"where the Ashley River and the Cooper River meet to form the Atlantic..."

Howdy, friends! I named this post while we were in Charleston... so, yeah, it made sense then.
anywho, first order of business...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ASHLEY CHESTER!! WOOO-HOOOO!!
and
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO BECKY HOLT!! WOOO-HOOOO TO YOU TOO!!
and
HAPPY EARLY BIRTHDAY TO PATRICK LANDERS!!!

I think that covers them all, but yell at me if I forgot you.


The last time I posted, we were in Oriental. We left there around 10ish on Thursday morning for Beaufort, NC.
From Beaufort, we went to Santee Bay, just south of Georgetown, and anchored out.
oh, by the way, I have some really great pictures, but I'm not on my computer, so you'll have to wait to see them. Apologies.
Saturday, we made it to Charleston around lunchtime. After lunch, the boat got a bath- now she sparkles!! and last night we watched a movie called "An Unfinished Life"- starring Robert Redford (he's SO dreamy!), J-Lo, and Morgan Freeman... AND that really cute guy from "Sweet Home Alabama..."- Josh Lucas? idk, correct me if I'm wrong.
Sunday I slept in a little and then took the marina's shuttle into town with a new sailor friend! we got breakfast, then walked around town. the weather was just beautiful- perfect for walking around in the sunshine!
From Charleston, we went to Beaufort, SC. (BYOO-FORT)
I did a little window shopping, had some really good ice cream, then sat in the park overlooking the water and read some of my book (The Sun Also Rises, in case you were wondering...)
We left Beaufort this morning and now we're in Savannah. The sunrise this morning was FANTASTIC and some dolphins visited us on our trip. good day.
We'll be here til Thursday morning, then we're headed to Jekyll Island. :)

Thanks for reading, sorry there are no visual aids.
Hugs all around!

p.s. we'll be home in 4 days. eeek!

Rabid Grasshoppers

Good morning!

...and a HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Todd Lampke!!! The big 2-0! Yikes!

We're in Oriental, NC. The sailing capital of NC, apparently.

It's been too long since I posted last. I left you in Williamsburg. I spent the day browsing the bookstore, eating lunch at The Cheese Shop, window shopping, and even chatted with some strangers- it was a good day!

That night we had supper at the marina's restaurant. I had trout. just fabulous. We left Saturday mornin for Coinjock, NC and saw THIS: b-e-a-YOU-tiful!

The trip to Coinjock was an eventful one.
We stopped in Portsmouth for fuel, which took about an hour.
Then we had to wait TWO HOURS for the Gilmerton Bridge. It was the weekend, they were doing construction, blah blah blah.
Then we went through the Great Bridge locks and bridge.
THEN, about 30 miles north of Coinjock, we lost engine controls.
Like... the boat wouldn't GO.

Barry asked me to drop the anchor. If there's a question that will get me out of my seat and on my feet faster, I don't know what it is.

I dropped the anchor, Barry notified the barge coming down the waterway that yes, we were anchored, and sorry but no, we can't move.
Then he fixed the engine controls, I pulled in the anchor, and we went on our merry way!

I think this is a good time to thank God for a Captain that knows what he's doing. :)

We left Coinjock Sunday morning and headed for Pungo Creek- the same place we anchored on the way up. We found our spot and camped out for the night. During supper, we watched a storm approaching on the radar. It broke up and almost completely missed us- we got just a light rain, very little wind :)

Yesterday morning, we pulled up the anchor- and a TON of mud! Gross! I took a picture... ...this time wasn't quite as bad as the 1st time we anchored there (I've become fairly handy with a water hose!) but you get the gist...

We got into Oriental Marina yesterday around noon. Had lunch, I finished up some chores, and then went to the pool. We had supper at the restaurant approximatley 20 feet off our bow. There was no need to get moving this morning- we're headed to Beaufort (that's BOW- like you wear in your hair) today and it should only take about 3 hours to get there. We're planning on leaving around 10:30ish.

