Back Home in RI

   I have to let everyone know that our travels on Liberty have come to an end for now.   On Dec 29th, I had to to take Bob to the closest emergency room in Haines City,FL , where we had rented a house for our kids to come down to FL and celebrate Christmas with us.

     He was diagnosed with Cancer. While we were getting his kidneys back to function again he developed pneumonia.  We spent 6 nights in the ICU and finally we were able to be released  to fly back to RI.  We are now back home and have an appointment with an Oncologist at Dana Farber  in Boston Mass to see what our treatment options are.

    We are asking everyone who have followed us along on this journey to continue to pray and send positive thoughts to us as we begin another adventure to get Bob back on the path to health

Slowly Heading South

    I know it has been a long time since my last blog.  Honestly I was just lazy and there have been nothing really exciting going on. 

     So where have we been.  When we left Charleston we took a mooring ball at Beaufort City Marina for 1 night. Then on to Georgia where we stayed at Isle of Hope Marina in Savannah and Morningstar Marina in St. Simons Isle. Florida was next and we took a slip at a free dock outside of Jacksonville  That night we got to see a launch of a rocket  from Cape Canaveral. The next morning we made it to  St.Augustine where we spent 9 nights.   Here we saw the lovely historic town and got to see the Boat Parade.

 

    When we left St Augustine we had 6 nights to get to Titusvile Fl. which is only 100 nm away.  If we were not slowing down that would only take us 2 nights. We tried to anchor at Fort Mantanza but the wind and current made it too difficult so we ended up at Marineland Marina. That was a pleasant surprise because the ocean was across the street along with Marinland Dolphin Center.  We had a good time walking the beach and visiting with the dolphins. (sorry no pictures)

    We are now in New Smyrna Beach and leaving tomorrow for Titusville   We will stay in Titusville for a month.   We have rented a house in Orlando and our children, spouses, and granddaughter  will be coming down to spend Christmas all together,   I can't wait.  It has been a few years since I was able to get the whole gang together for Christmas.  This will be a great Christmas for us.

    So Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of the rest of our family that we will not see this year ( next year for sure) and to all of our friends.

Leaving Charleston Soon

    We will be leaving Charleston in a couple of days.  So here are a few things that I want to update for you.

    We had to rent a car to go on our road trip for the Thanksgiving week.  We took advantage of it and went to see the Magnolia Plantation and Gardens before we left,  It was a beautiful day and a beautiful place.  I am sure in the summer months the flowers must be beautiful.  They have a walking tour of a swamp that the Audubon Society has and we saw alligators, turtles and a snake.

 

 

     That snake you see above was on the walking trail and I was in the lead.  I thought it was a stick but Bob yelled stop.  It started to move and yup not a stick.  He also told me that was a poisonous snake.  I let him take the lead after that.

 

   We left on Sunday 11/20 for our first stop of our road trip.  It was Huntersville, NC where friends of ours moved to a few years. We had not seen them in a long time but with good friends you start over where you left off many years ago.   Then on to our daughter Stephanie and her husband Matt in Sparta,TN for 3 nights.  On Thanksgiving morning we all drove down to Crossville,AL where Bob's Mom and husband live and we shared the holiday with family.  Stayed 2 nights with them.   Now on to our final stop in McDonough, GA where another one of our friends have moved south. ( I see a pattern here)  They have just moved and had only been in their house for a week.  

    All I can say is Thank You to everyone that opened their doors for us, fed us and made us feel at home.
We love you all.



    

Loving SC

    We love Charleston SC.  We have for a long time.   Our friends moved down in in 1988 and we have visited them over the years by plane, car and boat.  Now we only have visited in either the fall or winter.  I am sure that the summer here is quite hot and humid.

Here are some random photos of our walks around the city.

  Yesterday we took an Uber and went over the Ravenel bridge to Patriots Point.  There they have the US carrier Yorktown, the destroyer Laffey and also a Vietnam Experience.   We did not tour the destroyer because the US carrier was so large and we have never visited a carrier before.

As you can see in the photos, that the wildfires that are happening in the Southeast has effect the air in Charleston.  For about 3 days now the air is smokey.

   The Vietnam experience was done really well.  They have and area on the grounds made to look and feel like your are there. They have very realistic sounds spread over the area.

    On Sunday we will be heading out on our road trip to visit all our family and friends that live around the area.  So I am wishing all my family and friends that I won't be seeing this year a Very Happy Thanksgiving.

Still in Carolina

    This time its South Carolina.  We are in Charleston SC for one month. But where have we been?

    When we left Carolina Beach NC we took a side trip up the Cape Fear River to Wilmington NC.  There is a new Marina there that we wanted to checkout. Its the Port City Marina, they are not completely done but when they do finish the marina its going to be really nice.  Its right on the harborwalk and there is going to be two restaurants on site.  The harborwalk goes along the river by restaurants and the historic part of Wilmington. Along with that the city itself is full of restaurants, bars, shopping.  We can see ourselves spending more time here.

    After that we anchored in Calabash creek for one night then on to the Wacca Wache Marine for one night and on to Georgetown SC for 1 night.  So here we are in Charleston SC.

    We are going to rent a car and go to Alabama where Bobs mom lives and have Thanksgiving with her and her husband Charles  Our daughter Stephanie and her husband Matt are going to come down from Tennessee to join us for Thanksgiving.  We have friends that live in Charlotte NC and also Atlanta GA that we hope to include in our road trip.

    I am sorry that I have no photos to share. I simply never think about taking any. I am hoping to change my ways, but don't hold your breath.

Carolina Sunshine

   It was a gorgeous day on the water today.  We had a long day but it was perfect. We had a couple of bridges we had to wait for.  1 we timed right, but the other not. We had to wait an hour for it to open

    There are some very shallow places just off of the ICW.  We had to pay close attention to the depth finder in many areas.

    We made our way to Carolina Beach NC where we are staying for 3 nights.  We needed to slow down and smell the salty air.

Tomorrow its is suppose to be even warmer, so we will pack up the chairs and cooler and go enjoy the Carolina  Beach.