Good Bye

How do you put in to words what these last 6 months have meant to us. We are so grateful  to be able to see one of our dreams come  true. I will always remember the people that we met, the places  that we've seen and the experiences  that we have had.
I want to thank all of our family and friends who became followers of the blog and posted comments from  time  to time. It meant alot to us to know that you were interested in our journey. Also thank you to all the people that followed us that we did not know. That was great to see that our blog caught your attention and you too commented.
I want  to thank Nicholas for holding down the fort at home and making sure that we were kept up to date on important things. Thank you to Stephanie and Matt for having us over for Thanksgiving. That holiday would not  have  been  the same without family. Thank you to Elizabeth and Sean for coming down  and visiting with us in Key West. They came just when I was in desperate need of family time. Now I want to thank the most  important person, Bob. He successfully got  us to Key West and back safely. He also  had so much patience  with me, even when I would have thrown me overboard.
We have enjoyed every minute of this trip, but the last  thing that I will say is
THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE HOME

Home

We have made it back to RI and since I last posted we were only in Cape May.
We left there and was planning on going to go to Atlantic City but the following day was going to be windier so we kept going to Sandy Hook, NJ instead. We wanted to get past the NJ coast in one day; That was the longest day we ever traveled.  We went 110 miles in 8 hours. It was definitely a long day but we were glad we did  it.
The next day was windier but we shoved off and headed for Port Washington, NY. That morning it was 27 degrees and the spray from the waves was freezing to the windshields and the whole port side of the boat.  It was pretty amazing. I felt like I  was on the Deadliest Catch during the Opelio Season.
The next day we went to Westbrook,CT and today on to RI.
Our son came to pick  us up and we are now home trying to organize things.
Tomorrow I will  make the last post of this blog
Tonight I am making meatloaf .

Two Down

We have made it through the Chesapeake Bay and the Delaware Bay.
We stayed an extra night in Rock Hall, MD because of weather. On Friday we made it to the C&D canal. We stayed at the Summit North Marina which is where we stayed on our way south. This marina is in desperate need of attention.
Today we are in Cape May, NJ. The Delaware was not smooth, but was better than any day on the Chesapeake. It is only in the 40's today.
We experienced something this morning that you should not when cruising on your boat. We had to scrap ice off the windshield as we were going down the bay. We had to use my kitchen spatula to scrap it off. The sides of the boat were icy also and Bob had put on his life jacket and was very careful. Everything turned out OK. It was a good thing that we only had to do it once.
There is a storm expected tonight so we will have to see if we can make it to Atlantic City for tomorrow.
Going to do something with chicken tonight.

Challenges

The challenges that lie between Liberty and home are the Chesapeake Bay, Delaware Bay, New Jersey Shore, Long Island Sound and Narragansett Bay. These are all large waters and we will have to face each of them to get home.
The last time I  posted we had arrived in Norfolk. We did have to stay an extra day because of the weather expected on the Chesapeake Bay. The day was not wasted, Bob went and took a cruise around the naval base and also visited the Nauticus Museum.
On Sunday we headed out to face the bay, It was suppose to be getting better as the morning went on and it did. It was still uncomfortable but bearable. We made it to Deltaville for the night and we were the only boat in the marina as it has been.
Monday we wanted to make it to Solomons, MD, the winds were to be coming from the south and were to get stronger in the afternoon, so we left early...big mistake. It was so bad that we made it about 5 miles and pulled in to the next available marina. This marina was not even open yet, but let us stay.
Tuesday we did make it to Solomons MD. They told us we were the 3rd transient of the season that they have had. That made me feel better that we are not the only ones heading north this early.
Today we are in Rock Hall, MD, again the marina was not open but the dockmaster came in to get us settled. Today is cloudy and rainy. They are expecting some strong storms tonight so its good to be safely settled.
So far each day in the Chesapeake has been rough or as they say "snotty".
Some unsettled weather is forecasted for the next few days, The next stop is in the C and D Canal.
Dinner is pasta

Roughing It

Today we are in Norfolk, VA. We are officially done with the ICW. That's good news and bad news. Being on the ICW is usually pretty calm except in a few places where there is larger water to cross, so you can travel most days if you want to. Now we are totally at the whim of the weather gods. We need the winds and speed to be behind us or we can't move. Tomorrow calls for north winds around 10 - 15 knots and that is not the direction we want to head up the Chesapeake Bay. We will probably have to stay in Norfolk another day.
It took us 22 days to get here from RI on our way south. I am hoping it does not take that long to get back.
Being the early birds heading back we have found with the last couple of marinas  and including this one that the water is still turned off and the pumpout is also not working yet. There are restaurants nearby so we will have to get takeout and save the water for us and not dishes. We will have to modify our living on the boat until we get home.
Today bob was excited to see 3 bald eagles. Usually we see osprey nests on the channel markers, but on one of them there were 2 eagles. We then saw another one flying in the sky.

