Solomons to Portsmouth

Happy hummingbird

San Diego was delightful.  It was Sunny, Warm and Gorgeous!   We were there for  the National Meeting of the USPower Squadrons, and had plenty of free time to catch up with friends that we mostly see at these events.  When that ended, we rented a car and drove to Casa Grande, AZ.  Visited there with the Mangelsdorf kids’ Aunt Miriam (Gallo).   Her desert home is beautiful.  She spends much time and effort keeping flowers blooming in the dry heat, and the birds are very happy that she provides so well for them!

We flew back to Newburgh and drove back to the boat a couple of days later, stopping in Carlisle, PA to have breakfast with son Geoff, Amy and Pete!  No more overseas duty for Geoff. He is now part of the PeaceKeeping study group at the Army War College.  Good to know such activities exist in our military! 

From Labor Day until the 23^rd of Sept.  we Did Not Labor.  We simply enjoyed the summer breezes, occasional showers, and lots of lazy mornings with coffee and USA Today provided by the hotel.  We vegged out big time.  And loved every minute of it!

Took a quick trip to Raleigh, NC to visit the Headquarters of the USPS, and to have dinner with Fred’s nephew and niece, Dan and Heidi.  Stopped in Burke on the way home, and spent a day helping Jen and Chris pack up for the move to their new townhouse.

You are probably aware of the Lunar Eclipse that occurred at the end of the month.  I saw great pictures of it.  Stayed up to see the beginning, dozed and woke as the moon was re-appearing.

The end of Sept. we went back to condo-land for 3 weeks.  Lots of happenings there!  We went to New York City to follow up with the nice dr. at Memorial Sloan Kettering who routinely checks Fred’s delicate skin.  Melanoma remains Gone! Yay!  After that we crossed the street to the Plaza Hotel and had Tea.   I use a capital T as the fare was about what you would expect to pay for a dinner for four.  Yikes.  It was the Plaza, though, and we lollygagged for a long time before catching  the only conveyance we could find, a pedi-cab, to get back to Grand Central Terminal.  The UN was in session and there were black SUVs and guys with earbuds everywhere, and no cabs to be found. (What is the fare?  I asked the Pedi-Cab Pedaler.  It is metered, he replied.)  At GCT he smiled and said “Meter says 12 minutes at $5.00/minute.  That’ll be $60, please.”

We do not recommend Pedi-Cabs.   The good news?  We were on time for the train. 

Back at the Condo Devyn planned, and with her big sister’s help executed a lovely party for Kris and John!  Sit down dinner for 18, and everything was dee-lish.  No goodbyes for Kris and John, who moved to their new home in Surfside Beach, SC the following Friday.  The girls said “See ya later!”    OCCC also had a work related party for Kris.  They will miss her a very great deal!!!

In addition to getting good reviews from doctors and dentists, we:

·      attended the Power Squadron’s D-2 fall conference in Poughkeepsie. 

·      attended granddaughter Katie Rae’s string department (she plays the cello) concert with Mark Wood---a vibrant string performer who plays the 7 string electric violin/viola/cello/bass that he invented and markets.  He insists that music be fun as well as emotionally satisfying, and fun it was!  

·      were present when granddaughter Laurel trumpeted the fanfare as the Arlington High School Band hosted its annual invitational event.  

·      went to NYC with Linda Lee to see Wicked, and had a great dinner in the Time/Life Building Restaurant.

In between we spent some time on m&r of the condo at 37 Westbrook, making it ready for a new tenant.  That got a bit goofy when Central Hudson shut of the power (oops—their mistake) and refused to turn it on again until they could shut off the gas valve to the stove.   Couldn’t find the gas valve.   We had returned to Maryland to be ready to join the French family in Washington DC on Saturday for Boo at the Zoo!  And what a hoot that was!  All the kids, large and small, got T&T bags that were filled with candy etc. from the more than 40 stations around the Zoo!  Had a really fun evening!  Free bus rides to the restaurant where we had dinner, and back to the car. (If you ever need parking, check out SpotHero.com.  Efficient and effective.  Got us two parking spots in busy Washington, in easy walking distance from the Zoo!)

