Exploring DC!

Yesterday Andy and Sally drove us to Deltaville to get or motorcycle. It took almost 3 hours one way, that made for a very long day. It was great of them to do this for us. Now we will be able to drive to NY to visit our children and grandchildren. That is the plan for tomorrow.

This morning we walked to the Harbor Police department to get our boat registered for DC. We are a documented boat but they still want us to register if we plan to be here for an extended period of time. When we were finished we went for a short walk where I took this picture of the Titanic Memorial. We then stopped back to the boat and had lunch. After lunch we walked to Larry's new place of employment, it took just under 20 minutes. Not bad for a commute on foot.

The building is just a block from the National Mall so we walked up to take a look. I forgot how impressive the structures around the mall are. We went into the Air and Space Museum but it was packed with tourists from school kids to adults. I think we will go back at a less crowded time. We strolled though some of the gardens and they are in full bloom. The sweet smells of the flowers was very pleasant.

Tonight we went for a second visit to the Capital Yacht Club and met more members. Next week we will submit our paper work to start the process for membership. So far the members we have met are very friendly and welcoming. We are looking forward to being part of the club.

We'll it's getting late and I have to pack. We plan on getting started to NY by 7 AM and I'm very tired from our excursions today.

We're in Washington, DC!

This morning we left the anchorage by 6 AM. We needed those extra inches that the high tide would lend for our escape from the shallow anchorage. We made it out but will never enter it again. It was a peaceful night but I think Larry was up most of night worrying about the morning, not me I slept like a baby.

The rain continued today with a drizzle until we got almost up to DC, then the clouds parted and let the sun shine. It hurt my eyes it's been days since we saw the great orb in the sky.

The picture is of Fort Washington. We don't know if one can visit this fort but I'm sure we will check it out eventually.

This was our last bridge, the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. It is a bascule bridge but with a 75 foot vertical clearance we didn't need an opening.

This was a shot of the Capital building as we came up the river.

This is the Washington Memorial as seen from the water.

This is a plane taking off from the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. There were many planes taking off and landing while we were coming up the river. The noise over head at our dock will take some time to adjust to I'm sure.

There was a special event happening at the Naval Academy as we came into the channel to take our slip. We actually were hailed on the VHF radio and escorted by one of the small inflatable boats. At least no one was manning the gun on the front like in Georgia.

We arrived at our dock about 11:30 AM not bad with the tide against us all the way. We checked in at the Gangplank Marina and went for a walk to check things out. We walked to the new Safeway store about a block away. The prices reflect were we are, a bit to high for my liking. I figure I'll have to find my way to Trader Joe's and Wal*Mart.

We walked next door to the Capital Yacht Club, it's very nice. We plan to get started with the membership process when we get back from NY. Wednesday night we will go to the club to meet more new members. We already have an offer form to members to be our sponsors. At Gangplank the people are nice but there just doesn't seem to be a community atmosphere about the place. Time will tell when we get to meet some of our neighbors.

Larry already turned in for night and I'm not far behind him. Tomorrow we are getting a ride from our friends Sally and Andy to Deltaville to get our motorcycle. It's about a 2 1/2 to 3 hour ride and we are going to get an early start.

Rain on the Potomac!

We left our anchorage very early this morning to catch the rising tide up the Potomac. Just as we lifted our anchor the skies opened up and deluged us to the point that it was difficult to see. The rain brought with it cool air and the need for a fleece. A while later the sun came out and turned things into a sauna and the the whole cycle started all over again. This went on for the better part of the day.

The picture is of the route 301 bridge. We traveled under it for the first time with the boat. We have travelled on top of it many times driving back to NY from Deltaville. It sure does look different form this angle.

You can see from the picture the sun was out at this time but the wind had picked up and with the outgoing tide created a fetch. We bounced into it until we made a turn just past these cliffs and into our anchorage. We are anchored in Mattawoman Creek. It was a very narrow, weedy and shallow creek. I'm sure we will never use it again. It's very protected and calm in here but we bumped coming in. I hope we don't bump going out. Larry is already in bed and I'm not far behind him. We will get going around 6 AM so we have the highest tide when we leave the creek. We have only 30 miles to go tomorrow and should be in around noon, where our journey for now ends.

We're on the Potomac!

We left Deltaville around 7:30 AM this morning and arrived at our anchorage about 1:30 PM this afternoon. It felt good to have a short day. The bay was not quite a trawler day but it wasn't bad. When we started the wind was 5 to 10 knots out of the East with 1 foot waves. As the day progressed the wind built to 15 to 20 knots with 1 to 3 foot waves. By that time we had made our turn to go up the Potomac River and it was all behind us. All in all we had a comfortable day. We listened to the VHF weather channel and now there is a small craft warning out on the river. You would not know it back in where we are anchored. We picked St Ignacio Creek just off the St. Mary's River. It's a pretty spot that reminds me of our anchoring in the 1000 Islands on both the US and Canadian sides of the St. Lawrence River.

