Leg 4 - Miami, Florida to Norfolk, Virginia
On Wednesday, July 21st 2004, we left Miami at 0800, heading North on the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW), a mostly natural river like thing that runs about 3 miles inshore and parallel with the ocean, providing complete protection from the waves. The only problem is that the channel is sometimes quite narrow and curvy, so it takes longer to get where you are going than by going 'outside' in the ocean. Also, there are about 60 drawbridges on the ICW, 5 of which we passed through today. As you approach, you call them on the VHF radio, and ask them to open. Sometimes within minutes we are passing through them, sometimes they say we have to wait as much as half an hour for them to open up on their scheduled times. We wasted about an hour and a half today waiting on bridges to open. One of the good things about the ICW is that there are fuel stations similar to those for cars - right on the side of the waterway. Access is so easy, that we pulled our boat right up to the fuel dock rather than using jugs to ferry them back and forth with the dinghy. Today's trip to Ft. Lauderdale was only about 35 miles, so we made it by 1300 and picked up a mooring near the municipal marina for $20 per day. After launching the dinghy, Nick and Kate took off to check out the beach, but didn't understand that they should dinghy ashore, and walk a mile to the other side of the island - so instead they dinghied all the way around the island, so it took them over an hour before they got back, thoroughly unimpressed. The Atlantic has no waves to speak of, nothing worthy of boogie-boarding or even playing in the surf. We all got in the dingy and checked-in at the marina, and walked over to the beach area and got some ice cream. We walked around the stores for a while, but headed back to the boat after about 2 hours because a storm was coming and some of our hatches were open. 15 minutes after getting back to the boat, the deluge began, with lightning so close and loud that we were sure something very close must have gotten hit. After an hour or so, Steve and Kate went off to find some cruising guides for the Atlantic area, and some pizza for dinner. Unfortunately, the bookstore was closed, but they were successful with the pizza. After dinner, Nick and Kate played Nintendo, and the adults went ashore for a walk and to buy some root beer for Nick. Upon returning, Leslie played solitaire, and everyone else played Nintendo until bedtime.
Bridges opening for us Ft. Lauderdale
On Thursday the 22nd, Steve and Leslie awoke at 0700 and weighed anchor, motoring toward the outlet to the ocean. The wind was light, but quickly built to 20 knots from the North, unfortunately exactly the direction we want to go. The seas were only about 4' high, but were steep and of course, right on the nose. The good news was that there was a 2-knot current from the South, and while we were motorsailing we made 9 knots, 7 of which was towards our destination. Nick slept until about 1100, and went back to bed at 1200, not to awake for another 4 hours. Kate (she has requested to be called Kate, not Katie, not Katherine) awoke around 0800, and stayed up all day watching videotapes of the Simpson's (Nick borrowed them from Tierra Mar in Costa Rica, and forgot to give them back - oops), playing Nintendo, and reading her books. Leslie mostly read various things and played solitaire. After 6 hours in the open ocean battling the wind and the seas, the gang was pretty tired of getting wet and the boat slamming up and down, so we made a left turn at the town of Palm Beach, and re-entered the Intra-coastal waterway and it's smooth waters. Although we made good time in the ocean, we decided it just wasn't worth the physical and emotional stress. Leslie cooked hot dogs and French fries for lunch, made to order at Kate's request.
The rest of the day went pretty smoothly - we went though 7 drawbridges (having to wait about an hour total due to their opening schedules) saw dolphins, beautiful homes, expensive boats, water-skiers, cool birds, and just general scenery that you won't find anywhere else. Nick and Kate and Leslie watched the movie "Goldmember". Towards the end of the day, Steve got a little out of the channel, and the starboard keel found the soft mud bottom. He put the engine in reverse and easily backed into the channel and resumed his course; the only thing damaged being his ability to say he has never run aground before. Leslie made dinner from a frozen bag of chicken, rice and vegetables, followed by a corn muffin chaser - it was great. At 2000, just as the sun was lowering into the haze, we came into view of our anchorage for the night - just an open spot along the side of the ICW where we could stop for the night. There are about 15 other boats here, mostly sailboats, only a couple with occupants. One of them must have anchored in a more than usual shallow spot, as it is resting about a foot too high in the water at a severe angle. Steve and Leslie worked on the website, and the kids played Nintendo as usual.
On Friday July 23rd, we had a pretty uneventful day in getting to our next destination of Cocoa. We did have our usual visits from dolphins, the wind was so-so, but the heat and humidity were ever present. We motored all the way, putting up the sails at various times when the wind was cooperative, which wasn't often. We arrived at 1800 and set the anchor in a secure little cove right next to a free municipal dinghy dock. We went ashore, and had ice cream in the quaint little village where most of the shops were closed. Nick and Steve took the dinghy in the dark to explore marina options, but didn't find anything useful as everything was closed. The men returned to the boat and we all played cards until bedtime. In the middle of the night, Steve woke up Leslie and said "It's splashy.” referring to the waves lapping against the hull. He was talking in his sleep, not unusual for him, and Leslie will not let him live that one down for many days to come.
On Saturday the 24th, we went ashore at 0900 and got some snacks at a deli, and caught a bus into the town of Merrit Island, near the Kennedy Space Center. Our plan was to take a bus to the Center, but Florida mass transit stinks in the middle as well as the south, and no busses go there. So, rather than call a taxi, we rented a car. However, by the time we actually got a car it was noon, and we had other things we wanted to do in the area, so we decided to go to the Space Center tomorrow. We checked-out the beach, but there were lots of people and almost no waves, so we went to Ron-Jon Surf Shop for an hour or more. This place is huge and amazing - there were probably 200 people in it, and it wasn't crowded, it's that huge. If you want clothing, surf stuff, skateboards, or just souvenirs, this is your place. We then went to a place called "Steaks and Shakes", a really good burger place and had lunch. We stopped by West Marine and got an inflatable tube for pulling the kids behind the boat, and looked for another cruising guide for the ICW, but didn't find one. We drove around to other boat supply stores hoping to find a guide, and finally found a marina guide, so we bought it. Then we went to the movies and the men saw "I Robot", and the women saw "The Cinderella Story". "I Robot" was okay, but "Cinderella Story" was very good. We stopped by the bookstore for a while then went back to the boat and had dinner and played cards.
