10/14/12: We reached our milestone of Myrtle Beach, S.C. this evening. We are at Mile 346 on the ICW. We were going to stay in Southport, but arrived early after an early morning start and favorable weather & current. We are at Coquina Yacht Club which is very nice & so much better than we expected.They have some noisy shrimp here but not like Morehead City! We had an exciting dolphin show today with one jumping up high out of the water. I can never get great shots of them as they are so quick. Time to rest and take care of some business. We will resume this blog in about a month when we get underway again. We will continue to upload pics to previous blog posts.

10/13/12: Left Camp LeJeune intact and headed to Wrightsville Beach. We needed to wait for 2 bridges which was uneventful. We went thru some very shallow areas and did 2 soft groundings which we were able to rock off pretty easy. On one the bow pitched downward which was a little unnerving. We were able to anchor in Wrightsville Beach right near the Masonboro Inlet. The current & wind are opposing and we are twirling around on our anchor.....our favorite! It's humming out there..had to cook with the slats in to keep stove lit. This will be a restless night & early start in the morning. Mile #285. It looks very beachy here. Even though it's in the 60's this evening we can tell we are in the South now. We will not complain about being chilly since we were told it was 27 degrees in CT today. Now that's cold!

10/12/12: Kellee & Chris helped us shove off the dock with hugs & lines. . :-). We left Mile #205 in Morehead City. We had some shallow areas on our way, but thankfully no groundings. We had a boat northbound warn us they had one. We saw dolphins again, still not getting old! We were perfect for bridge opening and anchored in Mile Hammock Bay around 4pm. Mile 244.5 .This bay is used by Camp LeJeune for military maneuvers. Several boats here now. Sometimes the military has had boaters leave or made them part of their ops! Hopefully we'll have none of that tonight. Very pretty anchorage though. Shoreline is restricted. Time to make homemade beef stew since the evenings are a little chilly now.

10/11/12: Left Oriental along with Navigator after a hearty pancake, bacon, homefries & orange cranberry scone breakfast! We are both headed to Beaufort/ Morehead City area. We encountered a couple of pods of dolphins! Love it! Tom worries I'm going to fall in the drink I get so excited every time! We were able to get a dock with Navigator at Dockside Marina. We will head out in the AM; reluctantly leaving Kellee & Chris as they head in a different direction. We hope to make our next milestone of Myrtle Beach in about a week. We all went to Sammy's for dinner that was awesome. Lots of places to explore....too little time. Just may need to come back!

10/10/12: Enjoyed another day & free dock in Oriental . Mile #181. Tom, Kellee & Chris went for groceries & Kathy did laundry & cleaning. We rewarded ourselves with a yummy pork tenderloin dinner and of course magic cookie bars! We have had several coop. dinners which We will miss so much when they step off the coast and head to the islands! We have both had many locals visit to talk & check out the Yankee boats. Very nice coffee shop & art gallery just across the street we had to check out also.

10/9/12: We headed for Oriental this morning after Tom washed the decks of some incredible piles of large bird poo! We heard something make some noises during the night but we were too snug to check it out. We're thinking a blue heron decided we were a nice stop over on it's journey! Front is suppose to give way to sunny skies later, we'll see......... Hope to see Kellee & Chris in Oriental. They are headed in from Ocracoke. More later:-) We arrived in Oriental around noon. It's chilly but the forecast is for a warming trend. We had dinner at a local place M&M's and we were happy with the great food. There is a harbor web cam that is documenting our stay so we need to behave :-) Kellee & Chris arrived just after dark & we squeezed them in on the same dock as we're on. We can't believe it's been about a month since we last saw them. They look awesome! They promptly went to M&M's for body refueling:-) Kathy went for a long walk and the town is very quaint with a couple of colorful local hangouts.

10/8/12: We stayed another night in Bear Creek since the weather remained unsettled. We caught up on reading and organizing. We made cornbread & brownies in the oven which kept us toasty....because it's a fareezin'! Kathy knitted while Tom planned out the next leg of our journey. We were able to catch up with a few friends also. Need to keep going south it's still too chilly here.

