This page covers picks up upon leaving Georgetown, FL on St Johns River on 11/21/2018. through June 29, 2019

June 26 - 29 Buckhorn, BobCaygeon and Fenelon Falls, Ontario

Leaving Peterborough has you immediately going through the Peterborough Lift Lock. This is like a "balance", where the weight of the water on one side of the "scale" is adjusted to outweigh the other tray. It's a little scarey looking over the edge when at the top. We got a few shots, but look up some videos!

The pitch black squirrels reminded me of Princeton, NJ.

First stop after Peterborough was the Buckhorn lock wall, where they have power and water and a great little town. Met great local cruisers there that shared fantastic info with us, and even had Hollister make friends with another Dog! May wonders ever cease?!

Buckhorn to Bobcaygeon was some beautiful cruising waters, and arriving at Bobcaygeon was everything people told us it would be. The place was HOPPIN!! - We met fellow loopers on Mi Toi, and again, some locals. Hanging on the lock wall with them was Tons o Fun! We cruised into town and visited a local bike shop to talk about some new electric bike options, since the Hover1 ebike fried in the rain.

The red Aidarondack chair is an icon along the Trent Severn waterway. You see them in all sizes an places

Next on to Fenelon Falls - the other $h!# show on the lock wall. Wow! Talk about tourists. And they come right up next to you while in the lock chamber! But, great people just having a good time at the wall, lots of bar and restaurant options, GREAT places and parks to walk the dog. We were actually quite lucky to get a spot with power at both Bobcaygeon and Fenelon Falls. The sunset was gorgeous, the weather was amazingly pleasant, and the Ceasars! The shot above was AFTER I already ate 1/2 of the adornments. Ceasars are made with Clamato instead of tomato juice. Canadians LOVE the Ceasars!

June 23 - 26; Frankford and Peterborough, ON

Leaving Trenton put us in the Trent-Severn waterway. We did the first 6 locks and stopped in Frankford, where they have electric hookups (they call it Hydro in Canada) on the lock wall. We rode into Frankfort for a beer and some food and to get some wifi.

Canadian internet humor... and the swans! Beautiful!

Getting to Peterborough was gruelling! 12 locks, and we were whooped! 2 nights there, with a night out with Lorri and James, good peeps we met in Frankfort, and we were ready again.

June 19 - 22 - Crossing Lake Ontario - Bath and Trenton ON

When we left Pirate's Cove, we planned on stopping in Oswego, NY - but when we got there, it was only noon. We checked the weather, and figured if we didn't cross right away, it might mean waiting for a few days. The marina in Bath would be cheaper than Oswego, unless we did the free wall without power. So, across we went, in a bit of fog, but the water was glass!

We waited out the bad weather in Bath - not much there, but it was comfortable.

We had a private air show on the way to Trenton. The Canadian air force museum is there, and these planes were apparently practicing something. The were flying really low and kept buzzing us

Those funny Canadians - When I was looking for wifi LOL

Clay NY, and Niagara Falls 6/17 & 18

I forgot to mention that when we got through lock 22, they told us that Oswego Canal was closed, and likely would be for 3 days. Still, we cross Lake Oneida in the rain, and did a repeat stay at Pirates Cove Marina in Clay NY. We had a good time there last year.

When we thought Oswego Canal was going to be closed for a while, we decided to rent a car and drive to Niagara Falls. We also thought the weather was going to be bad. But when we got to lock 23, they said they already had oswego open! The weather cleared up and we had a nice night in Niagar and a casual Lake Ontario shoreline drive back to the boat

Second trip down Erie - 3 new stops, 2 repeat stops up to June 17

This time our stops down the erie included new places; Amsterdam NY, Little Falls, NY and St. Johnsville, NY.

Amsterdam was pretty - saw the castle and cruised around the park some. Only stayed the one day and took off for Little Falls. We ran into some rain leaving Amsterdam. but one we got into Little Falls it cleared out and we were able to get the bikes out and ride into town. We went to the Copper Moose, which was packed. The service was a little on the rude side, and they messed up our order, but it resulted in Jay liking the Utical pilsner that he got instead of Coors Light. I really liked my beer, but I don't recall what it was. Food was tasty.

We then went to Happen Inn bar - down in the basement. Had fun there. Ordered some "snacks" to take back to Hollister.

Didn't do much at St Johnsville, but the marina was really nice. Hollister liked all the walking places. Showers were HUGE. Fuel was also a good price.

We then went toward Sylvan Beach - passiing through Rome. No pictures from Sylvan Beach this time, but we did have some dinner with a couple of other looper boats.

Crescent Boat Club - Halfmoon, NY

June 9 & 10

Cruised though Albany after leaving Coeyman's. Trying to stay ahead of the 30 loopers that were in Shady Harbor.