On the 25th, we dinghied ashore at 0830, and drove to the Kennedy Space Center, stopping at McDonald’s along the way for breakfast. Once at the Space Center, we were surprised to see it cost $35 per person to enter, and the food and drinks cost about 3 times as much as at on the outside (a 16 oz. Coke cost $2.50). First we went to an IMAX movie about the shuttle program, which was interesting. Then we went to examine a shuttle replica and the booster rockets and fuel tank – man, are they big! After looking at the astronaut memorial, we caught the tour bus to see a the Vehicle Assembly Building where they assembled the Saturn V (Apollo) rockets back in the old days, and now assemble the space shuttles. We then went to an observation platform to look at Launch Pad 39A, where all the Apollo missions and most of the shuttle missions are launched from. We had lunch at their snack bar, and continued over to the Saturn V building, where an actual rocket is on display – man, it is really, really big! We watched a movie about the early space program, touched a moon rock, and looked at all the various exhibits. For Steve and Leslie, this area was the highlight of the day, as we reminisced about watching the moon launches in our childhood days. We caught the bus back to the visitor center where we started, and tried to get into another IMAX movie, but it was full. So rather than waiting an hour, we went over to the ‘Early Days of Space’ building and saw a lot of interesting artifacts and exhibits. By this time it was 1500, and we had spent about 5 hours looking at rocket/shuttle stuff, so we felt it was time to leave for the highlight of the day – the Astronaut’s Hall of Fame. Here is where they have the g-force trainer that we can ride in. But after driving 10 minutes to get there, and seeing a lot of the same exhibits we had already seen, we found that the trainer was closed for some unknown reason. So we left a little disappointed, but overall happy that we had a typical tourist-type day enjoying the space center. On the drive back, we stopped to do laundry and buy some groceries, topped off by a trip to Taco Bell for dinner. We dinghied back to the boat where everybody resumed his or her normal activities - Leslie read, Nick and Kate played Nintendo, and Steve putted around on the boat and then turned in early.
Leslie, Nick, Steve & Kate The working end of the Saturn V rocket
On the Monday the 26th, Steve took the dinghy ashore at 0700, and returned the rental car. They gave him a ride back to the dock, where after getting back to the boat, hoisting the engine and dinghy, we left the anchorage at 0800 with light winds and partly cloudy skies. We continue to see about one or two dozen dolphins each day, but they swim very slowly unlike the ones in the ocean. Maybe it is because the water is so murky and shallow. We inflated the towing tube we bought the other day, and the kids got towed behind the boat. Nick was the more adventurous of the two, and fell off while trying to stand on the sides, while Kate was more sedate and just enjoyed the ride. The day continued uneventfully, but we did pass through more drawbridges, one of which was a swing bridge, which instead of rising just spins sideways. We were able to so some sailing today, but the current was against us most of the time. Because we needed internet access, fuel, water and to dump our holding tank, we decided to stop in at Caribbean Jack's Marina for the night, and arrived at 1730. They made it easy for us by allowing us to tie-up to their fuel dock, right next to the ICW. There was no current, and the wind was blowing toward the dock, so after we pulled alongside the wind gently nudged us into the dock where we just stepped off the boat and tied off. After getting fuel and water, we went to the lounge to access the web, but their connection was just a dial up, and only worked at 26 kbps, so uploading our webpage stuff took a very long time. Nick and Kate watched TV on the boat, as the marina also had cable TV hookups. We all got a chance to check our email, and Steve, Leslie and Kate had ice cream at the restaurant. Everyone but Nick went back to the boat by 2300 except Nick, who was just coming into his stride with instant-messaging his friends and net-friends. He says he went to bed around 0300, happy to have been connected to civilization for a time.
Kate in the tow tube Caribbean Jack's Marina
On Tuesday, July 27th, Steve and Leslie awoke early to get the boat ready for departure. Leslie went to the marina to take a nice shower, and Steve used the marina equipment to pump out their holding tank. This is the first time we have ever pumped the tank on this boat, as usually we are at sea often enough to dump it there, but in the ICW, that is not an option. We cast off the lines at 0820, and a breeze from the dock pushed us away nicely into the channel, where we resumed our trek North. Kate awoke mid-morning, and continued reading her books, eating breakfast and doing the dishes. The sky was clear and the wind was very light, promising to be a particularly hot day, although it has been getting slightly cooler as we continue our march northward. We pass few boats since we left Ft. Lauderdale, as the middle portion of Florida seems to be much less populated – that is good for Leslie, as she hates being around other boats, especially power boats that go real fast. The waterway was particularly curvy, and we had to travel many miles to make time as the crow flies. During one stretch there were no channel markers on the starboard side, generally indicating that their are good depths all the way to the seawall, so as a large sport fishing boat was passing from behind at the same time an oncoming boat was from ahead, Steve moved over to starboard a bit only to run the starboard keel into the soft mud. He was somewhat surprised, as the depth there read 4.5' below the keel, but the sensor is in the port hull, and the channel must get very shallow very quickly there. Anyway, we backed out of the mud easily, and resumed our course. Nick's computer has been getting slower and slower lately, so we decided to re-install Windows and all the software, so Steve worked on this most of the afternoon and evening. We passed through some more drawbridges today, the last of which was particularly beautiful. More dolphins, beautiful homes, and favorable currents made the day simple and relaxing. At least until the end of the day, where within 2 miles of our destination, we ran aground gently and inexplicably in the right side of the channel. We again backed out of the mud, and resumed course for the anchorage just north of the ancient fort at St. Augustine, the oldest city in America. A storm was brewing, so we stayed on the boat for an hour waiting for it to do its thing, but it just kept threatening without action. We finally gave up on it, and went ashore to the municipal marina, and paid our fee for use of their dinghy dock and facilities. We had dinner at a nice restaurant overlooking the waterway, of which our boat was a part of the scenery. Steve and Leslie went for a walk to explore the local shops while the kids returned to the boat for some Nintendo. Steve bought a tee shirt and Leslie a postcard, and they headed back to the boat. Leslie turned in early, Steve worked on Nick's computer, and the kids watched "The Simpson's" videos for the 5th time.
