Day 16

On this last day of April we are socked in with fog! 🌁 Anchored just off the ICW waiting for it to lift. It is 7:30AM, 62º
winds are calm WNW 5mph. Forecast calls for sunny skies with high of 78º; in Wilmington, NC And we wait🙇
Hoping to go 65 miles today, which will put us close to New Bern. Use to go to camp near New Bern, in Arapahoe called Camp Seafare; a month every summer 🚤🚲⛳⛵🚣⛺😎

Finally the fog lifted and at 9:50 we were back on the ICW.

Kenny stopped a crabber who was crabbing 😂and  bought a dozen 🦀right off the boat.  Steamed crabs tonight! Maybe crab cakes too!
🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀

We stopped for  fuel, filled up water tanks, got ice and let Stella take care of her needs⛽🚰💩 then on our way again!

We passed Camp Lejeune and Kenny took this pic of a missile launcher, and an old tank situated on the banks of the ICW.

At 4:30 we are safely anchored near Morehead City, NC. 😎

Every night we fish and tonight Kenny caught 2 sand sharks, big ones, OMG! They do have teeth!🦈 quick release, one fell in boat.  😱

Happy last day of April! ☔

See you in May!🌸🌷🌹🌼🌺

Day 15

We pulled anchor around 8:00 AM. The 🌞 is in and out, 69º, Wind ENE at 9 mph.  Here is a pic of the instruments we  constantly rely on:

Have to keep her in the white! 076º is our heading. The 9 on Ken's phone is our speed. Another tells us our depth. 

This is the flip book we follow too. Magenta line is our path on the ICW. The ⚓ in gold circle lets us know we can safely anchor there for the night.

I wrote about this on the way down, it's just so interesting to me that I thought I would include it again. One of us is always checking: depth, speed, location...

Sometimes when we are in the thick of it and not sure what town we are close to, I ask Siri, who has an Australian guy voice

He  usually responds directly with the info, but not today😂

Had to screen shot this one😃

Yesterday we were blocked in by these guys, dredging 

They made an opening for us to get through🙈

We will be anchoring again tonight, please stay tuned

Still seeing lots of damage from the September hurricane

Roofs have been ripped off

It is 6:00 pm and we found a 15-18 ' depth gut off the ICW, in North Topsail, NC.  Looks perfect for anchoring overnight even though it is not on the chart!⚓ Going to do some fishing, then make dinner, then night, night! Until tomorrow🙏😍

Day 14

It is 9:00 and we are still at the Marina,  planning our route for today.  It 68º here in Myrtle Beach, clear skies, winds WSW 5 / 7. Winds along the coast will reach 10-20 mph, with gusts up to 25 mph 🙀  We will stay on the ICW today, duh! 

Last night we ate dinner at Ruth Chris, which is right here.  Kenny has been there before with golf buddies years ago; first for me.
He warned me about the prices, OMG!  It was a huge treat, never had steak like that, everything was a-la-carte, so we shared some delicious sides.
After chatting with the waiters, bus boys etc. I now know why it's so pricey; besides being incredibly delicious.  🥩🥩🥩🍖🍖 
They all are paid as trained professionals: 401K, health insurance, all kinds career perks. Very impressive! 

This fine morning we are cleaning Serenity from top to bottom. She is pretty salty/dirty!🧹🧹💦💦

Today, if we ever get out of here, we plan to go 50-60 miles, which will bring us to anchorage in Southport/ Cape Fear 🙀 area in NC. sometime tonight!!!

Stay Tuned and thanks for following along!

It's 4:30 and we are anchored in Southport, NC
Some sights along the way

These signs are everywhere😾

Lots of boats like this😿

Sombrero or spaceship landing pad?😹💀

a yacht club's lighthouse

Day 13

Saturday morning and it is sunny but chilly 52º anchored here in Pawley's Is.        👋 to Jim and Cindy who live here. 
Our evening began very windy and rocky but calmed down during the night. 
At 7:00 AM we have clear skies, 0 wind🙀 and are underway, back in the ICW for now. We make better progress in the ocean but the ride is smoother and sometimes more scenic on ICW.  We will go out side when winds are out of the south. 