Having been to Waterford last year, we blew through there and went straight up the first 5 locks of the Erie. We landed at another yacht club, in Halfmoon NY - not be be confused with Halfmoon Bay marina that we hated! Again, found the club members to be FABULOUS . Cheap drinks in their clubhouse and great conversations. We had some mail being sent there and waited that out. Had laundry service and grocery delivery as well.

Met a barge captain, Jimmy, who was tons of fun and full of information.

June 6, 7 and 8 at Coeyman's NY

Lobster Bake at Ravena - Coeymans Yacht Club

The folks at Ravena Coeyman's Yacht Club are top drawer! They put on a party each spring that can't be beat, 2 days of fun, 2 dinners, lunch and 2 breakfasts, beer (and non-alchoholic beverages) and FREE DOCKAGE for $80 per person. And one of the meals is a steak and lobster dinner!

The club members all moved their boats around to make room for guests. We were the only loopers there. The loopers were all at Shady Harbor (2 miles south), but we had the better time - and bargain! We tried to get some loopers over, but NOO!

We had tons of fun there - playing games and making new friends. Some came by RV even. We spent more money trying to win prizes, but it was all good fun.

We were docked next to the Osprey nest with 3 new hatchlings. Spent some time watching them feed.

Next to the yacht club is Coeymans' falls, and the history Coeymans House. We met the owner outside doing yard work, and she let us come on her property to get a better view of the falls and we got to take some pictures of her beautiful grounds and home..

June 4 & 5- Hyde Park; Norrie Mills State Park

We cruised past West Point again, and Bear Mountain. Very impressive and beautiful. Great History! Pulled into Norrie Point.

Now THIS is more like it! WAAAY better than Half Moon Bay. Hollister like it a ton better as well. There are Kayaks for rent, hiking trails all over the place, a home made boat to take visitors over to a Hudson River light house tour. The boat looked great at the end of the dock there!

This impressive building across the river is not a fort, or a museum, or a castle. It's a frigging HIGH SCHOOL! Check it out. The Mount Academy.

Point Pleasant, Staten Island, Croton-on-Hudson - through June 3rd

Super foggy cruise (this is from AFTER it lifted), and still smooth but large seas from Atlantic City to Point Pleasant. We again stayed at Johnson Brothers boat works. This is our own hidden gem! Had family visit there, and took a few shots from walking the dog.

From there, we also repeat visited Nichols Great Kills National Park, despite my potentially being embarrased by people that recall the rescue incident in the fall. No one did though. Again, failed at pictures, because it was all repeat. Here's a link to the park though.

Took some shots of the northern part of the Jersey shore - we again saw whales around Red Bank. Heard about another whale that was reported to be in distress further south. And then there's the twin light - that's always a good shot.

Not the greatest shots of the whale, but it was a bit of a distance away.

We did snap a few shots of NYC and Statue of Liberty - even though I'm sure we got the same ones twice before - LOL. This time, we took a liking to the floating electronic bill board. The ad changes about every 30 seconds. - and it's two sided! Jay thought about doing that as a job, until he realized it would only work near a city.

We decided to listen to all the loopers rave about Halfmoon Bay Marina on the west bank of the Hudson. There were 21 looper boats there. We don't get it though. We HATED it htere. It's definitely better on the Stony Point side. Needless to say - no pictures there either., but here's a link if you are interested.

Atlantic City - May 29

The cruise from Cape May to Atlantic City was clear, but "rolly". The seas were not choppy, but pretty big. The shots of Wildwood came out pretty great, and then the old light house, nestled in the tall buildings of Atlantic City are interesting.

We caught up with a lot of the loopers on this leg. Didn't get too many pictures because, well, we stayed in the same place at the Aquarium. I did snap a good sign at the bar, and an odd statue that was in an even more unusual place - behind a maintenance shed - perhaps they are needing to repair it!

Cape May NJ 5/27 & 28

3 hard running days took its toll. But we made it to Cape May. Delaware Bay crossing behind us.

The willingness to be spontaneous paid off. We ended up in Cape May at a "quaint" marina. No, seriously... it's a value. Miss Chris Marina has 2 transient slips, amongst kayak rentals and tour cruises and fishing charters - no amenities other than bathrooms and electricity, but we found all the things we needed - a great laundry service, liquor store within a mile, xfinity wifi, grocery delivery, 5 great restaurants. It's rough here, smells of fish camps, but quiet after the holiday week en.d. All in all, I would stay here again. BTW - Robby's laundrry service is worth it even it your marina has laundry!

At this point in our second trip north, there are windows of opportunity that you just have to pounce on. That meant back to back long days, and another one to follow so that we can get across Delaware Bay on Monday, when the winds and current are just right.

