November 1-December 10, 2015 Jacksonville & ICW travels, Florida

Dinner out with Waterford & Sea Dweller

Get-to-gether in the Boaters lounge

For the last month, Doug & I have been completing chores, meeting new friends & reconnecting with former friends.  The Marina @ Ortega Landings in Jacksonville is a really nice spot for many reasons: cleanliness, free laundry, pool, hot tub, people & the close proximity to a multitude of stores.  We really do not want anyone else to know about this place-currently this marina is the fullest they have ever been-so the word is out!! Darn!

Impromptu Potluck with old & new fun friends

A great dinner & view with good friends

Sam's swim meet

We have biked, enjoyed potlucks, went to a concert, farmers market, swim meet & sipped cocktails  with friends @ the pool & hot tub.

Wendi, Tadd & Sam's community pool

Family

Thanksgiving was wonderfully delicious @ Wendi, Tadd & Sam's with fresh turkey, smoked turkey & my fav: smoked salmon.  Wendi outdid herself! We were lucky enough to also spend it with one of my brothers: Bob & sis in law Karen.  Wendi  & family always make us feel welcome & loved-Thank you for everything!

Hammock Beach Resort

Flocks of White Pelicans greeted us

After Thanksgiving, we continued our trek south.  Stopping @ an anchorage in Pine Island, just north of St Augustine for one night. It is a nice quiet place amongst the marshes.  We then landed back to another of our favorite stops: Hammock Beach in Palm Coast.  We stayed here for the month of March, 2015 & loved it.  This visit we will only stay 4 nights, enough time to visit with Jill & Glen from Flagler Beach.

Get to gather @ Jill & Glen's

Jill & Glen, who we met last March here in Palm Coast but then re-connected with up in Maine, planned a "Boaters Party" while we are here.  Two other couples, who we also have met while boating joined us @ Jill & Glen's wonderful home.  We were honored to meet 2 of Jill's beautiful daughters.  The food was super delicious and the company was perfect-never a lull in the conversation when you get boaters together.  Jill & Glen graciously let us borrow their extra vehicle while we were in town.  Thank you so much!

Onto New Smyrna-we docked for one night; a great place with a restaurant & bar with a half off happy hour that we enjoy!

Now we enter new territory; going where we have never been before on a boat! First stop: Canaveral Barge Canal @ Harbortown Marina on Merritt Island.  We had hoped to stay @ Cocoa Village but the Marina was totally booked.  One of the couples that attended Jill & Glen's Boaters get together, who we had met in Maine: Judy & Bob, live on Merritt Island. So we stopped there, enjoyed dinner with them and they lent us a car so we could explore the area.  We liked Cocoa Village Marina's boater's lounge & not surprising-we reconnected with someone we had met in Deltaville @ Dozer's-we just love our small boating community.  Cocoa Village happened to be hosting an Artist & Craft Festival with some streets closed off.  I found a Christmas present there & we sampled delicious pizza & chocolate potato chips. A rocket launch was planned to take off from Cape Canaveral while we were here, but it was delayed both nights due to high winds-darn!

The Rocket launched from Cape Canaveral

Loving this weather!

We continued south on the ICW and anchored across from Melbourne Beach, in the protection from the bridge. We were awarded with a view of that rocket which finally launched.  Even though we were 30 miles away, we were able to see the Rocket & even differentiate between the Rocket and the blast. Very cool! The dinghy was brought down from the bridge after more than a month & we took her for a spin over to check out the Melbourne coastline.  The public Marina is quite small but pretty well protected but there isn't much within walking distance.  We did see 2 Krogens docked; one @ the public marina & one @ the Yacht club.  The weather is great-80 degrees with mixed sun & clouds.

My Honey!

After one night in the anchorage, we left for Vero Beach.  I remember driving there many years ago in the days when we would drive our van straight through the night to Florida during the winter when we craved warm sunny weather.  I remembered we liked it.  This time we stayed @ the City Marina Moorings.  The moorings are very popular due to location & price: $17.00/night with full use of the facilities-doesn't get much better than that! We were lucky, our fellow KK owners: Changing Course had left that morning & Lisa told me they had been on Ball #49, all by themselves. Many of the mooring balls had 2-3 boats sharing the same ball.  I told the Dock Master, I did not mind going far north in the field and then they offered me #49 and we quickly snatched that up & were lucky enough to have it to ourselves for all 3 nights.  This is a very busy protected harbor & Marina.  Everyone is very friendly.

