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Fernandina Beach to Beaufort, North Carolina
Every where we go there is a parade!
Finally . . . pictures of the dolphins!
April 29, 2011
Greetings from Fernandina Beach, FL. We arrived on the Tuesday the 26th. Our first morning in town, we asked around about a good place for breakfast. T-Ray’s was suggested. It is owned by Ray, who we first met at a marine store. We were repairing the gas line on the dinghy. We rode our bikes to T-Ray’s. It is not hard to miss since it is an old gas station. The pumps are out front rusting away. T-Ray is Ray’s son who runs the restaurant with his wife. It is the ultimate diner. None of the tables match nor do the place settings (and the restroom is outside around the back!). It has Georgia, Florida and Green Bay football memorabilia. Ray recognized us from the marine store and gave us a brief history of the place. He has been on the corner for 40 years. Where we were sitting, he used to change oil and repair cars. When we said we were from Chicago, he told us that every year he goes up to Green Bay, WI to see the Packers play and visit with friends. He talked about the cold and snow, reminding us what we missed this winter. We also met his 97 year old mother and his granddaughter who went to college and helps as a waitress.
The next day, we road our bikes about 15 miles and visited Fort Clinch. We first saw the fort as we came in the channel from the Atlantic. The fort is used for reenactments on the weekends. It buildings were furnished allowing visitors to get a sense of what life was like at that time. This is our second fort in a little over a week! We also saw the house that the movie, Pippi Longstocking was filmed. It is a private home and was being remodeled. It felt so good to get some exercise and see parts of the town that we would not have seen on foot.
To continue the “It’s a Small World” theme from the journal, we were coming into the harbor when Francie shouts, “It’s their boat. Turn around it’s their boat.” The boat belonged to Bob and Beth from Charleston. Bob gave us his old dinghy after ours had been hit and ripped on our way down in November. In fact we were planning to call them as we are approaching Charleston. We visited over wine and arranged to get together the next day.
We then met Jon (Francie’s son) who is driving Francie’s parents’ car back to Indiana. We had dinner and he left for Augusta. He was hoping the bad weather would hold off long enough for him golf in the morning. (It did and he had a great time!)
We continued our stay at Fernandina because of incoming storms and the annual Shrimp Fest. We watched the parade Thursday night. It seemed that every organization and many of the businesses had an entry in the parade. I think a third of the town was in the parade while another third watched it. The annual Shrimp Fest brings thousands of people to town. Friday was a sidewalk sale so we had to stay for that. The streets in the main section of town are closed down as vendors and artisans prepare to sell their wares. Pirates prowled the town and we even recognize some of them from St. Augustine. We listened to the band and watched the fireworks from the boat during the evening.
The thought of mobs of people and the prospect of good weather to the north prompted us to prepare to leave Saturday.
April 30, 2011
Once again we are packed to travel and our destination is Charleston. We filled up with fuel, water and put the bikes back on the boat. The wind was light but later we were able to sail for a large part of the day and evening. Good thing with the price of fuel. We are getting use to the shifts and the interrupted sleep.
Charleston is a huge sea port. We were fighting the tide and had swells behind us, it made for an uncomfortable ride in the channel toward the city. At one point, behind us, headed our way, was a huge ship. It is like looking up at a moving mountain. There was an audible sigh of relief after it passed. It is always a question if they see us. We look like a toy in comparison.
Some of the boat chores are finished and it is time to relax and enjoy the marina and the city. Since we had seen and toured a lot of historic Charleston on our previous visit, so we decided to ride our bikes around the city. We enjoyed riding through the neighborhoods. By the end of the afternoon we were ready to head back to the boat after getting some provisions for our next leg of our trip.
There is a cold front coming in and the winds turn to the north. It is a good time for us to leave and ride the south winds further north.
May 4, 2011
Good morning. We are in Southport, NC. We entered Cape Fear Channel at 2:30 in the morning after a swift but bumpy ride out in the Atlantic. The winds stayed out of the south, so we entered the channel with 20 knot winds on our side. It was bouncy and slow. After looking at several places to drop the anchor to sit out the rest of the night, we finally decided to drop the anchor outside the unlit channel to the marina where we planned to stay. The river current was running fast and the wind was still strong but the anchor set quickly. We were able to sleep from 4 am to 8am with few interruptions.
The marina is new and very nice. The price is right and it has free laundry.
May 7, 2011
We decided to stay here for the grand opening of the marina. We have met people that are planning on taking off for their first year of living aboard and being full time cruisers. A year ago that was us! Work, house, moving, it seems like such a long time ago. Even after a year we are still making adjustments. Missing friends and family and even our own independence from each other causes a slight unrest. At the same time, not venturing out would have robbed us of the multitude of unique experiences. Our lives are richer for our experiences, independently and collectively. Sometimes even now after almost a year, our lives don’t feel real. The freedom of living one day at a time and doing what feels right, removes an amazing amount of stress, but sometimes feels a little aimless, especially to two task oriented people like us! We continue to learn to trust our instincts rather than force decisions. At this point in our lives, we can’t imagine living our lives differently.
May 10, 2011
We have completed our last “Atlantic” traveling; the rest of the trip will be on the Intercoastal Waterway. Our last day was memorable because of the pod of dolphins that decided to play in our bow wake. We were sailing at about 8 miles an hour. The dolphins would get up in the bow wake and go from one side of the boat to the other. At times there would be one dolphin on each side of the boat and then they would switch. It was so exciting. The show lasted at least 15 minutes. To make it even better, Francie captured it on video. Persistence does pay off.
