adams Creek and Back Creek and took a swim in the brackish fresh water.

Entering the mouth of the Neuse River, we encountered the wide waters near the Pamlico Sound. The Neuse River is 7 miles across here and often the water is rougher than it was today. There was a class of sailboats out enjoying the breeze and you could barely see the shore on either side. Moving upstream we passed the Havelock-Arapaho Ferry near Minnesott Beach. This ferry cuts miles of the commute time of people living “down in the county” and working at the Cherry Point Marine Air Station at Havelock. We could make out the little camp buildings of Camp Seafarer as we passed it on our starboard side.

I took a lot of pictures on the approach to New Bern. It was fun to see the huge camp pier covered with swimmers just before we reached the spaghetti bridge. The Neuse River Bridge wraps around the three way connections of New Bern to Bridgeton to James City and is an amazing example of civil engineering. We could see the gazebo on Union Point and the First Baptist Church four posted steeple over the trees. The curved green dome of the Convention Center gave a backdrop to the water front. The Trent River Bridge is still under construction and it took a few minutes to figure out where boats could pass through while the lift opening was filled with a working barge and crane. It is going to be a wonderful bridge with beautiful curved supports for the water way.

The Grand Marina was filled with boats and has a classic historic presence on the water front with its bronze roof shining in the sun. We pulled into the Bridgepoint Marina were we have a slip facing the railroad bridge. It is a great place to enjoy the dramatic approach of evening and the glorious sunsets.

June 30, 2009: Morehead City, NC

2009-07-02T14:35:00.000-07:00

Our route this morning was very nostalgic in that it took us up the ICW to the high bridge where NC Highway 58 crosses over to Bogue Banks. This is the regular route from Raleigh to Emerald Isle and the view of green grass and sparkly water from the top of this bridge is beautiful.

So how do we know we are back in North Carolina? Today was the first time in months that we have seen a field of tall leafy corn stalks waving their tassels in the breeze. This farm was a narrow strip between the water way and a ball field. You also see little models of the Cape Lookout Lighthouse in someone's yard. We passed the NC State Center for Marine Sciences, a beautiful, 4 story brick lab and learning center on the edge of Bogue Sound.

We anchored just off Homer’s Marina and took the Caribe on a mission to find the Crab Shack, one of our favorite local seafood places, in the heart of downtown SalterPath. We looked for a tall landmark on the north side of the sound to help us in finding the long way back across. Tom did a good job of navigating and after our 20 minute ride, we were able to dock the dinghy at Homer’s Seafood and Marina. The food at the Crab Shack was wonderful, and a quick trip to the Seafood market included a purchase of local shrimp and a pound of backfin crab meat packed in Oriental, NC.

We continued along the way pass the Atlantic Beach Bridge, the tall arching bridge connecting Morehead City with the barrier island. We was a huge barge being filled with sand by a crane dredging the channel there. A tug boat was and down the the US Coast Guard Station. We rode around the point at the Fort Macon State Park until the waves began to be the ocean swells and then turned around. We went to shore briefly to take a swim off the wide sandy beach rimming the fort property. The small dunes there were filled with gaily swaying sea oats.

For dinner we had planned to meet Bob and Penny at the Sanitary Fish Market. However when we turned in behind the little island that buffers restaurant row, there were already 3 boats tied up at Tony’s. We were not sure what to do, but as we continued along the little creek, we discovered that at the end of Sixth Street, there was a public pier. Amazingly enough, this short city dock was totally empty and hence there was room there for us to dock. We shared the dock with a tall white egret who was looking for his dinner.

We pulled in right next to the Carolina Princess in her own slip next to the public dock. The decks of the big red and white deep sea fishing boat looked like a bee hive. People were unloading and lining up with their catch of the day for one of the three fishing guides to clean their fish.

So having safely docked the boat, we walked down to the Sanitary Fish Market and met Bob and Penny for supper. I had the Crab and Corn soup and it was delicious. We also walked over to DeeGee’s book store across the street. It has become one of our family traditions. DeeGee’s was run for years by Edwin Vorhees, and avid water color artist. Tom has one of his originals that came by way of his father’s friendshop with Vorhees; it is a scene of sand dunes, sea oats and light. DeeGee’s is the oldest book store in North Carolina; although my personal experience visiting there doesn’t go back that far, opening in 1934.

June 29, 2009: Swansboro, NC

2009-06-30T20:57:00.000-07:00

As we left Southport this morning, we passed a huge red and black freighter pulling into port.
We cruised the North Carolina coast today enjoying the beauty of the water and natural landscape. We saw the UNC Wilmington vessel - how could summer school be better.

So what are the signs that we are really back in good ole North Carolina. Well, one of course, is the appearance of NC flags along the waterway.

We saw old docks damaged by earlier storms, new lumber going up for dock constructions. We saw long narrow docks with no railings and wide docks built for play. All of them good investments as avenues for people to get to the delight of the water.

We passed by the inside passage behind Carolina Beach and Topsail where the water wanders through acres of marsh grass and tiny cottages can be seen on the beach in the distance. We stopped at lunch time in Wrightsville Beach, tied up at the Dockside Restaurant pier and climbed the steps to their glassed in and air conditioned porch. Yea for hushpuppies and cole slaw.

There were amazing open waterways like Alligator Bay where there were riverlets crisscrossing through the waving green marsh grass and glistening pools of water.

We pulled up behind an US Army Corp of Engineers vessel at the Little River Marina. It was a two story boxy ship used to do dredging and pile repair in the ICW. We were both there to buy diesel fuel. This spot fills the tanks of many fishing boats and is widely known as the cheapest place to get fuel on the East Coast. We were glad to be able to get 300 gallons at this price.