On Wednesday the 28th, we went ashore and caught a tour tram that passed by the more interesting sights of the city. This is one of the best tourist destinations we have seen for restaurant, shops, museums, historic buildings, and overall ambiance that just can't be beat. We explored the remarkably well preserved fort built around 1670, made predominately out of a type of shellstone that is formed over centuries of shellfish being squished together to form a dense, hard masonry block full of shells. We then passed by the 'Fountain of Youth', but didn't stop because of the high cost of admission. Eventually we stopped for lunch at Denny's, because Nick has been dreaming about eating there for a while. We re-boarded the tram, where Nick and Steve got off at the firearms museum, and Kate and Leslie continued on to the wax museum. After an hour, we reunited at the central park, the firearms museum being good, and the wax museum bad. Leslie and Steve walked a couple of miles to a 'boaters exchange' store, kind of like a marine pawnshop, but the owner closed it presumably due to a vacation. They returned to the main shopping area where the kids were, and after a while returned to the marina where Leslie did a load of laundry and Steve got more money at the ATM machine. Nick and Kate were hungry, so they went off to have burgers at some cafe, Leslie went back to the boat to read, and Steve worked on the webpage at the marina until the kids returned from dinner. They went back to the boat and kept busy until bed. At 0200, Leslie woke up Steve and said, "We're dragging!” referring to the anchor, and Steve bolted out of the room and through the companionway only to find Nick in the cockpit closing up the computer. "That beep was just the computer, not the anchor alarm." he said matter-of-factly, and with a bit of relief Steve returned to bed.
A particularly cool drawbridge Kate, Steve and Nick at the fort
On Thursday the 29th, we weighed anchor at 0745, and resumed our trek north towards Fernandina Beach, the location where Steve had the hatch hinges mailed to. We only went through 2 drawbridges today, our lowest count yet. The wind was okay, and we kept the sails up most of the time while we motored, and the current was mostly with us so we made pretty good time. A dolphin swam right beside our boat for about 10 minutes - common for the ocean, but this is the first that has ever joined us in the Intracoastal Waterway. The endless beautiful homes finally had Leslie saying "We need to get a house on the Delta." referring to the San Joaquin River Delta near Stockton. We'll never move, so it's just idle talk. Kate played Nintendo most the day, and Nick joined her after he woke up after noon. Leslie began cleaning the stainless steel around the outside of the boat - not a small task, but she made a dent in it. Steve drove all day, as usual, only taking one break to go to the bathroom, and even then was told to "Hurry up!" The ICW is so curvy and the channel markers are few and far between, requiring constant attention to the charts and depthsounder. Keeping the sails trimmed properly just adds to the challenge, as do the other boats and barges passing from both directions and usually when there is the least amount of room to do so. Kate also did some needlepoint that she bought in Cocoa, and is making good progress. Leslie read, as usual. We arrived at our anchorage around 1600, and we set the anchor quickly and launched the dinghy, and Steve and Leslie went ashore to find the Post Office, which closes at 1700. It was only about 1/2 mile from the docks, but when they got there, the package had not arrived. The only pay phone in town didn't work, so Steve went back to the boat to get a cell phone to call the manufacturer to get a tracking number. To make a long story short, they shipped it a day late, and the hinges will not arrive until tomorrow morning around 1000. Leslie bought 2 Christmas ornaments at this really nice shop, and a book for Kate at a quant bookstore. The village here is really nice and interesting - it's too bad we don't have more time to explore all the shops. The adults went back to the boat, Steve took a shower, and the kids wanted to try out their tow tube with the dinghy to get some real speed. So, we rigged it and it worked pretty good, but both the kids ended up falling off, which kind of made it that much more fun. After they got cleaned up, we went ashore to have dinner at a reasonably priced restaurant on the waterfront, but after we were seated and read the menu, we realized that the lunch menu we had seen earlier had been changed to the dinner menu, and the prices were in excess of $20 per plate. We were willing to spend it, but only if the food was what we wanted, but it wasn't - mostly too fancy or too fishy. So, got up and left, informing the hostess, and went to another restaurant nearby. We loved this place: Steve had country-fried steak, Nick pork chops, Kate a cheeseburger, and Leslie a special medley of vegetables. We each loved it, and got out of there for $45 including the tip. There are advantages to being simple people. We returned to the boat where Steve finally brought the webpage current (he had fallen a bit behind), the kids played James Bond on the Nintendo, and Leslie read in bed.
On Friday the 30th, Kate, Steve and Leslie went ashore at 0900 to do some grocery shopping before the hinges were scheduled to arrive not later than 1000. After getting the essentials, we walked over to the Post Office only to find that the package had arrived at a Post Office 5 miles away, not the one we were at. One of the mail carriers brought it over to us about an hour later, and we headed back to the boat to finally weigh anchor and head north once again. We had hoped to get much further today by taking an ocean route rather than the ICW, but not starting until almost noon spoiled that plan. We crossed the border into Georgia within the hour, and began the day of the swamps. Georgia, at least the part we saw from the boat, is nothing but endless swamps and marshes, interspersed with an occasional handmade home that looks barely habitable. We found out about big, brown flies called ‘swamp flies’, and they are fearless, biting, evil, determined breed of pestilence that God could have created. They bite us through our clothes and it really hurts!
Anyway, Georgia is probably a very nice state; we just didn’t get to see it’s best side. As the sun set, we pulled over to the side of the ICW in a little river tributary and set the anchor. The bugs weren’t really all that bad at night, and the full moon rose over the water and looked really cool amongst the flat waters and low swamp grasses as far as the eye could see. It was another one of those experiences and views that you just can’t describe, but will remember it for your entire life. We were going to watch a movie on the computer’s DVD player, but Steve had to load some software first, and by the time he got done it was a little late to get started, so everyone just killed time until we went to bed.