I'm excited about Beaufort- it's a neat little town. The schedule says we're laying over there- which we may, unless the weather is ideal for traveling outside tomorrow- Barry would like to get in some ocean time...

Thanks for following us! Hugs all around! :)

p.s. we'll be home in 11 days. But don't tell Alice- she gets cranky.

Williamsburg: So Much Prettier in the Sunlight!

(at first I thought that sounded like a really good slogan... now at second glance, it seems a tad pessimistic.)



Good morning! I'm in the William & Mary bookstore. There's a huge window that looks out onto the street. Nothing like drinkin a good cup of coffee, blogging, and people-watching! I'm a happy girl! :)

Yesterday was a tad rainy, so we took a drive around Williamsburg in the car... the parkway was pretty, but it wasn't til today that I realized just how pretty! In the sunlight!

On the way back to the marina, we saw deer! Lots of deer! I got pictures:



It's a great day to wander around Williamsburg... wish I could share this weather with you! Thanks for reading, miss you lots!


p.s. we only have 15 more days of this trip :(

Yorktown, VA

Howdy! Greetings from Yorktown!

I'm having a hard time remembering where we've been. I left you in St Michaels. From there, we went to.... Oxford! It was a rainy day, uneventful ride over, but we did get to see a very cool sailboat race! After we got in, Barry and Alice's friends Jeff and Darlene invited us to their house for lunch. We took a ferry (the longest continuously running ferry in the country, apparently. Since the early 1600's!!) out of Oxford and he drove us to his house...  estate, really. They live on a very cool farm. I, of course, forgot the camera, but just know the house is beautiful. and Jeff tells the BEST stories! We had a VERY nice Sunday.

From Oxford, we went to Crisfield. There was some serious wind that made for a frustrating docking experience. Nothing serious.
Crisfield had a POOL! I got some chores done and had a wonderful afternoon sunning it up!
That was Monday.
Tuesday, Brie came to see me! it's a 2-ish hour ride from here house, and she picked me up, and we went to Ocean City! (we look a little rained-on and wind-blown... oh well!)
It was really great to see her again. We thought we had caught up in Baltimore, but we were so wrong! a year is a long time!

We left Crisfield yesterday, and made a slight detour through Tangier Island. Yes, through. There's a waterway that lets you get a little tour of the island. It's an interesting place- a fishing community, and not much else. They live right on the water, and have shacks built out in the water where they bring in their catch. The only way to get anywhere is by boat. We were there around 8 yesterday morning and it was like a ghost town. Too late to catch the watermen and too early to see any tourists.


Also, we got to see Wolf Trap Light again! Love this one!
Then we got into Yorktown around 1. We had to wait on a storm to pass before we came into the marina. Then before another storm came in, we washed down the boat.

Today, we're gonna take a car into Williamsburg! I'm excited! I've never been. I'll take lots of pictures. There's a great wi-fi signal here... glad I could catch you up! Thanks for reading!

St Michaels: Take 2

Good morning! (and it IS a good one! this is the best weather we've had yet! cool, 72 maybe?)

I'm at a very cool coffee shop in St Michaels. it used to be a house... there are comfy chairs and couches, my mocha is wonderful and my chocolate muffin is AMAZING!

It's been a few days since I posted... last you knew we were still in Baltimore. From there, we went to Chestertown. It's a tiny little town, not much there, but we still had fun! We had a great supper at a little restaurant called The Blue Heron, just a few blocks from the marina.

We left Chestertown Thursday morning a little later than usual to work around some tide issues. We still got into St Michaels around noonish, despite an incredibly dangerous altercation with a "praying mantis" (that's in quotes because that's what the captain called it. I prefer the term "Ashley-eating prehistoric winged demon," but whatever.)

To get here, we had to go through a very narrow waterway called, appropriately, Kent Narrows. The weather was icky... the picture I took explains it all:

The slip where we docked to begin with was 18.5 ft wide... and so is the boat. Know this: we got into the slip like pros. An overall uneventful docking experience. Those are the best. But after we tied off, the dockmaster conferred with the captain, and we moved to the end of a T-head. We're much happier there.