We passed by the US Marine target grounds near there where you can see old rusty vehicles parked randomly on the beach for shooting practice. Fortunately, there were no activities today, because that closes the ICW through here.

We saw the last ferry coming back from Hammocks Island State Park in the late afternoon sun. Tonight we are anchored by the Highway 24 bridge near Swansboro, NC.

June 28, 2009: Southport, NC

2009-06-29T06:54:00.000-07:00

The Southport Baptist Church is next to Franklin Square and a grove of old oak trees. We attended the 11:00 service and there was a wonderful solo with the message of the cross of Christ being our “statue of liberty”. This church is in search of a pastor and a layman made announcements about participation to build a Habitat for Humanity house with other churches in the community. There was a guest speaker whose sermon was on the relationship of a church to its minister. We will pray for this church in finding a God filled person to nurture them.

Southport is the host to the official NC Fourth of July Festival and the small happy town was full of American Flags and red, white and blue banners draped on porch railings everywhere. We are just here a week too early. We walked by a couple of art galleries, but they were closed on Sunday. Returning to the boat, we had a fun cooking lesson which resulted in shrimp panned in butter, cheese grits and tomato mozzarella salad for lunch.

Our afternoon was spent making our first trip to Bald Head Island. Bald Head Island is the point on the map of NC just below Wilmington. The mouth of the Cape Fear River was not too rough and we made it across in about 30 minutes into the sheltered harbor at Bald Head Island Marina. The first thing we saw was Eb & Flo's Steam Bar, the local restaurant.

The island is mostly populated with private homes, well kept large beach cottages. We took our bikes on the road around the island on a roadway that was two paved lanes with an open grassy median. Most residents use golf carts for transportation so that was most of the traffic we saw. We stopped for a while to bob in the ocean waves and enjoyed stretching out on the soft sand there. There were long concrete jetties extending into the surf to protect the sand. Amber topped sea oats were as bountiful as a farmer’s field of spring wheat.

As we circled inland back towards the boat you could see large houses tucked away in the wooded secluded neighborhoods off the main drive. We stopped just for a moment at the old Baldy Lighthouse. Constructed of brick encased with cement, it was built in 1817 and although it is the oldest lighthouse still standing in NC, but it is no longer in service. We couldn’t stay too long because we needed to get back to Southport Marina to send Julie Anna on her way back to Raleigh.

The sun was beautiful as it dropped behind the neighborhood of boats in the still marina.

June 26, Southport, NC

2009-06-28T20:54:00.000-07:00

This morning we had a great time riding around Saint James. They had a sidewalk/bike trail that led from the marina around the community of nice homes and manicured lawns. The trail led across a wooden boardwalk over a marsh grass inlet and by the Founders Club. We realized that we had been here before to a wedding of a friend we knew through Key Club.

After lunch, we took the boat out into the Cape Fear River and around the eastern end of Oak Island.
There stands Fort Caswell, built as a fort in 1826 and named after Richard Caswell, the first Governor of NC. It is also home to the NC Baptist Assembly, Camp Caswell, and a place were we have many happy memories of time spent in fun and spiritual growth with friends over the past 45 years. Not being sure of the channel there, we anchored out by the pier and took the dinghy into the little marina. It took two trips to deliver all three bikes. We had a fun time riding around the paved trails through the assembly grounds. There are a couple of famous old oak tree with limbs near the ground still holding their ground near the grey painted dining hall. We rode by the old fort batteries, past the barracks where kids stay for summer camp and down to the gate. It was a beautiful afternoon and it was good to get the exercise in a special place.

Since it was raining when we left for dinner, it was great to have Julie Anna’s car. The evening ended at the Fishy Fishy Café in Southport watching the sun set over the marina.

June 26, 2009: Saint James, NC

2009-06-26T15:51:00.000-07:00

The tide was coming in as we moved back into the Little River and continued north this morning. You could see rapids flowing out of the marsh grass fields as the ocean currents worked their way across into the river. It reminded me of mountain streams. We passed a deserted island where three small wild goats were sunning on the sandy shore.

The low pontoon bridge over the ICW leading to Sunset Beach only opens on the hour. Unfortunately, we arrived at about 10:15 am, so we dropped anchor and watched as the one lane bridge alternated the constant motor traffic to and from the mainland. They are in the process of building a new high bridge across the water at this same spot.

Ocean Isle is another Venice. There were fingers of water cut in a pattern of blocks in the barrier island with happy beach cottages standing in lines. They all had piers and boats available to enjoy playing in the water. And the mainland side of the ICW is also filled with beautiful homes and docks. When we reached the top end of Ocean Isle, there is a cut into the ocean before you come to Holden beach. Here the color changed from the dark river tea to the atlantic emerald green. The sandy white beaches curved around the end of the islands and the ocean surf patterned the shore line. We anchored for lunch and took a quick swim in the hot sunshine.

Tonight we are at St James Plantation Marina listening to the rain and rolling thunder. We are looking forward to having Julie Anna and a new camera join us tonight.

June 25, 2009, Calabash, NC

2009-06-26T06:30:00.000-07:00

We are finally on our home stretch and returned today to the waters of North Carolina. We have long loved the seafood available at the many down-home water front restaurants in the tiny village of Calabash. We entered Calabash Creek and dropped anchor between two sailboats barely out of the channel in 5 feet of water at low tide. Taking the dinghy down the creek, we saw the long familiar high dock lined with fishing vessels along the leftmost bank and sliding between two larger boats tied up perpendicular to the dock in order to find space.

