Florida at last

We made it. Sort of. Crossing the state line last week to Florida was a biggie, for us that is. Running from cold weather, traveling day after day that wore on nerves and made for some small mutinies and insurrections that were quelled only with a long stopover in Beaufort, SC.

The new prop and all the work done has made moving along much better. We even managed to do an offshore passage one day... A bit too rough for our liking that day, but we made it nonetheless. No pain no gain, right? Load up on the Dramamine next time.

The time in Beaufort was excellent. What a nice small town atmosphere, truly friendly people, and all the free laundry you could do made for good times. We did holiday activities three nites in a row, including the street festival, parade with Santa on the fire truck, and the boat parade one nite. We had a local family that are members of a family cruising group act as our official hosts, which made it even better. Truly a big thanks to you, and to Beaufort for the great times.

Moving southward, we crossed into Georgia and had to watch ourselves as the tides and tricky shallow spots made it interesting. A stop over on Cumberland island to visit the Carnegie family's former estate of Dungeness was great and included wild horses.

Onward to Florida, where we are now in St Augustine enjoying the warm weather, holiday cheer and lots of cruisers meeting up and discussing plans to move south. Happy holidays, we'll tune in after the new year from somewhere further south.

How to have fun on a boat

Homeschooling on a warm day in December

Sunset over Charleston, SC

By Anne

When we were in Masonboro marina, there wasn't a lot to do. So we asked the dock master what a fun activity would be and he said we should motor to the islands in our dinghy. So, we did. At first, my mom and I went. I thought it was going to be boring but then I found a whelk. I picked it up and found a small animal inside. We thought it was a clam but then, we looked at it more closely and realized a mollusk was inside. I wanted to keep it but the mollusk would die so I left it there.

After ten minutes passed, my mom and I motored back to the boat and picked Alex up. Then, we went to the other island. When we got there I jumped into the cold water and pulled the dinghy to shore. Once five minutes past a small dog came running over. Then, two people came. My mom talked to them for a while and then the owner found a stick and showed us how high the dog could jump. The dog was able to jump at least four feet high.

While my mom was talking to the same people, Alex and I walked around. Alex also found a whelk but it had a mollusk in it too. The mollusk was angry when we picked him up so it spat water at us. After Alex put the shell down, we raced to the end of the beach. Alex won. I almost stepped on a HUGE jelly fish. I was disgusted but Alex didn't care. We kept on walking and then turned around. My feet were sore from walking on the sharp shells. Even though I thought it was going to be boring I had a lot of fun looking for shells.