Featureless grassy swamps of Georgia The moon rising at our swamp anchorage
On Saturday the 31st, Steve and Leslie awoke early and pulled up the anchor, setting off at 0730 towards Savannah. We wanted to call some marinas in the area, but there is no cell service in the middle of the swampiest state in the union! Sadistic swamp flies plagued us again, and rain came and went throughout the day, forcing Steve to don his diving mask just to see a little bit in the stinging sideways deluge. The good news about being in an undeveloped country like Georgia is that they have no roads so there are also no bridges, allowing us to sail through the state unimpeded. We finally did get within cell range of Savannah and called Isle of Hope Marina, though some distance from Savannah, had internet connections and a loaner car, plus the price was average (about $48 per day), so we made a reservation. During the day we heard on the VHF radio that one person’s boat was on fire and the Coast Guard was asking for anyone nearby to assist (we weren’t nearby), and another boat was calling a marina to get towed off a mud bank they got stuck on, so the fact that we had no groundings or other problems made us feel fortunate. We arrived at the marina at 1600 and tied up to the dock, plugged in our power and cable TV, and went to the marina office to sign in. We were told that the internet was a wireless system, and we didn’t bring a wireless card, so we took the loaner car to Best Buy to get one. Along the way Steve and Leslie drove all around Savannah and witnessed some of the most interesting houses you could imagine, and all of them are so big! It seems like everyone used to have large families or something. The history and age of the buildings is something that you really miss living in California. There we usually just tear them down when they get old. Downtown looked a lot like downtown Sacramento, except older. We got some Taco Bell, and headed back to the boat where the kids wanted to stay to watch some cable TV. We installed the wireless card in the computer, and before long we were up and running. Steve spent most of the evening downloading ‘Windows Updates’, and everyone else watched TV. Nick, of course, stayed up until the wee hours of the morning talking to his friends via the internet after the rest of us had bedded down.
On the 1st of August, we got up mid-morning planning to walk to the bus stop, go into Savannah, and join a tour of the historic district of downtown. The schedule said that the bus only came near the marina every 2 hours, the next time being at 1230, so we kept ourselves busy until then. Leslie and Nick went for a bike ride on the marina’s bikes, Steve worked to install the new hinges on the forward hatch, and Kate played Nintendo. At noon, Leslie looked at the bus schedule and found that it doesn’t run on Sundays, so she was very sad since she was really looking forward to seeing more of Savannah. So, instead we took the loaner car to Wal-Mart where we bought new area rugs for the boat, each of the kids bought new CD players, and we stocked up on more sodas and munchies. Then we went to West Marine for some allen screws, but they didn’t have long enough ones. We each got Frosties at Wendy’s, gas for the loaner car, and then we headed back to the marina. Kate, and later Steve went on bike rides with Leslie, looking at all the historic houses and huge oak trees, unlike any we have ever seen in California. Leslie did a few loads of laundry while Steve completed repairing the hinges on the hatch and then cleaned and repainted the rusty area at the bottom sill of the refrigerator. Nick worked most the afternoon on building a new website for selling the boat, and Kate continued her pursuit of excellence on the ATV game on Nintendo. We ordered pizza from Papa John’s, and then it started raining like crazy! When the delivery person arrived, Steve had to go from the boat to the marina office, getting soaked in the process. Nick and Leslie were already there, so after Steve went back to the boat to get Kate, we all had a pizza picnic in the only dry corner of the pavilion. The night concluded with Steve working on the boat selling website, Nick talking to friends via internet and cell phone, Kate playing Nintendo, and Leslie just hanging out.
Steve wearing special storm gear in a squall But for the grace of God go I
The 2nd of August began with Steve and Leslie moving the boat to the marina’s fuel dock and getting diesel and pumping the holding tank. The diesel pump took about 30 minutes to pump 30 gallons – truly the slowest pump in the free world. Then, when it was finished it didn’t stop itself, so it squirted diesel over the back of our boat, taking the attendant another 10 minutes to clean it up. Finally at 0900, we pulled away from the dock and headed north for Beaufort South Carolina. The wind and currents were as fluky as usual, except today’s rain was in excess of the norm, and in addition to being so strong that we had to stop the boat because Steve couldn’t see where he was going or the channel markers, it continued for about 2 hours total instead of just blowing itself out in a manner of minutes. Lightning was all around, but nothing closer than a half mile. We only passed through 1 drawbridge today in our 55-mile journey, but the swamp flies were out in force. Nick and Kate played on the Nintendo all day as usual, generally having fun but sometimes getting into fights about whose turn it is. We arrived at the anchorage right next to the Downtown Marina at 1730, set both anchors, and Steve and Leslie went ashore to check out historic downtown. It appeared that catering to tourists isn’t exactly in their blood, as everything except the restaurants and the ice cream store was closed. We got a quart of ice cream for $10 (Wow!) and took it back to the boat to eat with the brownies Leslie cooked just before we arrived at the anchorage. Leslie cooked some frozen pasta/veggie/chicken thing for dinner, after which we ate the brownies and ice cream. Nick and Katie took the dinghy to a nearby island, and came back with cut feet due to the mussel shells buried in the mud. After Leslie fixed up their feet, we watched the movie "The Whole 10 Yards", a pretty good movie, but kind of dumb at times.
On the 3rd Steve began the day by cleaning some of the hull and putting on some wax to see if it would keep the filth in the ICW from staining the hull as quickly. Steve, Leslie and Kate went ashore (Nick preferred to continue sleeping) and went on a horse carriage tour of the historic area, which was really interesting. Beaufort would appear to be the location for lots of movies, as the guide mentioned many. It is understandable, because this town is really pretty. Our tour guide was so nice, we had her pose in the picture with us. Afterwards, Steve and Leslie went back to a church cemetery and saw lots of interesting graves, some predating the Civil War. We went to some shops, and Leslie bought a souvenir spoon of Beaufort. Leslie didn't want to go back to the boat and watch the kids waste their time playing Nintendo, so she went on a walk while Steve worked on the boat-selling web page for a couple of hours. Leslie returned after a while, and decided to take the 2-mile walk to the nearest Piggly Wiggly and get some groceries. We got the wireless internet connection to work at the nearby marina, so everyone got to check their email and have some emergency instant messaging, and Steve got to update the website. During his writing, a chameleon and mate were distracted so Steve grabbed them, but one jumped away before he could get it into a cup. So, we now have a chameleon, but don't know what to do with it. Nick and Kate would rather work on the computer/internet than go to dinner, so the adults had some quality time at a restaurant overlooking the bay. The remainder of the evening was spent with everyone vying for internet time over the wireless connection at the marina. Steve made a home for the chameleon out of a box and some screen he had brought along – it’s small, but better than the cup she has been living in.