Another early AM departure to get to Delaware City- passing some familiar sights... There's a really funny and personal story about the lighthouse. The event venue we thought was a one day deal last year was still there.

Delaware city looks really cool, and there's a lot to do and see here, but we GOTTA get across the bay tomorrow. Besides, it's expensive!

Delaware City, DE 5/26

5/25 - KEntmorr (Kent Island, MD)

We recovered from the rough ride out of Hampton/Norfolk into Ingram after a few days there and thought we better move along even though the winds were predicted to be a little high still, but at least it would be blowing from our tail. Got up at 5:30 to a gorgeous sunrise and took off. Glad we left! It was calmer than we expected. Beautiful day! Plans were to get to Tilghman Island .

Original plans were to go 72mi - we thought that would be a long day... but favorable winds and current made us re-route so that we could attempt to get closer to Delaware Bay. So - we made it to the tropical island of Kent MD, (Kent Island)... unsurprisingly busy on Saturday of Memorial day weekend... and unsurprisingly, pretty expensive. We did go to the tiki bar on the beach and enjoyed ourselves after a 90 mile run! Yes - 90 miles. And that IS a long day in a trawler!

Ingram Bay thru 5/24

The decision to leave was a little hasty. We knew the wind was going to be high (and therefor, the waves) the first couple of hours, but it was REALLY rough. It did calm down, but not as much and as soon as we anticipated. None the less, sometimes you just have to suck it up. But, sore muscles ensued!

We found Ingram Bay Marina to be quiet, peaceful, and a welcome rest. The night was cool, the internet slow, and a fire pit at our disposal. A fire was exactly what we needed. Mary (owner) came and chatted with us fireside for a bit, and then showed us the rental house right behind us.

Winds kept us here a little longer than we expected. Mary and Capt. Billy are most accommodating. And Hollister gets to run free here, in the wide open spaces. The area is beautiful. Stores and restaurants are over 10mi away, but they have a loaner car. If only the phone and internet were better, would be ideal!

5/20 - 22 In Hampton VA

I don't know about you, but I never much thought about Hampton, VA. They do have a marvelous downtown, with plenty of good restaurants, a good selection of marinas, the Brewery, and a NASA center. I'm sure there's more to it, but that is what we could EASILY walk to.

Hampton University was also something I never thought much about. The previous entry has some shots of the campus. It looks beautiful from the water. And, I just saw a commercial for their proton therapy cancer treatment facilities!

We stayed 3 nights, and had we chosen to stay 1 more, it would have been free. But, we are trying to get up north, had what we thought would be a good weather window, so we moved on.

Dog seemed to like it here, too.

Leaving Coinjock, NC 5/19 ... and pulling into Hampton (below)

The morning started out foggy. But we were up early and left even though the original plan was to only go 30 miles. We were trying to stop short of Norfolk (would be 3rd time) but as the morning progressed, we decided to go all the way past Norfolk to Hampton, VA.

We were neck and neck with our neighbor from the night before - Exhuberant... eventually getting past them.

Pulling into Hampton, VA

Hampton was such a nice surprise. Learned about Hampton University, which was the first university for freed slaves. It's a beautiful campus. We could tell it was a college town from a distance even before we learned exactly what it was.

The Hampton Public Pier is also in a great spot, and very welcoming. Go figure, we are docked right next to a brewery!... AGAIN.

Manteo 5/17 & 18

Manteo is really nice, and we would have at least gone to the Queen Ann's Revenge exhibit, if only I didn't have to take Hollister to the vet, and Jay didn't have to redo the water pump gasket.

Poor Hollister got all doped up to have 2 teeth pulled - she had a hard time coming out of the anesthesia. We were a little worried that she wouldn't be able to leave the next AM, but she was good enough to go.

Manteo waterfront is very nice. Lots of good food and atmosphere. The marina is on the higher end, but still a value. The park on the waterfront is very nice with some history.

Cruise to Manteo 5/16

We left Big Trout Marina feeling pretty confident that we were going to have 2 screws (engines, shaft, propellers) pushing us today. For the first couple of hours we checked every 10 minutes. At one point, Jay had to tighten a couple of bolts because it was leaking a little, and things were looking good when the temp actually DROPPED from where it was before. Manteo, here we come!

But, alas, about another 30 minutes later, Jay went to look again, and it was heating up - open the engine hatch, and it's spraying all over the place. Mantoe, here we come - on one engine again!

Best we could summize, was that Jay needed to get a new gasket. He had used permatex with the gasket, and it appeared to squish the gasket out causing the leaks. Ordered a new gasket to overnight to Manteo. $12 part, 33$ shipping!

