Back in
the States & another month has sped by.
We were able to get together with friends Larry & Annette Carter (no
relation) while we were in Ft. Pierce.
We met then a few years back on Long Island, Bahamas and became fast
friends. Larry was right hand man to
"Brad the Builder" as we called him and Annette is one of the nicest
ladies I have had the pleasure of knowing and believe me.....there are a lot of
them cruising. They no longer cruise due to health problems & their beloved
boat is for sale but we make a point to stay in touch.
From Ft.
Pierce we made the long trip to Vero Beach for a few days to do laundry &
hit the grocery. Our friend Bill (who
also has a Pearson 365) has purchased a condo there. With his help we were able to provision &
help him at the same time.
Soon we
were off to Melbourne to meet with friends & see Anna Delgado play at
Grills for Cinco de Mayo. May is "love bug" season in Florida and
they were awful. They do not bite but
are very annoying to say the least. They
swarmed the boat for days & we hid below with screens as much as possible.
They
were so bad that the restaurant cancelled the music because no one could sit
outside! We had a wonderful time as
friends Stew & Diana drove up from Port St. Lucie and Gary & Roland
were there and we all had a nice visit with Anna too! Monday found us off to Cocoa which we always
enjoy. We met Gary along with Peter
& Carol, a wonderful German couple and we met at the Bier Garten. The food was fantastic!
It was a
short visit in Coca & Wednesday found us in Titusville where we were happy
to see that the restaurant under the bridge has reopened. We had drinks and an appy and were impressed
with this.....
An
overnight in Daytona and on to St. Augustine. Our friend Rob drove down from Jax and we went
to dinner at the Kingfisher Grill at Comanche Cove Marina. A grand time!
We
wanted to stop in New Smyrna Beach to see our friend Becky but she had a
medical procedure that day so we will stop in the fall. We decided to walk to the farmers market on
US 1 and before the day was out we had walked over 5 miles! We wished we had worn sneakers rather than
sandals by day's end! A night on the
hook at Pine Island then on to Sisters Creek on the north side of the St. Johns
River in Jax where Rob drove to see us again and we went to the Palms Fish Camp
for dinner. Becky Sanger had shown us
this place a year or so back & it was just as good. They normally close at 2pm on Monday but
decided to try being open in preparation for Monday Night Football. They were slammed! With only 1 waitress! Oh well......
On to
Fernandina Beach where we had hoped to revisit the Marlin Barrel Distillery for
another bottle of Pepper Vodka but the Marina is being rebuilt & there is
no dinghy dock so we decided to relax.
Our friends Scott &Michelle on Orza travelled 115 miles that day to
catch up with us and we had a fantastic night!
Rob had made the marinade for Beef Satay & I had made the peanut
sauce. Appys, salad and there was
dinner! They brought over some very nice
red wine & some of Michelle's banana rhum.....It was great!
We
needed a couple of calm nights and we had them at Jekyll Island & Walberg
Creek before heading into Herb River.
Some of
the sights you see! Helicopter touch
& go!
Rob had
these pains in his ankle and we could not figure out what he could have
done.
We went
into Bahia Bleu Marina in Thunderbolt to visit with the Savannah Table of the
BOC. Saturday night we walked to
Tortugas just outside of the marina to have dinner with friends Joe &
Maureen. It was a first visit for us
and the food was wonderful. After we
said goodnight & walked back to the marina Rob was in a great deal of
pain. Sunday morning he could put no
weight on it at all and we had to call Maureen to ask if she could take us to a
"doc in the box". She took us
where she had gone herself and they were great.
X-rays showed nothing & the PA asked if Rob had ever experienced
gout. No. A shot of cortisone & prednisone pills
and by late afternoon he was feeling much better. We decided to stay an additional night to be
sure. It gave me an opportunity to scrub
the boat, do laundry, provision & fill the water tanks. Rob needed the rest & the boat had not
had a good scrub since we left Virginia last fall. Late Monday afternoon we had a nice visit
with our dear friend Alise. It was sad
as she recently lost her husband Albert, but it was also wonderful to be able
to spend time with her and reminisce.
The 21st
found us heading offshore to Beaufort(bew-fort) SC. We had a wonderful trip but dropped the hook
near Paris Island as it was getting dark. A day in Beaufort is always fun. We bought a very nice print for the house,
had lunch @ Luther's and cocktails at Hemmingway's.
Underway
at 6am the next morning trying to make Charleston on the inside but it was not
meant to be. We anchored in Church Creek
for the night on to Charleston the next day.
We did not even put the dink in the water! We have never NOT gone to
shore in Charleston. Time is getting
short & I need to be back in VA for a doctor's appointment so we were on a
mission! One night in Georgetown SC
where we had lunch with Bill. The next morning was grocery, seafood, fuel &
leave. From Georgetown to Enterprise
Landing to Southport where we rode the Cape Fear River to Masonboro Inlet and
outside up to Beaufort, NC. It was a
beautiful sail into the Morehead City/Beaufort inlet about 1230am on the
30th. We went under the bridge &
dropped the hook for the night and early on the 30th we moved over to Town
Creek which is our favorite anchorage in the area. There I had to rent a car & head to
Norfolk for a doctor's appointment.
That
brings May 2019 to a close. Back in the US, wishing we were still in the
Bahamas. More at the end of June.
