June 24-28, 2020 Hilton Head & Ladies Island, SC

Captain Doug sure does a great job docking & pulling away from docks, even the tricky ones.  We left Isle of Hope continuing to cruise north on the ICW though South Carolina's low country. The route is full of twisting turns through the pretty green grasses & golden marshes. There are more boats out today than we've seen lately, we even had 2 cruisers pass us. The weather remains very hot & humid, so again, we are not planning on anchoring.

We decided to try a new to us, marina in Hilton Head, SC. We pulled into Harbour Town Marina after talking with a pleasant woman on the marine radio who told us a boat will be at the entrance to greet us and guide us to our dock. A nice young man in a center console waved & led us to a very nice long floating slip away from the hubbub of the shops & restaurants. He helped us with our lines, signed us in, pumped us out & gave us a nice bottle of wine. We were impressed with everything but the Marina bathroom facilities. This Marina is a very busy place located in the Sea Pines Resort Community. Even being in the midst of a pandemic, there were tourists everywhere, some with masks but most not wearing masks.

The Sea Pines area is a large gated community that has beaches, restaurants, shops, golf courses, pools, ponds, a nature preserve and beautiful live oaks & landscaping.  There are over 15 miles of bike trails, which we really enjoyed for the 2 days we were visiting. We did see quite a few gators in our travels. Both nights, the 2 restaurants in the harbor had live music outside, which in a normal world, we would have really enjoyed. We dined at Fraser's Tavern on one of the golf courses. It was so pretty and we were able to sit on the big covered porch outside overlooking the course.

We left Harbourtown to continue north, still along the ICW, to our next destination: Beaufort SC. We attempted to get a slip in the City Marina but they were booked due to a rendezvous. So we returned to Ladys Island Marina where we stayed years ago. It is under new ownership & Tom the new owner helped with our lines. He is very nice. The face dock we were on, held 4 sailboats in bad disrepair, they look like they were sunk & then rescued and now being lived in. I hope Tom is able to clean this up or it will eventually cause a problem for his success. The facilities are nice and there is a workshop & canvas shop on site. They also have a courtesy car available.

Downtown is a dinghy ride away from Ladies Island and is a charming area. There is a parklike setting along the shoreline with wood swings and free day dockage. The Riverwalk takes you along the rivers edge with a few restaurants & bars. The shops all were requiring masks & had hand sanitizer @ the door. We stopped for a drink under an umbrella @ Q on the Bay then enjoyed dinner on the patio overlooking the River @ Saltus River Grill.

As we continued north along the ICW in this area, we needed to be aware of timing the tides due to some shallow areas that needed mid tide or better to navigate. Captain Doug is very good with the help of Active Captain & some Tide Apps in figuring this all out. We anchored the next night in a very nice spot in Church Creek with trees, grasses & only 1 visible house & no Bugs-Yahoo! It was a touch warm but we used a fan, wishing we had one more fan-put it on our shopping list.

June 15-18, 2020 Fernandina FL & Cumberland Island GA

Leaving Ortega Landing & Jacksonville behind, we are off for our summer adventure on Day Dreams. For the first time in a long time, we do not have any reservations or specific plans. We are heading North! Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, we don't even know how far north we will get. It's been very hot & humid here so I'm hoping it cools off as we go farther north.  Doug laughs at me when I say that.  It's been extremely hot almost everywhere.

We caught the current in the St John's River and reached the ICW in 2.5 hours. The scenery along Sisters Creek is pretty & undeveloped. For the first time, we are following Bob 423's tracks on Active Captain through the Aqua Maps App. It sure makes it easy, but it did take us on the wrong side of a green ATON but no harm, no foul as our friend, Garry always says.

Our first stop is Fernandina, a waterfront town on Amelia Island that was damaged severely a few years back from a Hurricane.  The Marina recently reopened with all new docks.  We chose to stay on one of their moorings.  The first one I snagged was so gross with slime & crustaceans, I had to let it go, I could not make myself touch it.  I put my Playtex living gloves on before I picked up the next one. We took the dinghy into their new dinghy dock, which is a bit of a walk to the office & not very secure. They may have new docks but the bathrooms are not new & were not well stocked or very clean.

