Sun 29 Apr 2012
Docked at Downtown Marina, Beaufort, SC

[photo: one of the many historic homes in this town.]

The evening was comfortably cool and quiet as far as wind and waves, but some place ashore was playing loud music until 0200. Once the hatches were closed, you barely heard it, so no problem. Duane was so relaxed that he slept until 0700, a rarity. It is forecast to reach 85F today, similar to yesterday.

At 0900 we borrowed the courtesy car to go to the local grocery store and K-Mart. It had a few rattles that were disconcerting, but it got us there and back OK. We now have more fresh veggies and protein for the next 5 days or so. Needing to get to a store every 5 days or so it is not even close to the old days when refrigeration was almost unheard of and people had to shop every day for that day’s meals, but a lot closer than the modern American’s food shopping habits.

After a very light lunch, we got on the bikes and rode a number of miles through the working man’s part of Beaufort, stopping at a Piggly Wiggly grocery store for some coveted mint. It was uncertain if the mint would pass muster for the 4 guests we would have later for mint juleps, so a sample was required. It was good.

At 1700, our cruising guests arrived and we had delightful conversations for almost 90 minutes. Everyone left to their own plans, while we prepared dinner. It was a simple meal of shrimp wrapped in bacon over a bed of rice pilaf with fresh sautéed portabella mushrooms and fresh steamed broccoli. I tease, but we really do eat well on the boat.

The after-dinner glow in the cockpit with a fresh breeze was very invigorating. A little music and some recapping of the glorious day, and it was time for bed. I should note that at noon today, it was 4 weeks since our departure. It took a while to get used to the fact that this was not a several week vacation, but now we are definitely in cruise mode.