Sunday, still in Beaufort, NC…..still blowing. Larry borrowed the marina car to get pizza and a quick stop at Food Lion……I stayed on boat and worked out. This new workout my new personal trainer set up for me is awesome…..Larry had to carry pizza and groceries down the dock with the wind blowing behind him……guess walking in a straight line not an option….I missed a good video opportunity!

Monday, finally departed Beaufort! Cloudy, cold N10-15…48 degrees. Left late, 8:30. Lots of dolphins. Love it when they breathe right near you. 7-8 knots with the current….go,Panda Bear….High water and north wind (off the land)…fixed docks at a marina we passed (and have stayed there on a previous trip) were underwater. Anchor down at Mile Hammock Bay (AICW mile marker 245). Cold and raw. Ran generator with two heaters for an hour and a half. Early to bed.

Tuesday, anchor up at 6:52… 22 minutes late! Cold, 46 degrees. Looks as if it’s another cloudy day. A bridge held us up for a half hour….would have been more if a barge hadn’t come along….for commercial barges, bridges open on demand. Crossed Cape Fear….easy, sun out. This one I always anticipate with tons of stomach acid….we have had some nasty crossings….Anchored out, Dutchman Creek (AICW 310), early 4:15.

Wednesday, anchor up, at 7:30….it’s going to be sunny finally….Getting out of the anchorage interesting….saw 3 feet (really 6, add 3 feet to our depth sounder). We left the anchorage at low tide. There is a “hump” we had to cross over. No issue, just again, interesting. Temperature, 44 degrees. Along the bank of the waterway, I assume because of low tide, there were great blue herons lined up,spaced out, like soldiers standing guard. At noon, we crossed into SC. Went by the “rock pile” at high tide so could not see the rock formations along the edges. Arrived at Osprey Marina (AICW mile marker 373) by 4:20. Fueled up and tied up for the night. Interesting marina, you turn off into what looks like a swamp. Great people too. Made dinner, heat on….the mantra for this trip.

Thursday, departed Osprey Marina at 7:30ish….cool but lovely. Busy morning. Since plugged into shorepower, I made hard boiled eggs, vacuumed the boat. We watered my plants and filled the water tank.

Still some fall color down here-blazing in the sunshine. It is 39 degrees according to the weather channel. Waccamaw River is very grey, still very interesting. Many trees that survive with wet feet. This is one of Larry’s favorite areas. Saw a good size turtle swimming across. Larry guessed 1.5-2 feet across shell. Today, we saw the longest tug and barge unit. 8+ barges, then long floating pipes….the security call they put out said 2200 feet long. Dredges.Went by McClellanville, no issue. This is one inlet that is always shifting with skinny water. Dreaded by many. 9 feet, at high tide, is the lowest water we saw. Thank you, dredge! Anchor down, Awendaw Creek (AICW mile marker 436). All marsh, trees in the distance, one other boat came in later, another Krogen. Today we had something different happen to us. As we got close to the anchorage, a WWII era plane was flying low over the ICW, straight at us….then went around us, over the marsh, and later pulled out over the waterway again.

Friday, beautiful sunrise. Anchor up 7:20. Cold again, 43. Saw a few bald eagles and crossed Charleston harbor today. Anchor down, Church Creek (AICW mile marker 488). Another good anchorage! Larry’s birthday today. I had a card and a small gift for him. Happy 71st darling!

Saturday, watched the sun peeking up, as we got underway at 7:20. Lovely morning and a tad warmer, 56. South winds. I was doing some work for the condo association by reviewing cameras for an incident. Warning: don’t ever buy a condo and if you do, stay off the board! Tied up at Lady’s Island Marina ( AICW mile marker 536) by 2:00. Mary, the manager, met us to catch our lines in shorts and sandals, a first for this trip. Went for a walk to Publix, our first Publix of the trip, and a favorite of mine…. picked up barbecue at a local joint. Really good. Larry discovered “burnt ends”, an menu item I had never seen offered. Settled in, raining a bit and temperature dropping.