After our carriage ride Nick on the internet at Beaufort, South Carolina
On the 4th, Leslie and Steve weighed anchor at 0730, and set off for Charleston S.C, some 70 miles away. At 6 to 7 miles per hour, it took us until dinnertime to get there. This is approximately how many miles we have been sailing each day, putting us into our destination just in time to either eat dinner on the boat or on shore. Leslie said this was the most boring day yet, as it was nothing but marshes all day. Even though we have had marshes all day before, we are really getting sick of them. Swamp flies were in abundance, and Steve probably killed 50 with his flyswatter in the cockpit. We fed 4 of these monsters to our chameleon, and he ate them all – approximately doubling his body weight. When we arrived at the marina, we tied up and checked-in, and they had a courtesy shuttle that would take us into town, but stopped running at 2000, so we went back to the boat quickly and prepared. We went into town, except Nick who just wanted to be on the internet, and got fudge and smoothies in the historic district. It is really an old interesting town, something we really appreciate coming from a new boring town. We went into some of the shops, and finally called a taxi for a ride back to the marina where everyone vied for internet time, as usual.
On the 5th of August, Leslie awoke early and did laundry for the first couple of hours, then everyone else (except Nick) woke up and we (except Nick) went to the aquarium, which isn’t quite as good as the one in Monterey, but it was still interesting. Leslie particularly liked the huge green eel that looked like a giant pickle, and Kate liked the sea otters. We had lunch at a nearby café, and then went next-door to the Ft. Sumter Monument, which was one of the few things that Steve really wanted to go to on this trip. The Civil War started at Ft. Sumter, and reading all the information in the museum about events leading up to the war, and up to the fateful attack of the fort by the South, was really interesting (even for the ladies). South Carolina didn’t like having a Union fort in their harbor after their succession, so they starved out the few Union soldiers there and punctuated it with a 2-day bombardment. We took a boat out to the fort because it is on an island, but we were really surprised to find more a ruins site than an historical fort. See, when the Union wanted to take back the fort, they bombarded it for 2 years, but the only thing they accomplished was to totally obliterate the huge building into a pile of rubble. The South only left the fort because of their overall withdrawal from the area because of General Sherman’s advance. Anyway, it was really cool being there. During the time we were sightseeing, Nick was sleeping and talking with people on the internet.
Leslie with a new friend, and her favorite green eel at the Charleston Aquarium
Fort Sumter - it's mostly just ruins now, but the walls used to be 50' tall
We returned to the boat in the late afternoon, Leslie did another load of laundry, and we all (including Nick) went into town for a ‘walking ghost tour’, where a guy walks around to parking lots, parks and alleys telling stories about people who died in interesting ways, and how they haunt the areas of their demise. It was kind of corny and not the least bit scary, but it was interesting to walk around the historic district hearing about some of the old people and buildings in the area. It is probably of particular interest to us from California since we don’t really have the kind of history these old colonial towns do. Afterwards, we went to a fancy coffee shop and an ice cream parlor to finish off the evening with refreshments. We called a taxi to go back to the boat, and everyone went to bed except for Steve who was up until 0130 fixing the computer, again. All in all, this was one of the best days of our trip so far.
Charleston Ghost Walking Tour - we saw lots of interesting places and listened to a weird dude
On Friday the 6th, Leslie and Steve awoke at 0730, after a night where Steve woke up at 0200 to inform Leslie that we were awfully close to the dock (He was dreaming that they were at sea). The marina was supposed to open at 0800 so we could get diesel and our holding tank pumped, but the workers didn’t show up until 0845 so we didn’t pull away from the dock until 0900. The skies were very overcast and threatening rain, and Leslie was apprehensive about leaving at all. For the first time in months, Steve was actually cold, as the wind was blowing 20 knots and it was probably only 70 degrees. The wind, of course was on the nose, so we got very little sailing done today. The scenery was mostly swamps and undeveloped land – the only bridge we went under was just outside of Charleston, and that bridge tender had some kind of attitude. Nick and Kate played and fought all day, Leslie read, and Steve drove. We arrived at Georgetown S.C. at 1830, after fighting currents for most of the day. We set the hook in a very quaint anchorage, similar to the one in Morro Bay, only smaller. We are anchored only 150’ from the dinghy dock, so that is also on the plus side. Leslie cooked Dinty Moore Beef Stew for Steve, and quesadillas for everyone else. Steve worked on the webpage, Leslie read, and the kids played and fought.
On the 7th, we awoke to a cool morning and Leslie did some boat chores before the rest of the sleepy heads awoke. We dinghied ashore at 1000, and caught a tour trailer pulled by a jeep to tell us about the town. It was kind of interesting looking at the old houses, some pre-dating the War of Independence. We went into an all-black church that was founded in 1863 when they were emancipated. Afterwards, we watched an old home from the late 1800’s be auctioned off. It was in pretty rough shape, but it was a huge 2-story, 4,000 s.f. mansion, and it sold for only $120,000. The property values here are pretty low. We ate lunch at a sandwich shop that had a balcony over the bay, and an alligator sat in the water watching us eat the whole time. We got some milk at the bakery, and batteries at the general store, and headed back to the boat for a mid-day departure. We had planned on staying here the whole day, but after half a day, felt we had seen and done everything to be done. We reentered the ICW at 1300, and enjoyed seeing more and more trees emerge out of the swamps, adding to the scenery. There are fewer bugs now too, and it is getting harder to catch food for our chameleon. This is certainly the prettiest are we have traveled through so far, with the trees and nice homes interspersed with the winding waterway. Not too many other boats on the water today. We contacted the Hague Marina in Myrtle Beach, and they indicated although they were really just a boatyard, they would be happy to accommodate us for the night. We arrived at 1830, and George the owner came out to help take our dock lines where we tied up to an old, broken down dock that could barely support it’s own weight. He did have an old, really beat-up van we could use to get to the airport to get the rental car, so off Steve and Leslie went. The ride was a bit scary, but upon arriving at Hertz they indicated that if we rent the car tonight, Saturday, it would be $120 per day. But if we rented it in the morning, Sunday, it would be $22 per day. After fuming about this ridiculousness, Steve decided to come back in the morning and save the money. On the way back to the boat we picked up some cash, Diet Pepsi, and Kentucky Fried Chicken for dinner. After eating, Steve and the kids played dice while Leslie went to bed a little early, not feeling too well.