We took our bikes out & explored the surrounding area.  A lot of money has been spent on houses, private communities and landscaping.  It is a really nice area with a well laid out town of lovely streets, with many named after flowers or nautical themes.  High end shops line the beach/shore but sadly the beach has suffered a lot of erosion.  Our second day, we took the Free bus all the way to the mall and watched the latest James Bond movie: Spectre @ the local cinema.  $4.00 Matinee tickets along with $6.00 for a small box of popcorn (which we didn't get).

Leaving Vero Beach, we continued south and stopped @ Fort Pierce to get some diesel fuel.  We had been alerted to the fact that they had the best price for diesel in the area.  When we called a few days earlier, the price quoted was $2.21/gallon plus a $.10 cent/gallon discount for Boat US, which of course we have.  Today, when we stopped we were told the diesel had just increased the day before to $2.31/gal.  Not complaining but we just had read that the price of oil had just dropped again, so why the 10 cent increase?

On December 10, we continued south on the ICW which led us to our new temporary home: Stuart, Florida @ Sunset Bay Marina.  Many Kadey Krogen owners keep their boats here.  We called way back in February & were told that they were completely booked.  We were put on a waiting list.  I kept checking back, which Sam, the Harbor Master said I should do.  Finally in September, he had a cancellation for December, which we grabbed immediately.  We will be staying at least one month.  This place is very nice with many live aboards.  There is a big laundry room, clean restrooms, a fire pit, free shuttle 2 days a week, a cozy boaters lounge, restaurant/bar on site and well maintained docks.  Tonight, we attended the Tree lighting party & the management provided beer, wine & appetizers.  We think we are going to like it here.

We had our own tree lighting
ceremony.  Doug's creation from
my wine corks

Loving this Life!

October 22-25, 2015 St Simon's Isle,GA/off shore to our temp home: Jacksonville, FL

Following a short cruise on the ICW, we arrived to St Simon's Island & docked @ Golden Isles Morningstar Marina.  There is a strong current here & we needed to pump-out plus our dock was not empty yet so we pulled alongside the face dock which was much easier than pulling into a slip during the strong current.  The Marina has nice wide fairways & Mitch was a very helpful dockhand.

Movie set/Downtown street

props from the movie 

Our friends from the Nordhaven, Tivoli were docked nearby @ the Brunswick, GA Marina.  We invited them over to Day Dreams for cocktails and then they took us to downtown Brunswick for dinner to a  cool trendy new place.  The downtown is in the process of a regeneration due to the filming of a Warner Bros movie.  They are in the prep phase with props, building facades and even a whole building shell placed in a vacant lot.  Filming of Ben Affleck's Prohibition Era movie: "Live By Night" with Ben Affleck directing & acting begins in November. Watch for it!

more movie props

Facades for movie

We like St Simon's, so we stayed for a couple of nights & biked around the island, stopping @ Cricket's Swimwear & a delicious Italian restaurant called Sal's.

When we left St Simon's, we went off shore back out into the Atlantic Ocean.  We had lots of sun with light winds: swells 1-3 ft 10 secs with 2 ft waves so our ride was very enjoyable.  We were out for the daylight hours & then anchored just inside the entrance of the St John's River before sunset.

The next morning, we arrived @ our temporary home: The Marina @ Ortega Landings. We will stay here for a month.  We stayed here last December and loved it.  Pool, hot tub & free laundry. Our niece, her husband & our great niece live here in Jacksonville, Florida & we love spending time with them.  They took us with them to Disney Hollywood park on Halloween and we had a blast!

The Tower of Terror

Doug with his favorite Muppet!