See the new 'door' for the shut off valve?

From Washington, we headed north and arrived back in Newburgh on Sunday afternoon.  Fred was able, of course, to locate the gas shutoff (and make it accessible) and in the ultimate irony, Central Hudson’s rep came on Monday and turned the gas on before I arrived to show her where to find the ‘necessary to keep the place from blowing up’ stove shutoff.  Sigh.

Decided to stay one more night in Newburgh to have lunch with Rev. Chris from the UUCRT.  Glad we did---it was good to get to know him better!!

I’m reminding myself that the purpose of this blog is to highlight our cruising life.  Seems we are spending as much time ashore as on the boat these days.  Or, perhaps, that I’m recording the events just so posterity will be served.  Our lives do seem to be a bit goofy at times, and we find ourselves enjoying the goofiness just as it is!

Two tasks ere we left Solomons….Jeff the diver came and scraped barnacles off the bottom of the boat.   His wife came as well (to watch for bubbles while he dove, and share a glass of wine afterwards.)   She works with her dad doing inlays on guitars.  Guitars that sell for $30,000 and get put in MOMA and the Smithsonian!   The people we meet provide a great part of the enjoyment of the cruising life!

Thing two was to diagnose the problem with the head (toilet, don’t ya know…)  No vacuum, no flush.   Fred finally located a pinhole in an important little diaphragm.  Bing bang boom, replaced it and Bob’s your Uncle!

Bye Solomons until next year!  We spent a couple of days in Portsmouth, VA awaiting good weather for crossing the Albamarle Sound.    Got to See Tom Hanks in the Bridge of Spies at the Commodore--historic ‘pick–up-the–phone-and–order–popcorn-and-dinner-from–your-table-before-the–movie’-Theater.  ‘Twas an excellent movie!  Next day I bought my first persimmon at the local Farmer’s Market.  Made a great smoothie!

Ocean Marine Marina in Portsmouth was filled with sailboats.  A group called the World Cruising Club was staging two trips---one group was going to the Bahamas and the other heading to the British Virgin Islands.  Apparently these trips go every year. Departure had been delayed, and  the sailors were anxiously watching the weather…as were we.

We tied up Sunday night at the Visitor’s Center in the Dismal Swamp.  As we were about to leave in the morning, Robin and Karen arrived in a sailboat they designed and built in Canada.  A delightful couple with about 6 musical instruments on board.  They were especially interested in  Fred’s harpsicle, as they built and sold harps for awhile.  Karen shared some music with us (Xxxxx Xxxxxxxxxxx doing Pete Seeger songs, for example) and showed us a really great video of their cruise down the Hudson River with a Pete Seeger sound track.  Fabulous.

Had an easy day on Monday, and stopped for the night at 2:30 in the afternoon.  Still staging for the Albamarle Sound.  Today we crossed without incident, I’m happy to report.   Of the many Sounds (for the non-boaters, Sounds are bodies of water that open to the Ocean.  Depending on depth, wind, tides and currents, calm water can become very unsettling in a hurry) along the ICW, crossing the Albamarle can be 2 hours of pain or pleasure.  The pain can usually be avoided, as we did by staying in Portsmouth and then moseying.  Caught a good ride, and now we’re anchored for the night with 3 other boats in the area near the Alligator-Pungo Canal.

As soon as steady internet returns, probably Thursday, I’ll post this.  Until then, hug a veteran and be proud and grateful for their service!   In our immediate family, my dad and brother served in WWII and Korea, and son Geoff continues his Army career with  his first stateside posting in several years!  Also, Fred’s dad worked in the Petroleum Industry during WWII, helping to keep the military moving, and granddaughter Tarryn’s special guy, Ron, is an Army Veteran.

And, of course, remember to breathe!

June- August, 2015 Charleston to Solomons

Disgraceful.  Commit to Monday Messages, and then don’t do ‘em.  And so now it is time for a major catch-up.

