Day 44 New Year's Eve

We had a very late start this foggy AM off our mooring.
Yes, we saw a permanent mooring ball last night on our GPS and hooked on. 

Had blueberry pancakes and fried eggs 🥚🥞as brunch and waited for the fog to lift. 

At 12:30 we are motoring along on the Dawho River in South Carolina. The fog comes and goes as we putt putt  south.🙈

It's  muggy out at 68º with winds SSE 4mph. We are hoping to reach Beaufort or Hilton Head by night fall. The tide is pushing us, traveling at 8.5 mph and engines running at 1400rpm's. If tide was against us we would be up to 2800 rpm's. 
Dolphins all around🐬🐬🐬nothing else!

It is 4:30 and we have been through the gamut,
dense fog, rain, sun, and very difficult navigations. Our radar is distorted during heavy downpours. 

Today's trip has tested our zero visibility navigation skills. We take turns at it. 

Heading for Beaufort, SC, hoping to be there before dark!!!!



Well, it looks like we will not be anchoring tonight but going to stay at a Marina; Going out on the town! 🎆

We are snug in Beaufort Marina, showering and going out!  
Talk to you all next year!!!!
Goodbye 2018, which for us was very memorable: sold our beloved home of 20 years, moved to Maine, had a hip replacement, bought a little multi family house in SoPo, Maine, Kait got engaged, Josh moved, Kenny moved his business, and we are taking a trip of a life time!!! So grateful💕for our treasured friends and family💗

Day 43

Saw some crabbers this AM pulling their pots near our boat and Kenny bought a dozen from them!

Barrel of crabs, lol🐒🐒

Crabs and football today.  🦀🏈
We are still on the hook, and it's 10:00; not sure what we are doing today but want to be close enough to WIFI without hooking up to a $$$Marina. Charleston is close to us so we might just anchor there. 
Besides buying crabs, Kenny is fishing, using crab legs for bait
🦀🦀🦀🦀 Stella is intrigued with the live crabs🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀

The generator has been running all night and so far so good🤞

We have been underway for about 45 minutes. Keep hearing reports that the ocean had limited visibility  due to FOG and it's rolling in toward us. Great! 
Temp is 60º with winds calm SSE 8mph. Traveling at 9 mph.☄

We just passed Fort Sumter.  

Just feel like putting this out there for summer sake:
MARSHAL TUCKER!!!😄That felt good!😂

Fear the beard! 

Stay Tuned😍

Day 42

We are out of Georgetown, SC. At 8 it was foggy and dismal.

Now it is 10:00 and we have gone a whopping 15 miles. 66º with little to no wind today! 
Partly cloudy⛅
Nothing but saltwater marshes all around.  

In the ICW the ebb and flow of tides is ever changing. Because of the many inlets leading from the Atlantic, the canal flow changes anywhere from 3-5 knots, with you or against you. For example, while running our engines at 1800 rpm's our speed fluctuates from 10 mph to 5 mph without adjusting the controls. 
Outside of the canals are rice fields everywhere. Growing rice is a big industry here, Carolina Rice!  Cotton fields too, just not in these swampy areas.

Duck hunting is the activity of choice in these parts. They speed by us in their camouflaged boats, engines, outfits. They hide their boats along the edge and place their decoys all around. It's so funny looking, like seeing a cartoon. 🦆🦆

 Love the grass skirt

Blue Herons, Snowy White Egrets, Great Egrets, and all different kinds of Ducks dot the canal coast.   Wouldn't want to be a duck today!🦆🦆🦆🦆🦆🦆🦆🦆🦆

We are planning to get close to Charleston, SC and anchor for the night. Maybe find a marina there for New Year's Eve. 💁
This is a plaque I thought was notable installed outside of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce: 

It is 3:00 and we are anchored ⚓ near Charleston.  We have been having some generator issues again. We run it all day and sometimes it sounds like it's choking, coughing then conks out. 
Today I am crock potting stew and need it on! The generator supplies us with electricity when we are not at a marina and on the water. Duh! 
Kenny is changing the filters now thinking that might be part of the problem. 
There are more black dolphins in these waters.🐬
We are going to hang here for the night and watch boats go by🚣🚢🚤

Day 41

Can't believe it's Friday already! It is Friday, right? haha

We woke up to a very rainy, cloudy day and we are still docked in Georgetown, SC.  

