May 9, 2015 - Pictures along the journey

One of the old homes in Charleston

Beautiful Charleston

Historic Charleston

Beautiful old cathedral in Charleston

Taking a break from the water, being tourists

Patriot nestled among the boats at the Maritime Center Marina in Charleston

FREE laundry WITH A VIEW! Both very unusual for boaters!

Cypress trees along the Atlantic ICW

They seem to grow better on their own little island in the water

Some beautiful homes and landscape along the river

When excavating this area, a Native American burial ground was found. There is interesting folklore about the spirits visiting the locals.

Spanish moss hanging from the cypress trees

Pretty stretch of ICW

One of many palatial homes along the Atlantic ICS in South Carolina

Turtle family basking in the sunshine

Nobody could miss this house!

Bahamian lobster on the grill

Finally reconnected with Blue Willow (Mark & Vicki) and had frozen the Bahamian lobster to share with them. Yummy!!

This "marina" and "boat" have been here a long time in disrepair.

Closer view of the mess...not sure why this hasn't been removed.

Downtown Swansboro, NC...a very cute small town, free docks

Swansboro coffee shop where we enjoyed an ice cream treat

Breakfast in Swansboro with Mark & Vicki

Oops...Blue Willow got stuck on a sand bar, so had to call Tow Boat U.S. to pull them off

Sunset in the Carolinas

LOVED, LOVED Beaufort, NC. One of our favorite shops had these cute bikes sitting out back, available to visitors

Wild horses grazing and drinking on an island area across from our dock in Beaufort

We encountered about 20 wild horses

Up close and personal

Wright Brothers museum at Kitty Hawk, Outer Banks, NC...a very interesting place

Replica of the Wright Brothers glider

Replica of the Wright Bros plane at the museum in Kitty Hawk, NC. This is the  plane on which they made their first flight.

These were the two original buildings on the site of the first flights .  On left is where the brothers stayed while doing their experimental flights, while the building on the right was where they constructed their crude planes and gliders.

Jim and Mark at the site where the Wright Bros launched their experimental glider planes

Wright Bros Memorial

The cypress swamps along the canals were a brownish color from the tannin released from the many cypress trees along the route

A monkey on a leash at the Elizabeth City docks -   This man apparently spent every day entertaining people  with his pet monkey as they showed up at the docks.

Elizabeth City Provides free docks to people who are about to enter or who just exited the Dismal Swamp Canal in North Carolina/Virginia

Slips at the free docks were made possible through donations from town folks

The Dismal Swamp Canal was truly a beautiful part of the trip

Our traveling companions, Blue Willow, following us down the Dismal Swamp

Jim was enjoying the beautiful Day traveling down the Dismal Swamp as he drove from the bow using the remote control

In case you forgot where you were while traveling through the Dismal Swamp Canal

By the time that nightfall arrived, the Dismal Swamp Welcome Center had boats rafted off its wall as many as four deep for a free night of dockage.   If you look carefully, you should see Patriot. 

We crossed into Virginia along the Dismal Swamp

One of the numerous naval ships with a home base of Norfolk

The Hampton Roads Naval Museum in Norfolk provided wonderful history of our awe inspiring and powerful US Navy

This is just part of the anchor chain on the deck of the Battleship Wisconsin in Norfolk. Each link weighed over 200 pounds.

The deck of the Battleship Wisconsin, nearly the length of 3 football fields...  The Wisconsin was in service from WWII, through the Gulf War in the early 1990's.  The Battleships are no longer in the fleet due to the tremendous advancements in   air power.  Aircraft carriers are now the signature of the US fleet.

The Wisconsin was equipped with 18 inch guns on turrets, the largest ever made.

The Wisconsin - from a distance

The Norfolk/Portsmouth, Va harbor is a tremendous shipping and working harbor

We often found ourselves in the midst of sailing clubs engaging in their seeking racing ritual.

May 8, 2015 - Welcome to Annapolis, MD

After our rough crossing (about 1.5 hours) across Abamarle Sound, we had a much calmer, short trip to Elizabeth City, N.C. where we tied up to the free docks in the downtown area. Gus, a local gentleman with many stories, hangs around the docks for most of the day with the intention of assisting transient boaters get tied to the dock and flirting with the women. Gus helped us get tied up, and then proceeded to bend our ears with his many stories about his life, the town, etc. etc.  Our last post detailed the events of the rest of our day.