10/7/12: We headed down the Pungo river and pulled into River Forest Marina in Bell Haven for fuel, water & ice. WHAT A SCARY PLACE!!!! There were a couple thousand birds on the jetties & docks. If you didn't notice all the bird crap everywhere the bird sound you would. I had to videotape it it was so incredible. Tom had quite the ordeal getting the fuel & ice.....nightmare! To makethe matters worse we've had poor cell service for 24hrs. After leaving that Sunday morning wake up call...I tell you what we sceedaddled down the Pungo river crossing over the Palmico River down the Hobucken portion of the ICW . We past by the CGS and about a dozen shrimp boats tied up to a shrimp processing plant. After we entered the Bay River we turned into Bear Creek and anchored in a protected area to wait out forecasted thunderstorms & stay the night. We are at mile 161 on the ICW about halfway thru North Carolina.We are definitely getting a geography lesson on this trip with all of the rivers, bays, canals &the creeks we never heard of! Next stop Oriental , which is another milestone in our journey.

10/6/12: We left South Lake and motored over to the fuel dock at the bridge & fueled up & got ice and going under the bridge by 9am:-) After the Alligator River bridge we past mile marker 85. At the end of the Alligator River we entered the Alligator-Pungo River Canal. We saw several boats from the north headed south. We anchored for the night at the head of the Pungo River. Very pretty area. Mile 127.

10/5/12: We left Elizabeth City ,NC early and headed to Albemarle Sound. We had a great sail across the sound to the mouth of the Alligator River. We found a great anchorage in South Lake. We were the only boat anchored in a very protected area that reminded us of Alaska.

10/4/12: We realized we left Florida 4 months ago today starting this sailing adventure. The time has flown by & we're not done yet! We won't go past South Carolina until the hurricane season is over. Today was a busy day, we went shopping, did laundry and checked out the local museum which was free & very impressive. We plan an early start tomorrow to sail down the Albemarle Sound.

10/3/12: We left early with about 4 other boats down the rest of the Dismal Swamp Canal arriving in Elizabeth City around noon. We promptly went to Quality Seafood that many boater's told us about and had very good seafood dinners. We were invited to a wine & cheese welcoming party on the waterfront by the " Rose Buddies". It is a group that was started by 2 guys who welcome visiting mariner's. They gave each of us ladies a rose. We also got a fly swatter & drink cozie:-) . We spent time chatting with many sailor's on the nice free dock. There is a group of us that seem to keep following each other & we are all headed to different places in Florida, which is pretty neat.

10/2/12: Spent most of the day staying off the boat & out of the rain. We utilized the Welcome Center's library (which has been awesome) to read, knit & blog. I was able to upload alot of additional pics to past blogs. Slowly getting them uploaded.

10/1/12: We are staying another night at the Visitor's Center due to weather. We went to the Dismal Swamp Museum , watched a video & walked the boardwalk thru the swamp and talked with a Ranger for awhile. They had a video on alot of the history of the canal which was very interesting. Utilizing the library services at the welcome center which is very nice. Very boater friendly here. Planning next stop to Elizabeth City when the weather clears.

9/30/12: We left Hampton Roads early morning and headed to Norfolk and beyond. We were treated again to a couple of curious dolphin shows. We entered the Inter Coastal canal at mile 0 and continued to the cut off for the Dismal Swamp at Mile. We entered the swamp at about lunchtime and arrived at the lock about and hour before it opened. So we anchored and needed to move after the lock master said "Captain if you stay where you are I'll be spinnin' you around when I open the gate!" We had a great experience going into the lock. The lockmaster who is also the bridge tender was very personable. "Robert" was very informative about the procedure and the history of the swamp. We had a very enjoyable first "lock" experience. Robert treated us to a conch shell show & gave us pizza for lunch. I videotaped alot of the experience & parts of the Dismal swamp. We arrived at the North Carolina visitor's center at approximately 6:30pm and rafted up with another boat.The trip has been so pretty with lots of wild life and greenery. It smells like eucalyptus. The water is an orange color with several species of snakes (we won't be swimming) and other critters. We saw a beaver, turtle and herons so far. The dragonflies are numerous also.