Sites on the ICW 
Doesn't show the real  magnitude  of these homes 

Have an app. called 'Windy' and it shows everything we need to know about wind, seas, rain, thunder, clouds, temp, even snow. And it was free!!!
Soon we will be near the Dismal Swamp, Pungo River, which we want to avoid like the plague😡 It you have followed along then you know what happened to us there! OUCH
We will definitely be traveling the ocean instead.🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊
Not sure where we will make it today!

Stay Tuned and thanks for following along, ya'll😍 

At 1:00 we landed at the Grand Dunes Marina in Myrtle Beach. We could stay for FREE for the day as we Ubered to the Boardwalk for my trip down memory lane.  Not much is the same as it was but we had fun.  A lot of foreign languages spoken here😳
Cement Boardwalk sites:

                                                                 Have to enlarge to read this one.↑↑↑↑BaHa

Pour me something cold and strong

Make it a hurricane before I go insane!! What would Jimmy Buffet do? 

Of course we had to stop for a Hurricane

At 5:00 we are back. This Marina is beautiful, with all the amenities and a Ruth Chris Steakhouse which sealed the deal for Kenny to stay the night. 

We were going to leave and anchor for the night. 😂 

A very busy place. 

Day 12

Today is Friday and we are headed out. 
Right now at 7:30AM in Charleston, it is 69º and mostly cloudy with winds W 5mph with gust 16,  humidity 90%. 
We have decided to stay inside today on the intracoastal. Hoping to go 50 miles to Georgetown, SC before the rain comes!💦💦💦💦💦💦💦⛈⛈⛈ Then it's my old stomping ground, Myrtle Beach!!!

                     This is how the morning began in the ICW

It is now 4:30 and we are anchored off the beaten path. It has been a great ride but very windy. No need for a hair dryer!!!!🌬🌬🌬🌬

Sustained winds at 25 mph out of the SW and at 1:00 it changed to westerly. It was somewhat choppy but we had following seas the whole way. We are now tucked into a 'hurricane hole' in Pawley's Island, which is further than we intended to go. 
We are protected from the wind on both the east and west by land mass; which makes it a perfect spot for anchorage. No need to move at 3am; if so, I'll just wake Ken up😂 
The sun is shining, 80º, the generator is running, ice maker is making, dinner is in the oven, All is good!  😎😍

Day 11

We are still docked here at marina in Charleston (low country). The one that is so large we have to walk  about a mile of dock to reach tarred parking lot. They are now providing booties to wear over your shoes so as not to get tarred.😂 Wish they had provided that yesterday! ugh
Getting 'tarred' of  this! 😂

Generator guy came this morning and it is now set to go 👏
That means we can leave tomorrow, weather depending 

I have to say that we are no longer tolerant of extreme heat. It is so hot and humid here, much more so than anywhere we have been so far.🔥 Makes us NOT want to step out of our A/C.😓 A little breeze from the water.

😎I think I fixed the issues with clicking on this blog site.

Happy Birthday to my beautiful Niece, Andie 
💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜

Day 10

It is 8:30 AM and we are leaving our current local, heading to Charleston, SC. It's about a 4 hour ride; cutting our day short and heading to a marina where we can get a diesel mechanic to help with our air locked generator🙆

We had little sleep, as our first location ended up being a nightmare!
The winds changed and what we thought to be a protected area was NOT!  Around midnight we started getting tossed around like popping popcorn, up and down, to and fro, side to side, even Stella was scared.  At 3:00AM We finally brought up the anchor and in the dark, headed up river for about half an hour, until calmer waters. It was 4 before it was all said and done. Very nerve wracking to say the least😓

It is currently 69º, high of 80º at Edisto Island, SC. Clear skies, Winds WSW 9 MPH with biting bugs! no emoji for that

STAY TUNED

               Following seas off our starboard quarter! Like  a  “Tilt-a-whirl” at the carnival 🤮

