96 Miles to Cedar Creek

A almost record run today; 96 miles vs the 99 mile record. From Wrightsville Beach to Cedar Creek; 20 miles from home. Home by 10:30 tomorrow. Some pictures: (1) Strange lawn decorations; this is one of many unsual "decorations" (2) The hideous house (although they obviously think its beautiful) that when we see we know we are close to home (3) More eagles nesting for this years family

Wrightsville Beach Tonight

The weather started off more than terrible but improved during the day. The 10 miles up the Cape Fear River was slow but non eventful. The weather service as usual was 100% wrong about everything. Made good time here and docked about 4:00 PM. Not bad for 75 miles. The plan is at least Morehead City tomorrow and home by noon on Wednesday. On we go.

Boat plans are written in sand at low tide

The weather has caught up with us. A cold front yesterday afternoon and another due tonight will create almost gale force conditions Sunday and Sunday night making it impossible to cross the Cape Fear River on Sunday. We have moved up to Barefoot Landing in North Myrtle Beach and will sit this out until Monday morning. The revised plan is Wrightsville Beach on Monday, Swansboro on Tuesday and home on Wednesday. Some pictures (1) The spring osprey breeding season is in full swing. Here is one of many nests with residents sitting in it (2) The Barefoot Landing swing bridge pictured here is the swing bridge that was on the Neuse River in New Bern before the high rise bridge was built. It was disassembled and shipped down here and put back in service.

Wacca Wachee Marina in Waccamaw River

Anther position report. We are where we expected to be, in Myrtle Beach (as opposed to North Myrtle Beach)at the Wacca Wachee Marina. Tomorrows target is Southport. Marching on.

Past Charleston to Isle of Palms

No Pictures tonight; a position report. We reached Isle of Palms Marina, 13 miles north of Charleston this afternoon, earlier than we expected after a 80 miles day. The weather is turning bad but we will be inside so there should not be any problem. The target tomorrow is Wacca Wachee Marina about 80 miles from here. Julie will remember stopping there when she helped us bring the boat back after my leg injury. Moving on.

Outside to Beaufort, SC

Anther successful outside shortcut; from Walburg Creek to Beaufort, SC. Again this could not be done in one day on the ICW. The sea was like a mill pond; no wind and no waves. Some pictures: (1) the sunrise as we left Walburg Creek (2) The busy location is the Savannah River. Here a large gas carrier is just entering the channel (3) Others have to wait. This ship anchored outside the entance to await his turn. In contrast the Beaufort channel is 22 miles long and carefully maintained. In 15 years we have NEVER seen a ship enter Port Royal Harbor. A waste of money. Off to Charleston tomorrow.

Successful Outside trip to Walburg Creek

The inside ICW trip to Walburg Creek cannot be done in one day. Its over 95 miles in Georgia swamp with numerous spots that at low tide are impassable thanks to the Corps of Engineers who refuse to spend any money on the ICW, at least in Georgia. We went outside at Fernandia Beach and anchored in Walburg Creek at 5PM. Tomorrow the plan is to go outside again to Beaufort, again impossible inside on the ICW in one day at least for this boat. Hopefully news tomorrow from Beaufort (SC).

Fernandia Beach in a Unforecasted Gale

The objective was to make a short day, refuel at Fernandia Beach, spend the night at the marina in preparation for going outside tomorrow to Walburg Creek and the next day to Beaufort, SC. We did all that with with an unexpected and unforecasted (always unforecasted, the weatherman is still paid) gale from the west. The wind started howling an hour or so before we reached Fernandia and has continued to this moment. The latest weather forecasts, of course, say nothing about this. Anyway the forecst is still favorable for leaving tomorrow; we'll see. Meanwile some pictures (1) The railroad station in downtown (2) Brett's Waterfront Cafe at the marina. An excellent restaurant which Spencer may remember. He was 4 months old when we all attended Chris and Christy's wedding here. The restaurant is still excellent. At 2 PM there was a 20 minute wait on a Monday.

Anchored at Pine Island Sunday Night

We are anchored at Pine Island, about 12 miles north of St Augustine. It was a short day. The objective was to get through the reportedly heavily shouled Matanzas Pass (never saw less than 10 feet of water) and the Bridge of Lions which closes its channel Monday night for 5 days as they take down the temporary bridge that has been up while the Bridge of Lions was renovated.
Off to Fernadia Beach tomorrow, hopefully outside the next day to avoid most of the Georgia swamp. Beginning a countdown: tonight 45% of the way home.

Saturday Night in Palm Coast

From Titusville to Palm Coast Marina on Saturday. The original plan was to anchor in Daytona but the boat taffic and boat wakes was so heavy we moved on to Palm Coast. The management at this marina has changed for the better, The transiant price is down 40 % and the staff is competent and friendly. A cold front is coming through today so we will just see how far we get today.