We did get to the Chesapeake!  And a month ago I wrote a lengthy travelogue, and then lost it by closing the silly thing without saving.  Who does that???  Needless to say, it is taking awhile to get back in the swing of this thing, but I’ve very nearly let go of my anger and frustration, so will begin again.   (I know, you didn’t really need to know all that, but I needed to write it down for posterity.)  

We zipped up to Myrtle Beach from Charleston---stopped at our favorite place, Barefoot Landing (great ice cream).  Sad to say, just before docking we pulled far to the right side of the channel to allow a big boat to pass, and heard the awful scraping sound of rocks that were NOT far enough under our keel!  Happily there was no damage that hurt the boats ability to work, so we continued on the next morning  to Southport, then across the Cape Fear River, and back to another favorite---Swan’s Point Marina in Sneads Ferry, NC.

There is new management at Swan’s Point—Tina Turner and her mom.  They are making much needed improvements, and we wish them well! Hop, skip and jump thru the Marine’s Camp LeJune practice firing range---nobody was shooting at or around us---and next thing you know we’d rounded the Morehead City bend, and zipped up to Oriental. At 8 miles an hour.  :-) Stopped at Whittaker Landing this time---a new marina for us, and found Knute to be a great dockmaster.  He even drove me to the new mini-WalMart that graces Oriental (arrgghh) for a few supplies.

If you’re new to our blog, there are descriptions in excruciating detail of the East Coast IntraCoastal Waterway back in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 postings. Since then, our cruising has been on the west coast of FL, and the inland rivers.   I’m highlighting here, but must say that we really were enjoying cruising through familiar waters, stopping with old friends and making new ones!

 

One of the many spring Thunderstorms!

Neuss River, BelHaven, Alligator Pungo Canal, Alligator River, and then came decision time.  It was late in the day, the water was smooth as silk, and we had to cross the Albamarle Sound. Hmmmmm. Stay with Miss Wanda at the Alligator River Marina, or cross the smooth-as-silk Sound and reach the opposite shore in the dark.  We chose to stop before dark (Fred’s Rule #2), knowing that the next morning the wind would not be our friend.

Turned out to be a hoot!  Sure enough, the wind was whipping and the water roiling (don’t get to use that word very often.:-) )   We left early---along with PROUD MARY,  who pulled out ahead of us (ahem) and then jumped into our wake as the water got lumpy. 

Poor PROUD MARY rockin' and rollin' in Albamarle Sound!

  It was rough enough to tip over the Aero-Garden (oh, I was supposed to put the bungie cord back on after all this quiet time?  Oops.) and Fred’s navigational trick---turning east toward Coinjack rather than heading for our planned destination in Elizabeth City --made only a moderate improvement in the ride.   PROUD MARY’s skipper told us they wouldn’t consider turning back, as his wife “wanted to be sure someone knew where the bodies were”.  No worries, we finally reached  the lee of the land, hung a left, and motated into Eliz. City, where PROUD MARY, alive and well, stopped for the day.

Next stop for us was the Dismal Swamp!  Had a brief wait for the lock at South Mills, and we soon slid into the Visitor’s Center.  There was no room on the dock, so we rafted to the unusually outfitted Kadey Krogen, MANATEE-- just in time for happy hour! 

MANATEE in the Dismal Swamp

First time we’ve met Ted and Sarah.  Their cruising is a spiral---they are doing the Great Loop for (I believe,) the 22^nd time this year!  Tragically, I lost a million dollar bet with Sarah because I foolishly believed that HAPPY CLAMZ was a Great Harbour Trawler, not a Krogen Manatee, as Doug and Leslie are traveling with Great Harbour SEVEN TENTHS.  The two boats are a day ahead of us, and on their way to the GHTA Rendezvous.  I was sure HC was a GH, and Sarah phoned Leslie to prove me wrong!  Paid the debt with ½ a cantaloupe that Sarah said “tasted like a million bucks!”

We caught up with the above mentioned trawlers the next day in Portsmouth, VA, and docked  (in the North Basin) and dined (at the Commodore Theater—bucket list check!)  with Doug, Leslie, Henry and Debby.  Fun.

Our next stop was to be hauled at Ocean Marine in Portsmouth to check the props.  Sure enough, the starboard prop was badly bent, and the rudder banged up a bit as well. 