Began the week in Beaufort and ended in Beaufort……

Sunday, cold but a lovely sunrise. Found Larry laying flat on the floor below, face down….scared the hell out of me! He was reading the generator displays that are almost at floor level. Anchor up at 7:05….about 50 degrees in the pilothouse. Officially 41 at the nearby Outerbanks. Wind S 10 +/-. Alligator-Pungo Canal had fog up ahead. Eagle soaring in front of us…..kingfisher sunbathing after hunting. Then something big in front of us, an otter? Stopped at RE Mayo, AICW mile marker 157.3. $.40/ft! Can’t beat it! No one around. Just huge fishing boats tied up. It was 2:40 in the afternoon-guess they are closed on Sunday. So we called in on Monday to pay our dockage fees.

Monday, cast off at 7:00….easy ride to Beaufort. 43 degrees. We arrived by 1:30. Met a boat from Duxbury. We were docked in front of a gorgeous 60-65 sportfisher with a fantastic grey paint job. Bet the paint job cost more than many boats out there…..It is Veteran’s Day so we borrowed the marina car and went to Golden Coral. They provide free dinners for vets. It’s not just the free dinner, it’s the atmosphere. We were greeted at the door by a USMC colonel in full dress greens. Larry wished him a belated happy birthday. (The corps had its birthday earlier this week.) This is the second one we attended; the other in Maryland last year. And both had this great vibe amongst vets of all branches and ages. Afterwards, we stocked at Walmart. Not too many available along the way.

Tuesday, blow coming….rain and gale force warnings….until Wednesday late afternoon….here we go again! Every time we stop at Beaufort, we bring a storm. They must dread to see us coming….walked to the Beaufort Cafe for a late breakfast. Afterwards, we strolled downtown for shopping and browsing…. good view of Rachel Carson Preserve…..and Beaufort Harbor. Wind picking up on the way back to Town Creek Marina (AICW mile marker 202). Larry sang to me on our walk back! I truly enjoyed it. One of those mental snapshots….

Wednesday, rain and wind…..cold too. Very windy, but we were protected by the fueling shed next to us on the pier.

Thursday, walked to breakfast at the Cafe again,,,,more shopping downtown. Saw horses on the Carson preserve…..

Friday, rain again…actually the rain started yesterday afternoon, after we had returned from our walk. Today, borrowed the marina vehicle and ran errands. Brought Italian food back from the Noname….always good….settled in for the next storm.

Saturday, very windy! Here we go again, N high 20’s and higher gusts. Bouncy. The back porch vinyl surround vibrated as if blowing off….never experienced that on this boat before. I knew we were well secured to the dock but still concerning…..stayed put all day……

Sunday. Wind blowing all last night….anticipation of going out in the bay today not a pleasant feeling….Captain and I differed on whether to go or to sit another day. Finally departed at 10:15. Our friends came to say goodbye. Will miss Roger and Marilyn in Florida this winter. Thank God at least it was sunny. Nippy, 49, feels colder. Then bouncey until we turned the corner, then on the port quarter. Not a bad ride. Arrived at Hampton Public Piers by 4:45. We get to know folks at the marinas we continually visit. The fellow today even knew which slip we prefer…..good folks. I understand why we had to go today: decent day go and enter the protected waters of Norfolk area….after that, this trip is mostly in protected waters unless if we have to jump outside (“outside” is the ocean).

Monday: departed late, 11:00. Captain had iPad issues. Wanted to wait for a favorable current anyway. Nice day, sunny, windy SE 10. That would have made the bay nastier than yesterday….Captain was right to want to go yesterday…would have been on the nose today. Lots of “big boys” today. Both cargo ships and naval ships. Always an interesting area to travel. It’s funny to listen to small boats calling the naval ships… sometimes not necessary so one can hear the boredom in the naval ships’ responses.

Short run today.My new flowering plants bloomed-I didn’t expect it in this colder weather. We stopped at Top Rack for fuel, lunch at the deli, and overnight dockage.

Tuesday: cast off at 8:45, in the rain. The rain was minimal while we were in the Great Bridge lock-and it was awhile, the lock was pretty full. We seem to be traveling with a flock of boats flying south. Marinas are full-tough to even get reservations. I had no lock at AYB……..but Larry did! Now we are at AICW mile marker 8. We are traveling to approximately mile marker 1100…..best to not think about it! At ABY Marina, they were so full up they wanted to know our height….usually they want boat length, width, and perhaps draft (how much water you need under you)…..Height was a new one. They found a spot for us in one of the boat sheds in the back. Never been there before. As we entered, looked as if we were going into a shallow swamp, but then it opens up. Quite interesting. Little strange but peaceful. Rain stopped so we walked for Mexican food and some errands. Back by 3:45…Larry installed new running lights. He also had a conversation with fellow boater that explained that some boats may not travel south of Norfolk until November 5th. That explains the crowd…..we are usually later than this. He also asked Larry if we were doing the “yo-yo” thing, meaning traveling south in the fall, north in the spring. I had never heard the term, but appropriate.

