When we departed St Augustine we knew we would be threading the needle on weather…though the calendar says April the strength of the still occasional fronts still makes us think March! Slowly but surely we are making progress towards the Chesapeake Bay.

As long time readers may remember, we generally get off shore from Georgia and South Carolina. In this region there are very big tides and many many shoaling hazards. The upside to going inside is that we get to stop into Beaufort, SC and visit Pentagon Sailing Club members Jerry & Winnie. Jerry was actually one of our instructors early on. We had wonderful time catching up and glad to hears is all is well in their world!

It was a two day trip up to Charleston where we caught up S/V Cutting Class and scored an invited to lunch at Slightly North Of Broad (SNOB) for the locals. At the time little did I realize we would be celebrating Marcia’s Birthday!

For reason that are not excatly clear to me, I had never in my life had Shrimp and Grits. Dan and Marcia assured us these were the best on the east coast so how could I not make that my lunch selection? Though a picture was missed we did get a visit from Vickie and her cute puppie Sammy….one of the few pups that could make the cut as a member of the crew!!!

From Charleston we made a long day of it up into the  Waccamaw ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waccamaw_River). One of our favorite regions on the east coast. To celebrate I broke out my every-other-month cigar, enjoyed a beer and barbeque dinner with the Admiral….she declined a cigar!

Early morning opening request for Socastee Bridge (https://www.sciway.net/sc-photos/horry-county/socastee-swing-bridge.html)

A stop into Mytle Beach Yacht Club for a visit with my Honeywell days buddy Pete is a requirement as well as a taste of the best wings on the east coast!

Arriving in Southport NC we were shuttled off to an evening of music, fun, food and catching up with our friends Joe & Christine.

Sunday Brunch Southport was the perfect top off to a fun filled weekend.  Thank you Joe & Christine for making us feel so very welcome!

As this post started with weather, we had an extra lay day with a severe front passing through last evening. Lots of rain, wind and lightening. Underway for Swansboro tomorrow though!

After departing Vero Beach we set a comfortable pace up the Intracoastal Waterway  (ICW) taking a our first pause at New Smyrna Beach where we took a lay day to go and explore a bit. We have stopped at NSB before and its a wonderful little town.

A couple more days underway brought us to St Augustine. We always stop here because it is the home of my Great Uncle Wayne. Wayne was a little under weather so we took a day to give out legs a good stretch around town. First stop was the beautiful Flagler College.

While Annette took in some additional touring I partook of my favorite pastime. A quiet spot, in this case a lovely veranda, to just sit, relax and enjoy this moment, in the place I happen to be in…Truly the high moments of this life we lead.

The other treat of this life is the unplanned intersections of our travel and those of our friends. The first surprise was our friends Paul and Paula from Canada. They too have purchased a trawler and were delivering there recently sold sailboat to St Augustine. We had a wonderful afternoon visit of catching up and making loose plans to see each other this summer as Magnolia makes our passage though Canada.

Side Note: Did you know there is a cruise line that does cruises along coastal USA? We see these small ships at many places along the coast. I find it an interesting (https://www.americancruiselines.com/)

Magnolia on a mooring ball just off the National Guard Armory.

Looking south to the Bridge Of Lions.

Magnolia in the mooring field viewed from the Bridge of Lions as we walk over to Uncle Waynes.

Carmen laid out a fantastic brunch, complete with a bit of Champagne!!!

Wayne is 99 and I am so hopeful I did not draw from the shallow end of the gene-pool! At 99 he is an amazing man!

My cousins, Barbara and Pam along with Pams husband Larry. We had a couple lovely visits with family always a treat!

Going back to the those accidental intersections…Annette’s friend Carol and her husband happened to be in town on vacation as well. We had a terrific lunch and a nice afternoon walk around town.

But no, there is more!!! Our friends Dan & Marcia on S/V Cutting Class arrived just before our scheduled departure. We had a lovely evening aboard and catching up. They had a lousy weather day so we declared “traveler rule.” Thats when one boat is traveling that day so the boat that does not travel makes and has a good hot meal for that vessel that traveled that day. (Dates back to year one with Eleanor Q days!)

Back underway heading for Georgia!

Georgia and South Carolina have these huge low land marshes. We see dolphins and more types of birds than we will ever begin to know.

There are even some mornings more spectacular than we can believe. The below was taken South Altamaha River just before we pulled up the anchor to get underway.

Hilton Head Island – the famous view of Harbour Town

We are taking a break over the Easter holiday in  Beaufort SC. It is a lovely town and we really enjoy being back here. Its been a couple years.

The Admiral heading off to Easter Services.

We have another one of those accidental intersections lined up tomorrow but that will have to wait till the next addition. Hope you have a wonderful week!