It is now 10:30,  the sun is trying to come out and we are trying to decide whether we should stay or should we go. At this point we have no idea where we will be New Year's Eve but would like to be at least in Charleston, SC by then. 

At 12:30 we have decided to stay here; it's just too yuck out, foggy and windy. 
Inasmuch as we are walking distance to midtown we are going to have our own little pub-crawl later.. LOL! Try some local brews and such.

7:00pm and we are back to boat and having fresh shrimp for dinner and that's about it! We met quite a few locals around, with $2:00 beers it didn't take much for us to feel at home. 🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺
Cheers🍺

Day 40

Another uneventful night 👍anchored in the ICW near Pawley's Island.  It is 10am and we are underway for a short cruise to a Marina somewhere in Georgetown, SC. Looking for laundry facilities, fresh water and a few provisions.

But, more importantly we are meeting up with my eldest brother there. Have not really had a conversation with him in years, dysfunctional family dynamics I guess!😑


I'm quoting Kenny as we are motoring along, " Hey Wendy, look at this...Now I've had Basmati rice, brown and long rice, even yellow rice BUT I've never had 'abandoned rice'!"  OMG. LOL Made you   laugh too!

We made it to Georgetown, SC around noon. Gloomy day with temps in the upper 50's, wind ENE gusting up to 12mph. No rain yet!

My brother and his wife met us for lunch right in town, which is walking distance from the marina we are in. Lots of cool shops, nautical museums, pubs etc.  Lunch was great, very nice to be reunited with my big bro.

After lunch we said our goodbyes and Kenny and I moseyed around town all afternoon. Also, did laundry at the marina. 
👚👘👖👕👖👕👚👙👚👖👖👖👙👚👕👖👗👚👚💲⚓⚓⚓⚓
We will be staying here for the night and possibly tomorrow, weather dependent🌂⛈ 

Day 39

9:00am. Another gorgeous day in the south! Was cold last night though, 40º and soon to be 55º.  NE wind at 6mph, CALM! 

There  are more boats in the water  as we enter South Carolina coast.   We just passed a Casino cruise line heading N.  
A few ferries, tug boats and lots of shrimp boats🦐🦐🦐🦐🦐
Most of the homes/mansions we see are summer homes and most of the places we see are closed for the season which is ok because we are not stopping. More Marinas are open for business. We need one now for fuel⛽⛽⛽
Hope you had a wonderful, magical Christmas Day.  🎄🎄🎄🎄🌴
A sign we just passed along the way↓🙀

Our destination today is the mouth of the Maccanaw River at Bucksport, SC.  Not a long day today.

The time is a little past 1:00 and we are cruising very slowly(NO WAKE) down the ICW  through Myrtle Beach, SC. I have to say the ICW is an intimate thoroughfare.  We were not expecting to see all the damage hurricane Florence left in its path, still here.

WE read about it and most of us have seen this in the News but seeing it up close and personal like this is devastating. 🙀🙈🙉🙊

It is 4:00, we are full with fuel and now anchored for the night outside of Pawleys Island, SC. Special day tomorrow 😬

Stay tuned

Christmas Day 38

                 MERRY CHRISTMAS 

Here is a picture of Woody's parents and Kait's soon to be in-laws, Bud and Jean all ready for a festive night on the town! They are visiting K&W for the holidays. Adorable💖

←Kait's doggy, Summer

Besides missing our family we are enjoying this beautiful morning docked here in Wrightsville Beach. Having a little cocoa and cinnamon in our coffee; even have Champagne and OJ for the occasion🎄🎄🎄🎄

Kenny is checking now what our destination is for today ??