We walked around town, some places were closed and it was more crowded with tourists than I expected. We only saw a few masks & not much social distancing. We did enjoy having a drink on the porch of Bret's overlooking the marina while sitting in the rocking chairs. Dinner was sitting outside on a patio surrounded by trees @ Karibo Cafe, the food was delicious, we were more than 6 feet from the next table & our server wore a mask!

After staying 2 nights in Fernandina, we took a short, hour long cruise to Cumberland Island. We had been here 5 years ago with Waterford & loved it. We anchored near one of the private docks, north of the Sea Camp Dock. We spent 2 days walking & exploring the island. We found some wild horses in the shade around the Dungeness Estate but none were on the beach, think it was too hot. The beach & sand here is beautiful; it stretches for miles and is very wide with healthy dunes on the border. The island is very quiet & peaceful. We did visit with a Ranger for a few minutes.

While there, we had a cocktail call with Garry & Jacque who surprised us with news that they have decided to sell Waterford & move back to Michigan to be close to their family. We started our full time cruising adventure with them 6 years ago and have many wonderful memories.  We wish them well in their next phase of life & will miss them.

May 14-June 15, 2020 The Marina @ Ortega Landing, Jacksonville, FL

We've returned to our base: Jacksonville, Florida & more specifically: The Marina @ Ortega Landing.  It always feels like coming home.  This visit is different though because of the Pandemic from COVID 19.  The Captains Lounge is closed except as a pick up spot for mail & packages.  The office has limited hours & access.  Only one person in the laundry room at a time which is my social place-I always meet the nicest people there. The positive side is the whole facility & especially the bathrooms & showers are being professionally cleaned twice a day.  IGY: Cam is taking this virus very seriously and we are thankful.

Kate & Bill helped us with our lines upon arrival-always good to see them. Hobo arrived just before us. We caught up & visited with Pete from Journey for a bit before he headed back to Colorado.  There are a few Krogens here: Invictus, who we know and two new acquaintances with Krogens are Ursa Major and Figment.  We enjoyed poolside cocktails with Invictus & Ursa Major but we were unable to meet Figment before they left.  Blue Goose arrived a few days before our departure so we were able to get in 2 cocktail hours with them. 

On our first full day back, Wendi had invited us to meet she & Samantha in San Marco to watch Sam & her girlfriend have a photo shoot to honor & memorialize their graduation.  Due to the Pandemic, the Graduation Ceremony had been cancelled as well as the last 2 months of school.  Not a great way to end a public school career but they are making the best of it.  We borrowed Larry & Lena's car and met Wendi, Sam & Jenna downtown San Marco.  We could not believe how many honors Sam has accrued over her High School years; we all are so proud of her & her accomplishments. Doug & I left there and drove to Green Cove Springs where our mail service is located.  We picked up our mail & a package that was inadvertently sent there and Hobo's mail. 

Our month in JAX was spent working on boat projects: new hot water tank, new kitchen sink faucet and had the boat waxed.  We biked & walked as often as the weather permitted. We ordered from Uber eats a few times. Our bikes have almost 2,000 miles on them so we took them to Zen Cog for a tune up. 

Socializing during a pandemic is difficult but doable. We met outside the clubhouse for cocktails with Invictus a few times and swam a few times. We did venture to a few restaurants that offered outdoor seating, as long as the servers wore masks. Sue (Invictus) & I walked to Starbucks & had some good girl chats. We met Wendi, Tadd & Sam @ Moonpie Pizza on their outdoor patio. 

Doug had one medical procedure to take care of: a colonoscopy.  Dr Chau @ Borland Groover practice was great. Bette & Al had recommended him.  All went smoothly, no pun intended and Doug had one polyp removed. He's good for 3 years. 

We learned how to make zoom calls: we enjoyed zooming with Lauryl Anne, Waterford & Sea Dweller. Ellen even performed a flute concert for us. We conferenced call with C&C and J&J and J&P.  

It's been hot & stormy this month.  Rained almost every day, sometimes All Day.  This is a troubling time for our United States. Trump who is the current (Republican) President has managed to divide our country and cause much hatred, racism and discontent: Along with a raging, serious Pandemic which he is mishandling and now Black Lives Matter protests which were sparked by a murder of a black man by 3 police officers which was videoed and went viral.  The Presidential election is in November.