                                 Entering Charleston Harbor

It is 4:00 and we are at, what boasts to be,   a very nice Marina in Charleston. It is hot as blazes here and we have to walk a mile of ugly dockage to get to land, which bytheway, today is a freshly tarred parking lot.❤ OY WHAT, no grass?
Where's the grass? Stella wants to know???? 
My shoes have been tarred 😡👠😂

With little sleep, a rocky 5 hour ride here, and being docked so far from life/land, I am currently NOT a happy camper. Pricey too!💰

Hope the evening is better. On a good note,  we have power/ AC!!!
I feel better already.💟 😍 
Captain Ken 👮is like the energizer bunny, he keeps going and going and going, no matter what.💗

For some reason Google is not working to get to BLOG. Have to enter it  manually 🙏

Day 9

It is almost 10AM and we are still at the Kilkenny dock. Having generator problems, so Kenny is down in the hole working on it. UGH!  
Last night the trees here were loaded with Great White Herons. 

They were in every tree and were much larger than this pic depicts.🙆 A sight to see for sure!

Again, the weather is perfect ; sunny, 70º with high of 82º, WSW
winds at 6 / 9 MPH.  We will be back in the ocean again, hoping to at least make South Carolina today.

 UPDATE:  the genny is purring like a cat right now.🙏🙏
Just got the heads up to secure the cabin for launch 
⛴⛴⛴⛴⛴⛴⛴⛴⛴⛴⛴⛴⛴⛴⛴⛴⛴⛴⛴⛴⛴⛴⛴⛴⛴⛴

It is 7:30 PM and we are in Edisto Beach SC., anchored in a gut a mile inland.  We traveled nine hours in the ocean about 15 miles from shore.  We had following seas all day!
It was fairly easy day for me; reading, watching for marine life, and did a little fishing/trolling

Kenny was the vigilante one today, reading GPS, measuring distances, calculating and navigating our destination. 

The bad news is our generator bit the shed again.  So we are anchored with NO power. It is relatively cool out tonight, so sleeping won't be a problem, but a hot dinner will be. 

Lights work off the battery, 👏 It's 8:00 and I am beyond hungry, cereal it is, with fresh strawberries 💗 No worries there

Day 8

It is Monday already and we have been on our way north for a week.
We left anchor this morning at 8 and are back on the ICW for a while or until we can get fuel. 
It is sunny🌞 and cool out, 65º, clear skies, with winds NE 2-3 MPH. High today should get to 78º  Perfect boating weather!

We are hoping to reach Savannah, Georgia by night fall! 

It is 12:15 and we are fueling up in Jekyll Island and walking Stella. This is the same place we stayed on the way down; had use of a golf cart to ride into town. 🚗
 Today,  just a pit and poop stop!

We have been on the water for 11 hours and at 7:30, we are at our destination for the night. We traveled partially in the ICW but mostly 12 miles off shore in the ocean. 
↖↖↖↖↖↖↖↗↗↗↗↗↗↘↘↘↘↙↙↙↙↙↙↙↙↖↖
Winds began calm but changed direction and increased to 25 MPH, for the last 5 hours it was very choppy and we were rocking and rolling. Not enough to make me sick but really annoying after a while.  
Savannah was too far for today so we are at a '🎶Deliverance🎶' kind of marina, called Kilkenny 😂

Saw some very interesting jelly fish or something?????? 

Not great pics, as they looked like a ball with a dark ring around the middle.  There were hundreds of them everywhere for a long time.

Besides seeing plenty of dolphins playing along the way we both caught a glimpse of a huge black ridged sea turtle. By the time we reached for our phones it had dropped down below.

We both noticed that a lot of young dolphins frolic in the ICW, they are light gray and adorable. Maybe they are in training before they are allowed to venture in the big, bad, deep, blue sea. 🌊🌊🌊🌊
 A lot of the ones in the ocean are black, some dark gray🐬🐬🐬🐬

Going to make a light dinner, read and then good night😴💤🛌

Day 7

Happy Easter and Passover.  🐰
Today's weather is just right so we are heading out when Bridge of Lions opens up at 11:00.  

It is 75º, winds are blowing out of the west at 10-12 mph and we are heading out in the ocean for the day. 