Thursday night we went to a restaurant we went to with Dick and Fran last summer- it was just as good as we remembered! I had stuffed shrimp! mmmm!

Yesterday, we took the car that Barry and Alice's friends lent them and we drove all around St Michaels and Tilghman Island (BEAUTIFUL middle-of-nowhere... anyone in the market for 935 acres? got an extra $100,000 lying around? seriously.) Oh and we saw this gorgeous church- check out the stained glass! Then we went into Easton, a town a little larger than St Michaels about 15 minutes away... we window shopped and had a good lunch at a pub.

The marina where we're staying has filled up for the weekend- lots of pretty boats... and some not so pretty. If you're wondering, yes, that is a couch. and what looks like a Christmas tree, but we think it's an umbrella.
This is why God made chocolate and vanilla, I suppose.

O-R-I-O-L-E-S!!!

Howdy howdy!

Baltimore is great- I could live here. Til it got cold. Then I'd have to leave, of course.

We have some catching up to do. Friday was fun- I did a little shopping at Baltimore's version of our Jacksonville Landing.
The resemblance is uncanny!
(see, that's humorous because they're designed by the same guy... at least, it was humorous to me...)

Then Friday night we went to a baseball game!

A guy played the Nat'l Anthem on an electric baseball bat... so I can go ahead and cross that off my bucket list...

The game was really fun. (I know. Most of you think you read that sentence wrong, but seriously, I had fun! Baseball is fun! Go Orioles! ...or whoever, really...)





Yesterday morning, we went to the Farmer's Market- it's a lot like our Art Market in Jax, it's even under an overpass like ours... but this one had more food and less art... I had the BEST omelette I've ever had.

Today is our last day in Baltimore- we've had a blast so far! I'm at Starbucks now... can't beat the reliable wi-fi connection...

Later, Alice and I have to do some grocery shopping, then I'm planning on walking over to Fells Point. I was there yesterday and it's a really neat little community.
Tell you what, we'll meet at Max's, maybe have a beer!

Tomorrow mornin, we're heading to Chestertown for a couple nights- never been there, another adventure!

I hope everyone had an awesome weekend! Consider yourself hugged! :)

Adventures in Baltimore...

Good morning! We're in Baltimore! I'm at Starbucks, which is, conveniently, just a block away from the marina!
weeeee!

We left Annapolis yesterday morning and had a pleasant 4ish hour ride.

We saw Sandy Point Light...




Also, we saw the Francis Scott Key Memorial Bouy!
...yeah... apparently this is how we honor the person responsible for writing The Star Spangled Banner!? (...tune in next week to see the Rosa Parks Memorial Stop Sign!)

We got into Baltimore around lunch time... and you'll NEVER GUESS who came to see me!!! The one, the only, Brielle Smoot! Aaaaaaagh!

You missed her as much as I did! We had a blast... had about a year of life to catch up on. She and Mike (you remember Mike! Biggest sweetheart! You missed him TOO!) took me to a hamburger place called B.W. Wreck's... or W.E. Mike's... or something... anyway- great burgers! awesome beer! had fun! :)

Then we found a RITA'S!!!!!



You should know- I did take another picture after this one... and made Brie move the straw from in front of her face, but this one was just so good- with both of them laughing at some hilarious thing I said, that I just had to post it. It's my blog, I can do what I want.

Today, the weather is very nice... not quite as hot as yesterday. Gonna go take a walk around the city, see what I can find...

Hope you're all doing well! Thanks for reading! :)

Naptown

Howdy howdy! and greetings from Annapolis! I like it here. It's fun to go to places I've never been before, but it's also really cool to know that I can get off the boat and walk a quarter mile to a really neat bookstore... so that's what I did yesterday after we got docked and settled. Then I found ice cream. It was a good day!