It is 10:15 and we are underway on this Christmas Day 🎄🎅🎄

The high today will be in the mid 50's with winds ENE 4-5 mph. Clear and sunny🌞 We hope to go about 50 miles which would bring us to Myrtle Beach, another old stomping ground. Memory lane from the water point of view. 

It's just about 5:00 and we are in search of anchorage. We are in Ocean Isle, NC. The sun is still shining so we are still rolling along.

🚦🚦🚦🚦🚦🚦🚦🚦🚦🚦🚦🚦🚦🚦🚦🚦🚦🚦🚦🚦🚦🚦🚦🚦🚦🚦

We can't go any where without a little excitement, like abiding by the green and red buoys, which do change position sometimes BUT We think the hurricane moved these because we were led a ground by them !  

Just our bow was caught in the soft sandy bottom, so Kenny was able to power the stern around into deeper water and the bow followed.  We were stuck for a total of 10 mins. Not the first time,🤣 but at least we didn't have to wait 6 hours for the tide to come in!!!!😀

I have to say the ICW sure snakes itself every whichaway; with some very narrow channels to be in and the tides here get unusually  low.  VERY LOW A little nerve wracking to say the least.

🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷

 It is 6:00, dark and we just anchored..Myrtle Beach, SC area.  This part of the waterway is very dark, swampy and a wee bit scary🙈 Buttoning up for the night🎄🎄🔓🔒🔐

Day 37 Christmas Eve

Again we sat out fairly early this AM. It is 11:30 and we are noticing how the water changes color from brackish brown to emerald green and now back to brown. 
Another beautiful day as we are still in NC. The temp is the same, 55º sunny, winds NNW at 15mph. Just passing through Peru,NC (never heard of it) and heading for Wilmington where we honeymooned 38 years ago.  Also, my mom always rented a condo where our families would spend vacations on Wrightsville Beach! Might spend this 🎄Eve there.

Some more remains of Florence along the way:

Another scary sign:↓

Stella News:💩
After placing Stella on her designated potty spot (located on stern porch) over 20 times, (she would look up at me as if to say WTF 🙈) we have made progress.
 Last night I left her on it and closed the door and curtains to give her privacy. I spied on her the whole time; then suddenly after turning several circles she stepped on the turf and peed!!!! She got it!  We celebrated her with treats and thatagirls.🙌

Started the process over again this morning and YES, she finally pooped on the turf; well she squatted on it and missed but she has the idea.  🙏  
🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾

More sites along the way:

Holy pink mansion

Trailer ready for flood

Even though we do not have any holiday decorations, no presents, there is definitely an air of excitement in the cabin. Might be  the Christmas music I have blasting🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎅🎄
First one without our loved ones; it's weird.  'We won't be home for Christmas'🎶🎶 😬 For some reason we are ok with it for this year! Thank goodness for FaceTime though! LOL

It is almost 1:00 and here is where we are: Surf City🏄🏄🏄🏄🏄

The blue dot is us ↓

 Today we got so excited to see bottlenose dolphins playing all around us and lots of pelicans. 😍 We also noticed more devastation from the hurricane, extending all the way down the ICW.🙊

It's now 4:00, we are docked at a small desolate marina near Wrightsville Beach, right along the ICW.  😎 No generator tonight!! WE have POWER and  living large!💡💡💡💡

Day 36

Stella looking for Christmas!🎄🎅

We are headed for Morehead City today. It's 1:00 (game 🏈time) and we have been off the hook since 9ish.  The weather outside is beautiful with cloudless skies, 55º, winds out of the west, 15mph. We can only travel 6 mph through the ICW canal. S L O W as we go! 

Damage from hurricane Florence is still evident up and down the ICW. These are scenes I'd like to forget🙀 😞

We will anchor again tonight, somewhere out of the channel near Morehead City, which is about 10 miles away, now speeding at 7.5 mph. 