It was a pretty nice cruise though. Started in rough seas that calmed as we got into Roanoak Sound. There were beautiful beaches, Bodie Lighthouse, Nice waterfront homes.

We found the village to be really cute. I'll have pictures of the street tomorrow. The marina is very nice and we

were placed in the FRONT ROW right on the downtown waterfront boardwalk.

We found the village to be really cute. I'll have pictures of the street tomorrow. We had a couple of glasses of some Lost Colony Scottish Ale and a delicious shrimp and crab enchilada at the brewery across the street. Bluegrass festival in town, but a

little expensive. AND, we have to take Hollister to have some dental work done tomorrow. Sigh - we're losing money like crazy!

Englehard, NC 5/14 and 5/15

We got an early start out of Hatteras, knowing that although it is a short distance (30 miles across Pamlico sound), we would be running on 1 engine, and racing the stronger winds in the afternoon.

We arrived at Big Trout Marina to find we were the only transient boat there - with only a few permanent boat at that. The marina owners were supurb hosts! We got there in time for a delicious lunch at the cafe (open only from 10:30 - 3), met 4 local sherrifs having lunch there, and a couple of residents in the trailer home park. Lots of local color.

Jay pull the water pump off to find the shaft had snapped clean off! No wonder! And, of course, one of the bolt heads snapped off. Luckily, there were guys there with a shop and all kinds of tools that they gave Jay open access to.

We had a relaxing evening at this pleasant, quaint fishing and farming village. Nice sunset, good dog walking.

The marina itself is a definite stop again! It's not expensive, clean bath house, aged but sturdy docks, delicious lunch. Lacks a few things, like laundry and wifi, and sprint signal, but if you want a couple of relaxing nights, and are well provisioned, it's a great place!

New Pump came on sched.

Check out the gallery and comments

With a lot of swearing, and some trouble with the broken bolt, Jay did manage to complete the re-install

We took off early for an 8 hour run to big Trout Marina on the west bank of Pamlico sound. About 2 hour in, Cinnamin, our starboar engine, overheated. WTF?? So, running on 1 engine, we decided to re-route to Hatteras. We are now 6mph on one engine, adding 3 miles to the trip - making it a 10 hour run. Theory being they have more suppliers... auto parts, marine supply, etc. .

5/9 - 5/14 Hatteras, NC

But... liked Hatteras all in all. It's a throwback outer banks fishing village. Beautiful clear emerald green water. Old fashioned motel "courts" and old time seafood markets. Lots of old salts and relaxed and laid back. Bought some AMAZING local shrimp and Sheepshead fish from "Risky Business" seafood markey right there at the marina. Ate some wonderful meals. And celebrated my birthday on the edge of the world!

Shout out to Pete and Scott at Perkins and Coastal Diesel!

WRONG! The autoparts store was 11 miles away, and no courtesy car or uber or anything. $50 cab ride and they couldnt cross reference Perkins thermostats and radiator cap to a car part.

So, now we have to call Perkins and find out what distributor serves NC. They tell us to call Coastal Diesel out of New Bern. They find us the parts and attempt over night shipping to Hatteras. But, Hatteras is the edge of the world, and it's now Friday, so... parts ain't comin till Monday.

Meanwhile, Jay drains the coolant and gets ready to put the parts in as soon as we get them.. Meanwhile, on Sunday, they ask us to move to a different slip because the one we are in actually belongs to someone that will be coming back before we'll be leaving. So, we have to back into a different slip on 1 engine. It's not as easy as it sounds! But Jay pulled it off nicely after a few swear words and some expressions of impossibility.

Jay also found a bad impeller, which he changed, and then put the new thermostats in, and topped with a new radiator. Cinnamin is still hot! (Pun intended). Saga of Oden's dock now - Fishing tournament coming, and we have to leave on Tuesday..

We decide to take the 30 mi Pamlico sound crossing over to Big Trout, order a water pump (process of elimination) to be shipped there over night. At least we are on "the main land" now - even if we are in a pretty small fishing and farming village.. Saga to be contined from Englehard, NC

5/2 - 5/8

Another

Week In

Oriental NC

Deatons was our destination again. This time just for some generator work. But, it being over a weekend, took longer than we thought - of course. Oh well - at least we like the little town, and it's a cheap place to stay.

Hollister was happy to be there. She recalled it as a place to take really good walks. Although, she's getting older for sure!

We arrived to find that Eric no longer worked there. But we found him playing at the Brewery for Cinco de Mayo. Wasn't much of a mexican celebration, but there was a food truck with a couple of mex style dishes... And then the blues music in the beer garden.

