With the last update that we sent out, we left off in Pine Island Loop which is a creek that flows into the ICW (Intra-Coastal Waterway) just north of St. Augustine, FL. We stayed there just long enough to wait out another violent thunderstorm and then headed for Jacksonville, FL. Our friends from Seal Beach, Brian and Tina, met us for dinner and drinks plus a lot of laughs. Then they left the following morning and so did we.
Our next stop was going to be Fernandina Beach, FL which is at the border of Florida and Georgia. When we got anchored, we realized that we had a problem with our batteries….they wouldn’t hold a charge. So after a few phone calls, we decided to turn around and go back to a small marina that we had passed earlier in the day and try to get some help. We had to replace all 8 of our batteries $$$$$. Oh well, I guess that’s boating. We left there and went back to Fernandina Beach and had a really nice stop in this cute, very small town.
We crossed over into Georgia the next day and were on our way to Savannah. We anchored in a couple of different spots along the way and finally went into a marina on the outskirts of Savannah called Thunderbolt. It was a great stop! Every morning at 0700 they delivered a newspaper and a ½ dozen Krispy Kream donuts to the boat. Good for the attitude…bad for the waistline.
Both of us thoroughly enjoyed the sights and charm of Old Town Savannah. It’s am
azing how they have restored and preserved the homes and magnificent churches. We did a trolley tour one day and went back the second day and did a walking tour on our own. It is a great city. While we were docked at Thunderbolt Marina, it just so happened that it was our 43rd wedding anniversary. So we went out to a very nice dinner at a little local restaurant called Tubby’s Tank House. That name doesn’t sound particularly inviting, but we really did have a delightful meal and a wonderful evening.Leaving Savannah the next day, Diamond Girl was headed to Beaufort, SC. We stayed at another marina because there were more severe thunderstorms predicted. Beaufort is a little town with some very old homes but not a lot to do or see. We made friends with Jerry & Becca who are cruising on their boat (they’re from Iowa). We spent a few days buddy-boating with them up to Charleston, SC. That’s another great historical old town. We toured through a home that was built in the 1700’s and still has 90% of the original furnishings. It’s 3 stories tall and a descendent of the original family still lives there on the 3rd floor. The house has never been sold!
We waited out yet another thunderstorm in Charleston before moving on. This storm was very violent with the possibility of tornados predicted. Well, the tornados never materialized but the wind, rain and thunder sure did.
Georgetown, SC was our next stop. Once again, it’s another very small town and nothing to do ashore, but we did meet up with some friends from Florida (Frank & Ellen) f
or dinner one night. They were passing through the area on a trip north by motor home and called to see where we were. It’s always nice to see friends, and our next stop was going to be to pickup our friends from Long Beach (Bill & Ellie) who were going to travel with us for a week. We met them in Myrtle Beach, SC and after waiting for some mail to be delivered, we headed out to show them what we are doing back here on the East Coast. We anchored in a creek for the night and had a great dinner and a star filled sky. Our next destination was supposed to be Wilmington or Wrightsville; but because of a very large fishing tournament in the area, all of the marinas were full and there wasn’t any place to anchor that would be close enough to town to explore. So we continued up to a very small town called Topsail and stayed there. Not much of a stop, but we made the best of it. After leaving there, we anchored for the night in a nice spot called Spooner Creek. There were some beautiful homes in the area, and the anchorage was extremely protected. It rained most of the night, but other than that it was pretty quiet.The next morning we moved to Beaufort, NC. Beaufort is a small town with some very old, nicely restored homes but, again, there’s not a lot to see or do. We were extremely disappointed. We really wanted to be able to show our friends a great week, but unfortunately the area that we were traveling just wasn’t the greatest for sightseeing. It’s all new to us too! We now know that the next time we have visitors, we will plan a better area to tour with them.
After our friends left us and we departed Beaufort, we traveled on to Oriental, NC. We were fortunate enough to meet some long-time friends for lunch there. We knew Dale & Bev when we had our boats in Ventura, CA. Now they live in New Bern, NC. From there, we stopped in Upper Dowry Creek and got to Elizabeth City, NC. What a great trip….why couldn’t our friends have been with us for this leg of the trip? It was beautiful and every little town was great, especially Elizabeth City. Known as the “Harbor of Hospitality”, it sure lives up to its name. Elaine and I think that it’s probably the friendliest town we have ever been in. They have 15 slips for cruisers to use for 48 hours, free of charge, and at 5:00 every afternoon they have a complimentary wine and cheese party for all of the cruising boats. We had a ball and met some very nice people. It is definitely a stop for next year!
The next area that we would be traveling is called the “Dismal Swamp”; however, it was anything but dismal. This canal was hand dug starting back in the late 1700’s. It was ordered to be constructed by George Washington to allow a shorter distance to travel for the commercial boats. It is gorgeous!! One of the most scenic passages we have ma
de so far. It’s about 45 miles long and there are 2 locks and 2 lift bridges; one lock and one lift bridge at each end of the canal. It’s almost impossible to make the trip in one day. But midway, there is a visitor’s center with free tie-ups for the boats transiting the canal. It’s the only visitor center in the country that services both a highway and a waterway. There ended up being 9 boats at the dock for the night. When you put that many boats together in one small spot, there will usually be a party somewhere. Yes, it was a great party!!The next morning we shoved off and headed for Norfolk, VA and the end of the ICW (Intra-coastal Waterway). We stayed for a couple of nights in a marina because we needed to have some work done on our generator. We left the marina and anchored in Hospital Point anchorage for a couple of days. Then we decided to take a break form the boat for a week. We put the boat back in the marina, rented a car and drove to New Jersey to see Bud’s brother and family. We had a great time with them, and it was refreshing to have a break from cruising. We missed the boat, though, and were anxious to get started again. Upon our return, we did some quick provisioning and headed out.
On June 1, we moved to the Hampton River, which is just at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia. It’s a pretty little town with a comfortable anchorage. We stayed there 4 days before heading to Sarah Creek. This is probably the most scenic, peaceful anchorage we have been in yet. It’s just across the York River from Yorktown, VA. You talk about history!! There are three towns all located very close together. They are Yorktown, Jamestown and Williamsburg. It is history overload!! We did the Yorktown tour and went to Colonial Williamsburg. Williamsburg is an all-day thing. The whole town is living and working in the 18th century time period. It’s extremely interesting and worth the time to visit. It’s also an educational experience.
Right now we are in Deltaville, VA, anchored in Jackson Creek. It’s raining like “cats and dogs” today, but hey… what else does it do back here? We are still having a super time and loving the cruising lifestyle.