Speaking of speeding, LOL, I got in touch with a local lawyer in Washington, NC, to represent me in court for my stupid speeding ticket. OY! If not, I would have to return to Washington in February, appear in court, and do community service or class time. So strict in NC, it's criminal!!!! 

The lawyers do this so often that they have a flat fee of $370. 

This pays the ticket, fees, points and paper work.  DONE!✅ 

Because we have been anchoring at night there's obviously no place for Stella to go💩 or P.  We just got a large piece of turf that sits in a container for wet boots.  Trying to train her, to no avail, as usual. Suggestions? We even put dirt and real grass pieces on it. I might have tinkled a little on it too? It does sit outside in the stern. She hasn't gone since yesterday morning. UGH! I put her leash on and walked her around the boat then sat her on it, lifted her leg, offered a treat.. NOTHING!

🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾

It is now 5:00 and we are still at it! Went by Morehead City a while ago and now looking for anchorage near Emerald Isle, NC.; Bogue Sound of the ICW. Not easy to find a safe place to anchor⚓. Can't do it in the channel and the waters are quite shallow outside it. When anchoring we leave lights on in the cabin all night as well as required anchor lights outside🚫🚥 Stella is still holding IT!

Not sure where we will be on Christmas, but where ever we are, our wish is the same: 

🎄Health, Happiness & Joy of Living throughout the years to come!

Day 35

On the road once again! We set out around noon today with less than ideal conditions but doable for sure. The high is 63º with winds 16-18 mph, WSW and sunny.

Hatchet (Little Ax) guided us out  of Belhaven, NC via the very shallow Battalina Creek that empties in the Pungo River. We are very thankful to Axson, Hatch, Timmy, Booh, Dustin and everyone else we became friends with during our week long stay. They all were very hospitable and welcoming. Did a great job putting Serenity back together again.  Thank you!⚓⚓ Good luck to the other boats there for repair.

From the Pungo we entered the Pamlico River (not to be confused with Pimlico in MD)
The Pamlico was very choppy, 3-5 foot waves, 3 seconds apart.  
We don't have that combo up north! 

It is 2:00 and we just entered Goose Creek Canal, which is part of ICW. Not man-made like the canal we got damaged in! 😡 
It's much calmer and protected here. DEEP too! 
Seeing a lot of duck/goose hunters speeding by in their camouflaged  flat bottom Jon boats.🚣 Tis the season 🦆🦆🦆

It is 4:30, we are in the Neuse River and finally we have following seas🌊🌊
 I went to camp on the Neuse River in Arapahoe, NC near New Bern; Camp Seafare. It still exists too. LOL 🙀 The brother camp is Camp Seagull! Fun times!⚓🏄🎯🎭🏇🎣🎏🏁🏊⛺🚤🚥

 I made this picture from  our GPS XL to see the depth markings.

We are in a huge body of water, literally surrounded by nothing but water, as far as the eye can see. Now look at picture above;  see how shallow that large body of water gets in the blue sections? This blows my mind!!!🙈 Thank God for GPS and Depth Sounders!!!

We are done  for the day and anchoring off the path, but not in shallows. 🙏Have to write down our coordinates to make sure we are not drifting.  Crab cakes and fresh caught shrimp for dinner tonight, on boat of course.  Pic to follow:

Does not look very appetizing?

Day 34

I knew Christmas would find us one way or another!😍

We have not quite decided to leave the boat yard because of  the impending weather. After being here for a week? I'M READY!

Last night we borrowed the boat yard beater🚗 and had dinner at a local place that is only open on Thursdays and Fridays. A dive joint that is known for their fresh seafood; steamed shrimp, grilled scallops, crab cakes (not as good as mine)  etc. Kenny also enjoyed a 1/2 peck of slightly steamed oysters that they shuck in front of you.

🤮

Looks like we are staying one more night, due to high winds.
 It's going to be another cleaning day, inside too, I guess.
It's windy but warm, 68º ⛅

Day 33

It is 11:30am and we are back from returning rental car;  Enterprise brought us back!  Very nice. 