On the 8th, Steve and Leslie got up early and took the loaner car to the airport where Leslie got the rental car. We met back at the marina, and after getting the kids off, Steve pushed off from the dock at 0730 and headed out alone. His day was pretty normal – motoring, sailing, eating snacks, drinking Diet Pepsi, etc. He did exit the Intracoastal Waterway for about 30 miles and sail in the ocean as a shortcut. But as usual the wind was on the nose, so it turned into just another bumpy motor ride with spray. It was nice however to not have to pay constant attention to the course, water depth, other boats, and bridges, even if it was for just 5 hours. He returned through an inlet into the ICW at Southport N.C., and continued north to a marina in Masonboro, arriving at 1900, where he met up with the family again. They had taken the rental car to have breakfast, and then drove to the beach where the kids stayed in the car listening to music while Leslie walked on the shoreline. Kate and Leslie did some shopping, and then they all went to an amusement park – supposed to be a highlight of the trip – but it didn’t look so great and didn’t open until 1600! So, they went to a hilarious mirror maze in North Myrtle Beach and had a great time bumping into mirrors for a couple of hours. They then headed north to Masonboro to meet up with Steve, but because they didn’t have a good map, kept asking people’s directions to the marina, and likened it to the mirror maze, as they got lost a lot because of the incorrect and conflicting directions they received. Finally meeting up with Steve, he and Leslie took the rental car back, which only cost $22 for the day. The taxi ride 14 miles back to the marina cost $23. Steve worked on trying to get the computer working on the phone line at the marina – to no avail. Everyone else watched a DVD, and went to bed.
On the 9th of August, Leslie awoke early and did a load of laundry as we couldn’t leave early because the marina wasn’t open until 0800. We paid our $52 fee for tying up for one night (golly!), and pushed off the dock at 0900. The day was fairly uneventful as we passed through various populated areas with nice houses, pretty trees, and occasional dolphins. The kids went at it hard on the Nintendo game, and Leslie busied herself by doing boat cleaning, including a spotless job in the bathroom and shower. We munched on chips and other garbage during the day, and Leslie made bean/rice/cheese burritos for lunch. We drink a lot of stuff during the day, mostly sodas and a lot of lemonade. In the mid-afternoon we passed through Camp Lejeune, an Army base where they perform a lot of live exercises, which close down the ICW from time to time. We were lucky in that we didn’t have to wait, but we regularly heard machine gun fire, artillery, and saw experimental planes flying around. Old personnel carriers and mobile rocket launchers were abandoned by the channel – maybe they were some kind of reminder that you shouldn’t go ashore here. We passed through 3 drawbridges today, 2 of which made us wait a total of over an hour for an opening. We got a little behind schedule, and didn’t make it to Swanboro until 1900. Steve launched the dinghy, and he and Leslie went ashore to have dinner while the kids opted for playing Nintendo and watching a DVD. The restaurant was a gourmet café overlooking the waterfront, from where we could watch our boat in the otherwise empty anchorage. Leslie decided that in the south, ‘café’ is means expensive fancy restaurant, unlike at the west coast, where it means something just above a sandwich shop. Although expensive, the food was pretty good, and we talked about plans for putting Nick to work back in Fresno, rather than giving him an allowance – at moments, it was a pretty heated discussion. Afterwards, we decided we needed a new map of North Carolina, as the one we had brought on the trip had been misplaced. We were given directions of a place ½ mile up the road, but after we went a mile and asked directions from someone else, it turned into about a 3-mile roundtrip adventure. But, we did get to see more of the town and meet some interesting people. The cashier at the store commented on Steve’s flat money, indicating that everyone usually pays her with wadded up bills they pull out of their front pocket. Steve explained that using wallets is just how we do things in California. After getting back to the boat we retrieved the dinghy and talked to Nick about our new compensation package, for which he was enthusiastic. Leslie and Kate watched a DVD before turning in.
On the 10th, we weighed anchor at 0730 after a peaceful night’s sleep without any bugs or other boats to bother us, and set off for Oriental, N.C. The wind was light and the current was favorable, so we just motored for the first few hours, after which the wind filled in and we were able to improve our progress with the sails, averaging about 7 knots during the day. Leslie spent some time trying to find the digital camera cord that allows us to upload our pictures into the computer, but she couldn’t find it. So, until we find it or buy another, some of this webpage will have to be text only. We passed through many narrow, wooded channels that were beautiful in a northern California sort of way – the trees were big and their was the semblance of hills – a stark contrast to most of Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina that was all lowlands and mostly swamps. Everyone did their usual pastimes, and we arrived at Oriental at 1500, but the marina we wanted to stay in right by the town couldn’t take a boat as wide as ours, so we went to one about a mile north of town that let us tie-up to their fuel dock. The manager was very helpful and knowledgeable, and offered to sell our boat for us, indicating that Oriental is a great place to sell a boat. He provided some interesting information, including that the commission they usually get is 10% of the selling price! Nick wandered around for a while looking for the fabled wireless signal for the internet, and finally found a weak signal at the marina office. Everyone checked his or her email for the first time in many days. Leslie and Kate went swimming in their nice pool, but Leslie was a little bugged about the crabs that were living in the pool. After buying a shirt for Nick in the marina store, Steve and Leslie got the loaner car and went into town to see the sights. There wasn’t much – kind of a sleepy little town of about 800 – we were told that 400 of them lived on boats, and we believe it. There isn’t much here. We went grocery shopping, and hoped to get pizza delivered, but the only pizza parlor doesn’t deliver. So, we took the groceries back to the boat, and Steve worked on updating the website while Leslie cooked spaghetti for dinner. After dinner, Leslie, Nick and Steve baked a cake, Leslie and Kate worked on a puzzle at the marina lounge, Steve finished up on the webpage, and Nick took over afterwards and did his late-night-thing on the internet.