Elizabeth City is known by boaters as the home of the Rose Buddies. In the early ‘80’s two local men hosted a wine and cheese party for 17 visiting boats and one of the gentlemen (Joe Kramer) stopped by his house and picked 17 roses from his garden to present to the women on the boats. This started a tradition and was carried on for about 4 years, until Joe died in 1987. After his death, his roses were transplanted to the park adjacent to the free town docks for all to enjoy. Mark took it upon himself to be a Rose Buddy and delivered roses to Vicki, Mary Ellen and me, with the message that, “This rose is beautiful, but not as beautiful as you.” Needless to say, he made brownie points with the ladies, but was scorned by Jim and Kurt.

On Sunday we left the dock and had sunny skies and warm weather on our trip down the Pasquotank River, down the Dismal Swamp to the Dismal Swamp Visitor Center free docks where we stayed for the night. There are 2 locks on the Dismal Swamp, with scheduled locking times, so planning the departure time and travel speed are important to avoid arriving at the lock too early or late. Yesterday we made the first lock with no problem – perfect timing, actually - and enjoyed a most spectacular trip down the very narrow Dismal Swamp. Named by Colonel William Byrd, the Dismal Swamp is FAR from dismal. It truly is one of the most beautiful stretches of river waterway we have seen on the trip.

The Dismal Swamp Visitor Center was a nice dock, nice location, but minimal dock space. Consequently, three boats were “rafted” off Blue Willow and two were “rafted” off Patriot for the night.  We all left the docks at 7:30 a.m., made it in plenty of time to the last lock on the river, and traveled up the Elizabeth River to free docks in Portsmouth, VA. As a special treat, we all went to the historic Commodore Theater for a once-in-a-lifetime experience. All theater seats are in a candle-light dinner setting, in easy chairs around a table adorned with a white tablecloth. Food is ordered by picking up a phone placed on each table. Food, service, and company (Mark & Vicki) were outstanding, while the movie would probably have been our last choice - Avengers : Age of Ultron. In spite of the movie, of little interest to us all, it was enjoyable because of the uniqueness of the theater. Great experience and great evening!

On the 5th we moved to Tidewater Marina in Portsmouth and spent the day being tourists around Norfolk’s military attractions. We took the ferry from Portsmouth across the river to Norfolk where we toured the Wisconsin battleship, which has been retired and is in residence at the Nauticus Museum. We then took a guided water tour featuring the naval shipyards in Norfolk, which is the largest naval complex in the world. Following the tour, Vicki & I took the ferry back to the boat while Mark & Jim returned to the museum for a more thorough tour.

In the evening we celebrated Jim's birthday with dinner out and a key lime pie birthday cake. He had a very good birthday, with "boy-friendly" touristy events.

On the 6th we arose early, left Portsmouth, and ventured back onto the water for our first introduction to the Chesapeake Bay. The Chesapeake is unbelievably HUGE but we were lucky that the weather was cooperative in providing a relatively smooth journey to our anchorage.

Yesterday we left the anchorage with Blue Willow and parted at the entrance to the Potomac River. They made the turn onto the Potomac for their trip to Washington D.C. while we continued on the Chesapeake to Annapolis. We had a very long day on the water, but it was unbelievably smooth - sun glistening on the water that was smooth as glass. We are now in Annapolis for a week to explore this area and take a side trip to Washington D.C. After the week, we will move along to Baltimore where we will leave the boat while home for our short vacation from our vacation.

Saturday, May 2, 2015 - N Carolina Outer Banks

After leaving Beaufort NC, we had a fairly long day, finally stopping at a free town dock in Belhaven, NC, at the foot of the Alligator River.  We were tired that night and never left the dock. It was a nice, peaceful setting and we had cocktails on the dock overlooking the river, then dinner and cards on Blue Willow with Mark and Vicki Hill and their yellow lab, Daisy.   The next morning we departed and traveled to the Alligator River Marina across Pimlico Sound, which got a bit bumpy as we neared the marina.
The next leg of the trip required the crossing of the Albamarle Sound,  which opens to the Atlantic Ocean and is known for its rough conditions.  Upon arriving the night before at the Alligator River Marina (a few miles from Columbia, NC), boats were arriving that had already tried to cross the Albamarle, only to find it to be a harrowing experience, thus turning back to join us at the marina to hunker down for the night.  The forecast for the next day was horrible, so we decided to rent a car and visit the nearby Wright Brothers Museum in Kitty Hawk, on the outer banks of NC.  We all enjoyed that very much as we saw the very site where the brothers accomplished their very first airborne flights.  Replicas of the gliders and actual initial airplane were on display, along with much history on aviation in our country and throughout the world.
After two nights there, this morning we were anxious to leave and the weather forecast was better.  In retrospect, we probably should not have traveled today.  Crossing the Almamarle Sound was really, really bumpy, at times dealing with waves five or six feet in height.  Things were rocking and rolling and falling throughout the boat.  The only thing that made it doable was that we were taking the huge waves on our bow, as opposed to the beam (side) of the boat, but even then the waves were hitting our windshield and spacing over the top os the boat.   Needless to say, we were happy to arrive in Elizabeth City NC., at a free town dock.  Today was the first Saturday of the year when the town hosted a farmers market right off our dock, so we enjoyed some fresh vegetables to go with the crock pot rib dinner prepared by Vicki.  We also met up with another looper couple from Holland, Mi aboard Loophole, Mary Ellen and Kurt ??? and they will likely travel with us tomorrow through the Dismal Swamp Canal on our way to Norfolk, Va.