Dings in a propeller are NOT a good thing!

 As it was Tuesday, and we had to wait until Friday to get the props back from the repairman, we decided to make a run to St. Pete and pick up the car!  Found a cheap flight via Miami, and got to the airport by taxi in plenty of time.  Plenty of time.  Some sort of issue with the airplane’s windshield prevented take off until we’d missed our connection in Miami, so the Airline gave us a hotel room, and at 5:30 the next morning we were headed for St. Pete.  Chatted at and checked out the newly re-done St. Pete Municipal Marina Office, got a USA Today at the Hampton Inn, and headed north.  An overnight in Bluffton, SC, and Thursday we were checked into the hotel overlooking that free dock at the North Basin.

The boat was ready on Friday, but it was 2pm before we got docked at the N. Basin, so we accepted the BOGO Lunch offer we’d received the night before at the Marina restaurant, and Saturday morning headed out.

 

Message board at the restaurant.  I like it!

We made it an easy day and stopped at Hampton Roads before noon.  After a delicious afternoon rain I went to the Farm Fresh Market (yum) and that was our day!  Sunday was Flag Day, and the big flag went up to celebrate.  There was lots of boat traffic in the Bay around Thimble Shoals and Mobjack Bay, and by 2:30 we were happy to arrive at Deltaville.  The temp was 81 degrees with 100% humidity---and it is only mid-June!

We tied up at the Norview Marina (again a new-to-us-stop) and discovered INSANDITY was our neighbor.  This Great Harbour N-37 was PELICAN with its’ former owners. Enjoyed meeting and chatting with Chuck and Joyce. 

YOUNG AMERICA & INSANDITY at Deltaville

Monday was a 90 degree day, so we took a day off with a/c.  Went for a dinghy ride when it cooled a bit, and just relaxed.   Tuesday morning, as we headed into the Chesapeake, SHINGABISS hailed us on the radio.  Liz and Steve had come into Deltaville the night before….

The Chesapeake was calm, and we had an easy run to the mouth of the Potomac.  At  2:30 we’d turned into the St. Mary’s River, where the Great Harbour Rendezvous was scheduled at the Corinthian Yacht Club. The dock was alive with GH owners, and we pulled into a slip where we would stay for a week.

Had a really good time hanging out with our fellow Great Harbour boaters—business meeting, winery tour, concert at St. Mary’s, good food, camaraderie and all that jazz!  Sunday morning we piled into a rental car with Joe and Punk  (CAROLYN ANN) and drove to Portsmouth to bring our car the rest of the way to where we are—or will be! What great friends are they!  Had a good lunch together at the Gosport Tavern in P’mouth, then drove two cars to Solomons, MD—our final destination for the boat---and Joe and Punk returned us to YOUNG AMERICA.  Whew!

For those who are map oriented, the GHTA Rendezvous was at a yacht club off the St. Mary’s River—first stop on the Maryland side of the Potomac.  The Patuxent River is the next major river flowing into the Chesapeake Bay north of the Potomac.  Solomons (and now YOUNG AMERICA as well as our car) is at the south end of the Patuxent.  We are now, and have been since June 22, at the Marina behind the Holiday Inn in Solomons, on the same dock we lived on in 2011 when we were here.

Becda & Casey have a dinghy ride with Grandad Fred

There is a lot to like here.  We have hotel privileges---free morning coffee, USA Today every day, gorgeous big swimming pool, workout center with sauna, and Isaac’s restaurant.  The Library, barbershop, nail salon and Maritime Museum are within easy walking distance. There is a UU Congregation 15 minutes away, and a movie theater 20 minutes in the other direction.  Chris and Jen live just 1-1/2 hours away—  There are plenty of good restaurants and a market with fresh seafood—we bought a dozen steamed crabs and learned how to take them apart---and new friends in boats tied up on the dock and old friends passing through.  Not to mention Geoff, Amy and Pete stopping on their way to their new posting at Carlyle, PA—the Army War College. 

Geoff, Amy & Pete came for dinner.  Great to have them in the US

It is all good.