After our ride on the Rocking Aerosmith Roller Coaster

Oct 14-22, 2015 Beaufort, NC to Beaufort, SC/Charleston & anchorages

Sunrise on the Ocean

Sunset on the Atlantic

We moved to an anchorage outside of
Beaufort, NC (pronounced Bowfort) right off the ICW and just inside the Beaufort inlet with plans to leave before dawn for our first off shore, Atlantic over night cruise.  We could see the ICW, Coast Guard Station, a freighter dock and the offshore channel to the town of Beaufort so of course there was a lot of boat traffic.  We did feel some wakes but surprisingly it wasn't as bad as we have experienced in a few other places.  Two sailboats anchored nearby and @ 5:30 AM in the dark early morning, we were not the only ones pulling up anchor.  As it happened, we followed one of the sailboats out & the other sailboat followed us, all feeling our way out in the pitch dark.  It was a comforting feeling seeing other running lights from these boats.  We were excited to get started and for the sunrise.  The ocean was running with 1-3 foot waves around dawn but gradually calmed to around 1 footers as the sun rose.  The sky was blue & the sun was shining.  To top off this great day, we were honored with a pod of dolphins swimming @ our bow, just having a great time.  I definitely didn't feel alone with them entertaining us along the way.  We used our auto pilot and alternated every 2 hours on watch duty.  We played games, read and napped as the other drove.  At night, we used our radar, auto pilot & AIS system to help identify any other boats in the area.  We did have a private 190 foot Yacht stay 6-10 miles off of our port stern for most of the night.  It was nice to have company even if most of the time, we could only see them on our AIS system. During the night, a freighter did cross our route 6 miles ahead of us and then a boat coming towards us came within ½ mile of us, close enough that I changed course so we could pass port to port staying ½ mile apart.  We could see all of the boats running lights because @ night across the horizon, one can see lights up to 10 miles away & the perception is that things appear closer than they really are.  Sunrise was beautiful and inspiring that we had made it through the night.  The biggest issue for us was not seeing right in front of us and hoping we wouldn't run into fish nets or debris.  With our electronics & visibility so good, the worry of running into other boats was minimal.  Our ride was very comfortable.  We definitely would do it again but still not up for anything like a transcontinental crossing.

Fort Sumter

Arthur Ravenel Jr Bridge

Lady Georgia

Sullivan's Island Light

Emerline

We docked in Charleston City Marina @ the Megadock with all the mega yachts, including Emerline, the 190 foot yacht that kept us company for most of the night.  We had stopped here last November & the weather now is much warmer than last year.  There was definitely excitement on the dock, Lady Georgia, a 200 foot yacht was getting all spruced up to host a rehearsal dinner that night. There were workers of all sorts all over the yacht, spit polishing everything visible.  Florist were lining the rails with over 3, 000 fresh carnations, hanging Chinese lanterns on the bridge, hoisting large floral arrangements & signs all over the decks.  A professional cleaning crew was hired by the party hosts for the Marina bathrooms, who then added fresh flowers, candles, monogrammed towels, marble soap & kleenex containers along with placing attendants in both the mens & ladies rooms. Special golf carts were leased to drive the guests who were dropped off by limos in the parking lot, down the dock to the yacht.  Butterfly ensconced shoe racks were placed @ the red carpeted elevated walkway.  All of this made quite the spectacle. And no, I did not crash the party, I know, I must be getting old.  But truthfully, I needed my cohorts and it's much harder to crash a yacht party when the guests are not mingling on the docks and these guests were not leaving the boat, the poor bored Ladies Room Attendant told me that she had seen only one guest from the party all night.  We spent our evening dining & catching up with my Aunt Carmela & Uncle Jerry and my cousin Mark (Kerie & Mathew couldn't make it). Always a pleasure to see them and they take us to the best places: we dined @ Virginia's, a small trendy bistro with great seafood.

Great Family

Beaufort, SC

We were only able to stay @ the City Marina for one night, they were booked for days.  We were lucky they fit us in for one night.  Conditions in the ocean were not good enough for us to go offshore again, so we headed south on the ICW.  Our timing was right to catch the current and tide from mid to high so we were able to pass through the shallow areas without touching bottom.  Thanks to Doug's expert planning, so thankful that he is our navigator & Captain,  just call me the Kitchen Wench!  We arrived in Beaufort (this one is pronounced Bewfort) South Carolina to the Downtown, Municipal Marina.  We had never stayed here before & they do have a strong current but luckily we were assigned the face dock & had an expert dockhand.  This marina is adjacent to their thriving downtown starting with a great public park that lines the shore including some awesome swings....There are restaurants & bars with patio's looking out to the water.  The shops are high end vs. souvenir stores. There are 2 coffee shops, a chocolate shop and an ice cream parlor, what more does one need? We borrowed the Marina's courtesy car & re-provisioned. Our second night there, we moved to the $20.00 mooring ball.