On the way from Solomon's Island we saw Thomas Point- one of my Top 5 Favorite Lights:

Then Alice got some cool pictures as we were coming into the marina:
No worries, it waited til we were just about ready to dock to start raining on us. Isn't that nice? :)

I'm writing this from a coffee shop in downtown Annapolis... later today we're gonna go visit the Pennsylvania Dutch Market and see what kind of trouble we can find :)

I think you're just about up-to-date now. Thanks for reading!

Solomons Island

Good evening!

Today has been a great day- and productive too!

I started the day by walking 2ish miles to Kim's Coffee Shop.
She claimed to have really good key lime pie but I did not come to MD to have key lime pie, thank you very much. So instead, I had the BEST. mocha. ever. and oh, did I mention the quiche? Good gracious, the quiche. It was amazing. Turkey and avocado, sprinkled with tiny bits of heaven. :)

When I got back to the boat, we put the dinghy in the water, and I got some chores done. Then we went to the grocery store.

Also, I re-discovered the Kindle app on my iTouch today- I've been reading samples of books for a good part of the afternoon.

life is good. miss you lots!

p.s. I found a great boat name:

No really, thank YOU!

Good afternoon, friends!

You may want to grab a snack. This is a long one.

First of all,


Happy Birthday SCOTT THOMAS!! woo-hooo! the big 2-3! :)

Secondly, Happy August! Can you believe it? Where did July go? I was rather enjoying that month... *sigh*

Alrighty, I left you in DC. I have to tell you about Friday. I explored the city and had a blast! I started the day at Starbucks, then went to the Farmers Market held every Friday near the Smithsonian (in between the Smithsonian and the Printing and Engraving building, if you're interested). From there, I went to the Smithsonian garden to swipe some free internet and people-watch a little before I caught the bus to the Capitol. Check it out!

After wandering around for a while, I caught a bus to Union Station to grab some lunch. Cool photo of Union Station:


On the way to the National Cathedral, the bus took me through Chinatown.

Even Starbucks has some Asian flair!


My favorite part of the day (maybe even the whole trip so far) was the Cathedral. Whoa, baby. It was so gorgeous. I took a ton of pictures, but here are the ones you just have to see.







When I left the Cathedral, I had to wait a little while for the bus. While I was waiting, the cutest little Mexican family (I'm not stereotyping- I witnessed them take about a dozen pictures of the Mexican embassy. Call it deductive reasoning.) sat down next to me and in very broken English, asked me which stop they had to take to get to the museum. What followed was a little episode involving entirely too much head nodding and hand-signaling, pointing and stumbling over words (me more than them).
Eventually I think I convinced them that they had to get off on "STOP TWENTY! VEINTE!!!"
Everyone knows they understand better when you talk louder.

Not 30 seconds went by, barely enough time for me to stick my headphones back in my ears, and continue to mind my own business, and this woman came out of the little building next to the bus stop and asked me if she could set her box down next to me while she went to get her car. What do you say to that?
"Sure?"
So she went, got her car, and I grabbed the box, and brought it to her passenger side door.
No big deal, I thought.
The woman went into hysterics. "You didn't have to do that! That was above and beyond!!!"
I told her I didn't mind, I had the time...
So then she proceeded to run after me with Sugar Babies. To thank me.
This is how everyone should say thank you.

The bus eventually came before I made too many more friends and took me to Georgetown. I wandered, shopped (found nothing), but mostly did a lot of people-watching.

From there, I went to the Lincoln Memorial.

The architecture was very cool, and it was neat to be able to see the reflecting pool from that angle.
I met a nice family there. They took my picture.

Saturday morning, we left our cozy little spot at the end of the Washington Channel. There was a beautiful sunrise:


We headed south on the Potomac and stayed overnight in Ragged Point, VA.

This morning, the weather was a tad chilly- I needed a sweatshirt! :)
We passed by Point No Point:

and made it to Solomons, MD before lunchtime. We washed the boat after lunch. Now we're clean.

Tomorrow is a layover day. There is a pool here, but the wind will have to quit for this wimp to get in.

Lastly, I found a great boat name:

Hope everyone is just ducky! Thanks for reading! Hugs!