Nick and Kate eating KFC in the cockpit Locals sittin' & fishin'
On Wednesday the 11th, Leslie worked on cleaning up the boat while Steve worked on the internet still trying to get our dial-up connection working. Nick slept as usual, and Kate just hanged out. At 1100, we (except Nick) took the dinghy about a mile away to the little town, and went ashore to the boat store, where Leslie bought earrings and Steve bought gelcoat repair stuff. Then we walked to the Oriental Marina Cafe and had pretty good sandwiches for lunch. Afterwards, we dinghied around some of the area creeks, but didn't find anything too interesting, so we headed back to the boat. The wind had picked up, and the waves were really rocking the boat, so we checked the weather for the next few days and found that a storm was coming in, scheduled to hit pretty hard on Friday. Our plan was to sail to another town tomorrow, Thursday, and go the Washington DC on Friday and Saturday, but we quickly changed our plans since we didn't want to sightsee in the rain. So, we called rental car companies and found one in a town 30 miles away, and Leslie took a taxi ($50!) to get it while Steve moved the boat to a more secure area in the marina in preparations for the storm. The preparations continued until Leslie got back a couple of hours later, and then Steve went to get cash from the ATM and pizza for dinner. The ladies packed up all their belongings, as now we were going to leave the boat for Washington, and then take them to Norfolk to catch their plane on Sunday. Steve loaded up a couple suitcases each full of various boat stuff to take back, as well as the liferaft, since it doesn't really belong on an unsinkable catamaran anyway. In doing so, he found the camera cable to connect to the computer, so that is why you can see some pictures of our last week's adventures.
You mean I don't have to do the dishes for the next 4 days?!!!
On the 12th, we loaded up the car and headed out about 0800 bound for Washington DC. It rained a little along the way, but we enjoyed the scenery that you just can’t find anywhere in California – rolling green hills interspersed with small towns and beautiful trees everywhere. The roads around here are pretty small and wind every which way – we took a few wrong turns in the 6-hour drive, but we were in no big hurry. We had lunch at Denny’s, always a special treat, and got a coupon book to find a hotel. We settled on a Day’s Inn in Alexandria, just south of DC in Virginia, and unpacked our clothes and stayed just long enough to check out the path of Hurricane Charley, scheduled to hit here in 2 days. It was upgraded to a Category 3, and was just hitting Florida doing some terrible damage. We drove into DC to check out the usual sites, but didn’t get out of the car because it was raining the whole time. We also drove by Arlington Cemetery, but again didn’t stop. Since we couldn’t really sightsee like we wanted, we decided to see a movie, but couldn’t find one that was playing what we wanted to watch. So after driving around in circles for about a half hour (the roads in Washington are really confusing, and most are one-way, at least that's Steve's story) we just went back to the hotel after picking up some McDonald’s for dinner. Leslie had a headache, so Steve walked to a nearby grocery store to get her aspirin. We watched some movie or another until we each dozed off.
On Friday the 13th, we awoke early and went to a nearby IHOP for breakfast (we had a 20% discount coupon), and headed off for a day of major DC sightseeing. Steve did much better today in not getting lost, and we found an easy parking spot, but it was only good for 3 hours. First we walked to the Lincoln Memorial, which was bigger and cooler in person than on TV. There was a small museum there also, which would have taken hours to read all the information. Leslie and the kids got tired of it early, so Steve finally felt guilty and they left for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. 75% of it was covered from view, as they were installing a new lighting system, but even the portion that accessible was huge and sad. Leslie was rally touched by it. JFK's name is on it (how Leslie saw his name is incredible), and we questioned the criteria for getting your name on the wall. On the way to the WWII Memorial, two squirrels came up to us - one was black, and the other was white. We've never seen black and white squirrels before! We then went to the Washington Monument, but all the tickets had already been sold for the day - poop. Nonetheless, it too was much larger than any of us thought it would be. Each of the monuments takes about a mile of walking to get to, so by this time we were already getting a little tired, especially Kate who also had a headache. Luckily, Leslie still had her aspirin from yesterday, so Steve got her a soda to wash it down. We headed over to see the White House, but you can't get very close without an appointment, so we stood outside the fence on Pennsylvania Avenue, and just looked for a few minutes. Nick noticed a sniper on the roof that we could see well enough to know that he was looking at us through the scope on the rifle, and it was really hard to resist doing something that would cause a ruckus. Leslie's conservative influence won out the day however, so we just walked off and blended into the crowd. Speaking of which, it was a good thing that we were doing this on a day that was forecast for rain, because the crowds where pretty minimal and you could see how this place could become saturated with tourist, making the day less enjoyable. We then walked over to the Smithsonian, which we learned was really several buildings in downtown DC, each of which had different themes. No weapons were allowed inside, so Steve and Nick hid their knives in a nearby flowerbed. The first area we went into was the "America on the Move" exhibit, which had lots of trains, cars, engines, trolleys, subways, busses, airplanes, and other stuff each with quite a bit of written explanations of each exhibit. Again, it would have taken all day to read everything in the area, and we only went into one part of the first building. We had Subway sandwiches at the store in the building, and after leaving found that it had been raining the hour or so that we were inside. Steve and Nick retrieved their knives, and caught a cab back to the car, which was now about 4 miles away and past the 3 hours parking limit.
Nick, Leslie and Kate Kate at the WWII Memorial with the Lincoln Memorial in the background
Leslie and Kate walked over the American Holocaust building, which was about the Nazi extermination of the Jews. Leslie really enjoyed it, learning a lot from the exhibits and movies that they showed. She regretted not taking Nick along, because she is sure he would have really liked it. Instead, Steve and Nick took the car over to the Capital Building, but only stayed long enough to take some pictures. Then they went to the Air & Space Museum, where they saw a lot of really interesting exhibits; the Wright Brother's first plane, WWI planes, the Spirit of St. Louis, the X-1 (the first supersonic jet), and lots of other great things. Everyone met up at the Jefferson Memorial, which although was as impressive as the Lincoln Memorial, came at a time when everyone was pretty tired and ready to have some non-walking fun. So we drove back to Alexandria and got a newspaper to find a theater that was showing the movies we wanted to watch. It then took about an hour to actually find the place, after asking 3 different people for directions. On the way, we did finally find a Petco to get crickets for Bob the Chameleon, who hadn't eaten since Steve caught him a cricket yesterday. Yes, we brought the chameleon as we either had to let it go, let it starve, or bring it. The movies were pretty good, and we returned to the hotel feeling like we really accomplished a lot today. We watched the opening ceremonies for the Olympics, each of the party nodding off until only Nick was left.