On the way to take the car back we stopped at a 
Piggly-Wiggly 🐽🐷😂😂 to get some odds and ends; stew beef for chili, backfin crabmeat, and fruit. We also had breakfast (for the 3rd time) at Waffle House. Oh so good, but both of us are putting on the pounds 🙀🐷😳 and having so much fun doing it!

Today it is 60º, rainy, foggy and tonight it's going to be very blustery. It's a good thing we are NOT leaving today but we are having 'sea trials' this afternoon to make sure all is good and no vibrations. We just want Serenity back in the water. Deep water!! 

It is now 1:15 and we are back in business. Serenity looks, feels and sounds good as new! Just as we were being hauled up and into the water the other boatyard guys were coming in from rescuing a sinking ship sort of like ours in size.; A little larger.  Guess what?  These people hit a stump like we did but the damage was different; their hull was damaged apparently.  Now THEY have to be hauled out to assess THEIR damage.They are the third boat since we have been here!!??? Something smells fishy to me.👃🐽
🐠🐟🐠🐟🐠🐟

 A dear friend just messaged me  with these words and I quote: "Boating activities rarely have a linear path, always divergent."
Maybe that's just what we love 💕 about boating. 

The adventure continues tomorrow!
🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊

Day 32

Yesterday was the end of one month of travel (31 days) and we thought we would be in warmer weather by now. It has gone by fast but slow?  This is the 6th day HERE!!!

Today, it is 45º in the cabin with frost on the windows and our little space heater is working overtime; even my Mac Book is ice, ice cold.☃ No snow though.
The sun is coming out so we will warm up soon. 🌞

Today's the day to put Serenity back together and get her back in the water so we can be out of here tomorrow.🤞🤞🙏
Rental car return today too!🙀 Might have to thumb my way back the 40 miles.👍 jk


      ←Kenny polishing 

       Guy putting parts back on→

←All pretty but still broken😒

💨You could say Hurricane Florence is the reason we are HERE. It happened in September and the damage is still evident everywhere; land and sea!

Most the houses near the water have been rebuilt on stilts  

Stella Bella↗

It's 3:30 and the guys are still working on the boat, UGH!!
Have yet to take rental car back and  don't know the status of our situation right now. I'm losing my confidence in these boatyard guys.  
After listening to their conversations I'm beginning to think they don't know anymore than I do. Axson and son Hatchet have been gone all day; who's on first? if you know what I mean? 

Word is we will NOT be leaving tomorrow BUT will be able to get wet; that's good news I guess.😕 
🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷

Day 31

Yup, still here in the boonies of NC. It's 3:30 and her royal bottom has been painted. 

We sat out early in the chilly morning for the 40 mile drive into civilization to get all we needed to get the job done, went to Waffle House again too. Yum! 
I'm the only one that can drive the rental car because Captain Ken forgot to renew his license and has since expired.  You better believe I go the exact speed limit even though it changes quite a lot  on all the flat, straight and narrow roads we must travel.😡 
The temp was not as warm as yesterday, upper 50's, with lots of sunshine.

Good News is the parts have come back all refurbished and ready to be installed;  the prop looks beautiful I might add.

Looks NEW!

Oh, and we are no longer in the giant sling, we are totally balanced on stilts, which we had to paint around. 😧

Hoping this will be our last night on the hard; she'll be back in the water once parts are on and if all goes well we will be underway again on Thursday!!  

Still haven't figured out logistics of dropping the rental car off 40 miles away and getting back to yard??? Any volunteers? 😂

Day 30

Can't believe it's December 17th already? 
North Carolina is celebrating the 100th year of Orville and Wilbur Wright's first flight today.  Even the NC license plate displays the words: "First in Flight"! For those who don't know, I'm originally from Greensboro, NC, which is far from here.