We continued along the ICW and again we timed our run with the tide & current.  We have been seeing a good number of boats heading south with us along the way.  We anchored in for the first time in Herb Creek along with one sailboat.  The next night, we anchored in Wahoo River where we anchored last December.  It's a pretty spot without any visible houses but there is a lone old fashioned street light on the shore, lighting up a small part of the woods.  During the day we did see a few small boats fishing nearby and @ night I smelled pot but didn't see anyone.  The next morning, we didn't leave till later due to the tides and who did Doug spot after hearing a big splash along the bank near our boat-but a huge Croc or Gator (I'm not sure of the difference).  He moved quick enough to make a splash but once we spotted him, he laid in the mud on the shore until the tide came in and washed him back into the water, then he did swim & we figure him to be about 8 feet long.  Gives me the shivers to think we kayaked in this same spot last December that the Gator was visiting today.  Our next stop was an anchorage in Jove Creek outside of St. Simon's Island, Georgia.  This was our first visit to this spot and it was nice: marshes all around, no visible houses, pretty strong current, view of 2 bridges and all by ourselves.  

October 9-13, 2015 Pamlico Sound, Bay & Neuse Rivers, Oriental & New Bern NC

River Dunes Marina, Oriental, NC

The weather has continued sunny and warm, so we are taking advantage of the good travel days.  We crossed the Pamlico Sound, cruised the Bay River and entered the Neuse River.  Tonight we will be staying @ River Dunes Marina where we stayed in the fall & loved.  River Dunes Marina is located a few miles east of Oriental, NC.  It is a very nice facility with pool, 2 hot tubs, a restaurant on site and a great club house.  We borrowed the courtesy car for reprovisioning & also for a stop @ the local post office to ship one of Doug's Raymarine Chartplotter's back to the factory for repair.  The courtesy cars available @ some of these Marinas are a godsend.  We met back up with Quimby & Shingebiss here, who took advantage of the courtesy bikes to go explore the neighborhood. We decided to change the venue for our cocktail hour and took our drinks up to the screened-in porch with the comfortable cushioned couches & rocking chairs, great stone fireplace & peaceful view of the boats & water.  Later after dinner, we also took advantage of the hot tub although it wasn't very hot or bubbly.

New Bern:Galley Marina

Next day dawns a bit overcast & cooler and we are off to New Bern, NC.  This is a bit of a detour but we have heard it is a great town to visit and we are going slowly in order to let Waterford catch us.  As it works out, my cousin Cindy & her husband Hans who have recently moved to North Carolina will drive a couple of hours to meet us in New Bern, since it's the weekend.  I am excited to see them, it's been 6 years since we have gotten together.  New Bern has at least 3 different Marinas to chose from and we pick Galley Store & Marina because it is located right in town. Lucky for us, we happen to arrive during MumFest so there is a lot happening right adjacent to the Marina. We didn't realize but the town's MumFest is similar to what we think of as a Fair but instead of being located at a fairgrounds, it is spread all over the downtown.  They had at least a 4 block section closed off to traffic and then other park areas also filled with tents and amusement park rides.  Ironically, the Carnival area was located in the Marina parking lot, so we were entertained by a lot of screaming as folks were turned up side down & every which way on the topsy turvy rides. There was every kind of food vendor imaginable present and every kind of craft available. It does rain on Saturday when Cindy & Hans visit but that's ok because we have a lot of catching up to do.  So we find a good pub for lunch and then walk back to the boat.  Our visit was too short when it came time to say good-bye but they have a 3 hour drive back home.  It's always nice to see family & friends.

Our duck loves Elvis

Vietnam Helicopters

founder of Pepsi Co

Sunday turns out sunny & warmer, so we walk around & check out the festivities.  We found the Farmers Market, the home of Pepsi Co. & the Tyrone Palace gardens.  New Bern has a quaint historic section with well maintained homes.  The town appears to be thriving and they go all out for this MumFest-it's nice to see their commitment to their downtown.  We were joined by KK Fluke @ the Marina, so we stopped by & introduced ourselves.  It's always a pleasure to see & meet so many fellow Krogen owners.

Tyrone Palace

We continue to miss our buddy boat pals on Waterford, as they remain in Deltaville as we move further south.  We know we'll meet again in Florida.  We move on back to the Neuse River and then into Cedar Creek off Adams Creek for the night on anchor.  Kozy Kadey is anchored there but we are not able to meet them.  Our night was filled with owls hooting, amazing stars reflecting in the water and Dolphins all around us.  I couldn't see them but I could hear them breath each time they surfaced.   We anchored here two nights awaiting our weather window to move to Beaufort, NC and then out to the ocean.

Happy Halloween from our duck
to all of you!