The Lone Boat

When we left Southport, NC on Monday we traveled 80 miles to a marina in Swansboro, NC. We were the only boat in the marina. Not even local boats were in that marina. It made me feel a little funny. When we were going southbound. you always had at least a dozen boats that you saw on a regular basis.
The next day we only went 48 miles to Oriental, NC. We did stay at this marina on the way south. The weather was fine until we entered the Neuse River. We only had to cross it to get to the marina and that was good because for about 15 minutes it was really messy. When we got there, there was 1 boat that decided to cut their day short because of the Neuse River. Later that afternoon 2 more boats arrived.
Today was another short day of 50 miles. We were in alot of open water and the waves were not bad.
Tomorrow should be our last day in NC. We are going to Coinjock, NC that is 82 miles away, then on to Norfolk, VA.
There are 2 ways to go from Norfolk to NC. One way is the Dismal Swanp which we took when we headed south. The other way is the Virginia Cut. That is the way we will go tomorrow. I think it is quicker. You have 2 locks on the Dismal Swamp route and only 1 on the Virginia Cut.
This marina that we are at tonight had a chicken dinner when we were here before that was offered to all the transient boats. We are the only boat here today so they have drinks and snacks at 5:00pm.

Where Are We?

Well, today we are in Southport,NC. We are making good progress heading north (or bad according to Bob).
On Friday we went to Charleston, SC. Bob's friend David came and took Bob to the grocery store and we all had dinner together. It was nice to see David again. We don't usually see David but every fews years,so it was a treat to see him twice in a few months..
Saturday we made it to Murrels Inlet, SC to a  marina called Wacca Wache. It was pretty isolated but very nice.
If  we don't get any weather delays or decide to stay an extra day we could be home in 2 weeks. I do want to visit a  little more in the Chesapeke Bay, because we did  not see too  much of it on our way down. We were too excited to begin in the ICW at Norforlk,VA.It  is pasta with vegetables tonight.

Boardwalk in Beaufort SC

Waterfront Park in Beaufort

Spring has sprung here

Purty Flowers

Brady tries out the restroom

Hey you following me?

Charleston Megadock 1/4 mile long

Redneck boatshed

I think he has cable TV too!

Skies Opened Up

Today we are in Beaufort, SC. On our way down we did not stop here. We stayed a a small marina across the way. This marina is known for very strong currents. On our way down we were not experienced enough to attempt it, but now, no problem. When we did arrive we had to get fuel and a pump out and just as we were tied to the dock the rain and wind started. It was wild, Bob was grateful that we were tied up before it started. The dock hand thought that he would be seeing a funnel cloud because it had got so windy so fast. Thankfully that was not the case. We did get very wet though.
On Tuesday we were in St Simon's, GA, then on to Savannah, GA the next day. Tomorrow we hope to be in Charleston, SC but the weather is suppose to be pretty windy and with the large Charleston harbor we might wait a day.
The rain has stopped so out to do laundry and then go walk around this historical town.
I put Beef Stew in the crock pot this morning so dinner is all set.

Georgia On My Mind

Lets catch you up to date.
On Saturday we made it to  Daytona. We stayed at the same marina as the one on the way down,  because they were really nice and helpful. When we were there it was the beginning of BikeWeek. I have never seen or heard so many bikes. This marina has a great restaurant with live music nightly and lets say I was on auditory overload. There seemed to be so much noise, between the bikes, the music and many people all around.
On Sunday we went back to St Augustine. There were still a lot of bike's there too, but did not seem to bother me.
Today we are in our last stop in Florida ,Fernandina Beach. The winds today were from the NE so it has been cold and cloudy all day. We had to put the shorts away and back with the fleece. The restaurant here has the best fish sandwich's I have  had this whole trip.
The weather tomorrow is for easterly winds with 3-5 foot seas outside. We were  hoping to go outside of Georgia but with a forecast like that we will stay inside.

Cocoa

I am not talking chocolate, but Cocoa beach, FL. If you are old enough to remember the TV show I Dream of Jeannie, this is where they lived. If you don't know what I am talking about, check out TVland.
This is the 2nd night here. I wanted to leave and keep heading north, but the Captain thought it would have been to windy on the ICW today. We would have to cross some pretty wide open water. So I will do laundry, make a run to the grocery store and catch up on some paperwork.
There is a cute little town right across the street from the marina where there is a hardware store that has quite a following. Everyone says even if you don't need anything you should go in and just look around.  It's suppose to have pretty much anything that you would need. The town  also has some restaurants with outdoor tables, so I think we will  go out for lunch.
I won't be posting everyday like I did when we were heading south, because mostly it will just be boring traveling days. I will  update you every few days so you can keep track of our northbound  journey.

Vero Beach

Here is the update of where we are.
 First, yesterday we did cruise outside and it was great. The seas were calm and we were able to get a little help from the gulf stream. We traveled 65 miles in 5 hours and ended our day in Palm Beach Gardens ,FL.
The winds are blowing from the NE today, so we traveled inside. There were a few no wake zones, but not so bad.
Our friends the dolphins were back swimming in our wake. As is the case they were hard to capture on the camera, I did try, but no luck.
We are in Vero Beach for tonight, we will  see if we stay an additional night depending on the winds.The winds are strong  from the NE and I hear they might be blowing even harder  tomorrow. Today on the ICW it was manageable.
I forgot to mention in a previous post that our windless motor broke. The windless is the electric attached to the anchor to make it easier to drop and retrieve it.. The first time that we went to anchor in Long Key the windless did not work. Bob had to remove the anchor from it and manually drop it and in the morning pull it back up. It was not so bad because we were only in 5 feet of water. While we were in Miami he pulled it all apart and did a McGyver. He used a spring from a pen and got the windlass working. Its not working great but working.
Chicken Chili and Cornbread tonight.

Cooling off at Long Key after we anchored

A Long Key sunrise

4 cruise ships were in port when we got to Miami

Miami Beach skyline

We followed this boat? (spaceship) up the coast from Miami
to Palm Beach

Vero Beach

Surf was up at Vero Beach
20 knot winds today