Anchored in Titusville

We made it to Titusville. We will anchor here tonight and move on to Daytona tomorrow. Should be able to get through St Augustine on Sunday so we can move on without concern for the channel closure at the Bridge of Lions. Now if the wind would just die down to the predicted 5 knots rather than the existing 15-20 knots. A weatherman's job is ideal. They always get paid but are never expected to be correct.

Vero Beach Day

Vero Beach is one of the best stops on the ICW. There is atraditional dock marina and two large mooring fields. Some pictures:(1) The front of Vero Beach City Marina (2) The north mooring field (3) One of the free buses. There is a comprehensive transit system that operates without charging fares. Takes you anywhere in the city.(4) The entrance to Vincent's Restaurant which serves the best pizza in Florida.

In Vero Beach for two nights

Made good time to Vero Beach City Marina. We will stay here for two nights, We cannot stay longer because the channel for the Bridge of Lions in St Augustine will close next Monday night for the rest of the week. With a new cold front arriving we cannot go outside so we must move on. No pictures today.

Lake Worth in good time

We got to Lake Worth (Palm Beach) in good time today. We left Boca Chica Key at 7:15 this morning and anchored in Lake Worth at 6:00 PM. We avoided all the bridges between Ft Lauderdale and Palm Beach by taking advantage of a weather break and going outside from Ft Lauderdale to Lake Worth. Saved several hours and much aggravation. Tomorrow we are off to Vero Beach for several nights. Some pictures:(1)The Miami skyline as we approached this morning (2)The birds seemed to be waiting for a ride as we passed the marker.

Underway

We left Marathon this morning. We are anchored tonight just north of Elliot Key, about 15 miles from Miami. We expect to get to West Palm tomorrow. We will have go inside since the wind continues to blow from the northwest. Off we go.

John & Bonnie left with our car

Johna and Bonnie left Sunday and took our car to Ft lauderdale to keep until we get home and I can fly down to pick it up. This help on their part saves a least a day in getting back home.

John & Bonnie's visit

John & Bonnie joined us for the 34th Marathon Seafood Festival. Some pictures:(1) Dixie and Bonnie at the entrance wearing their new collaspable hats (2) the entertainment stage and stands (3) John and Bonnie in front of a chainsaw carving exhibit. We finished off the day with a visit to the Sunset Saloon and pizza on the boat. a good day.

A Rare Manatee Sighting

There have been very few manatee sightings this year. The cold weather has made them sluggish or ill, or worse. Many manatee have died this year from the cold. Here are some pictures of one wandering around the boats today.

Key Colony Beach Craft Show

There was a well attended craft show at Key Colony Beach today. Some interesting exhibits and Dixie made several purchases. Some pictures:(1) One side of the square exhibit area (2) A throwback to yesterday at the Flea Market. Dixie bought this interesting air plant which gets a spray a day. This joins Dixie's other two plants: basil and rosemary.

Another Trip to the Flea Market

This will be the last trip to the Big Pine Flea Market this year. We went with John & Judy, boating friends who house sat and took care of the cats while we were in Europe several years ago. We had lunch at the new Sunset Grille in Marathon. Some pictures: (1) The entrance to the Flea Market (2) The new restaurant sign (3) John & Judy at the restaurant entrance. A nice day.

A Little Cold for "Paradise"

Folks up north may not appreciate the record setting cold in South Florida and the Keys ("paradise" according to the chamber of commerce). This has been the coldest winter in the recorded weather history of South Florida. The last two + months have been the coldest in the Keys in 40 years. The first 10 days of January was the coldest in the Keys in weather recorded history (Leslie, Chris and the kids will testify to that). Last night Miami set a new record low for this date and Key West was the coldest since 1873 for this date. As the locals will attest this has made a poor economy even worse. The farmers, of course, are in trouble with ruined crops. The landscapers would be expected to love it but many of their inventory plants have been destroyed. For some reason the tourists do not appreciate wearing the same heavy clothes here that they wear up north. So much for global warming.

A Visit to the Sunset Saloon

Our slip neighbors, Peter and Phyllis on Lone Duck, joined us for a happy hour stop at the Sunset Saloon. A busy afternoon with standing room only. This is a popular happy hour stop for shrimp and stone crab appetizers.

A Nice Lunch with Ron & Emily

Ron and Emily Helling from Fairfield Harbour are visiting Cindy, a long time family friend, in Islamorada. They came down today for lunch. A very nice meal at Lazy Days Restaurant at Marathon Marina. The latest cold front was beginning to work its way through but threatened rain did not appear. The picture from left to right: Cindy, Ron, Emily, Dixie, Chet.

Ole Time Barber Shop

Many "winter folks" and year round locals have discovered the Easy Does It barber shop, run by a lady barber who does men and women. As old fashioned as it can get. Good service and very reasonable prices. Dixie was there today.