Tomorrow we will leave around 7:30 to catch the ingoing tide up the river. We will travel about another 50 miles and put the anchor down in a creek for the night. Monday we should be in DC. We plan an early turn in tonight.

A Short Layover in Deltaville!

The last several days have all run together. We were out of cell phone coverage in NC for most of the time and if we had it, it was spotty at best. We would anchor for the night in a protected anchorage. Arriving late and leaving very early at daybreak. We came into cold and rainy weather. A shock to the system. The picture above was taken on the Pasquotank River. We see these blimps each time but they still fascinate me. The hanger also is huge. After arriving in Elizabeth City we followed the Dismal Swamp Canal, or preferred route.

We spent the night rafted up with these boats at the Visitors Center for Tuesday night. Here in the picture on Wednesday we are tied up waiting for the lock to release it's water so we can continue on our way. Wednesday night we anchored in our usual spot, Fort Monroe. It was a calm and restful night.

This is some of the large boat traffic we had to dodge getting to Fort Monroe.

Thursday morning we woke and were underway by 6 AM. The Chesapeake Bay was calm and as a friend of ours says it was a trawler day. We made it to Delataville about 1:30 PM. We planned to stay for two nights so we could say hello and goodbye to our friends. The weather has become nice and sunny so yesterday and today have been very pleasant.

We have some news to share with those of you that haven't heard. Larry has taken a position in Washington DC with a company. It can last for as long as we wish and we plan on between 2 and 4 years. We are excited about this new chapter in our lives. We will still live aboard our boat and will be at Gangplank Marina in downtown DC. Our ultimate goal is to become members of the Capital Yacht Club and secure a dock with them. This is a process as some of you know. We don't know any of the current members and we need sponsors. We will visit the club and meet new people and start the process.

We are glad that the positives far out way the only negative we can think of (snow and winter). We have never lived in a city, especially one as big as DC. We are looking forward to using the transit for our exploring. We will be closer to our Children and Grandchildren and be able to visit on holidays year round. In fact we will be heading to NY shortly after we arrive in DC for the Memorial Day weekend and to celebrate our Grandson, Jonathan's 10th birthday.

I plan to obtain a job with West Marine for very part time to keep our employee discount. I also plan to do some canvas work and become a docent at the Museum of Natural History. I feel there is plenty to keep me busy while Larry is at the office.

All of this came to pass in the past two weeks. One of our cruising friends Andy connected Larry up with this opportunity and everything happened fast. We will miss our friends here in Deltaville and our jobs as well but these opportunities don't come along that often and we felt we would be foolish to pass this one up. It gives us the chance to build up our investments so we can continue to live this live on the water that we love so much. I will definitely keep up the blogging, DC has a lot to offer that I will like to share with you.

We are doing some catch up today and plan to leave early tomorrow morning. It should take us about three days to get to and up the Potomac and into DC. If my cell signal holds I'll do a nightly update.

Our Days Are Starting To Blur Together!

Yesterday morning we left Barefoot Landing as the sun was beginning to rise. The picture shows the swing bridge with the sun coming up behind it. We were the first to leave the dock and went though the bridge opening by ourselves. It was a long day and after a stop in Southport for diesel fuel we went on to Wrigthsville Beach and anchored for the night. It was our first time in this anchorage and it turned out to be very busy and a good one. In the evening the wind died down and we got a good nights sleep.

This was the Pontoon Bridge and as you can see it is being replaced by a high rise. All of us cruisers will be happy. This bridge is only open on the hour and when the tide is extremely low it can't open. Sometimes it breaks down and will be closed for hours even days. Even though it is the only one of it's kind on the East Coast ICW it won't be missed.

This morning we again got up at sunrise. I believe a pattern is beginning to develop again. Thank goodness it will be short lived. We will eventually get to our destination. Our day was long but ended at 3 PM this afternoon. We decided to take a dock at Dudley's Marina. It's an unheard of price of $.75 per foot per night including electric and they have a courtesy car. We needed to get to the grocery store, so what a deal.

Tomorrow we plan to go beyond Oriental, NC and anchor. We don't plan to get up super early but I'm sure we will wake up with the chickens. It's getting late and we both are not long for this world.

Moving Again!