We put our name on the list at the Dockside restaurant and then watched a little boy playing in the large old twisted live oak at the edge of the porch. The Dockside Restaurant old fishing boat logo was deeply carved in the gable end of the roof overlooking the hungry crowd. It was interesting to hear the conversations around us as various people got news on their cell phones and PDAs about Michael Jackson's death. Obviously, we are a connected people. Our wait was about an hour for a table for two after several parties of 22 were seated. We were served a basket of hot hushpuppies while we waited for our plates of small hot fried shrimp, the definition of Calabash shrimp. Our walk back down the dock to the boat wound through a crowd of people watching the chartered fishing boat unload their catch. There was a line of fishermen waiting on a couple of hardworking guys cleaning fish on a counter on the dock. There was a sizeable catch including some very large groupers, maybe 3 feet long.

Returning to the boat, I made a very sad mistake. I had been taking pictures of the huge red sun setting over the water, watching the clouds as they turned silvery pink. Then as I scrambled out of the dinghy onto the swim platform, my camera slipped out of my pocket into a watery grave. I am suffering great remorse for the loss of both the camera and the irreplaceable pictures from the last two days of our trip. Oh well, we’ll all have to use our imaginations.

The good news is that Julie Anna is meeting us in Southport for the weekend.

June 24, 2009: Myrtle Beach, SC

2009-06-26T06:26:00.000-07:00

Cruising in the ICW north of Georgetown, there was a dramatic change in the terrain. The salt grass marshes had disappeared and the shores were densely wooded down to the water’s edge. This was the land of the Swamp Fox and the water covered the ground running inland so that only someone very familiar with the landscape would know where the dry land was. There was an occasional dock on the water's edge with a pier running out of sight into the forest.

Our course north today brought us to the Barefoot Resort Yacht Club in the heart of north Myrtle Beach. We docked here for the night and had the chance to use their beautiful pool.

We took the dinghy across the way to Barefoot Landing dock and did a little shopping finding new bathing suits on sale. The pool in the shopping area flowed down a water fall and there were tall oriental grasses growing at the edge. I even saw a dragon fly with its bi-plane iridescent wings floating gracefully on a frond and got a great picture of him. After a delicious dinner of pork ribs and Shrimp Creole at the House of Blues we headed home for the night.

June 23, 2009: Charleston to Georgetown, SC

2009-06-24T12:20:00.000-07:00

We passed again through the Charleston Harbor and enjoyed seeing the battery, forts, and magnificent bridge everything one more time. Moving along the waterway we were delighted to see the cycle of life progressing as baby ospreys perched with their Mom on the side of their nest on the channel marker. The babies were almost as big as their mother, so they have grown rapidly and will soon fly away. (That happens in the best of families.)

We turned up Jeremy Creek just to see the water front at McClellanville. It was lined with shrimp boats and old houses and we reminisced of coming here once before traveling from NC in our ski boat. Boats were rafted double on the old piers at the marina so we were glad they were busy. We anchored near there in the rapid current flowing through the inlet to the ocean while we had lunch and then moved on to Georgetown.

Georgetown is SC’s third oldest city and was settled by colonists moving north. It was a busy industrial port founded in 1732. It was a center for indigo production, a treasured clothing due exported to England and Europe. The sizable profits from this industry established one of the earliest public free schools in the state (1755).

Cruising the waterfront, we passed the Shrimp Dock Independent Seafood where shrimp boats could unload and sell their fresh catch directly into the market. There were “Do not feed the alligators” signs on the city dock where we went to shore in our dinghy. The old City Hall and Clock tower were in the center of this small town. The tower was built in 1845 and was where the town was surrendered to Union forces in 1865.

It was fun to ride along the streets of this old southern community with many homes dating back into the first half of the 18^th century (1750). These were large two story homes with long porches. We also saw the William Morgan Mansion where he lived as mayor of the town in the late 1800’s. He was credited with bring electricity to the city and also deepening the harbor for industry.

We saw another SC Champion tree whose age was confirmed at over 500 years in 1940. With a girth of 23 feet, it had branches 50 feet off the ground that were each the size of large oak trees. I so enjoy seeing these majestic works of God’s art.

We found a little park next the wonderful boardwalk pier that ran along the water front. There was a stone monument there to Francis Marion the Swamp Fox commemorating his leadership during the Revolutionary War.

There was also an ice cream shop handy, so we ate waffle cones full of cappuccino ice cream as we watched the sky reflect the sunset through fishing boat spring lines.

June 22, 2009: Stono River

2009-06-23T19:06:00.000-07:00

Today is our last day at the Charleston City Marina. Our new propellers came in today and we had the interesting opportunity to watch topside as diver, Josh, removed the old ones and installed the new. These propellers are 24 inches across with four blades and weigh about 75 pounds each. They were lowered by rope from the dock to assure they were not dropped in the process.

After visiting the Crab House for lunch we headed out into the ICW towards the Stono River for about 7 miles to the Ross Boat Yard. The fuel dock was closed when we arrived, so we anchored out near there for the night.

There we enjoyed again the quiet natural areas with green marshes, flowing inlets, and hunting egrets. The day ended with a lovely sunset.