Wednesday was cleaning day. We stayed because it was blowing, cold and couldn’t get reservations at the next stop. Was a blessing. We got to clean the boat while in the shed, under cover, away from the wind….I cleaned below and the pilothouse, Larry cleaned the decks and we both did our maintenance on all the vinyl (plastic windows). We were exhausted but walked to Panera for dinner and some more shopping. Walked both ways in the dark, this daylight savings stuff…….

Thursday, left AYB at 0900. We sorta came out of nowhere and pulled out onto the ICW…later, at the next stop, a boat asked us where we had come from…. did we anchor in that little swamp?

Cold day again….Our next stop, Coinjock Marina. They called at 7:30 this morning to confirm we were on our way….space is that tight. Gale force winds and cold expected tomorrow so everyone staging at Coinjock to cross Albemarle Sound on the following day. Albemarle can get nasty….shallow and long fetch. But today was an easy ride, except for two sport fishermen that waked us hard. Had to rehose the deck where my garden is….Arrived at Coinjock at 2:45. Boats really tight in here….considering gale force winds coming. Out talking to fellow cruisers….then cooked dinner….first time in a long time….chicken stir-fry over rice.

Friday, stayed put. Cooked pulled pork overnight in the crockpot. Cold, NE winds, blowing teens and twenties with gale warnings…it also rained hard last night. Got lots of stuff done….boat maintenance, paperwork, administrative…..Then we went to lunch at the marina’s restaurant-always good, today was no exception. Cold walk……then came back and curled up with a blanket to watch the sunset….

Saturday, cold, low 50’s, NE 5-10. We did not have a clean start, issue departing dock….easy run across Abelmarle Sound. Anchor down 4:45, AICW mile marker 102.2. It’s a nice anchorage. Took two times to get a good set. This doesn’t happen often to Larry. Limited internet. Funny, back in 2000, our first trip down the ICW, not even a concern.

After about two weeks of prep, we are off again…. During these two weeks, we had to get a one-way car rental from MA to Solomon’s, MD…..stay for over a week at a hotel and work like crazy to get the boat “ready”. This included waiting for a small fix that had to be redone by the yard; Larry had to clean the bottom, prep and paint Panda Bear’s bottom and running gear, 2 coats…..I scrubbed the boat below, organized lockers (stuff we brought down and local provisioning)….waxed the sole by hand, cleaned windows………the boat was by a dirt road with traffic, and to avoid mold, some ports had to be left open for airflow…..and dirtflow!

I also bought a cabinet to fit between our two chairs in the saloon. The old one was just too big with the new chairs. This one is a better fit and a perfect match to the interior wood. Almost looks built in. Thank you Wayfair! And Larry, who modified and built it. I shopped for a teak cabinet, new or used for months to no avail….then, I found this one online. It’s rubber wood….a hardwood of which I had never heard.

Finally, Saturday, departed Solomons. Before leaving we got to meet River, a 9 week old yellow lab pup, belonging to Linda, one of the two great gals that run the office at Washburn’s Boat Yard. Adorable.

Off we go…..beautiful morning, sunny, but cold, in the high 40’s. Waiting for a weather window cost us a few days of delay. We need two days with no serious winds with southern components. We were doing 7 knots as we left Solomons…had to be the clean bottom. Flat seas. I had a turtleneck, polar fleece vest and my heavy sailing coat….Larry, a sweatshirt….Later, as the sun warmed the pilothouse, I removed my jacket, Larry went down to bare chest. We arrived at Deltaville VA about 6:00 PM. We were met by our friends, Roger and Marilyn, and friends. We settled in and hung out for awhile.

Finally, on our way. Almost a month earlier than last year and three weeks earlier than two years ago.