I went to book club at Jen’s house, and she and the kids have come down to spend a day on the water!

So, of course, we left, and drove to New York.  As I was born in a year that ends in a 0, July 2015 provided a milestone birthday for me!  The good news is that I am now old enough that I no longer have to take off my shoes at the airport!  Fred and the girls very generously planned and executed a fabulous Birthday Party for me!  

It was held at the UUCRT, and with Ada’s Selfie Studio about 60 folks were photographed as they arrived.Grandchildren helped with nametags and serving; there was great food, wonderful background music, and  cake and ice cream after the reading of the Desiderata and Let if be a Dance (words I’ve lived by).  Coincidentally, the UU had a brand new Labyrinth built into the lawn outside for folks to explore.  It was a spectacular afternoon!  I’m incredibly blessed---and looking forward with gratitude to many more happy years!

We are now back in Solomons, enjoying the most relaxing boat time we’ve had in a long time.  No deadlines, no major boat work.  Sunny days and pleasant evenings!  And air conditioning!

 

My sister sent us a quilt she made!  Really brightens up the stateroom!

Will catch up again when we return from San Diego---US Power Squadron meeting the end of this month.

Until then, be well, remember to breathe, and thanks for stopping by!

 

St. Petersburg to Charleston, SC 

First, the davits got done.  Now it is, at least theoretically, possible for Chucky to ride behind the boat and be lowered into the water in a heartbeat.

Once the davits were installed, we left St. Pete   It has now been two weeks and we've gone  864 miles.  That’s over 60 miles a day.  Considering that one day we went a total of 10 miles, it isn’t bad.

We were two weeks later than planned leaving St. Pete, so a bit of anxiety was hanging over us.  The worst thing to have when you are boating is a date sensitive destination!  June 16 (the day the Great Harbour Trawlers Association meeting begins on the Potomac River in Chesapeake Bay) seemed a whole lot closer then than it does now.  So we will just keep doing what we are doing---which, I might add, is very much unlike us.  We’ve been underway between 6:30 and 7:00 AM almost every single day!  Not the way we cruised for much of our 8 years, but very effective for this trip.

Have had fun times along the way.  We finally stopped at Marina Jack in Sarasota.  It’s been a bucket list item for awhile.  Check.

Kayak rentals, condos, pool---what's not to like?

South of that, on Captiva Island, we happened onto T’ween Waters, a neat marina/resort---reminiscent of Banana Bay in the Keys ---with pools and hot tubs and boaters who return and return because they love the place.  And we may do that, too…

To get from the west coast of Florida to the east coast involves riding along the Caloosahatchee River (have to mention it just because I love the name!) crossing Lake Okachobee,  (a shallow lake that can kick up like crazy, but for our crossing it was a mill pond), and then transiting the St. Lucie canal to Stuart, FL. Water levels in this waterway are balanced by 5 locks, and I can’t figure out how they do it.   About a month ago, we wouldn’t have been allowed into the waterway because water in Lake Okechobee was too low to maintain a 9 foot depth.  When we passed through, we were taken up a mere 1 ft. to 1-1/2 foot in each of the first three locks.  Crossed the lake and the lock at Ft. Mayaca was wide open at both ends.  We simply drove through with 17 feet of water under the boat.  Then, 25 miles later, we locked down 12 feet to get back to sea level.   Dunno, but it worked.

We were sad to discover that the  davit on the port side of the boat drooped; it would not hold in the up position, and had to be tied in place.  Plus,

we stopped for the night in a marina that had dockage space for a 37' boat, but not for the 44' boat we have become. To resolve both issues, we put Chucky back on top of the boat.  A temporary fix, to be sure.  More to follow.

Memorial Day Weekend signals the beginning of summer and of the boating season.  Typically, we prefer to be tied up somewhere when enthusiastic boaters who seem to have more horsepower than common sense take to the waterways.  

It was too windy for our big holiday flag, so the little flag flew
 at 1/2 staff till noon on Memorial Day to honor our fallen heroes.

