Summer 2011

7-23-11

In April when we last posted to this blog, we were in Vero Beach, FL preparing to start our annual trip north to the Chesapeake Bay. Boy, have there been a lot of things going on since then.





Looking out to the anchorage in Cocoa Beach

Over all we had a fine trip north. The weather at times was a factor, but all-in-all we had a good trip. Stopping in a lot of our favorite little towns and also staying and anchoring out in some new places. Once we left Vero Beach, we made stops in Cocoa Beach, FL, a really quaint little town with a nice anchorage that can hold a lot of boats. We continued on to one of our favorite stops, Palm Coast, FL. We stayed a couple of days in the marina and visited with some really good friends, Dave and Elaine, and got the boat ready for a lot of travelling. This is always a good stop for us. We know several good people to work on the boat, and we have always been very pleased with the marina. St. Augustine was our next stop, it’s just a short trip (20 miles), but we were going to meet some friends from Ventura CA that we used to boat with 15 or 20 years ago. Dennis and Tina Carlson were on vacation and called to let us know they were going to be in St. Augustine so we made plans and met them for a good “gab” session. It’s always great to see someone from our home state.

After a couple of days there, we pressed on with plans to go up the St. John’s River. The river passes through the middle of Jacksonville, which is the largest city in Florida, and is a major shipping channel. We went as far as the town of Palatka about halfway upriver. The river is about 150 miles long and is dotted with small towns and a lot of creeks and rivers that feed into it. It’s very interesting and has a lot of history plus you get the feeling of “old Florida” much more so than in most of the towns. Instead of taking Diamond Girl all the way up the river, we docked in Palatka, rented a car and drove all the way to Sanford, FL which is at the head waters of the St. John’s. It’s a really nice small town that has been revitalized and is more developed than most of the towns in that area. On our driving trip, we sort of “gunkholed” our way along the river, stopping in all of the little nooks and crannies everywhere…..it was fun.



Dick and Elle on Summer Wind Helping us celebrate



After a few days in Palatka, it looked as though we were going to have a pretty good weather window for traveling so we pulled our docks lines and headed north again. After a couple of days traveling, we stopped in the Duplin River in GA, which is familiar to us, and anchored for the night. About an hour after we got set, we noticed another boat coming in and low and behold it was some friends that we hadn’t seen for a while. They also happen to be the friends who spent our anniversary with us (in 2010) in Savannah, GA. Dick and Elle called us on the radio shortly after they got anchored and asked if they were included in this year’s anniversary celebration. We said of course they were. So we made plans to meet the next day in Savannah at Tubby’s Tank House for dinner. Tubby’s has become sort of a tradition for us on our anniversary. We had a great time with our good friends and also celebrated our 48th.



The walkway at Port Royal Marina

Port Royal was our next destination. It’s the neighboring town to Beaufort, SC. This happens to be among our list of favorite stops. We always stay a Port Royal Landing Marina. It’s very well run and is owned and operated by a really fantastic family. Everyone works there. It’s friendly and very welcoming to transient boaters like us. This year we stayed for six days. It was during the period of time when all of the tornados were hitting everywhere. We had really crappy weather with very heavy winds and a lot of rain. Fortunately, all of the tornados bypassed our area, but there were some very nervous times to say the least. This year when we left Port Royal, we went on to Charleston, SC but only stopped overnight and then left the next morning. We needed to make up some travel days, and this was a good stretch to do that. We’ve been to Charleston a lot so we didn’t think we were missing anything. After anchoring out for a few nights, we arrived in Myrtle Beach, SC. We needed fuel so we pulled into a very pretty marina for that purpose and ended up staying there for a couple of nights. There were some cruising friends there doing the same thing so we got together for drinks and dinner. Of course, we had a super time. One of the interesting things about cruising on a boat is that you meet an incredible number of people, become good friends in a very short time, and then you might not see them again for a couple of years. Then one day you stop somewhere, pull into a marina or drop the anchor, and after a bit you hear someone calling “Diamond Girl.” Then here are the friends that you met in God knows where, and it starts all over again. It’s wonderful…and one of the things we always look forward to.
We stopped in Southport, SC and visited some of our other cruising friends, Gwen and Walter. The next day we continued heading north. Our trip so far was fairly uneventful (which is fine), and we were really having a good time. The weather hadn’t been too bad, only a few delays and that’s to be expected. From here we made a lot of our usual stops, and one of them is in Elizabeth City. NC. We think this is probably the friendliest stop on the Waterway. There are some free docks located here and there is a welcoming wine and cheese party at 5 o’clock everyday (that is provided by the City). Really a great stop! You can’t walk down the street without someone stopping in a car and offering a ride or stopping you on the sidewalk and asking if you need help finding something. It’s amazing and happens to us every time we stop here.

Going through the Dismal Swamp and arriving in Norfolk, VA is always a good feeling. Number one, the Dismal Swamp is very unique. And number two, arriving in Norfolk marks the end of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (mile marker “0”). Our endless days of traveling to get here are done. Now we can just move at a casual pace and enjoy the Chesapeake Bay.

The thing we like about the Bay is that it has endless places to drop the hook and relax. There are very few restrictions on anchoring anywhere in the Bay or the many creeks and rivers that feed into the Bay. It’s not hard to find a place to anchor where you have 360 degree of protection and good holding ground. It’s great! This year we have stops planned in Annapolis, Baltimore, St. Michael’s, Solomon’s Island and many more.

Now as we write this, we have already completed a lot of those planned stops. We hauled Diamond Girl out of the water in Baltimore and did a bottom job. We visited with our dear friends in Annapolis, Nan and Terry, enjoyed the 4th of July on the Wye River with our friends Susie and Greg along with a bunch of other friends (Don and Susan, Paul and Sue, Ken and Marj). We have done this almost every summer with these friends, and it’s always a fabulous time.

Now we are in Solomon’s Island, MD getting ready for our daughter Michelle and her family to visit for a week…we can’t wait to see them. We’ve got some things planned and we’re hoping for good weather. Right now we are experiencing horribly hot weather (98 degrees with 80% humidity and 79% dew point). It’s ungodly HOT!!!!!!

Well, as always, we want to hear from you. Emails are the best way, and we really enjoy hearing about what’s happening in your lives. All we do is travel on our little boat 24/7/365. What a life!! But….HEY someone has to do it!

The Transients, Bud and Elaine



Manatee's in Palatka, FL



Believe or not this dock is 1500' long. It's a dock for a restaurant.



Friends anchored in the Duplin River in GA