June 21, 2009, Sunday: Charleston, SC

2009-06-21T21:39:00.000-07:00

Today we attended the First (Scots) Presbyterian Church at 53 Meeting Street with its tall taupe columns and white cornices. This church was formed in 1731 by a group of Scots who left a Congregationalist church to align with the Scottish Presbyterian church. As the ministers processed this morning, they were led by the Beadle carrying the large church black leather bound Bible and wearing a plaid kilt in honor of the church heritage. The service music was provided by a full toned pipe organ with the pipes enclosed behind three ornate white wrought iron panels above the choir loft. It was a beautiful sanctuary with balconies above on three sides. They had a children’s sermon with the children gathered to sit in the center aisle which was paved with the original flooring masonry. The youth minister confided with the children about pencils and erasers; and God’s forgiveness of sins. The service included prayers for the people of Iran and we sang songs you might expect for the patriotic services in July, like “My Country, Tis of Thee” and “America, The Beautiful”. The following message was on Faith and Freedom with the challenge that government does not provide freedom... it is supported and protected by spiritual values and the moral strength of the people. He drew from the history “The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire” along with Jesus’s words in John 8:31-38. For instance, no government can fulfill the lost of a father who does not love and nurture his children. It was a thought provoking lecture on freedom.

After church, we rode with Bob and Sue out to Shem’s Creek to have lunch at Vickery’s restaurant on the water. It was fun to watch the boats going by and the shrimp boats rafting up as we waited for a table there. We wondered how deep it was as it was a busy street but opted to eat inside due to the heat. Leaving after lunch we decided to see the Citadel where Bob had taught English for over 30 years. The striking campus was built to look like a fortress and provides facilities for 2000 undergrads who attend here. It is a solid part of Charleston’s history; my uncle graduated from here around 1926.

The lights on the marina boats at night give off a happy glow in the darkness of sky and water.

June 17-20, 2009: Charleston, SC

2009-06-21T20:24:00.000-07:00

Our last several days have been spent in Charleston, with repairs to be made to our propellers and friends to be visited. The weather has been beautiful but hot, making riding the bikes unbearable. We have been graciously hosted by friends and I will share some pictures of the last several days. We are now docked at the Charleston City Marina near the large fishing boat, named Fish and Grits.

We toured the old part of the city with its long narrow homes built to the edge of the street. The front door opened onto a long porch that runs the length of the house and provided a place to catch the cool breeze. There was a farmers’ market downtown at the old Citadel parade grounds that was full of flowers and fresh produce. We bought Summerville blueberries, peaches, fresh silver queen corn, some flounder fillets and a pound and a half of shrimp

We visited Fort Moultree with Tom’s cousins, Bob and Sue, and had a great time walking over the fortifications. The ranger there explained the origin of the South Carolina flag as a follow-on to the battalion flag of Fort Moultree – a blue field with a white crescent in the upper left hand corner. While most folks think the crescent is a new moon, it is actually the soldiers’ insignia, a gorget, a piece of armor that evolved through the centuries and was worn at the throat in the days of the Revolution. It had come to be recognized as a symbol of the soldier, a metal plate around the neck, tied with ribbons and sometimes engraved with the Kings Coat of Arms.

We also took The Next Thirty Years out to Fort Sumter, passing under the tall bridge from Mount Pleasant into Charleston. I remember this bridge from crossing it as a Girl Scout on our way to Savannah. My mother was very concerned about driving over it because it was so tall and a narrow two lanes with no edges. The bridge has now been upgraded and is 8 lanes wide with a bike/ pedestrian path on the side.

Beyond the bridge in the harbor, we tied up at the high fort pier. We arrived at low tide, but luckily they had ladders down to the water so we managed to climb up to the dock. They still have cannons there that were from the Civil War days and also portions of the fort as it would have been during the time it was used to protect the coast during WWII. It was about 100 degrees, but there was wind from the water. The views from there were wonderful of the entrance to the Cooper and Ashley Rivers full of sailboats. There was a regata of several classes of sailboats running the course. We also saw the old mansions along the battery from the water as well as the US Customs House.

Saturday night we rode out to visit some old Kiwanis friends and saw the old farm house where they live. It is on the National Register as one of the out buildings of a southern plantation here. The tide water was high along side their pier and the rosey sunset glimmered on the water.

June 16, 2009: Edisto Beach, SC

2009-06-16T18:48:00.000-07:00

Edisto Beach is a place my mother reminisced about where her family vacationed visiting an Aunt and Cousins when she was a small child. We thought we would retrace her steps. We turned out of the ICW to follow the South Edisto River towards the inlet to the ocean. Edisto Beach is a triangle that juts out into the sea. We passed the end of the beach as we turned up Big Bay Creek to anchor inland to the beach. There were low country shrimp boats lined up along the fisherman's docks on the bay.

Our 10 mile bike ride took us on a narrow paved trail by the golf course, by the Edisto Realty where Tom stopped to get some papers notarized, to the PiggyWiggy to get a Father’s Day card and on to the beach. The island is full of beach cottages with a family atmosphere and almost no business. The public beach access wooden board walk led us over to a narrow beach reinforced every 50 yards with huge stone jetties. We went swimming in the warm waves and got out as we saw storm clouds in the distance.

We had several miles to ride back to the dock where we had left the dinghy.

We quickly packed up the bikes and pushed off into the wind that had picked up and was blowing us into shore. But we were not quick enough! Soon we were being pelted with rain as we proceed back up the choppy creek to where we had left the boat. It was tricking getting the dinghy on the lift with the wind and current, but totally drenched, we made it back. The afternoon ended in an hour of rain, but later cleared up enough to see the sun set.