April 28, 2005 - Wild Horses, Blackbeard, and Stuck in the Sand!

Yes, the title of this section does indeed highlight the events of the past few days. On April 22 we left Charleston and headed for Lightkeeper's Marina in North Myrtle Beach, SC, for what was a nice reunion with our good pals earlier on"the loop", Mark and Vicki Hill, from Petoskey, Mi.  It was a great meeting as we enjoyed a lobster feast with the lobster that we had purchased from local fishermen while in the Bahamas.  Lightkeepers was perhaps the nicest marina of our entire loop experience.  It had a beautiful pool, wonderful showers, and some great people who we befriended.  The dock master even lent us a car in which we visited a gorgeous Atlantic Ocean beach and did some re-provisioning at the grocery store.  One of the more interesting people we met was Bob Bassett, a college football official who had been a Big Ten football official for several years, but moved south and bought a 70 ft yacht that he named "It's Official" on which he now lives full time, and he now officiates for the ACC conference.  While in college, Bob went to Pen State  where he played for Joe Paterno, which made for a very interesting discussion.

We left together with Blue Willow (Mark and Vicki) and rafted together at a beautiful anchorage in Wrightsville Beach, NC. After dinner, we played cards before going to bed as we have done every night since traveling with Mark and Vicki. The next night we stayed at a new marina in Swansboro that was not yet opened, so we had no water or electricity.  But it was in a nice little resort town that reminded us a lot of Pentwater with cute shops.  Connie did indeed make a deposit in the local economy, buying some strings for the house. Upon leaving, Blue Willow(Mark and Vicki) got stuck when they left the marina and went the wrong way.  So we got to observe for the first time a Boat US tow boat get a boat off a sand bar.  Fortunately, they had insurance to pay for it, a must for all loopers!

Upon our arrival in Beaufort, NC, we stayed at the town boat docks in the middle of the waterfront downtown, This town again reminded us of Pentwater, with its little shops.  While here we went through a fascinating Maritime Museum, where we learned a great deal about the famous, violent pirate and terror on the seas, Blackbeard.  He had spent much of his time in the surrounding waters in the 1700's where he hijacked numerous merchant ships.  His primary objective was to be remembered in history, in which he was certainly successful.  Today, Connie and I got in our dingy and visited the small island across from the mainland, Carrot Island, which is known for the heard of wild horses on the island. We actually got quite close to them and were able to take some great photos.  We ended the day by enjoying another Bahamian  dinner (with Mark and Vicki) with some conch that we had purchased from local fishermen on the docks before we left the Bahamas.  Again, we enjoyed a spirited game of cards before retiring for the evening.

These are two of the wild horses we saw on Carrot Island across from Beaufort, NC

Enjoying breakfast in Swansboro, NC with Mark and Vicki Hill, looper friends from Petoskey, Mi

Towboat US is pulling Blue Willow off the sandbar in Swansboro, NC. 

A beautiful sunset from our slip in a North Carolina marina

April 23, 2015 - Lemons into sparkling lemonade...then bootleg whiskey

We arose early Monday morning in our Beaufort, SC marina slip, anticipating a full day on the water for our journey to Charleston, SC. To our great surprise, the current was tearing into our slip at over 4 knots, which made it impossible for us to back out of the slip and move on our way. With several strong men helping to get us turned around and get out of the slip to no avail, we finally resigned ourselves to the idea that we would be a spending a few more hours in Beaufort, SC. Luckily there were no other boats within "striking" distance, because we ended up cross-wise in the slip, held snugly against the dock without a prayer of moving away until the current subsided. Accepting our fate, we decided to go downtown for breakfast and see the little town that we hadn't been able to see the night before. A leisurely breakfast later, we then decided to take a horse-drawn buggy ride on a tour of the town of Beaufort. Very shortly into our carriage ride, as we were enjoying the narration by our driver, we felt a wobbling, weaving and a sudden JOLT as one of the 4 wheels fell off the carriage. Fortunately, nobody was hurt, the horse was calm and unaffected, and it added a new realm of excitement to our already eventful morning. After receiving a refund for the carriage ride, we went back to the marina and were able to depart easily from our slip for an anchorage and then on to Charleston.