Sunday thru Tuesday, we were in Deltaville, VA. Still too hot. Wind had a northern component….not desirable, upwind, no thanks. Borrowed marina car to visit supermarket, only game in town. Quite a storm on Tuesday. Met our friends’ family, Roger and Marilyn’s son and his family, visiting from Italy. All their grandkids that I have met are adorable, well rounded children….cute too.

Wednesday, nice morning….time to depart Deltaville. 8:30…..already hot. We tied up at Calvert’s, in Solomons, MD, by 4:45. Usually, we spend the first night in Solomon’s on the hook, anchored out before we get to the marina. This year, way too hot….need to plug into Marina electricity for air conditioner…..that has been the story this whole trip north. We weren’t in a hurry to get home. I think I was actually stalling. But, it’s been mostly, marina to marina, with the air conditioner on plus a small fan forward.

Next comes cleaning and packing before picking up the rental car and driving home. This year, I decided to empty every locker, bin, drawer, etc and clean out. Several trips were made to donation bins. Some “stuff” was brought home. It’s the same as a house, constantly organizing, sorting, cleaning……..I insist on leaving her clean and organized. Nothing of any value is left on board. When we get back, load, stock and go…..

Another trip completed.

Sunday, woke at Hampton Public Pier. Larry made breakfast while I dealt with condo issues. Note: don’t ever buy a condo and don’t ever join the board. Spent the rest of the day on board.

Monday, spent the morning on board, then visited the Virginia Air and Space Museum. Saw two IMAX movies, a special Apollo 11, then SuperDogs. The latter was not animated dogs in super costumes but actual working dogs-dogs that save lives all over the world. One dog was followed from selection from breeder, to graduation from training program. When we left, rain…..we darted back to boat, beating the downpours.

Tuesday, we rented a car and drove to Salisbury, MD. We took Lizzie for a second opinion to a vet we had met when Ruby (prior kitty) had a problem. Dr. Peters is a good vet. Ride started with us being stuck in traffic for a long time-had to change appointment time. We actually sat in one spot for over 30 minutes. After that, a nice ride. We took the Chesapeake tunnel, always fun. Then up the eastern shore of Maryland. Very pleasant ride. Crape Myrtles in bloom, long stretches of them. Well, the trip resulted in Lizzie on prednisone for at least another 10 days, but at a reduced dosage. Doctor doesn’t think it’s anything bad because it is improving. Were it bad, she would be getting worse. That alone made me feel much better. Worth the approximately 284 miles round trip.

Wednesday, drove to Deltaville, VA, to visit friends, Roger and Marilyn and see their new boat. They had a grandson visiting who was an awesome ten year old. We had lunch with them at a burger joint and then drove back. It was a quick trip but a pleasure to see them, even briefly. We stocked up for the next leg of our trip during our drive back.

Thursday, we stayed on board all day then drove to Gloucester to meet friends, Jerry and Wendy, also boaters, for the best Thai I have had since Bangkok. Hell of a storm while we were at the restaurant…. a had quite a view from my chair. Interesting lightning on the way home. It looked like cloud to cloud, but with branches…..

Friday, easy day on board. I attended a condo board meeting over the phone. Then we went to dinner at Bull Island Brewery, right next to the pier. Afterwards, a walk.

Saturday…. OK, we have to leave. Weather/wind has not been cooperating and it’s up Chesapeake Bay next. That is part of the reason we have not pushed ahead sooner. We cast off at 6:40. Started out fine then, on the nose 10-15, with some 15-20 gusts form the North. Waves 3 feet. We got beaten up a bit….just uncomfortable. Arrived at Deltaville around 2. Dozier’s Marina. Beat…..just settled in…. getting close to the end of this trip…..

Sunday, we sat. Still Beaufort, NC. Still worried about Lizzie the cat’s eyes. Still two different size pupils…..now on prednisone…….

Monday, we have to move on. Her eyes may not be a quick fix. She hasn’t had a negative reaction to the prednisone…..and looked a little better this morning…..so we are moving on….we cast off at 9:55. Gorgeous day but NE 10ish. We got a little beaten up crossing the Neuse River….by then, 15-20, on the nose. At 4:30, tied up at RE Mayo (AICW mile marker 156.7). Nothing to do here but buy fresh fish and Larry didn’t want any today. Just saw the biggest fly I have ever seen….about three times marsh fly size…

Tuesday, cast off 7:45. Quiet morning. Pungo-Alligator Rivers Canal. Quite a bit of birds, wild flowers, cattails, faux cattails, and huge red/orange dragonflies. Anchor down by 6PM, at the Little Alligator River, AICW mile marker 82. Good run 75 miles. Good for Panda Bear. Star gazing after dark….amazing…..in the middle of nowhere. This might be our last nice night anchored out for this trip.