June 15, 2006: Hilton Head to Beaufort, SC

2009-06-16T18:02:00.000-07:00

As we continued on our journey today though lonely wetlands, we saw birds and dolphins for company as we went. We cruised up to Skull Creek Marina to meet a engine serviceman to check out our engines. One of the engines was getting really poor mileage compared to the other. After a test drive and some computer diagnostics, he recommended having our propellers tuned, meaning having the blades smoothed and pitched. A storm kept us tied to the dock for most of the afternoon but we made it off soon enough to make it to Beaufort tonight.

We passed the very famous Parris Island, home of the US Marine Basic Training Center. The water tower was noticeable with its 1-800-Marines painted in red. We saw a true Marine trawler flying a big Marina Corp ensignia flag along the way.

We anchored out near the public pier in Beaufort (pronounced Beeoofort). Beaufort is the second oldest town in South Carolina and has many beautiful old country homes near the water front. We rode into town planning to eat at Sergeant White’s BBQ Pit for some pit roasted pork. Unfortunately, it turns out St Whites is only open for lunch and we had to settle for an Applebees nearby.

Returning to the dock as the day waned, the water was turning to pink. Tom took the wheels off the bikes to load them into the dinghy. This picture was taken just before we had the excitement of having the floating dock tip enough that my carefully balanced bicycle flipped overboard. Tom was quick to throw himself flat on the dock and catch the last tire as it was sinking out of sight. He was able to pull it all back to the dock. We were really glad to have not lost it to the deep.

June 14, 2009 Sunday, Savannah, GA

2009-06-14T20:14:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful ride through Savannah today beginning with visiting First Baptist Church at 223 Bull Street at Chippewa Square. The Greek revival sanctuary is Savannah’s oldest house of worship built in 1831, though the church was established in 1800. The church has a rich old history including that in 1884 the pastor of this church left as a missionary to Burma to join Adoniram Judson, one of the first Baptist missionaries. This church was one of the few southern churches that remained active during the Civil War and held services before and after the city fell to the Union forces. We arrived early and were invited to attend a Sunday School class which was great. The class was involved in a discussion of 1 John 4, love being a fruit of the spirit–they were very friendly, and we felt at home. Isn’t it wonderful where you find God. The worship service music was led by a huge pipe organ that filled the front of the sanctuary. The pastor’s message from Mark 4 encouraged us that God works through our small gifts just as the tiny mustard seed grows into a great tree.

We left our bikes in the park guarded by the 9 foot bronze statue of James Oglethorpe. He was the great soldier who founded the colony of Georgia in 1732 and there are many stories of his philanthropy and bravery.

After the service, we continued our ride through the beautiful city, back to the Trustee Gardens, to eat lunch at the Pirate House. Here was the Herb House, built in 1734, the oldest building in Georgia where the Gardens manager originally lived and worked. Next to it was built a bar and inn run by Captain Flint. It was here that Robert Louis Stevenson was staying when he got the idea for the novel Treasure Island. There is now a restaurant which includes both buildings and Pirate Molly was there to take us on a tour of the house including sharing the legends of local men being carried off to sea from a tunnel from the cellar. In addition to being interesting pseudo-history, they had a wonderful southern buffet luncheon. The table board included collards, sweet potatoes, chicken pot pie, butter beans, Savannah red rice, fried tilapia, pulled roasted pork, squash casserole, etc.

Our ride brought us to the John the Baptist Cathedral where we stopped to sit in on a few minutes of an afternoon organ recital. This Catholic Church was built in 1873. The stained glass windows and wall murals inside were quite beautiful and the music echoed from the lofty vaulted domes.

Returning to the boat, it was time to leave Savannah, and we passed the statue of the Waving Girl as we cruised away with her saying goodbye.

June 13, 2009: Savannah, George

2009-06-14T18:47:00.000-07:00

We were up early this morning, and traveled the short way up the ICW to Savannah arriving before lunch and in time to get space at the City Landing just behind the big paddlewheel steam boat, the Georgia Queen. We are now docked just below the famous old Cotton Exchange where the transactions for the city docks were run in the early years of Savannah. A short walk took us up to the wall of the old fort and the rooms where the slaves were held when unloaded from ships. The water front is full of tourists streaming through the little shops or looking for shade on the river front brick walkway. There are also artisans making baskets of vines and roses out of saw grass.

We took an Old Savannah Tour of the city this afternoon and traveled the streets lined with old southern mansions which included Juliette Gordon Low’s home; she was the founder of the Girl Scouts. Laurie and I visited there with her troop about 15 years ago. We also passed the City Market with its horse drawn carriages, the old city cemetery and many of the Savanna School of Art and Design buildings. Many of the houses were ornate with unique wrought iron castings – dolphin downspouts, flowery gates and fences. We passed the Kehoe House, built by the Iron works owner, where all the window casings and sills, though painted white were actually iron. The tour guide commented jokingly that this house was the heaviest house in Georgia. We saw City Hall with its newly refurbished and glowing gold gilded dome and many awesome old oak trees in the city parks.

Returning to the Savannah River, we really saw what an international seaport this is. There was continuous traffic of huge ocean going freighters, sometimes with one coming in passing one going out. People came to the edge of the docks with their cameras ready for the ships.

After our dinner at the Shrimp Factory, we came back to the board walk where there was lots of making the evening merry. There was a street musician trumpet player playing the Bunny Hop for a troop of Girl Scouts; and another was Christian group leading a street worship service. We watched the sun set pink and purple over the Eugene Talmadge Memorial suspension bridge.

June 12, 2009: Thunderbolt, Ga

2009-06-12T21:23:00.000-07:00

Setting off this morning, we had a good view of the Sidney Lanier suspension Bridge as we turned north under the Lanier Island Bridge.