The White House Steve with the Spirit of St. Louis
On the 14th, we got up early, took showers, checked the weather channel for an update on Hurricane Charley, and decided that Steve and Nick would return to the boat today to try and prepare it and help ride out the storm. So we drove to McDonald’s for breakfast on the way to Norfolk while it rained for most of the 3-hour trip. We arrived and drove around looking for a hotel, and Leslie wanted to go to the airport to see if there was any way of transferring the tickets for tomorrow into a flight that leaves today. On the way, we stopped at an Army Surplus store where Steve bought a duffel bag to pack boat stuff for Nick to take back home. At the airport, after an hour of waiting and talking, it was determined that 20 people were already on standby trying to get out of town before the storm hit. Leslie made reservations at a Day’s Inn, and we drove to the nearby town of Virginia Beach where they checked-in and offloaded the luggage. Leslie was upset that Steve wanted them to take the liferaft with them because it was so heavy, and the discussion resulted in them parting on a bad note. Steve and Nick drove the 3 hours to Oriental where the boat is, listening for weather forecasts and tracking the storm as best they could while in route. The rain intensified, and the wind got pretty strong at times – the clouds were moving faster than either of them had ever seen. The roads were strewn with leaves and branches, and at one point a large tree fell across the road, and they helped two other guys clear it away by attaching a rope one of the guys had to a truck, and towing it off the road. The wind was blowing so hard that we kept looking up at the other trees to make sure they didn’t fall on us! We passed by a marina where it looked like the boats were having a pretty hard time bouncing all over the place in the huge waves that were building even in such a small area. We drove as fast as we could, but the next 20 miles was strewn with loaves of bread, buns, and other assorted bakery items that had apparently blown off a truck – we stopped to pick up only two loaves. The wind shifted from left to right, then to the other way, and Steve knew that they had passed through the center of the storm, now downgraded to a tropical storm since the windspeed was below 70 mph. The rain lessened, and when they finally got to the boat, all the excitement was over, the rain had stopped, and the boat was bobbing in the marina with no apparent damage or worse for the wear. We watched some of the Olympics since the internet was down, and turned in a bit early.
On the 15th, it started raining at about 0400, and didn’t stop all day. Steve did go up the mast for a while to repair the deck light and to attach some lines from the sail support system, but it was hard to do any other work because everything was wet outside and damp inside. So Steve spent most of the day re-doing the boat-selling webpage, as the work we did in Word just didn’t translate well to the internet, so he redid it in FrontPage taking most of the day. Nick was mostly bored having to watch TV, since Steve already sent the Nintendo back to Fresno with the girls. Leslie and Kate struggled with the heavy suitcases and liferaft that Steve had packed for them, but managed to get them and themselves to the airport on time, and arrived back in Fresno late in the evening. Steve and Nick went into town for dinner, but found everything closed except the sandwich shop at the Oriental Marina, where they ate. Steve got some more cash at the ATM machine, and they went back to the boat where Steve watched the Olympics and Nick talked on the internet until 0400 the next morning! That guy is going to have a real tough time acclimating to normal life back home.
On Monday, the 16th of August 2004, Steve slept in until 1000, and then got up and worked on the internet, posting Wabi Sabi on various classified sites that sell boats. Nick got up around noon, and took over the computer shortly thereafter, talking with his friends and unknown persons. Steve repaired some gelcoat, installed a new bracket to support the GPS antenna on the mast, washed the area rug from the salon, and donned his wetsuit to clean the boat bottom. It wasn’t that the water was so cold, but it is so murky here, and big fish jump all the time, so it just made him feel a little less jittery. The barnacle growth wasn’t too bad and it only took about 2 hours to do the entire boat, except that the water is so dirty that he couldn’t see anything at all under the water, and had to do the whole thing by feel. Both Nick and Steve had late lunches – Steve had chili-bean burritos, and Nick had chili-cheese dogs – so we just went to the grocery store to get ice cream sandwiches for dinner. Afterwards, Steve worked on updating the webpage, and Nick took over and spent the rest of the evening talking to his friends on the internet. Steve watched the Olympics, and they both went to bed around midnight.
On the 17th, we got up at 0540, grabbed the bags, and hit the road. Nick slept most of the 3-1/2 hour drive to Norfolk, and we ate cinnamon rolls and muffins we bought at the grocery store yesterday. They really need to build some freeways in Virginia - it takes forever to get anywhere on these backroad highways. We arrived at the airport without incident (but Steve was really sleepy), and we had no problem getting through the electronic check-in system they have now. Nick's two duffel bags weighed 48 and 53 pounds, close enough to the maximum 50 so that they didn't charge us extra for being overweight on the one. Although the flight wasn't supposed to leave until 1045, the machine said it was boarding in 10 minutes (1010), so we hurried to the security area for Nick to get to his gate. Steve gave Nick $100 for emergencies, and they hugged goodbye. Nick passed through security, and Steve walked to the parking lot, alone for the first time in, well, a real long time. On his long drive back to the boat, Steve was struck with feelings of sadness that the family is gone, and the reality that he will be alone for a few weeks getting the boat to Annapolis, and ready to sell.
Although we didn't make it to Norfolk, that's okay because it was more important to have a good time than reach this arbitrary goal. The fun is over, although the kids might say it never really began, and the remainder of the work to sell Wabi Sabi isn't going to be chronicled as it takes too much time. It's unlikely that we will ever do anything like this again, as it is extremely disruptive to our careers, costs a lot of money, and the kids would probably run away from home if we tried. Our hope is that in addition to the memories that we have gathered, we have each grown and developed into a closer family, and hope that each of us improved our strength of character to overcome the daily obstacles of our normal lives.