Wednesday, crossed Albemarle Sound. Usually, not a favorite and weather must be watched carefully…. long fetch and shallow water, potentially resulting in very choppy crossings, especially if on the beam……Today, we had an easy crossing. Early departure to ensure flat seas. Arrived at Coinjock Marina, AICW mile marker 50……seems like a slow mile marker countdown…..Took showers and off to have lunch at the restaurant onsite. Awesome as usual. Only glitch today, restaurant electrical issues. They just reopened, only one waitress working. Poor woman should have been on roller skates. We mentioned we were not in a rush. She winced as a crowd came in, but she handled the situation very well. My prime rib and Larry’s oysters were yummy. We split a piece of hummingbird pie. I had to bring a piece of pecan pie home to the boat for consumption in the evening. Heat was intense. There was a little rain, but not enough to cool off. On shore near us, a house has well-occupied bird houses. Makes me miss my well-occupied bird houses back home.

Thursday, met fellow loopers on a sailboat. Cast off by 8:25. Hot and buggy. Lizzie doing a bit worse than yesterday. Saw a bald eagle soaring, appropriate for 4th of July. BTW, crossed into Virginia. Docked at AYB, Chesapeake City by 2:00, AICW mile marker 12.2. Cleaned up the pilothouse and my onboard garden in the heat….sweat kept getting in my eyes. 93 but felt like 104. Later that evening, we watched the 4th of July celebrations from Washington DC on TV. Grateful no loud fireworks near us, do not want to rattle Lizzie and make her nervous with this eye condition.

Friday, rain forecasted for the afternoon so we walked to breakfast. Tried a new-to-us place, Sunrise. Not crazy about it at all. I won’t be going back to that restaurant. Then we walked and shopped and food shopped. Very hot. Larry hustled back to the boat with ice cream, I shopped my way back. By 3:00, sunny on one side of the boat, thunder on the other. I was sitting in the back porch and lightning struck .4 miles away-I must have jumped a foot off the chair. Afterwards, shooting, hunters…..

Saturday, cloudy and rain, with thunderstorms expected in the afternoon. Departed AYB at 8:45. 9:00 Great Bridge opening then proceeded to lock. In total, 45 minutes from casting off from marina to coming out of the lock….darn good. Fueled at Top Rack which always has the best diesel fuel price. Proceeded by Norfolk, then arrived at Hampton Public Pier in the afternoon and just relaxed…. with the a/c on, of course.

Sunday, my 62nd birthday. Anchor up by 8:40, at Wrightsville Beach. Been a long time since we’ve been ashore here, but it’s usually a good stopping point. Hustling to make sure we make the 9:00 bridge. Saw some folks doing yoga on paddle boards-very cool. Cloudy, interesting skies but no rain. Wind E 10ish. Anchor down by 2:35, Mile Hammock Bay, on Marine Corps Camp LeJeune. Threatening skies all day-check out picture of Larry anchoring. Then the rain started. At least I got to sit on my bean bag chair on the upper deck for a little while, just enjoying the marsh and the sky views…Larry grilled burgers….grill is on the upper deck, so he grilled in the drizzle. Whole rainbow as we ate in the back porch. My birthday gift from Mother Nature. We both got up at 1:25 am …..beautiful full moon coming up and out from behind the clouds, calm, all the buoy lights flickering out in the channel, could hear the ocean roaring. Beautiful night!

Monday. Anchor up 8:35. Another beautiful day. A school of small fish jumped out of the water in unison…..had to wait for a bridge to open….then, the inlet….there is the ocean we heard roaring last night…..a dolphin or porpoise jumped completely out of the water…..I kidded that it must be an escaped performer form Seaworld. Then a few hours later, a skate jumped out of the water three times consecutively…..odd. Tied up at Town Creek Marina, Beaufort, NC by 3:15. (AICW mile marker 202).This is a great marina. We always stop here. It’s also vet stop for Lizzie….