Today we are closely following the charts to find our way on the ICW through the undeveloped low country of Georgia. We are passing miles of green salt grass reaching far back to dark woods in the distance. Wolf Island Wildlife Preserve was on our right, but we could not see anything different. We also passed the Black Beard Island National Wildlife Refuge.

When the ICW turned into Sapelo Sound the water widened and we could see a couple of dolphins playing nearby. Later we encountered a large family of dolphins, maybe 12- 15 all frolicing and swimming in synchronization. It was such fun to see them. When you see a dolphin show in an aquarium, they always say they reinforce behaviors found in the wild. So this show was just the dolphins playing in the wild.

We took advantage of Walburg Creek by Saint Catherine’s Island to stop for lunch. We dropped anchor in strong current and took a little swim off the back of the boat. Our yellow safety ropes came in handy to make sure we could make it back to the boat, but it was very refreshing. Saint Catherine’s Island at this point was densely wooded behind a narrow band of marsh grass. It was a surprising mixture of mature tree growth of palm, bushy pine trees, large oaks and blooming magnolias all randomly sharing the primitive shoreline.

This area has been known for its shrimp production and we enjoyed seeing the big shrimp boats with their wings up and nets out. We passed by the mouth of Moon River, made famous by singer Andy Williams and the song by the same name. Do you remember it: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flm4xcOyiCo)

Moon river, wider than a mile
I’m crossing you in style, some day
Oh, dream maker, you heart breaker
Wherever you’re goin’, I’m goin’ your way

Two drifters, off to see the world
There’s such a lot of world to see
We’re after the same rainbow’s end, waitin’ ‘round the bend
My huckleberry friend, moon river, and me.

In the winding back waters and wetlands, we cruised by some small islands where people had built get away houses, with only access from the water and miles of natural area as their front yard.

And now we have hit a stretch where almost every channel marker is crowned with a huge nest sturdily constructed of twigs and branches. Each is guarded by an Osprey couple tending their baby birds.

Now we have made it to Thunderbolt, Ga, where we are anchored for the night.

June 11, 2009: St Simons Island, GA

2009-06-12T08:02:00.000-07:00

The morning began with a start as Tom called out from the bow “Come quick, we have to pull the anchor”... As I hurried to throw on some clothes and check this out, Tom was on the bow trying to disengage from a 30 foot sailboat that had some how snagged our anchor line and was inches from our prow. Creatively, he decided to slide out our anchor weight which lowered our anchor rope so that they could get free. It was a startling beginning for the day but all turned out well. I think that the current took them by surprise as they pulled their anchor.

We continued north today to the Fredrica River and are now anchored just off Saint Simons Island, the second largest of the Georgia barrier islands. We took the Caribe to the Fredrica Marina dock later in the afternoon with our bikes. The extremely tall posts for the floating dock are an indicator of the 7 foot deep tide swings and gave extra capacity for high water as the dock rises.

Our ride was over 10 miles as we rode down to the village where the St. Simons Lighthouse stands near the beach. Built in 1872, the white brick lighthouse is 104 foot tall and still operates lighting the St Simons Sound. It has a two story keeper’s house at its base where there were two keepers and each one had one level as living space. We were there at the end of the day as the ranger carefully took down the American flag.

There was a beautiful visitor center on the water front overlooking the sound where we sat in white rocking chairs in the shade for a while. The huge oak trees there have survived for centuries, partially because the hurricane patterns of the Atlantic statistically come to shore north of here.

We passed the historical marker for the Retreat Plantation, begun in 1804 and one of the primary producers of long staple cotton in the early 1800’s. We also found one of the old plantation slave houses built of a material called tabby. It was a material that preceded concrete and was brought to the New World by the Spanish, but modified to use local materials. This mix used lime, ash, water, sand, and oyster shells and could be poured into molds for foundations, walls, floors and roofs and dried like concrete.

We had dinner tonight at a local place called the Crab Trap and were delighted with their delicious crab soup. Actually it was so cold in the restaurant that the hot soup tasted great in spite of the 110 degree heat index outside.

June 10, 2009: Jekyll Island, Ga

2009-06-11T19:51:00.000-07:00

Today was a day to find some place to cool off. Within sight of our anchorage, there is a three story yellow and blue water slide, so we decided to check it out.

Summer Waves is a water park that includes a beautiful wave pool, the Frantic Atlantic, numerous water slides, water sprays and bucket pourings of all kinds and a winding lazy river. From the top of the water slide you had a great view of The Next Thirty Years in Jekyll Creek and the marsh beyond it.

June 9, 2009: Jekyll Island, Georgia

2009-06-11T17:22:00.000-07:00

We are spending a couple of days anchored just by the Jekyll Island Bridge near the public ramp. It has given us a chance to ride our bike around this beautiful low coast natural habitat and enjoy the grand old oak trees bearded with grey Spanish moss. The state of Georgia purchased this entire island in 1947 to preserve it against development, especially on the beach side. Nestled among the old woods there is a National Historic Site called Millionaire’s Village built in 1807 as a private club by the exclusive community including Rockefeller, Vanderbilt, Pulitzer, and Morgan. A number of the original buildings are still standing including the turreted Club House which is now a grand hotel with croquet played on the lawn. We also road along by the Crane Cottage, a white mansion with ornate garden and reflecting pool, and the Faith Chapel, both original buildings.