Surf City, NC 4/30, Swansboro 5/1

Cruised across Cape Fear and through Wrightsville beach without issue - and without pictures sorry to say. We stopped in Surf City for a cheap stay at Sears Landing. It's just a restaurant on the road of the old Swing Bridge. I walked up the road a little to see the new bridge from the old bridge.The restaurant owner, Ray, was super friendly, and we had a good time at the bar.

We stopped here mostly so that we can skip the stop at Sneads Ferry and cruise through to Swansboro. We stayed at Dudleys, that has a little bit of a challenge docking, but not that bad. Had a good view from the boat, but again - I forgot to get pictures!

Aquarium and Beach with the Fam!

Still end of April

4/25 - 5/1 Southport NC

Yes, you are looking at a picture of the boat out of the water below. We hit a rock on the way out of the marina basin there in Little River. Our own fault - just confused the channel markers. Anyway, it hurt the wallet more than the time frame. We were out, had the props banged out and back in the water in just a few hours. And, then we almost lost our spot and Southport Village Harbor...

We liked the Southport Village Harbor a lot more than we did the downtown marina. Even though you need a car to get over to downtown, we did have access. Terry and Stacy of course! I can't believe we didn't get a shot of them. We also had a visit from Jacquelin and her family. I'll post the gallery with their visit above.

I did enjoy the skeletons on the pilings across the fairway from us. That's a dog on the right.

4/24/19 - Little River, SC

Myrtle Beach Yacht Club was a good choice! We got to go right through all the Myrtle Beach nonsense, and stayed here, which is actually Little River. Chris (Rock) and Al came to visit again. Al missed dinner with us though.

Chris came with his girlfriend, Christian. We had a great time talking about hockey and football, and dinner at the Captains Club on site. Before we left, Chris came back to the boat and gave us a ton of ground venisen. Yum!

We SOOO badly wanted some calm winds so that we could do the outside run to Murrells Inlet. But, alas, it wasn't in the cards.

We still bypassed Georgetown, since we were not going to spend much time there anyway. Although, at least it would only have been our second time there, and not 3rd. We decided to check out the Heritage Plantation Marina on Pawleys Island.

Nice development. TONS of golf - I'll bet there's 5 golf courses. But, we just did a free load of laundry and moved on in the morning.

Heritage Plantation - Pawleys Isl. SC 4/23/19

The Bridge above was from leaving Tolers - right after we turned out of the basin. It was a nice morning, but the winds were picking up and hence why we could not do the outside run. Made it through all the shallow spots just fine though

4/22/19 - Toler's Cove

Cruised right through Charleston Harbor, getting up close to Fort Sumter. Toler's cove is in Mount Pleasant, shortly after you turn north on the ICW from the harbor. You can see the Cooper River Bridge.

The marina is nice - it's part of a nice townhouse complex. They are still building showers and a bath house, so it will be a really nice when done.

3/20 - 4/21 - A month in Beaufort SC

We made it! Had some time to have Marguerite for her birthday... got to see Jackie and Bill, Jay played a ton of golf, drove up to NC to see Alexander's baseball game, Ellen had a trip to Franklin TN for work. Lots of evenings in Luther's. Some pool with Mark and Maegan. Sean and Michelle finally got engaged. It was a successful month.

3/17 - 3/19

Sunbury,

Bull River

We thought about going to Kilkenny Creek for St Patrick's day, but the restaurant is closed on Sundays. We went to Sunbury instead. This would be a GREAT hangout in warm weather. I bet summers are a blast here. The neighborhood is great for walking around, too. I should have taken a shot of all the Azaleas that were in bloom!

Then we went to Bull River, a good spot to plan arrival in Beaufort at slack tide. Got through Hell Gate without issue. The marina was OK - they were great about letting us stay on the fuel dock while the winds were so high. Found a cool little seafood restaurant down the road, and had some good places to walk the dog - other than crossing the busy road!

St Augustine, Amelia Island, St Simons - up to 3/16

Stopped for just 1 night in St Augustine this time. We're on a mission to get to Beaufort for Marguerite's Birthday. Had a nice dinner at Comanchee Cove Marina with Terri Florio (a high school friend).

Motored north, stopping at Amelia Island for a night. 3rd time there, but almost unavoidable. Passed the Sea Shepheard on the way through Fernandina.

Then caught up with Jackie and Bill as they were leaving Cumberland Island. They stayed at St Simon's with us. sorta.

We tied up at Morningstar marina, and they anchored out just past the dock. Had a FABULOUS uber ride and dinner at Southern Soul Bar-b-Que with them. We left the next morning in bad weather, that did clear up as we went north. They stayed behind to wait it out.

Merrit Island, and Daytona - up to 3/13

New stop in the Canaveral canal - Good value. We didn't all the way out to Cape Canaveral this time. Was just a quick 1 night stay, but got to do laundry, which was in a nice laundry room with machines that take credit/debit cards! YAY - no quarters needed!