Tuesday when the repair guy came for the engine he realized that they forgot to order a new gasket. Another day to wait. I'm told patience is a virtue, besides being our youngest Daughter's name. We have found we have to have plenty when it comes to getting things fixed and the weather too, of course.

We finally left Georgetown this morning. We had a good ride with the tied today and arrived in Myrtle Beach early this afternoon. After tying up to the dock at Barefoot Resort and Marina we went for a walk to the shopping outlet across the ICW. It's bike week here this week so we also did a walk though to see what the vendors had to offer. When we returned to the marina we put on our swim suits and went for a dip. After a shower we went back to the boat for a late dinner.

Tomorrow morning we will get an early start and head to Southport. Depending on the tide we may go beyond Southport and up the Cape Fear River. We'll make that decision when we get to Southport.

The picture is of the aerial cars carrying the golfers form one side of the ICW to the other.

Repair Update!

Yesterday morning we got a call from the engine repairman telling us our part will be here today. It was overnighted from New Jersey. In fact, one of his workers is here now removing the old part. When the part comes in today they will return tonight and put it in. We should have no problem leaving tomorrow morning to press on with our journey.

One thing about being held captive at the dock, we get to go for walks. I become stiff when we have days in a row that we don't get off the boat. Some places that we anchor we have access to shore with the dinghy and some we don't. The problem with when we have access is that we don't always choose to go to shore because we are just to tired and sometimes it's late.

The past two days we have gone for a walk and today we will if the rain holds back. Right now it is very overcast and looks to be threatening rain.

The picture is of a Great Egret that fishes from the dock by our boat. I was watching him yesterday morning. He cranes his neck looking for his prey(fish) and when he spots one he swoops in for the catch. It was interesting to watch him as he fished and kept one eye on me, making sure I was no threat to him.

Happy Mother's Day!

This morning we just hung out on the boat until afternoon. I cooked an egg breakfast for us and we enjoyed each others company. It felt good not to get going early for a change. Of course we woke up early but that was OK as long as we didn't have to start moving.

In the afternoon we both did some cleaning, me down below and Larry topsides. After we finished we went for a long walk into town. I forgot how pretty Georgetown is. It's been a long while since we have gone ashore here in Georgetown. It felt good to stretch our legs.

While we were in town we went out to eat a late lunch/early dinner. We went to the Goat Island Grill. We have been there before and we are never disappointed.

After we ate we went for a walk on the boardwalk. While we were walking, Interlude came into anchor in the harbor. We talked to Tom by phone and he said it was cold and very windy on the ride up from Charleston. They may stay tomorrow and if they do we will get together. If not we will probably catch up with them along the way.

The picture is of two replica cruise ships the Nina and the Pinta. They were docked at a pier above the boardwalk waiting for customers to board.

Yesterday the engine repair man came and gave us the news of what had happened to our engine. We had a small whole in the mixing elbow on our exhaust. It became a big one when the build up of salt was removed. It was a matter of time till the salt build up came free on it's own. He told us he would have to wait until Monday to order the part, but it should be here on Tuesday. He will install it Tuesday night and we plan to be on our way Wednesday morning. That is providing the supplier has the part. We are hoping for the best.

Georgetown for an Engine Fix!

We left Charleston yesterday morning around 8AM. We had to wait for the 9 AM opening of the Wahoo Creek Bridge, that was when it came off restriction. Tom and Cathie stayed behind and waited till 10AM. They could not get their slip until 11AM, so there was no need to rush. They planned to spend a few days in Charleston at a marina. We spent one full week there last trip North when we had our mast replaced, so we didn't wish to stay. We hope to see them on the Chesapeake this Summer.

We crossed the harbor and got to our next and last bridge for the day in time for the next opening. When we arrived and ask for the opening we were told that the bridge was shut down for 45 minutes for repair. Go figure, what luck we have. This time we dropped the anchor to wait. While we waited, Larry went down to check the engine. I had noticed water by the steps and felt he needed to check. The water we think came from the wall by the shower but he did notice that the engine now has a mist of white powder on it. It is still making the slight noise and now has what appears to be exhaust mixed with vaporized salt water covering it. We no longer feel we can wait to have it looked at. Larry called the Yanmar repair service in Charleston and left a message. We got our bridge opening and continued on.

We didn't receive a call back until we were several miles beyond Charleston. Not wanting to turn around and go back we ask if he could find a Yanmar repair service in Georgetown. He did and Larry called and left a message. When we got a return call that he could take a look at our engine this morning, we made arrangements to take a dock at Georgetown Landing Marina.

We arrived at the marina late around 7PM. The dock hands were still here and lent a hand docking. We were so exhausted from the day that we didn't even get off the boat. We showered and had some dinner and went to bed.