We left Beaufort, SC with a very good feeling...beautiful, well-cared for small town, super-friendly people who obviously take much pride in making their town appealing and welcoming. If not for the mishaps of the morning, we wouldn't have had the time to get acquainted with the area. Thus, lemons to sparkling lemonade. What a treat!

Our journey to Charleston was a good one - very short, as we had stopped for the night at an anchorage close to Charleston - and we found the Maritime Center Marina to be the cream of the crop! It was located in Charleston Harbor, well protected from the wake of large container ships entering nearby. The rates were very good, shower spotlessly clean, and the biggest bonus - FREE WASHERS AND DRYERS in a laundry room with a view of the harbor. What more could we ask for?! (I know this seems very small to those of you who have the convenience of a laundry room at your fingertips, but REALLY, do you all have a view of a big, beautiful body of water in one of the most historic cities in the U.S.?!) I did laundry while Jim took a $25 taxi ride to purchase engine oil. We spent the afternoon exploring Charleston...more metropolitan-feeling than Savannah, and actually attempted another horse-drawn carriage ride. It was fun, but not as exciting as the one in Beaufort. We had a great dinner at an Irish pub, then returned to the boat for a fun evening of changing the engine oil.

Yesterday the highlight of our day was traveling down the Waccamaw River, by far the most scenic and beautiful stretch of our trip up the East Coast ICW. The banks of the river were green and lush, a cypress swamp with beautiful cypress trees adorned with Spanish moss giving us passage. Our anchorage last night was spectacular! We dropped anchor in Prince Creek, which was isolated but just a smaller version of the cypress-lined banks of the bigger river. We were hoping to see alligators, but none appeared. We half-expected to hear dueling banjos and broken whiskey stills but were lulled instead by the peaceful waters and singing birds. Ahhh!

As I write this, we are passing through Myrtle Beach, SC on our way to the Lightkeepers Marina in N. Myrtle Beach where we will reconnect with Mark, Vicki & Daisy on Blue Willow and celebrate our reunion with a Bahamian lobster dinner and many laughs and fun ahead.

April 19, 2015 - In Beaufort, SC

As I write this, it is pouring down rain and there is a tornado watch posted for the area we're in. We are safely tucked into the marina with a safe spot in case it turns to a tornado warning.

We had one and a half fantastic days in Savannah. We were so happy to have been able to connect with Bill & Lori Hughes (Perfect Day) for the time we were here, as they are leaving their boat and heading back to California on Thursday. It will likely be at least another year before we see them again. :(

Jim, Lori & I went to Savannah yesterday to take a trolley tour around the city. Great choice, as it introduced us to the areas we wanted to return to for our walking tour. Savannah is a thoughtfully laid-out city, with numerous grassy park-like squares dotted throughout the city. It was first settled in 1733 and James Oglethorpe was responsible for the layout of the town grid. He would be proud to know that today his vision and design is still alive and as beautiful as anyone could imagine. Bill joined us in the evening for dinner and a grand finale to Savannah. FUN!!

We left this morning for our journey to Beaufort, SC and watched the weather carefully for signs of the bad weather that was predicted. Thankfully, the bad weather held off until we made it across the biggest body of water, Port Royal Sound, and then to our slip in the Beaufort City Marina. We checked into the marina and took a quick walk through a very small portion of the historic district before the rain came and once we got back to the boat it cut loose and is now raging!

Tomorrow we head for Charleston, SC to meet up with Mark, Vicki & Daisy (dog) on Blue Willow and will travel with them until we return home in May.

Good-bye, Perfect Day

Bonaventure Cemetery - originally the site of the Tattnall Plantation during the 1800's. The family began the cemetery that eventually developed into a public grave when the plantation house burned. 

In 1850 Scotsman John Muir camped on the property here, was intrigued by its beauty and is known as our country's most prominent early advocate of environmental protection. He was also one of the founders of the Sierra Club.