As we were leaving the canal, a womens' rowing team all talked to Hollister. They were funny.

Repeat stay at Halifax River Yacht Club. We really like it there. It's on the west bank of the river, but right on Beach St and Orange Ave. We saw a college game at Jackie Robinson field, and the youth sailing club. There were some REALLY small kids on those

sail boats. They were fun to watch and listen to them. The ages ranged from about 7 to 15, but they had all the young kids on the same boat together.

We got to see James, Stephanie and Henry again. And learned that #2 is on the way. James helped diagnose our bad refridgerator... we need a new one. LOL. He also watched a water rescue with us. We think someon fell off the bridge.

Speaking of the bridge, check out the article on it abve. You can also see it in the background of the sailing picture above.

Melbourne FL 3/8 - 3/11

We took the dog out on trial dingy rides, and started to feel comfortable with anchoring out. So, we did. With our friends on 'Fancy Free' - who almost exclusively anchor (they dont have jobs or a dog). SUCCESS! Great time (after a stay at a marina ahead of them) - good times! Beach fire, shell island exploration, Good weather!

Major highlight for both Fancy Free and 9 1/2 was the beach fire. All the local weekend revelers left, and we were able to gather enough wood to burn a little bit of a camp fire. We all loved it. I know it's not a big deal if you lived where we all did, but unless you leave the country life for boat living, you don't know what this meant to us!

One of the best surprises was pulling into the marina that we chose ONLY for purposes of wind protection. The marina was very friendly, with a good on site restaurant... and a town fully equipped for all of our needs. Bluffs, parks, walkways for the dog and even breweries!

What!?? It's been over 2 months!!??

Yes, I've gotten even worse at blogging / posting! My excuses are: I've been working really hard and we are now doing the east coast for the 3rd time!!!

We did try to stop at a few new places, and see a few new things. We've also been TERRIBLE at taking pictures at these new places.

We are now in NC (and I won't reveal where just yet) , so since the time we left Fort Pierce - Here's an outline of what transpired.

More detailed posts to follow shortly - Really, you might be seeing this all at the same time, because Unless I do my announcement before all caught up - or at least mostly. But, just in case someone happens by - here's a quick overview with details on the way.

You might see an couple of updates per day for a while

Peck Lake anchorage - then Fort Pierce 3/3 - 3/6

A single night in North Palm to fill up with water, run a load of laundry and do a real quick shopping trip to Doris' really capitalized on the stay. We then headed to anchor at Peck Lake for a couple of nights.

Peck lake is a great place to bring the dog ashore and then take the path out to the ocean side beach. Amazing how ugly the water is on the ICW side, and how beautiful it is just 200 yards away in the ocean

In Fort Pierce, we just needed to do a shopping trip to the Marine Connection surplus store, a few groceries and one more Tuesday happy hour and the Tapas restaurant (121 on Melody Ln). It was, of course, good to see Kelly one more time before we leave again for a year.

Gorgeous outside run! 3/2

It was great running with Fancy Free (Jackie and Bill White - "the other white people") - we got to take some shots of each other's boats under way in that gorgeous water!

Leaving Biscayne Bay to run back to North Palm Beach

The weather was perfect to run outside. Got a 6:30am start and then caught the gulf stream to make it 90 miles in 8 hours. We saw the most gorgeous blue water and had such a relaxing day!

Arriving at North Palm inlet, and getting past Peanut Island was a bit of a trip, but all good!

Miami and Biscayne Key 2/29 - 3/1

Leaving New River was easier than when we went in... Less traffic at 8am on a Wednesday. Snapped a few more shots of the river on the way out.

We thought we were going to go to Key Largo to meet up with Jackie and Bill, but they already started north. So, we met them in Biscayne Bay / Biscayne Key. We cruised froom Ft Lauderdale to Miami on the outside, but came in the Miami inlet to take a gander.

After the success of dingying in Fort Pierce, we decided to try anchoring out. We had a good spot to take the dog ashore in No Name Basin. Ended up there 3 nights. 1 by ourselves, and then 2 when Jackie and Bill got there.

Ft Lauderdale / New River 2/23 - 2/29

We found an RV park on the New River where we could dock right next to Nan and Robin's RV. So, off to Fort Lauderdale and up the river we go!

Not sure what the deal was with the monkey/gorilla statues, but there were several.