This morning we got up early and had breakfast and I was off the boat by 8AM to do laundry. It is already steamy outside and promises to be a hot day. Larry is at the boat waiting for the repair guy to arrive. We hope we are not going to have to stay the weekend and wait for parts but it won't be so bad if we can use the pool next door at the hotel. I would very much like to get back to the chesapeake and make it to NY for our Grandson's 10th birthday, so the sooner we get underway the better. We'll do what we can do.

The picture is of us this morning comfortably sitting and waiting at the dock.

At Anchor in Beaufort, SC

We left Beaufort, SC this morning around 6:30. We needed to get though the Ladies Island Bridge before they closed to boat traffic at 7 AM, during rush hour car traffic. you can see by the picture of Interlude and the bridge that it was foggy. In fact just before we weighed anchor we could not even see Interlude and he was next to us. Fog is not a good thing on the water or land.

As the morning progressed the fog lifted and gave way to sun shine mixed with clouds. With the sun came the bugs, horse flies and some kind of small black bug. We don't know what kind it was and it didn't bite but it smelled if you squashed it. The horse flies on the other hand could and would bite if given the chance.

The night before last we did make it to Isle of Hope Marina. We arrived in the pouring rain. I opted to not do laundry. Schlepping it to and from the boat in the rain was a good reason. We have plenty of clothes and sheets and towels to get us though till the next available laundry but it will take considerable time for the chore.

It's now 4 PM in the afternoon and we are sitting comfortably at anchor in the Stono River just below Charleston, SC just off the ICW. Interlude is still with us but tomorrow we will part when we go onto Georgetown, SC and they stay in Charleston for two more days. It's been fun to see them again and I'm sure we will meet up in the Chesapeake this coming Summer.

Long Days and Skinny Water!

The last two days have been very long and tiring and I will be very glad to be done with this trip. It's a few minutes after 7 AM and Larry and Tom are trying to figure out the swishing sound our engine started to make late afternoon yesterday. This year has proved to be very challenging as far as the boat and break downs go. I guess we are being tested for our determination for this life aboard. Well I guess we are going to get underway the engine works and we will run it and hope for the best. There is always Tow Boat US to come to the rescue.

We have been on the inside route ICW for the past two days. It has been high winds on the inside and even higher on the outside, with the threat of thunderstorms thrown in. Today the forecast is much the same.

We went by Cumberland Island yesterday and we can usually count on seeing wild horses on shore. I never tire of looking for them or at them. We saw six in total, two different places yesterday. The three in the picture were grazing and running along the beach at the North end of the island.

Kings Bay is just across from Cumberland Island, it is a naval submarine base. We have been treated to view an escort several times while transiting this area. I don't remember a gunner on the front of the Coast Guard boat before but one was there yesterday. It never ceases to amaze me how close we actually get to these vessels, but as you can see by the size of the gun on the front of the Coast Guard boat they are well protected.

We are now underway and it is 8:05 AM and the skies are overcast. Storms are predicted for today with heavy rain fall. We decided to lift anchor anyway, we can always stop if visibility gets impossible to navigate the ICW. There are plenty of small anchorages along the way. All the shallow skinny water is behind us, we did that yesterday. Georgia is known for shoaling and lack of dredging but it is behind us now.

Our ultimate goal today is to get to Isle of Hope and take a dock at the marina for one night. We need to get fuel, groceries and do some laundry. The marina has a courtesy car and the four of us will go shopping and stop on the way back for dinner. We should get to the marina mid afternoon. Tomorrow we will push on to South Carolina.

St. Augustine and the wind keeps howling!

We picked up anchor very early this morning to pass though the Mantanza Inlet around high tide. With all the shoaling and reports the Coast Guard has been putting out over the VHF radio we didn't wish to take any chances. We made it safely though with plenty of water.

We arrived early afternoon to the Bridge of Lions, St Augustine, Fl. Unfortunately for us we missed the 1:30 Pm scheduled opening by 5 to 10 minutes. This meant we would need to wait for the 2 PM opening, that never happened. The bridge decided to break down just as it closed from the previous opening. After waiting for what seemed an eternity we decided to anchor and wait. Sometime after 3 PM we transited though the bridge opening. S/V Interlude was ahead of us and made the 1:30 opening. S/V One With The Wind went aground before he even made it to the bridge. Tow Boat US, came to his rescue and he anchored near us but decided he had enough excitement for the day and stayed put for the night.

It's 10:45 PM now and the wind and tidal current are battling for control of the direction of our boat. It's noisy and loud and I hope it soon quits so we can get some sleep. Tomorrow will be another long day. The tide will change at midnight and the wind is suppose to die down, promises, promises.