But the fun of the day was visiting the George Sea Turtle Center. They had an exhibit on the life and well being of sea turtles with fun questions and discovery for kids and me. There was a count of the turtle nests discovered on Georgia beaches this summer - 134 so far, but there were over 1500 in 2008. There was also a cast of a giant sea turtle, the Archalon, whose fossil was found in South Dakota (We saw this before in a museum in Connecticut, but still amazing). They had a glass window in front of a clinic area. We were able to watch the local turtle infirmary team in action as they bandaged up a little diamond back turtle. Then we were invited out to visit the turtle hospital, a building next door with roof and screened in half walls. Inside we found about 8 huge tanks, each the recovery area for either a loggerhead or green sea turtle receiving care. These were all large turtles, but the largest of them had a four foot shell. He had an MRI and they thought it had a stroke. He needed to learn out to act like a turtle again (he just floated on the top of the water so we didn’t swim correctly). Others had injured shells (carapace), flippers or debilitated turtle syndrome. We watched as the helper put pills into a small fish and slipped it into the water for the turtle which was debilitated.

The afternoon included a trip to the beach which was very wide at low tide and packed hard like the Daytona and a seafood dinner at a local restaurant. We can tell we are nearing home because this dinner came with hushpuppies. Not a big basketful, but a couple on the plate – hot and crispy. The sun was glowing on the water as we returned to the boat.

Response to Post

2009-06-11T09:48:00.000-07:00

To the nice person looking for us and using a blog comment as a way to contact us... we can be reached by cell phone at 919-622-5401 most any time. Please call.

June 8, 2009: Brunswick, Georgia

2009-06-09T11:40:00.001-07:00

So today we were towed to Brunswick to avoid running our motors. It was a slow trip at about 3 knots.

Cumberland Island National Seashore which is an undeveloped island where the US Parks own 85% of the land and private home owners who come by boat must bring in all their own facilities. We saw a wild horse grazing there in the wide expanse of green marsh grass.

Kings Bay Submarine Base is home to six Trident class nuclear submarines. We passed through, but saw neither a submarine or any military activity. The water was amazingly glossy and calm for an inlet to the ocean.

As we neared Brunswick, George, we cruised under the long suspension bridge named after Sidney Lanier, a famous poet from Glynn. It’s symmetric cables reflecting sunlight were just visible in the blue sky above. Lanier authored the poem The Marshes of Gynn in the early 1900’s, but for the marshland lover the words are just as wonderful today:

GLOOMS of the live-oaks, beautiful-braided and woven
With intricate shades of the vines that myriad-cloven
Clamber the forks of the multiform boughs,—
Emerald twilights,—
Virginal shy lights,
Wrought of the leaves to allure to the whisper of vows,
When lovers pace timidly down through the green colonnades
Of the dim sweet woods, of the dear dark woods,
Of the heavenly woods and glades,

Our afternoon was spent on the lift at the Brunswick Marina while we had our propellers changed, including removing a rope we had picked up, and our zinc’s replaced. It was very surprising to me that they let me stay on the boat (this was a first), but really convenient since I had several work calls to make.

After dinner we road our bikes into town to find the famous old Lover’s Oak, which is documented as being living when the US Constitution was signed. It was a huge tree with multiple trunks perhaps from earlier damage to the core. The guide books suggested that the tree was really over 900 years old and called the Lover’s Tree as at trysting spot for centuries. It was magnificent.

June 7, 2009: Brick Hill

2009-06-06T21:11:00.002-07:00

With my 3 days of travel working in NY, and the downpour of rain Saturday afternoon, we are still in Jacksonville at the Metropolitan Park on Sunday morning. So we biked downtown this morning to attend First Baptist Church again, but this time we knew the service began at 10:20 AM so we were on time. The first 30 minutes were filled with such wonderful music and full hearted hymn singing – I think that might be what heaven is like. The minister began with the story of Robert Robinson’s writing of the hymn Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing and then the choir of 300 voices sang it with the full orchestra swelling the music making your heart swell with it.

Riding back through the park Tom reminded me of the Kingston, Ontario, Canada fire boat factory; where in fact, they were building a boat for Jacksonville, Florida. Tom said that the sheriff told him they have ordered a second one, 70 feet long. Although most of the downtown is immediately in reach of a boat for fire protection, the real reason for the fireboats is the oil depots near town. In 1901 there was a great fire that burned 2400 buildings putting 10,000 people out of their homes and businesses. The finally put the fire out with a bucket brigade from the river but had no other fire equipment.

We are retracing our route downstream in the Saint John River towards the ocean. We passed fields of marsh grass along the way, God’s beautiful lawn. And we saw something we have not seen since we were on the Illinois River – a small band of white pelicans.

When we reached the ICW, we turned north and continued our wonderful relaxing ride past Ferdinando Beach. This appears to be a fishing community with docks of large shrimping vessels at rest.

Unfortunately, with the tide out and the water at 7 feet low, we managed to run aground. We worked our way off the sandbar and made it to Brick Hill for tonight’s anchorage, but we have some engine vibration now that we will need to get checked out...

June 6, 2009: Jacksonville, Fl

2009-06-06T21:11:00.001-07:00

There was a rumbling in our ears as we pulled away from the dock this morning and headed towards the huge blue Main Street Bridge. We were accompanying 100 brightly painted speed boats out to the starting line for the Jacksonville Poker Run. Some of the boats were powered by as much as 3800 horsepower and would go over 100 miles per hour. We saw them begin the race with tall fountains of water spraying behind them.

Turning up river, we found the Ortega River Bridge bridgmaster ready to open the lift bridge for us to return to Lamb’s Marina. We had our screen door repaired and had to collect it. Tom also made a quick trip to the grocery store and returned with blueberries from NC. Yea! Headed east on Saint Johns River, we returned to Jacksonville hearing the US Coast Guard announce a storm alert for the area on the VHF radio. Seeing the storm clouds brewing we decided to go back to the Jacksonville Metropolitan park for tonight.

