I took the picture of the long dock in South Carolina. The picture does not do it justice. You can see the dock is falling over but you can't see that the little gazebo is also leaning over. I think it needs a little work!
The dunes are in North Carolina. I was just so surprised to see them after all the lush green trees and marshlands.
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Picture of Carolina Beach, NC at sunrise Tuesday morning.
We are anchored in Mile Hammock Bay where last fall we watched the golfers hit balls off the top of the powerboat. There are only 6 boats in here now rather than the 15 or 20 then. The wind was blowing pretty good last night - gusting to 30 knots but is calm now.
We have had a really good trip and have made good time even if the bridges do try to foil all our progress! Sometimes we have to cool our heels for almost an hour. Such a waste of time.
We are going to pass by Beaufort, NC today and find a little anchorage in the trees. We may not have internet and/or phone for a few days as we work our way north and east through the boondocks.
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We are anchored at Carolina Beach in North Carolina. We began the day in South Carolina at Calabash Creek intending to only go to Southport at the mouth of the Cape Fear River. But when we got there it was only 1:30 pm, we didn't like the looks of the anchorage and we weren't ready to quit for the day. The tide would be against us if we continued and the wind was blowing hard but what the heck - let's go for it. So we had the wind pushing us up the river and the tide pushing us out but the wind won and we did just great with only the headsail up. We arrived at 4:15 and so far are the only boat in the anchorage, but - that is not saying much as we are surrounded by homes and condo buildings. The wind seems to be dying down for the evening - well a little anyway. We should be on our way again tomorrow morning making another 40 - 60 miles. Rain and wind is predicted all week - wish we could have left with Rick and Tanya - they had great weather for most all of 10 days.
Internet and phone coverage are hard to predict. Tonight is the first evening we have had internet on the boat while anchored in a couple weeks at least - before Charleston anyway.
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LEE and KIRBY
After a wonderful but fast and furious trip to California we are back aboard TOBIAS and heading north.
We flew to San Diego where we visited with Ryan, Lisa, Kevin and Blackjack. It was wonderful getting to know my 1 year old grandson. Of course he is the smartest and cutest ever! Mostly I enjoyed just watching him explore his world and delight in his own achievements.
Then it was on to Tehachapi and a visit with all of Kirby's family. Lee flew in from Hawaii and it was such a treat to get to spend some time with him! We hadn't been there in almost 2 years so it was really fun to see how much all the kids had grown. Our main reason for the trip was Bill's 70th Birthday Party and it was a great occasion. I have never seen so much picture taking!
We arrived back at the boat about 10 pm on Wednesday. Christie was kind enough to let us use her car yesterday so we provisioned up with lots of food and drink, returned to their house and had a great family dinner.
After dinner Casey announced that he wanted his Grammy to give him a buzz cut! Wow - was that ever fun! There was hair all over the place. I wanted to give him a mohawk but he resisted!
As I sit in the cockpit writing Kirby is at the wheel waging a personal battle against all the Deer Flies! They are VERY thick and very annoying. I guess he has killed about 50 or 60 this morning and for each one he kills they send in 10 more!
We talked to Rick and Tanya yesterday and they are already to Elizabeth City - leaving today for the Dismal Swamp. We miss having them with us so much. Maybe - just maybe we will catch them!
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One year ago we untied the dock lines and took off aboard TOBIAS in search of adventure. We have had the most fantastic year traveling from Deale, Maryland to New England and on to Nova Scotia. From there we returned to Maryland and then headed south to Florida and then the Bahamas.
It is 8:00 pm and we are anchored in Beaufort, South Carolina after a 12 1/2 hour day - 73 miles. I think it is a record for us. We are pretty darned pooped but tomorrow will be a shorter day and by Friday we will be in Charleston! Grandsons! Hooray! Can't wait!
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Those of you who have been reading our blog since last summer will remember our great friends Steve and Mollie Odehnal from north Georgia. Steve and Mollie were in Nova Scotia with us last summer and we passaged back to New England together. Throughout New England it was Tobias, Sabbatical and Auriga going from anchorage to anchorage and adventuring together.
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The Girls - Mollie, Suzie and Tanya
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While we were preparing for our picnic and barbeque one of our new friends from the marina, Jason, returned from a day of Shrimping. He had a cooler of fresh shrimp and we just couldn't resist - between us we bought 8 pounds of the beauties. Part of his payment was a freshly made "Bahama Mama" - a rum and pineapple drink we learned about while in the Bahamas.
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Jason enjoying his Bahama Mama!
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We pulled away from the docks after a wonderful week at Jekyll Island. I felt at home after so long in one place! I really do love it there - it has been just about my favorite place on our whole trip. We traveled for about 6 hours and made good time - anchoring at South Creek in Georgia about 5 pm yesterday. We barely got settled in and started cleaning our shrimp when the wind piped up and we have been having 25 - 30 knot winds ever since. So, we are waiting on weather again. Hope to be "on the road again" bright and early tomorrow morning.
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We are still at Jekyll Island waiting on "Andrea" - the season's first tropical storm. I am not really complaining though because I love it so much here. The weather has not been too bad yet - just a little rain today. We are quite protected from the winds - snuggled up tight.
Yesterday we took the marina bikes and rode to the Historical section of the island. It is so beautiful with the huge, sprawling, moss draped oak trees and the manicured lawns. We stopped at the Jekyll Island Club Hotel for lunch on the terrace and then continued our tour until our bottoms gave out. It was really fun watching all the "seniors" on bicycles - it was almost dangerous - myself included!
We have had two barbeques in the picnic area now. Last night we had just a little bit of sprinkles but not enough to drive us away.
We don't know if we will be able to leave tomorrow or not. It depends on "Andrea" and what she decides to do. Our friends "Smiles" and "Barefootin'" both had to give up their slips today and to leave in this storm. (a small cruise ship will be tying up where they were) We will call them later to make certain they are safe and hunkered down.
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This is my favorite trail - and the picture does not do it justice at all!
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Rick and Tanya checking out the sites.
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I am so in love with the big old oak trees with moss hanging from the graceful branches.
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We biked all around the area and stopped here at the lovely old hotel to have lunch.
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