The New River was spectacular - but I don't recommend going in there wit a large boat on the weekend. We ended up having to wait for a train to pass to go further, right in the middle of the downtown area. There had to be 30 boats in tight quarters. We were too busy and and our hads too ful or I would have taken pictures. But, I did get shots of the many gorgeous homes and views

2/20 - 22: Stop in Palm Beach Area

Traveling with (sort of) Nancy and Robin now for a spell. Surprised by how hard it is in FL to find Marinas near RV parks. But we found one in Fort Lauderdale. However, we needed to stop somewere on the way - too far for 1 day trip from Fort Pierce to Fort Lauderdale. We cruised through Stuart and Jupiter, where there are some beautiful places to anchor... with pretty water.

The RVers didn't want to stop for just 1 day, so we stayed in Palm Beach for 3 nights. The first night we were in South Palm Beach, but the marina had us out on the end where we got waked so bad we had to leave the next day. We back tracked north to stay at North Palm Beach Marina. It was a nice little cruise, and Nancy and Robin got to come with us. Fun!

North Palm Beach Marina was a little pricey, but still better than many others with the Boat US discount. And it was right next to Jay's old boss' new golf course, as well as a great Thai restaurant. We had dinner with Nan and Robin at the Thai place on the first night, then they ubered back to their RV. Second night we hung out with Chris and Peggy at Two Drunken Goats. Fun night again!

Fort Pierce, FL - 2/19

We wanted to save some money and get a monthly rate, so no better place than to spend a month with our friends Kelly and Clint. We spent a month at the boat yard last summer in Oriental NC.

Fort Pierce is a good town. Lots to do and eat. Good beaches. We also got to see Howie Mandell at the Sunrise Theater. Jay played some golf with our son in law, Josh. And there was a lot of good places to walk the dog.

We thought we might leave from there to go to the Bahamas, but as it worked out, we stayed longer to meet up with Nancy and Robin, who came by RV.

We did get to finally get the dingy running and easy to launch and load. We took Hollister (Holly) out to an island to explore. Yay - we can start anchoring out more!

Took a road trip to Waldo Sextons' Driftwood resort in Vero Beach for a rum bucket. The place was hoppin' and a really good band was playing. On the way we stopped at Little Jim's Bait and Tackle boiled peanuts and jello shots. A cool place for a bite to eat and drink a beer as well.

The Sunrise Theater is a gem in Fort Pierce as well - check the link on the Howie picture to the right.

10 days in the Boat yard 1/4 - 1/14

We think Jay may have seen and spoken to a ghost. There's a lot of old boats in this yard. Someone reviewed it as "It's a place where boats come to die". It's a little creepy walking around at night. To the point where Jay did all the before bed time dog walking. The first night, he didn't bring a flashlight, and as he turned a corner there was a guy just standing there in the dark shadows seeming came out of no where. Hollister didn't even see , hear or smell him before he spoke. He just nonchallantly said "Lot boats here, isn't there".

And. there ARE a lot of boats there. Many that surely are dead. It's like a haunted boat yard.

There are a lot of very smart people there when it comes to boats. But, the bathrooms are rough and the water full of sulpher smell. the dock being rebuilt after hurricane damage didn't have power pedestals, so we had to run a 300 foot 30am cord out to our slip at the end of the dock sticking out into the river. The finger pier was tiny and we had to climb on and off over the bow rail - and pull the dog off that way, too. It's a good repair yard, but not a good place to live aboard.... But, there are plenty of people doin it.

We overcame water quality by using a filter on the hose and some water treatment in the tank. We managed to get our water tanks refilled with good water. That filter worked really well on the sulpher smell. The water treatment added a little chlorine, but that's OK really.

We managed to have a few good outings while we were there with the help of our friends Kelly and Clint. We went to walk the inlet jetty, I took the dog to the St Lucie Heritage Park and the DJ Wilcox wilderness area. And I crossed the north bridge to check out Fort Pierce Inlet state park.

After we picked up a mouse, and tired of the frequent rocking from large wakes, we decided it was time to go. over to the City Marina.

Above is a view from the park at the boat ramp. To the right is the St Lucie Heritage Park, with a disc golf course. And in the bottom picture is Clint's truck that afforded us the excursion for the day.

Our slip was too close to main ICW channel for comfort. This rocking video is not even the hardest we had. - taken from my "office" seat

Short Cruise to Fort Pierce 1/4/19

As much as we enjoyed Sebastian - it's nicer to be underway again. It was a working day for me, so I only got to look up and enjoy the view from time to time - Jay ended up having to drive AND be the photographer.

We had a reservation at Riverside Boat Yard, and spoke to them every day for a week telling them of our plans - we even called the morning we were to arrive, and again, at their request, when we were in their channel - still, it was a scramble to figure out where they would put is. But, we got docked. The place is rough, but its a Boat Yard with lots of very smart people. We probably won't stay the whole month

Last week in Sebastian - 12/29/2018 - 1/3/2019

Great Christmas with the fam - and ended up in Beaufort SC for 2 nights on the way back instead of 1 waiting out rain, and opting for a 5am start to avoice traffic.