9/29/12: Tom just loves getting underway at the crack of dawn! HaHa! We had a rolly rainy day but we were rewarded at the end of the Chesapeake Bay with three different dolphin shows. They scared the bejeese out of me twice coming so close to the boat I could have touched them. We both can't get enough of their visits ! Such a treat each & every time:-) We are now offically out of the Chesepeake Bay. We anchored in Hampton Roads near Norfolk,VA for the night. We will take the scenic route at the beginning of the Intercoastal Way and go thru the Dismal Swamp. Hope to be in North Carolina tomorrow if weather holds & we make our bridge openings.

9/28/2: As we left the mouth of the Wicomico River we spotted dolphins following us, what a thrill & nice way to wake up with a beautiful sunrise as well. We motor sailed and anchored in Deltaville for the night. We stopped early due to forecast for thunderstorms. We were able to get a nice hidey hole & get our chores & dinner done before the heavens opened up.

9/27/12: Tom was true to his word & we did get an early start...6:30am...ugh:-) We needed to motor/sail mostly motor today. It was a hot humid day but enough breeze underway that made it comfortable. We left all the fun in Maryland and crossed the border into Virginia after passing Smith Point Lighthouse. We anchored in Mill Creek off the Wicomico River. Some cool plantation buildings and very pretty scenery. Rated very high in the Skipper Bob book we have. Both books we have on anchorages & marinas have been very accurate & helpful. Quiet & cool this evening....time to plan our next adventure tomorrow!

9/26/12: We picked up a mooring this morning to make it easier to get ready for our next leg. We were able to car pool with another couple from Florida taking the courtesy car to Food Lion & to get propane. First time we refilled since Coecles Harbor. We are all topped off with fuel & water. Clothes clean just waiting for the small craft warning to lift, which looks like later tonight. Tom plans on an early morning. I was able to upload some pictures to the blog using marina internet & power. I will keep uploading pics when I can from this old computer. I did get a flash drive & moved pics so I don't lose them :-)

9/25/12: Took the bus to Best Buy & to get some groceries. Low key day with alot of walking! We'll grab a mooring tomorrow & get ready for our next leg of our trip.

9/24/12: Decided to move and anchor in front of the Calvert Marine Museum with a short dinghy ride to Zahniser's Yachting Center. We were able to get everything we needed from there. We took a bus ride to Target which Tom found the bus ride to be very entertaining. Small craft warnings thru Wednesday night so we'll hang out for a couple of days and get some things done.

9/23/12: Arrived Solomon Islands mid afternoon, so we decided to head up one of the many creeks . What beautiful scenery. Many pretty waterfront homes with almost everyone having a sailboat or power boat with their personal dock. Life is good here. We anchored in Mill Creek & had an awesome nights sleep. We were treated to a pretty sunset and many fish jumping out of the water.

9/22/12: We will spend another night here in Herrington Harbor and wait out a cold front & storms predicted for this afternoon. We watched doggie pool swim races. They have closed the pool here to humans for the season. Too bad since it's a hot 85 today. Thank goodness the nights have been cool. We head south to the Solomon Islands tomorrow. Getting a little chilly need to keep heading south:-) We also changed the jib from the 130 genoa to the light weight mylar/kevlar genoa. To washed the decks & wash river munge off the dinghy. We also removed the happy spiders that wanted to call Tomkat home!

9/21/12: Great sail over to Herrington Harbor arriving around noon. We were happy to see the first palm trees on our trip south. We are on a dock & we are able to give the boat a good cleaning. We were originally going to spend the month of August here, but opted to spend more time in Newport & Block Island. I'm glad we were able to visit. It's a very nice resort . Laundry then we'll have an ice cream supper! They like to party hardy here but at midnight it was soooo quiet. Great night!