We stayed on the boat as mentioned, even though it sits in a huge sling up in the air. Can't use head or heater out of the water, but we have an awesome little West Marine space heater. Nights are still chilly, day time temp is 61º  today   🌞

The owner of this place and the guy who guided us here from the ICW's name is Axon Smith. His adult son is Axon Jr., affectionately called Little Ax as a kid, which evolved into the nickname Hatchet. Both very nice and knowledgeable, just very difficult to understand, ya'll!! Can't make this shit up!!🙈

Believe it or not they still have segregated neighborhoods in this area. I was warned about a certain section not to take a walk in as Stella and I walk all around here. Yikes!

Today we are taking advantage of the boat in the air and lots of sunshine to power wash it. Since we have the time we are going to paint the hull too!

It's 4:00 and I am spent. We cleaned, applied compound, buffed and tomorrow we will paint her.  Kenny power washed too. 💦💦💦💦Relaxing for the rest of the evening. 💤💤💤😍

Day 29

Today is Sunday Funday, LOL 
We stayed at a Days Inn last night, had a great dinner on the waterfront. We are not the only ones living on their boat! Santa has been here already!

HOHO

HO

A high light for me this AM was the Waffle House next to hotel. 
It's been years since I've had their pecan waffle; OMG still the best!  

After shopping for needed provisions we headed 30 miles back to boat, which is still on the hard. To add insult to injury I was pulled over for speeding on a flat two-way endless highway; because I was apparently going 15 mph over limit I have to appear in court in February? Alternative would be to have a lawyer represent me here in Washington, NC. 😡😡😡 UGH! 

It's always something, as Rose Anne RoseAnnaDanna would say, and it's so true!

We are now back on boat and getting ready for a day of football. I'm still sulking over ticket though😏

It's weird not to be in panic mode for Christmas shopping. I have to say, it's kinda nice. We are playing it down this year. Sorta of skipping it 🙀 
A year of no holidays!

Day 28

Today is Saturday and I am blogging from a hotel in Plymouth, NC.  
I am not a big hotel staying fan (sorry Donna) but have to admit it's nice to have great TV reception and internet, have long hot showers and getting laundry done here.  Stella is enjoying it too. Price was right with  a continental breakfast to boot. (no grits😖)
We might find a hotel closer to the boat yard for tonight, in Washington, NC??  Until Serenity is in the water our plans are up the the air 🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈

Day 27

The boat does not move at all in these waters. And we are going to be in these waters for a while, as mentioned earlier. This is our view for the time being:

Crab Pots

It sure does not feel like we've been traveling for almost a month; the days fly by when we are underway. That all changes today because there is nothing to see or do here on the Boondocks. Nothing within 30 miles, no Uber here either 😭NOTHING!

The crew here are very nice though and helpful. They positioned steps so we can get on and off the dock easier. 😳 

I'm picking up a deeper southern accent from them, it's contagious because so is Kenny. Ain't it the truth?

Decided to change up the font I'm using, because I can't change anything else around me.😹

Rain starts in a few hours and predicted to continue for the weekend. 

They lifted Serenity out of water again to work on her bottom 😣

Kenny is the foreman 

Propeller is off

Daryl and Daryl working on boat (can't make this stuff up)

Major turn of events

I got a ride from a very nice gentleman (no-one is a stranger in the south) to an Enterprise, 40 miles away. Came all the way back to pick Kenny and Stella up from the boat yard, drove another 40 miles to Plymouth, NC to a Holiday Inn Express.  By the way, the nice man was a Virginian named Baird Stokes; such an old southern name! Got to know him quite well on our ride in his fast sports car🚀 He too has an injured boat at the yard and is renting a house for a few months until it is repaired.  Boat life!🚣
On the ride to the hotel we passed lots of cotton fields and thousands upon thousands of 'SnowGeese'

Pictures don't do it justice

We are back to boat tomorrow.
It's 5:00 and it hasn't rained yet!☁
Noteworthy boat name:

Love it!