Bridge of Lions

Also, today is darling Stella's 11th Birthday!  🎂🎂🎂🎂
Goodbye St. Augustine and cousin Linda!  We love you both! 
💚💚💚💚
Had a wonderful cruise in the ocean all day long. Played Jimmy Buffet radio and saw lots of ocean life.  Skates were jumping  2 feet  up all over the place.  Dolphins too!  Out in droves; so exciting!🐬🐬🐬 Something was spooking the Skates

This is how it was all day in the ocean🌊🌊🌊

6:40 and we are anchored off the beaten path in Woodbine, Georgia.
A fellow sailboater that we met in St. Augustine is here too and took this pic. Thank you Neil! 

Day 6

We will be in St. Augustine until Easter Sunday, of course weather dependent.
Last night we went to a free concert that was suppose to be on the beach, but because of storms it was at the Amphitheater near by.

Check  out Wheeland Brothers . A mix of Zach Brown, Reggae, Rap, Jimmy Buffet.  So good. It was a very intimate concert where we stood and danced with band. Awesome! 

By the way, the storm that was predicted was just wind and rain. Got excited for nothing 😀 Cooled everything off too,  it's kinda chilly today, Saturday!

Today, we are headed to the local farmers market to stock up on fruits and veggies. Late start though; late nights are catching up with us. 😫

It is almost 8:00 pm and we are cooking dinner. I spent the afternoon at cousin Linda's beautiful home doing laundry and now we are back on boat fishing. Linda caught a Yellowtail trout and Kenny cooked it up for an appetizer, so delicious!  

Day 5

Today is Friday and we are expecting miserable  weather here in St. Augustine. 
This morning we walked around town to see the sights before hunkering in for the day. 
This sign explains the ICW more clearly :

We walked around all morning, leaving Stella on the boat in the A/C as it was hot and humid out. 

                            Stopped here for a quick tour and sampling 🍹

                               ⇈⇈⇈⇈⇈⇈⇈⇈⇈⇈⇈⇈⇈⇈⇈⇈⇈

 We headed back to the boat after seeing this coming🙈

The temperature changed so quickly, it suddenly got chilly and winds kicked up even more 🌬

Day 4

It is 2:00 and we are docked in St. Augustine for possibly the weekend. We were here on the way down but much more crowded now. We are right downtown so we can walk to 

We set out at 9 this AM under sunny skies and following wind. Early on, the trees blocked most the wind which made it feel like every bit of 80º  Once we passed Flagler Beach the ICW opened up and  we were back in a serpentine track with intense shoaling on both sides.  The winds enabled us to be at 2100 RPMs going 10-11 MPH;  that is flying for us (at that rpm). 🚀✈

                           Bon Terra in Palm Coast FL

            Fancy shmancy hotel and condos we passed

                                    ...and there is the ocean🌊🌊🌊🌊
We are going to tour the city today before the  storm from the west hits us tomorrow.  Don't mind it though as we are tucked in with plenty of good eats, water and booze!  Just saying...

I do want to mention Kenny's bro Wally, who just had some heavy duty surgery, and thank God is on the mend.  Can't wait to see him at Kait's wedding💖

 It is 10:00 and we are still alive and kicking! We walked in town and had a fabulous  dinner at the Prohabition Kitchen which had live music great drinks and food. We met our cousin Linda there along with a fellow neighbor boat guy we just met.  Haven't been up this late since the prohibition.  😂

Day 3

We left Titusville around 9:30am with cloudy skies, 85º, winds out of the south at about 5mph, so we felt NO breeze, as we traveled at about 8 mph and made our trek across  the Mosquito lagoon.  

Again, uneventful, no I take that back; we were surrounded by boats speeding by and coming head on. The rule of the road is to give a heads up when passing or taking over a boat that is traveling ahead of you. We hale them on the radio and give them a slow pass to be respectful and NOT ROCK their world. Well, not everyone follows that motto as our world was rocked many times as we traveled north on the ICW this morning. 

This is the Ponce de Lean Lighthouse on the Ponce Inlet, on Indian River.