9/20/12: Explored the quaint shops of St. Michael's & went to the Maritime musuem which reminded us alot of Mystic Seaport with a focus on the Chesapeake Bay & it's estuaries. Very interesting how the tides mix fresh & salt water. We have noticed less barnacles here. Stayed one more night on the hook, leaving early am for Herrington Harbor.

9/19/12: Left Annapolis and had to motor sail most of the trip to St. Michael's. We were pleasantly surprised to anchor in front of the Maritime museum.

9/18/12: Rainy & windy on a nice protected mooring. There is even a tornado watch here which is crazy! We are reading, blogging cooking and cleaning. Looking forward to heading out tomorrow. We're amazed we have been on our adventure for over 3 months now. It is definitely a different way of life. The further south we get we are meeting more & more couples doing the same thing. Several headed to the Keys, Bahamas or further south.

9/17/12: Went back to West Marine & Trader Joes! Stocking up for the next leg of our trip. Plan to head south again after the front goes thru tomorrow. We enjoyed another nice evening with Kellee & Chris. We had stuffed flounder dinner & chocolate ganache with whipped cream. We all loved that Trader Joes is so close. We all needed to fortify ourselves in prep for the big blow tomorrow...gale force winds predicted. We'll all ride out the storm on our boats & head out Wednesday.

9/16/12: We decided to hang out a few more days siince a nasty front is expected to hit here on Tues. Did laundry & cleaning . Had Kellee & Chris over to the boat for Chicken Parm. & enjoyed the nice evening watching boats come thru the bridge.

9/15/12: Took bus trip to West Marine & Trader Joes's and were pleasantly surprised to find a Cheesecake Factory nearby. Awesome lunch! We went back to boat for our afternoon siesta & met up with Kellee & Chris who sailed into Wèems Creek earlier. Love that we have been able to meet up with them along the way.

9/14/12 : Toured the US Naval Academy & watched the freshman noon meal formation. Checked out the museum & exhibits & movie at the visitor's center. We wanted to check out John Paul Jones' crypt at the Chapel, but it was closed due to a wedding rehearsal. We walked all over the grounds and enjoyed the beautiful day. Enjoyed stting on the dock of the bay people watching with our Kilwin's ice cream!

9/13/12: We ran errands this morning walking by many historic houses. The city is steeped in so much history. We took a self guided tour of the Maryland State House. It is the oldest continously operating State house in the country & was the nation's capitol for a year. We took a trolley tour of the area which was well worth it. Headed to the Naval Academy for the day tomorrow.

9/12/12: Another early morning! Headed for Annapolis. This is one of our bigger milestones and feels good to be here. We grabbed a mooring in front of the Naval Academy until the bridge opened and we were able to get into Spa Creek. What a beautiful city. We walked to get familar with the area & did a little shopping. The Pride of Baltimore ship is in port for a couple of days & we plan to tour it. We had a nice dinner out then headed back to the boat for sunset. We were treated to music from the Naval Academy at sunset.

9/11/12: Tom decided to get an early start for our next stop Rock Hall,MD. 6am was too early for the first mate but she dragged herself out of the rack to watch for crab pots til we got into the channel then it was back in the rack! We were very happy with Rock Hall. We walked into town to the marine & grocery stores. We also stopped at an old fashion authentic drug store soda shoppe. We were able to tie up to a bulkhead dock for free & it was a great night.

9/10/12: We liked Worton's Creek so much we stayed another night. Really enjoying the warm days & cool nights :-) We watched several crab fisherman come in.

9/9/12: We left Georgetown,MD mid morning and got to Still Pond early afternoon. We were very optomistic we were going to get into the pretty creek area ....then boom we hit the mud. Tom yells you need to jump on the bow. It was enough to get us out. The things this first mate has to do! lol! It ws fun anyway. We then went to plan B and headed to Worton's Creek. Very pretty & quiet anchorage.