We are have only 170 miles to travel to reach the Chesapeake, which will be our home for the summer.
Greetings from Fernandina Beach, FL. We arrived on the Tuesday the 26th. Our first morning in town, we asked around about a good place for breakfast. T-Ray’s was suggested. It is owned by Ray, who we first met at a marine store. We were repairing the gas line on the dinghy. We rode our bikes to T-Ray’s. It is not hard to miss since it is an old gas station. The pumps are out front rusting away. T-Ray is Ray’s son who runs the restaurant with his wife. It is the ultimate diner. None of the tables match nor do the place settings (and the restroom is outside around the back!). It has Georgia, Florida and Green Bay football memorabilia. Ray recognized us from the marine store and gave us a brief history of the place. He has been on the corner for 40 years. Where we were sitting, he used to change oil and repair cars. When we said we were from Chicago, he told us that every year he goes up to Green Bay, WI to see the Packers play and visit with friends. He talked about the cold and snow, reminding us what we missed this winter. We also met his 97 year old mother and his granddaughter who went to college and helps as a waitress.
The next day, we road our bikes about 15 miles and visited Fort Clinch. We first saw the fort as we came in the channel from the Atlantic. The fort is used for reenactments on the weekends. It buildings were furnished allowing visitors to get a sense of what life was like at that time. This is our second fort in a little over a week! We also saw the house that the movie, Pippi Longstocking was filmed. It is a private home and was being remodeled. It felt so good to get some exercise and see parts of the town that we would not have seen on foot.
To continue the “It’s a Small World” theme from the journal, we were coming into the harbor when Francie shouts, “It’s their boat. Turn around it’s their boat.” The boat belonged to Bob and Beth from Charleston. Bob gave us his old dinghy after ours had been hit and ripped on our way down in November. In fact we were planning to call them as we are approaching Charleston. We visited over wine and arranged to get together the next day.
We then met Jon (Francie’s son) who is driving Francie’s parents’ car back to Indiana. We had dinner and he left for Augusta. He was hoping the bad weather would hold off long enough for him golf in the morning. (It did and he had a great time!)
We continued our stay at Fernandina because of incoming storms and the annual Shrimp Fest. We watched the parade Thursday night. It seemed that every organization and many of the businesses had an entry in the parade. I think a third of the town was in the parade while another third watched it. The annual Shrimp Fest brings thousands of people to town. Friday was a sidewalk sale so we had to stay for that. The streets in the main section of town are closed down as vendors and artisans prepare to sell their wares. Pirates prowled the town and we even recognize some of them from St. Augustine. We listened to the band and watched the fireworks from the boat during the evening.
The thought of mobs of people and the prospect of good weather to the north prompted us to prepare to leave Saturday.
April 30, 2011
Once again we are packed to travel and our destination is Charleston. We filled up with fuel, water and put the bikes back on the boat. The wind was light but later we were able to sail for a large part of the day and evening. Good thing with the price of fuel. We are getting use to the shifts and the interrupted sleep.
Charleston is a huge sea port. We were fighting the tide and had swells behind us, it made for an uncomfortable ride in the channel toward the city. At one point, behind us, headed our way, was a huge ship. It is like looking up at a moving mountain. There was an audible sigh of relief after it passed. It is always a question if they see us. We look like a toy in comparison.
Some of the boat chores are finished and it is time to relax and enjoy the marina and the city. Since we had seen and toured a lot of historic Charleston on our previous visit, so we decided to ride our bikes around the city. We enjoyed riding through the neighborhoods. By the end of the afternoon we were ready to head back to the boat after getting some provisions for our next leg of our trip.
There is a cold front coming in and the winds turn to the north. It is a good time for us to leave and ride the south winds further north.
May 4, 2011
Good morning. We are in Southport, NC. We entered Cape Fear Channel at 2:30 in the morning after a swift but bumpy ride out in the Atlantic. The winds stayed out of the south, so we entered the channel with 20 knot winds on our side. It was bouncy and slow. After looking at several places to drop the anchor to sit out the rest of the night, we finally decided to drop the anchor outside the unlit channel to the marina where we planned to stay. The river current was running fast and the wind was still strong but the anchor set quickly. We were able to sleep from 4 am to 8am with few interruptions.
The marina is new and very nice. The price is right and it has free laundry.
May 7, 2011
We decided to stay here for the grand opening of the marina. We have met people that are planning on taking off for their first year of living aboard and being full time cruisers. A year ago that was us! Work, house, moving, it seems like such a long time ago. Even after a year we are still making adjustments. Missing friends and family and even our own independence from each other causes a slight unrest. At the same time, not venturing out would have robbed us of the multitude of unique experiences. Our lives are richer for our experiences, independently and collectively. Sometimes even now after almost a year, our lives don’t feel real. The freedom of living one day at a time and doing what feels right, removes an amazing amount of stress, but sometimes feels a little aimless, especially to two task oriented people like us! We continue to learn to trust our instincts rather than force decisions. At this point in our lives, we can’t imagine living our lives differently.
May 10, 2011
We have completed our last “Atlantic” traveling; the rest of the trip will be on the Intercoastal Waterway. Our last day was memorable because of the pod of dolphins that decided to play in our bow wake. We were sailing at about 8 miles an hour. The dolphins would get up in the bow wake and go from one side of the boat to the other. At times there would be one dolphin on each side of the boat and then they would switch. It was so exciting. The show lasted at least 15 minutes. To make it even better, Francie captured it on video. Persistence does pay off.
We are have only 170 miles to travel to reach the Chesapeake, which will be our home for the summer.