Our view as we motor north

More views as we approach Daytona

We see everyone's backyards

Went under about  4 bridges in the Daytona area. This one is the under construction as you can see. Main Street Bridge

This is the 4th bridge we went under and we had to have it raised

This is not the same footage as the dolphins we filmed coming south

These 4 large dolphins were playing and racing, trying to keep up with the boat. They traveled with us for some time.  We won😂🐬🐬🐬🐬

This guy came out of nowhere and rode our wake, never stopped rowing for about 3 miles. Kind of awkward at times as he never acknowledged us.

Finally he turned around and headed back the way he came🛶🛶🛶🛶Don't think he spoke English.

We are now in a safe anchorage along with 2 other boats. Got here around 7. Long day! Flagler Beach area

Tomorrow, a short ride to St. Augustine where we will spend the Easter Weekend🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰 at a marina. Bad weather on Friday. 🙈

Day 2 of our journey home

Another sunny day to wake up to 🌞😎 and we are on our way. Hoping to make another 8 hour day. We set out late, around 9:30 and had an uneventful cruise north.

We bailed at 3:30 and are docked at the Titusville Marina, the same one we docked at on the way down in January. Immediately I walked Stella who was about to pop with poop💩 as she only piddles on her designated garden on the boat. We cleaned the boat from bow to stern, showered, had some dinner and  now at 8:00 we are both pooped, no pun intended. 

Good night all!  Thanks for checking in; it's comforting to know we are not alone 😍

The journey HOME

April 13th We are leaving for the Bahamas this Monday, day after tomorrow!🙈

Spent this day doing laundry, cleaning barnacle laden dinghy, changed batteries and oil on boat, completed Stella's Vet paper work...

Stella has decided to drive her Mercedes instead

💨💨💨💨💨💨💨💨💨💨💨💨💨💨💨💨💨💨💨💨💨💨 A lot has transpired since Saturday. 
Today is Monday, April 15th and we are not going to the Bahamas due to weather concerns. This was our only window to go and after studying weather reports last night, conferring with other experienced Captains, we have chosen to head home instead.  The ICW is not effected by wind, waves and current as much as the ocean🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊

The journey home begins

So at 7:30 this morning we left the Mariner Cay and headed north up the ICW. 

We have had a fantastic 4 months with great weather; super, hospitable community; had lots of company, made some new friendships, did a lot of fishing, pickle balling and eating.  
We were so blessed to have shared Warren's 80th birthday party 🎂with family,  go on boat rides with Warren and Thasia, to have had cart blanche use of their car as well! Thank you Woodworths with love💕for introducing us to Mariner Cay!🛥
🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴

After 8 hours of sunny, delightful weather we are now anchored 27 miles south of Cape Canaveral.  It's good to be on the road again; we are both ready to come home.
Our ETA will be mid May as we will take our time again and make some stops along the way. We hope to travel more in the ocean as it is quicker, all weather dependent.

Look closely as this, it now a Tern Sand Bar,  hundreds of them.  Same sand bar  as the Pelican Sand Bar just different clientele.😂

This is where we are anchoring for the night⚓

April 11

Kenny just left to take Josh to the airport in Palm Springs. We had a great visit;  they got 18 holes in yesterday, went swimming during the day and night. Swimming in the pool at night with the pool lights on reminds us both of times spent at our Aunt Charlotte's pool in Baltimore. I spent summers there growing up and fortunate enough to have my kids spend summers there too. Use to love swimming at night then  bedtime; nothing wears you out more💦💤

Actually, the truth is,  teenage, hoodlum Kenny use to sneak into my aunt's pool late at night, as he grew up in the same neighborhood.  She would shoo them away! 😂 I obviously did not know him then!🙏🙈

Mr Peligan here sat on that piling for 20 minutes or so, listening to our conversation, topside. Josh had me slo mo video him taking off while he clapped.  Wait for it because it's pretty cool. 
Love how he tucks his feet under as he becomes airborne. Beautiful creatures

                                 Josh and Kenny walking Stella and a glimpse of Mariner Cay Marina

While in Palm Springs today Kenny is getting his  TWIC www.tsa.gov › For Industry card that he had to have a physical for plus a pee test.  