9/8/12: Tom took a bike ride to Galena for groceries and Kathy cleaned & organized in prep. for getting underway and heading to Still Pond tomorrow. We had strong thunderstorms come through. We ordered pizza & hung out watching the weather channel in the lounge. Kathy also knitted, blogged & read. Tom got a first rate haircut! We met a couple that came in the lounge getting stuck due to the weather. Tom & I are still laughing over him telling us " I tell you what when the clouds got really dark everybody came a hellin' in" lol!

9/7/12: Kellee & Chris wave goodbye as they head to Baltimore. Kathy hung out at lounge in the Granary area of the marina, where it was air conditioned. Did laundry & a good lay low day. I even got to watch one of my favorite shows "The Chew":-) They say this is the last day of the heat wave...they better not be lying! We went to Kitty Knight again for a sunset light dinner lol! Cooler night finally. Everyone here is talking about the "big blow" coming in tomorrow.

9/6/12: Kathy down for the count with a sudden onset GI bug! ugh!ugh! Kellee & Chris had a study day & tried the Kitty Knight House & loved it too.

9/5/12: Finished the Count of Monte Cristo! What a great book, now Tom will read it shortly. Shared dinner with Kellee & Chris. Another hot & humid day/night.

9/4//12: Enjoyed the pool with Kellee & Chris. They spent some time studying for their upcoming merchant marine exams they are going to take in Baltimore next week. We had yummy homemade pizza on Navigagator and Kellee also made a batch of awesome magic cookie bars. Threw out a few tortilla chips to 2 ducks that quickly multiplied into 14 in a matter of minutes.

9/3/12: Laundry & cleaning day. Bought a new battery for the boat...need all the juice we can get with the fans we need. Reading alot by the pool on page 1038 of the Count of Monte Cristo! Went to Kitty Knight house again, we love the food here & beautiful sunsets. Kellee & Chris came in as we came back from dinner. They were so tired from their trip we got a wave & they hit the rack. It's another hot & humid night:-(

9/2/12: Went to the pool then rode complimentary bikes to Galena for groceries and to a local firehouse fundraising all you could eat breakfast. Very yummy! We picked up a few things at the market & headed back. Glad we made a good morning of it since it rained all afternoon. After it cleared up we had an ice cream sundae supper, my favorite. We met a couple here for repairs (John & Joanne. Very nice and shared alot of knowledge related to the intercoastal waterway. We ordered a part (bilge pump) for the boat so we'll hang out at least til Wed. and let the remnants of Issac blow through.

9/1/12: Labor Day weekend in Maryland! Hot & humid and it's been a great pool day and Kitty Knight again!

8/31/12: On a very reasonable mooring, inexpensive compared to up north.

8/30/12: Departed early for the Sassafrass River. Very pretty River with cliffs with birds and older homes & farms. Prior to entering the Sassafrass we went by the Aberdeen Proving Ground. We could hear & see smoke from the stuff the Army was blowing up. We decided due to the hot/humid forecast we would head for a marina with a pool. We hit the jackpot with Georgetown Yacht Basin. Tom was happy the Kitty Knight House was half price dinners for seniors! Great dinner:-)

8/29/12: Headed down the rest of the C & D canal and headed to Havre De Grace. Anchored in front of the Old Comfort Point Lighthouse. We walked the boardwalk and a long way to get groceries. We rewarded ourselves with homemade ice cream from a nice shop. It was difficult to get ashore and anything was a hike. Disappointing:-(

8/28/12: Stayed another night, Tom is enjoying all the goings on at the homemade houseboat near us. We met a couple that came in & anchored from Michigan (Jeff & Mary) they shared all their adventures coming thru the Great Lake locks.

8/27/12: We went throug the C&D (Chesapeake & Delaware Canal with a favorable current. We stopped in a quaint area off the canal called Chesapeake City. Good anchorage for R & R and cleaning.