Tuesday, vet appointment. She had wellness check, bloodwork (early issue screening), shots and ears cleaned. It’s like bringing your child in with dirty ears to the doctor….I felt like a bad mom-but ear wax was deep…..then we brought back Italian from our favorite Italian restaurant here. Laundry got done.

Wednesday, food shopping and ready to leave tomorrow. When we arrived from shopping Larry noticed Lizzie was having an eye issue. One eye is less dilated than the other…..back to the vet. Now she is on prednisone! I am concerned. She has had eye issues before but not like this and it has been one and a half years……

Thursday, little shopping, more stocking…..Lizzie not better….I do not want to leave. The next three nights we will be anchoring out in the hinterlands of NC. Don’t want to be too far away from a vet. So we walked to downtown Beaufort for my birthday steak dinner at Ribeye. Simple and good. Then we stopped by a park to listen to some live music. About 3 miles round trip.

Friday, Lizzie still the same. So we switched to a weekly rate instead of daily rate. This seems to always happens here…..usually weather issues….I had to do condo board work most of the day, then went shopping.

Saturday, Lizzie still the same. Very minor improvement. I am concerned. We walked to the Beaufort Cafe for breakfast then visited the local farmers market. Larry got some popcorn, kettle corn, his favorite. I met a dog named Flora, a Great Pyrenees dog. Larry called me over and said “Flora, meet Flora”.

This trip has been filled with concerns with Mom, then Larry, then Mom again, now Lizzie……

Is it my turn next?

Sunday, anchor up at Awendaw Creek, SC, at 7:50. Beautiful calm morning. It’s a good feeling to get moving on nice days….always a high, grateful to be on the water. Great cloud banks. You have to be a weather lover to be out here…..dolphin or porpoises….a pod. Little one did a belly flop…. while I was at the helm. We made it by McClellanville, always short water, area known for depth issues. Today we travelled at high tide/full moon and only 11 feet depth…..wouldn’t want to be here at low tide. Easy ride to Georgetown, SC. Settled in at marina by 1:15 ( AICW mile marker 403).

Monday, our day to spend in Georgetown. Breakfast at Thomas’s Cafe. It’s been remodeled and looks good. Did not loose too much of its charm! Then we walked to Piggley Wiggley supermarket. I shopped in town and Larry brought groceries back to boat. Anything to get out of shopping! Once back, dealing with Mom stuff….she is finally going home. Constipation caused dehydration…..I am overwhelmed. Thank God for a woman named Marlen. She is a God send! She keeps telling me not to fly down, not serious, but she visited mom daily and sends pictures…..a picture is worth a thousand words. I monitor tests via hospital portal and speak to doctors as often as I can. I am concerned she might be weak-Marlen assures Mom is fine. After the dust settles ( yes, you must deal with life situations while on board-world doesn’t stop), I decided to go back and buy a bronze ring I saw and get some ice cream for me and a chocolate praline for Larry. Then laundry and recycling. We are finding fewer marinas recycling lately…. so we store “clean recycles” in our dinghy, which hangs on davits off our stern, upper deck. We take out trash daily too. If at anchor, then we store that too in dinghy. Anyway, we find a recycling bin right near the boat.

Tuesday, cast off at 6:45. Tides/currents wait for no one. Already very warm. We also get underway early before wind picks up and makes departing more difficult (protects the paint job too). Today we did the Waccamaw River, a favorite, actually one of Larry’s favorite during the whole trip. Ran out of fuel in one tank and Larry had to change over. We were heading to fuel up anyways….. he then had to prime engine. It started! I was so excited I questioned him when he yelled to shut it off….I thought perhaps he didn’t hear it-silly me-he was in engine compartment…..guess I drenched him in diesel…..he was pissed. We traveled that last couple of miles to Osprey Marina for fuel. While in the office paying, I picked up a couple of Mrs. Fields ice cream filled cookies ….. a peace offering and a cool treat on a hot day. We then tied up at Barefoot Marina (AICWmile marker 354). We walked to Barefoot Landing (an outdoor mall and entertainment area) and walked back, in the rain. We ended up eating at the new grill at the marina. Quite good, actually. And reasonable.