April 9th

Today is Pickle Ball Tuesday and Josh had been here since Sunday. 
We play 3 times a week or try to; Josh came to PB this AM.  

Unfortunately the weather is not going to cooperate for a golf game today as its going to be raining and storming all day 😞💧💦beginning soon!

We have been very busy getting ready for our trip to the Bahamas 
Have to have Stella's papers and shots all updated, final check up has to be within 48 hours of entry, had to send money and form  with her info to the Bahamas gov.   They do not allow Pitfalls or any mix of Pitbulls!  Also, have to have the proper flags to display before entering. ⚑🎌
Groceries are very expensive there so we are meal planning and shopping beforehand. Feel like a squirrel as we squirrel all this food away!!!🍎🍑🍓🍠🍤

Last week we took a trip with the girls to Jupiter and stopped for a swim in the ICW. Even Stella was forced to swim

Kait, Kenny, Stella

Jupiter is where a lot of golf pros have homes along the ICW. We went by them not knowing whose was whose!! 

Hello Great Blue Heron

This one was hitching a ride! 

This guy posed for a pic by the pool

His head and tail were bright red. I was told these lizards are not native and were previously pets. They are a menace to the eco system as they eat the small, cute native ones.🦎🦎

 Sandpipers 

Sandpipers sleeping

So funny to see them jump in the holes and sleep. Might have to enlarge to actually see them. One stays out to keep guard😂

Kenny filleting fishies🐠🐟🎣

This pic was taken from our boat at the dock. 

Today is April 2nd and we have been in Stuart, Florida for over 2 incredible months! We have been blessed with great weather, beautiful surroundings, have made some new friends, and visited by a lot of old friends.  

Kenny's golf buddies from NH were here.

We so enjoyed reuniting with them and Kenny loved playing golf for the long weekend.

Tim, Andy, Dupes, Garvey, Jeff

Kenny and Timmy

Our dear friends from Maryland stopped by. 💛

Bill and Wendy

Kait came to visit twice and Josh is coming soon.

The weather was a little overcast but the sun did manage to peek out for a few hours on Kait's first visit🌴 She and a friend just left and the weather was perfect; beach days 🌊and pool days💧!😎

👈A pensive looking snapshot of Kait waiting for 🌞on her 1st visit

Kait and Amy on the second visit👉

Ready for the Super Bowl!🏈

The Mariner Cay Club House had a super, super bowl party and of course we were the only ones rooting for the Pats!  Great fun. Thank God they won, in Patriots' fashion!

Speaking of club house, every Friday from 6-8 is Happy Hour there. We have met so many friendly people that either live in a house, condo or boat here a Mariner Cay. 

Three mornings a week we play Pickle Ball with the same peeps that do cocktail hour; we are obsessed! Bought our own rackets.  Even played in the rain! LOL So much fun that I'm a little banged up from all the fun. 

Watch out SOPO; hope we can find PB there!

WE've done a lot of fishing and lots of eating fish. 

On most menus you will find Dolphin only I thought it was 

Flipper 🐬 and was very upset. 

Quickly found out had nothing the mammal and is the same as Mahi Mahi. Delish! But it's only said once! Mahi. They laugh at you if you ask for Mahi Mahi  Who started that anyway way? 

Mahi!🐟

One fishing outing on a friends legit huge, gorgeous fishing boat with outriggers and live well, a tiny bird landed near me. It was adorable, let me touch it and sat right next to me for a time.  Later found out it was a migrating bird that was resting a spell. Called a Northern Parula, go figure..

bird is the word

That's me sitting in blue shorts. The bird was about 2 inches tall, all by her/himself. Snuggled up next to me. 🐦 Hope it made it to wherever it was headed!🙏

Some fellow D-Dock couples were here from Maine

As usual we ate and drank too much but were able to spend one whole day deep sea fishing with Captain Ken! Everyone caught something!  Big, little and creepy LOL

Stay Tuned as we leave for the Bahamas in 2 weeks🙏😬 Pinch me🙏