... But really great to be back at the boat and in FL!

We got a bit more aquainted with some of our dock neighbors, and got to watch Mike transform his teak. Jay even helped rescue a sinking boat that had a bilge pump failure and the rough water was just spashing into his boat.

Check out the Gallery of our personal, mini bar crawl! There are 2 breweries in Sebastian, and I wanted to make sure we got to them before leaving ... So we too and Uber out to one, and then walked back to the boat, with frequent stops.

Christmas Week off boat

Not too many pictures taken this week. We rented a car and drove up to Beaufort SC to see our old friends there, and then up to Climax NC (near Greensboro) to have Christmas with the Grandkids. - Merry Christmas everyone!

Week 2 in Sebastian - 12/21

This was a great week! The weather turned absolutely perfect! Morning coffee on the sun deck! Beautiful sunrises while walking the dog. Another good friend (Kelly) came to visit and showed us that we need to go to more places than just Captain Hirams and Squid lips. She took us to the Crab Stop for a good ol' crab pickin - and then for some fun at Earl's Hideaway - where we danced on the sandy dance floor.

Walks in the morning were so beautiful - the signs at the fisherman's park were fun - these are all seafood sellers and their distance. We also went to Mo Bay, at Kelly's recommendation, and had THE best Marguerita - and I make good ones myself, so this is a big compliment for me.

We also had a flock of white pelicans at Captain Hirams that I finally got a shot of - and of course, the obligatory pelican on a pole shot is there.

Week 1 in Sebastian - 12/14

What a great unexpected place to hang for a while. We wanted to start trying to save a few bucks by staying in one spot and getting weekly or monthly rates. Captain Hirams was a good place to do that. We had to move from the transient dock to a slip, but it worked out great.

Turns out, that at one of the 3 bars that are 30 yards away, they have Sunday AM Bloody Mary bar to die for. Any they also make strong screwdrivers with orange juice that they squeeze right in fron of you.

They have a beach areas to sit around the fire in the evenings, and from which you can kayak and paddle board during the day. They have live music most nights of the week as well. - and we heard several good bands there - as well as some really bad karoake! But it's all fun. Only downside is the shower situation - but we have no issues with using our boat to shower.

There's great anchorages nearby and you can dingy to their dock to partake in the fun. We had

our friends do that one night (Jackie and Bill, Steve and Loila) - but Captain Hirams was closing for their Christmas party, so we walked over to Squid Lips and had a blast there. Lots of good options here! Also, good for walking the dog, biking around, and Publix Delivery to the dock!

12/9 - To Sebastian FL

I'm not sure why I didn't take pictures on the way to Sebastian - it was a nice day, I wasn't working, and we went through some gorgeous scenery. There are some islands that we passed that we might just have to anchor off of and hang out on the little beaches. Our original plans to stay at Mulligan's beach house ended up being bogus - but we got in at Captain Hirams, and really enjoyed that.

Palm Cove, Daytona, Cape Canaveral Dec 6 - 9

Leaving St Augustine we stoped for a short stay at Palm Cove. We met a couple that were also from Beaufort SC. We had fun talking about familiar places and people we knew in common.

On the way to Daytona, we had great weather... and we saw a launch in the distance. It's just too bad it was a couple of days earlier than our stop in Cape Canaveral

We stayed at the Halifa River Yacht Club, and it was GREAT. Stayed 2 nights, but we pulled out the morning of the same day Jackie and Bill arrived in the evening after our recommendation. The folks there know

how to decorate their boats for Christmas, that's for sure! The neighborhood there was great for walking the dog, and lots of good business to eat, drink and shop at. Groceries are a distance, but that's OK

We had such good luck at that yacht club, we took a shot at Port Canaveral Yacht Club. It was OK. But, the canal from the ICW out to the port was slow and long. I wanted to say we saw it - and now we have!

St Augustine - 11/29 - 12/5

We were SOOOO happy to get out of Green Cove Springs. Notice I have nothing to show for the week we were there. We didn't even get our drivers licenses as we had planned. The marina we stayed at was horrible. If we go back there, we will stay at the free dock.

St Augustine was great the first time last spring, so we knew we would want to stay a week. We couldn't get back into Rivers Edge (full), but managed to get a spot for the last 6 days that Hidden Harbor was open before they started their remodel. This is a great spot and I hope they keep the rates affordable after the remodel.

Very cool PEDAL bike we saw on the streets of St Augustine - and the nice mood reflection on St Johns river our last night in Green Cove springs. Yes, off topic, I know, but wanted some sort of fond memory of that dreadful place!