Wednesday, cast off at 6:30. The wind changed at the last moment and helped us off the dock. Very nice morning. We traveled through the Rock Pile, at low tide. Great photo opportunity but a little more caution required on the Captain’s part. Arrived at South Harbour Village Marina by 1:30 ( AICW mile marker 311). This is our first time at this marina. Near Southport (but a 5 mile walk), but easy on off transient dock. Ate dinner at the grill right at the marina. Sat out in the screened porch, nice view and nice breeze.

Thursday, alarm woke us at 5:00. Looked at weather channel online….tonight is going to be stormy, some storms severe. We would be anchoring out tonight. Not worth it, decided to spend another day here. Very windy, SW 25. Not a good day to tackle the Cape Fear River. So today was a cleaning, painting day, boat chores. We had a very strange amber, red, tiered sunset.

Friday, ditto. Did go to dinner at grill and a quick walk around. The interior of the state getting the severe weather…. we seem to be threading the needle…..not complaining.

Saturday, up at 5:00, depart at 7:00. Storm blew through so departure was delayed until 9:30…..flexibility so important on a boat. You hear over the years of men who ignored weather and went out there, then their boats were up for sale. A friend just told me of this happening recently to someone they know……We crossed the Cape Fear River (or Cape Rosie, as we refer to it) easily. Not much traffic: a freighter and a ferry. Anchor down at Wrightsville Beach (AICW mile marker 283). Lots of small boats running around causing wakes…..mental note, don’t anchor here on a summer, weekend night…….

Sunday found us still in Beaufort, SC.

We walked to a Huddle House for breakfast-never been to one before and it was a quick walk from marina. Good coffee and sourdough toast, not commonly available at breakfast joints. An older gentleman came in and sat down near us, alone. A conversation struck up…..we both thought he was in late seventies……turns out he was only 69, a year younger than Larry. Larry looks really good for his age-fellow couldn’t believe Larry was a year older……back at the boat, I sat out in back porch to paint and watch storms…..Larry watched a Bruins hockey game…..poor man had to hold the antenna over his head to receive the channel……….that’s team spirit!

Monday, Mom is back in the hospital-nothing serious but at her age anything is concerning. I want to stay here, airport an hourish drive. Weather holding off so we walked to Beaufort downtown (we stay at Lady’s Island, across the bridge). Lunch at Plums. A must for me. I had my usual Biarritz sandwich, Larry had gumbo and an oyster po’boy.

Mine usually comes with a side salad and a hot bacon dressing. No more. Must ask if dressing is even still available-I wouldn’t mind paying extra for salad and THAT dressing. We walked around town, visiting shops and galleries. Then the sky got very threatening….Larry said don’t worry….We walked back over bridge fast….I watched the sky the whole way…….

Tuesday was a rain day. I got some serious painting done….

Wednesday was a ‘sit” day. Rain off and on, some very heavy. Some thunder and lightning too. I had to attend a condo board meeting via phone. Larry watched a Bruins hockey game-they lost. No Stanley Cup this year.

Thursday, dealing with mom issues and got my food shopping done-prepping to leave.

Friday, we are off! Departed at 9:00. Not a smooth departure….wind had us pinned to dock. But we made it. Beautiful day, NNE 10-15. Skinny water in several spots, meaning depth. No issues, just required a watchful eye and careful navigation. Saw a pair of loopers (doing the circumnavigating the eastern half of US and part of Canada )on a jet ski…. we fly our gold flag, meaning we completed loop once. So, they slowed down to say hi and then zipped off. Good to see. What an adventure. Anchor down at Church Creek, AICW mile marker 488, at 4:00. I sat out at night, on the porch, listening to a very sweet bird. Sounded a bit like a loon, but not typical loon sound…..

Saturday, anchor up at 7:10. Truly a gorgeous morning, cool morning, E 10-15. Went by Charleston….I always look for the old homes at water’s edge. Today, a cruise ship was docked nearby…..not sure I appreciate the contrast so close together. Got a whiff or two of a paper mill …. too far off to be Georgetown…..I assume there are others. We had to maneuver around dredges and many small boats out on a Saturday…. and skinny water depths to add to the chaos….anchor down by 2:50, Awendaw Creek, AICW mile marker 435. Early stop because the next few miles are among the shallowest part of the ICW. We’ll take it in the morning, at high tide.