From the St. Lucie lock to Stuart, FL was that place for us this year.  Uffda.  Big boats, little boats, jetskis, water skiers, small children being towed in tubs and YOUNG AMERICA, a big lump of fiberglass plodding along in the channel, being tossed hither and yon by wakes.  Not pretty.  That was Saturday.  On Sunday and Monday, we left our dock at 6:30 am, well before the pleasure boaters came out to play.  Somehow we missed their morning travel, and we moseyed along happily while they basked in the sun.  By 3 in the afternoon, when it was time for them all to go home (and more than a few were, no doubt, full of beer) we were snugly secured in a marina. 

Ft. Pierce, Cocoa Village, Daytona, JAX Beach, Jeckyll Island---zoom zoom.  That is a tad of humor.  At 8 miles an hour we could hardly be said to 'zoom' along...Everything is relative, no?  Hey, sometimes the current pushed us up to TEN miles an hour!!!

YOUNG AMERICA and WHO KNEW tied up at
Kilkenny Creek Marina

At Kilkenny Creek we decided to pass up the anchorage in favor of the Marina there.  Glad we did.  Got to relax in the rocking chairs provided and watch the fishing boats (they caught flounder and big trout!) be lifted out of the water  to their trailers, instead of backing the truck and trailer down a ramp into the water.  Neat.  WHO KNEW came in behind us, and we spent a very pleasant evening with Ted and Amy having dinner at the Marker 107 Restaurant---really, really busy on a Thursday evening.  Who knew?

Speaking of fishermen, one caught our line when the line was holding the boat tied to a dock.  Evidently he tried to haul us in as the line broke off and we ended up with his lure!  At the Charleston Meretime Center, where we docked, a couple of gentlemen caught a 5' shark.  They kept it alive with a hose while deciding its' fate.  An hour later, we saw that dinner outweighed tossing him back.

 On the way to Charleston, we ran out of day 5 miles  before we got to the City. The water was aswarm with locals enjoying the balmy weather and we just wanted to stop.  Came across Ross Marine--not a marina, a boatyard, but with a long face dock.  (Non-boaters, a face dock has only water beside it, no pilings to break it up into sections (slips), so no need to worry about how wide the boat is. ) We moseyed in, it looked good, and we spent the night.  Called the next morning to offer to pay, and were told it wasn't necessary.  That is one set of nice folks we encountered.

Tied up in front of  the sailboat DESIDERATA (a family favorite)
at Ross Marine, 5 miles west of Charleston, SC.

  Another is the young couple driving a runabout out of the Ashapoo-Cooksaw Cutoff--a skinny channel connecting two Rivers with great names!  On our VHF radio, we could hear the two big boats ahead of us decide that the water was too shallow for them, and make other arrangements.  I flagged down the runabout and asked how much water was in the cutoff.  "How much do you need?" was the reply.  When I said 3 feet, the couple in the boat---BLING THANG---very nicely led us through, weaving from side to side to find the deeper water.

2 hours each way from Sumter.  Thanks, Paula!

It was easy to get into Charleston Meretime Center early in the day, and I walked to Harris-Teeter for some fresh foods.  That afternoon, my high school buddy, Paula Howell, drove over from Sumter, SC with her friend Patsy.  Had a lovely dinner at Blossom before sending them home with big big hugs.

On Monday we motored to Butler Island, where Liz and Steve aboard SHINGEBISS  rafted to the side of YOUNG AMERICA so we could have dinner together.  They are friends from the

Loop in 2009 who became our Minneapolis/St.Paul mentors when we went up the Mississippi.   They now have rented out their St. Paul home, and are full time cruisers.  What a treat to spend an evening together.  And Liz taught me how to use my iPad to gather navigating information while cruising!  Kicking and screaming I'm being dragged into the 21st Century!

Steve and Liz relax aboard the 'new' SHINGEBISS

So onward, and upward.  We shall mosey along, and be in touch once again.  I've now learned to put photos on Facebook--it is actually easier than the blog, but we've made this blog a photo journal of our Travels, and so will continue to muddle along with it.  Maybe one day I'll figure out how to reunite the photos that got separated from text when Google revamped blogspot.  If anyone has a clue, I'd love to hear about it!

Be well, remember to breathe and we'll talk again!