Monday, June 1, 2009

2009-06-06T19:52:00.000-07:00

After spending the night docked at the Out Back Crabshack, we cast off in the dinghy to explore farther up Six Mile Creek. We passed under a low fixed bridge to where the dark water was enclosed by dense woods on the shore on both sides. It was secluded and beautiful as the still water acted as a mirror the soft greens of the forest. Trees leaning over the water rose from an exact image of greens, grey and brown.

The day included a trip back up St. Johns River with calm glossy water. The shore was dotted with small riverfront homes and we saw the Jacksonville Naval Airstation with small planes parked on the tarmac.

When we reached Black Creek, we turned in to find a place to spend the night. Black Creek was a skiers dream and we moved up stream to behind a small island where we anchored out and watched the sun set behind the tree line.

June 1, 2009: Six Mile Creek, FL

2009-05-31T21:28:00.001-07:00

This Sunday morning we started our journey from the end of Gator Bowl Blvd and left early for church, It was nice to not need the Caribe to get ashore. Our path took us past the Maxwell House Coffee plant where you could smell the coffee roasting and up to Laura Street. As we biked up Laura Street, on the sidewalk because it was one way the wrong way, we saw first the First Baptist Preschool Parking deck. Now mind you we had read that the First Baptist Church of Jacksonville was a “megachurch”, but we were not sure what a church with 10,000 members would be like. Next we saw the FBC Middle School Building across the street. Ahead of us on the right was a modern steeple over a fountain which we thought must be the sanctuary; but no, it was the FBC Academy. Finally we found the worship center across the street. The brown brick and concrete building took up the entire city block. We were greeted kindly at the door even thought arriving at 10:30, we were 10 minutes late.

The service recognized their 64 graduating high school seniors including a wonderful choir of senior girls singing a song with lyrics from Jeremiah 29:11. Another senior sang the song “We shall behold Him” accompanied by their 40 piece orchestra and it was truly grand both musically and spiritually. Pastor Brunson’s sermon, based on Psalm 23:2 was a message on finding rest and peace in God’s leadership, filled with practical advice on practicing a good life, and even a reference to keeping his grandson to add a little humor.

As we left the church, we were surprised to see that all the streets were closed with orange cones for the congregants to leave crossing the street anywhere and several police officers directing traffic. But I guess a meeting like that is an event to be assisted and there really wasn’t any other traffic downtown.

On our ride back to the boat I took a quick tour through the Kids Kamp that was next to the docks. It was a city part for children under 62 inches and included both a tiny city for practicing safety rules and a play ground full of things that sprayed water. What a fun place for a hot day. Almost back to the boat when I heard the “SSSSSS” of my front tire, and I had a flat. I was glad that I only had to walk a little way to get home!

After lunch we were going to take an adventure up the Saint Johns River. As we approached the tall blue Main Street bridge we saw a number of sheriff’s boats, and on the VHF radio we found out that the tall ships were engaged in a mock battle with the pirate ships. The sheriff suggested that we not try to go under the bridge but to wait til the battle was over. So as he instructed, we anchored there and had a front row seat for the engagement including cannon and rife fire (just gun powder – no bullets!). It took me a few minutes to realize that even though there sails were up and flying, the boats were really traveling under motor power. They had to be using engines to have the nimbleness to be moving so quickly and close to the other (expensive) ships. At times the ship’s movement seemed choreographed as the vessels swung from broadside to not.

When the battle was over we proceeded under

the Main Street Bridge and saw thee beautiful fountain circle at Friendship Park on the left. Saint Johns River opened up into a calm waterway maybe two miles wide. The surface was so smooth that we longed for our ski boat. The wide water was amazingly calm. Calm of course except for our wake – so when water ski folks spotted us, our wake because the obstacle course for them. It was fun to see them leap their jet skis out of the water, but I am always glad to see them safely move away.

Tom had found a special treat in one of the guide books, so we headed up Six Mile Creek to find the Outback Crab House. As the creek narrowed, with large hardwoods on the banks draped with long strands of grey Spanish moss above the dark water, it reminded me of Trent River at home in New Bern.

A few miles up the creek, we came to the restaurants 1500 foot floating pier and tied up there. The

water on the far side of the dock was filled with water hyacinth and full of the pretty light purple flowers. We spotted several manatees in the water grazing on the shiny green leaves of the hyacinths. Do you see the manatee in this picture? Really what you saw was just the top of his back and his nostrils as he poked his nose up for a breath of air. Like dolphins, manatees are water animals that are mammals. Walking up the dock to have dinner, we spotted a small alligator floating with just his eyes and the ridge of his back out of the water.

This was one

of the best nature sightings we have had.

Apparently the restaurant in involved in crabbing as well

since they had a section of floating pier piled high with green wire crab traps.

It is hard to describe the Outback Crab House. The building on the side of the creek has leaded glass doors at its entrance and casual picnic tables inside. There were stuffed alligators by the ladies room, and next to the creek there were tents with a guitar player singing country music. While we were eating there was even a little girl (maybe 8 years old), who sang “I’m a Red Necked Woman”. There were several signs around that said “Providence Bible Church meets here on Sunday morning at 8:30 AM. No shirt, No shoes, No Problem”. The service was marginal but the food was good and the ambiance was something not to be missed.

As we sat on the back deck after dinner, we noticed that it was a traditional pastime for the regular diners to walk the dock in search of manatees or other wildlife. What a charming way to end the day.