April 18, 2015 - Time Out For Mexico

During the week from April 3-10, we parked Patriot at a marina in Titusville and flew to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, where we joined our daughter and son-in-law (Heather and Blake) and their four children (Brynn, Avery, Camden, and Krue) for a marvelous week together at our timeshare.  We swam in many of the numerous pools, floated down the lazy river, went down water slides and various other water activities in the Kids Club, and experienced first hand some of the genuine Mexican culture.  We attended  a Mexican church, visited two different villages, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves in the beautiful atmosphere in Mexico.  The kids favorite activities also included participating in the release of baby sea turtles into the ocean and seeing numerous iguanas in the wild. We walked the streets of the Mexican villages of Bucerias and Jarretaderas, while enjoying some truly authentic Mexican food while celebrating Avery’s  8^th birthday.  She even had a mariachi band serenade her!   Needless to say, they kept grandma and grandpa very busy while very little reading and lounging was done while we were there.  A wonderful time was had by all.

Upon our return from Mexico, we promptly jumped back aboard Patriot and headed north up the intra-coastal waterway.  Surprisingly, we were able to join our Canadian looper friends who were aboard Ta Ta, Roger and Mary. We anchored together our first night near Daytona Beach at Sheephead Cut, then we continued north while anchoring by ourselves just south of St Augustine at Matanzas Inlet.  That made for a very short travel day arriving in St Augustine the next morning.  The highlight of our stay there was connecting with Pentwater friends, Ron Beeber and Amy LaBarge, and Dave and Carol Messerlie.  We had a great time together as we went to some great restaurants and enjoyed the sights of the nation’s oldest city which was originally inhabited by Spain in the early 1500’s.  We even went by the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind, which was attended by my (Jim’s) brother, Rusty, who actually attended there when our family lived in Florida for a few years during our childhood. Finally, as we pulled out of St Augustine, Ron and Dave cruised to Jacksonville with Jim aboard Patriot, while the girls did some much deserved shopping (I am sure that it had been at least a couple of days since any of them had been shopping), and we all met for lunch in Jacksonville before departing our separate ways. 

Dinner at Columbian with Dave & Carol Messerlie, Ron Beeber, Amy LaBarge. Had a fantastic evening with these great friends

Wednesday, the 15th,  we enjoyed a quiet anchorage near Fernandina Beach, the northernmost city in Florida.  Early the next morning we crossed into Georgia on our way to the beautiful city of Savannah, while the next night we anchored just off the ICW in a very wild and desolate area miles from any civilization.  

Oh, I almost forgot the numerous special creatures that we enjoyed the entire way from Titusville to Fernandina Beach.  Throughout this journey we have experienced numerous dolphins and manatee sharing the waterways with us.  One time, Connie was using the solar shower on the back of the boat while I was driving, when all of a sudden she saw a pair of eyes watching her.  Immediately next to the boat was a dolphin swimming in our wake, occasionally turning to look up at Connie.  We both applauded him and he stayed with us for perhaps 30 minutes.  That is certainly not the only time a dolphin has been in our wake, but this was by far the longest.  Perhaps he enjoyed seeing a human being with no clothes on!

The flirting dolphin joined us for at least 30 minutes

Friday, April 18 - Arrival in Savannah

Just outside of Savannah, we are staying at the Isle of Hope Marina, where we have already hooked up with looper friends for some great food at a great restaurant in the Oldtown section of Savannah. Joining us were Bill and Lori Hughes from San Diego Ca. (although they have a summer cottage in Charlevoix), and Steve and Sheli Sterk from Grand Rapids. They have both been traveling partners at different stages of our journey, so it was good to reminisce and catch up. We are sure that both couples will remain friends long after the loop is completed. We are planning to further explore Savannah today, because it is such a beautiful and historic city.

Flagler College in St. Augustine - lots of beautiful stained glass

Entering the harbor in St. Augustine

Stained glass window in the Cathedral-Basilica Church in St. Augustine

Sanctuary of Cathedral-Basilica Church in St. Augustine

Beautiful church, unable to capture the beauty in photos

Large home along the Georgian ICW - nothing around it but marsh and swamp

Shrimp boat apparently got too close to the shallows. Oops!

Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind - where brother Rusty spent 

Another of the beautiful churches in St. Augustine

In Old St. Augustine, this beautiful flower garden flourishing on an upper level apartment, overlooking one of the oldest streets

Oldest house in St. Augustine

The Old Senator...VERY old!

Mammoth Old Senator branches

Dinner with Ron & Amy in St. Augustine

Good buddies happy to be together on the trolley tour. Had a great time with Ron & Amy, and girl time was especially needed. 

Trolley tour was a good choice to see the highlights of St. Augustine

Ripley's Believe It Or Not - a stop on the trolley tour, but not a place we toured

Ripley's building is really beautiful

The old jail, with hanging gallows on the right side of the picture

Lori & Connie sipping on margaritas while shopping in downtown Savannah