Well finally here is an update... We arrived in St. Augustine, FL, but headed a little north and stopped in Jacksonville Beach at the Beach Marina. It was St. Patrick's Day... We had a great dinner, steamed shrimp and 1/4 bushel of oysters, Gary was in heaven. It was great having a nice hot shower and a good night's sleep. In the morning off we went to Fernandina Beach (Amelia Island) to check in with customs and to shop a little. We moored out and enjoyed the town which is kind of a throwback to 1960's. Fun to just walk thru.
Off again in the morning to Jekyll Harbour Marina where we met a fellow Richmonder who went to Douglas Freeman. We started playing the name game and she knew Dacre, Holly & Katherine. Also, some friends from the Bahamas last year heard us on the VHF and called us. It was great hearing from Deb & Ed. We met for happy hour on Taravana and went out to dinner to catch up. We had so much fun with them that the next day we motored over to Brunswick Landing Marina (which is where Deb & Ed keep their sailboat, Ariel). Again we had a fun day with our friends, touring St. Simon's Island and having a great dinner on their boat.
Off again, the weather was supposed to be nice, but mother nature said 20 knot winds in your face all day, so we finally anchored in Walburg Creek under a tree line - the wind was blocked and the anchorage was quiet and nice, except for the Georgia no see ums - they had a good feast on us if we left the boat salon. The island is part of a zoo and keeps gazelles, Madagascar turtles and parrots - but alas, we didn't see or hear any.
Off again in the morning and Gary ran over a crab pot and locked up the port engine. The water was 58 deg and too cold and murky to dive into, so we hobbled on one engine to Thunderbolt Marina, near Savannah. Capt. Walt dove the next day for us and freed up the rope on the prop and we were good as new. We then went to Savannah for the afternoon, had a great trolley tour to get a quick overview... What a beautiful town... Met some people at Tubby's Tank House that afternoon who had been at our marina that morning and had seen us = small world - enjoyed talking to them - they have a power boat and cruise the 1000 Islands in Canada and NY. Had dinner at The Cotton Exchange and Alison had the best Shrimp and Grits she had ever had - and Gary's low country boil was also excellent. Took a taxi cab back to the marina and was entertained by our driver, Rockin' Romeo, who played the spoons for us, played great country music, and talked our ears off all the way!!
Out to the ocean we went the next morning, the morning was light winds and smooth motoring, the afternoon kicked up to 20+ knot winds in our face, the admiral said "head in," so we did. We flew in at 10 to 12 knots and stayed at B & B Seafood on Mosquito Creek. Alison decided that the ICW is sometimes boring, but very calm. Canned soup for dinner and sleep...
The next day, we continued north and ended up at The Isle of Palms Marina after going through a light rain in the Charleston Harbour. Very nice place and the happy hour food was great, mussels (Alison's new favorite) and more oysters for Gary. Joe joined us for dinner and we had a nice time catching up with him.
Next morning we were headed to Georgetown. Finally we had the tide and a good wind and are now tucked safe in Georgetown. Hot Showers and apps, this is pretty nice. We may stay here a day or two if the storm comes (with lightning) or we may try to get to Myrtle Beach, more on that later...
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