South Carolina Low Country and Blue Angels

We are now moving along at a good pace. We left Savannah, Ga on 4/18 and traveled 51 miles to an anchorage in Church Creek,SC about 22 miles south of Charleston. We could not get into our marina until Sunday and had to get there before 1 PM because they were closing Charleston Harbor due to the Blue Angels performing Sunday afternoon. So we anchored out Saturday night in a great little spot with 7-8 other boats so we could make into Charleston early the next day. See anchorage pics....who is that long-haired guy? We left next moring at 7:15 am and arrived at the Charleston Maritime Center at 10:30 am. Winds picked up as we traveled and were really rocking and rolling as we came into the marina but got in OK. Donna Pence flew into Charleston and met us in time to see the Blue Angels perform...we had a front row seat from out boat in the marina!! It was a great show .....I am amazed at what these guys do in the jets flying in close formation and doing all kind of zigs and zags and meeting each other and then flipping upside down to avoid hitting each other.

Today we went to see Fort Sumter today and took a tour of Charleston on a horse drawn carriage...really neat town. I leave for Houston tomorrow to visit with Jamey and then back on Thursday to prepare to head to North Myrtle Beach, SC for the AGLCA rendevous starting this weekend. We have now traveled over 2000 miles and been in 6 states on our great adventure. We will take a break after the rendevous and head back to Tennessee for a week before moving into North Carolina.

Dog Country...Finally

Well, I am finally back again and happy to report that we are in Dog country....Georgia Bulldog country that is. We finally got out of Florida at least that's what Mom says. Since I last got to do an update a lot has passed. Mom got a new little pink boat to paddle around in and I get to go with her once in a while. Good thing I didn't go last time because she turned over in alligator infested waters and I think a gator might have a liking for a little Westie. We left St. Augustine, Fl. and as Dad says 'stayed on the hook' off of Cumberland Island , Ga where the horses run wild....boy I envy them! We are now in Savannah, Ga and I met a new friend (a little Pug) named Savannah as well...we had lots of fun running free and wild (without the durn leash!) on the dock. On the way up things got a little rough a couple of times going through some 'sounds' and Dad got real intense going through some place called 'Hell Gate' at low tide. He was going crazy at the helm holloring something about the depth finder reading zero...but we made it without any big problems. Mom had a big time going through St. Andrews sound when we had 6-8 foot seas and water over the top of the boat...what a ride Dad and I said! Not really, because I don't eat or drink much when we are moving. We stopped in a place called Jekyll Island before Savannah and got fuel and met some new friends. Thats where Mom flipped in her new kayak and lost some shoes but made it back OK without any gator bites. Mom fixed a nice Easter dinner on her new plates and as you can see in the pic I am under the table NOT on the table during a family holiday...what a bummer!

Uncle Bill and Aunt Charlotte came and visited us a couple of days and I like to have company to check them out and they really like to play with me. Mom and Dad and them went to Savannah and toured the town and then went today to Hilton Head and LEFT me in the big pen they call a condo for some reason...guess they think it sounds better than just leaving me couped up all day in a cage. I can't complain because Dad or Mom walk me a long way when we get into a marina and I like that. My life on the boat is going OK...I am getting used to the moving and just chill out and try to sleep while we are underway. I also got some new toys and a little toy that Mom puts treats or peanut butter in and I really have to work to get it out..but its worth it!

Tomorrow we leave for Beaufort, South Carolina and then on to Charleston. We will be in Charleston for several days which is good for me....Dad is leaving to go to Houston to see Jamey and watch some baseball games. Anyway, that about it...you can see some of my recent pics.

Remember, bark more, growl more.

, Spring Break and beyond....

This trip has been wonderful for lots of reasons, one of which is that you get to share it with family and friends. We so enjoyed Susan and Matt spending their spring break with us in Ft. Lauderdale. Between the morning walks with Susie, great food, a little birthday shopping, pool days, and of course the beautiful beach we had a memoriable visit. After leaving Ft. Lauderdale on March 30th we traveled about 60 miles and anchored in a little cove behind some homes in North Palm Beach and the next day we went 68 miles and docked at Jones Fruit Dock. The movie Deliverance comes to mind when I reflect on it... but it was only for a night so Willi and I made it ok. Steve washed the boat with black slug which caused lots of extra work when we arrived at Cocoa Beach the next afternoon... Traveling on the ICW from Miami until now has been quite the experience being in the backyards of all the highrises and beautiful homes. And with Steve driving the boat with NO Wake, we almost made friends with the residents. : ) Cocoa Village was a quaint place with great restrurants and some beautiful shops. One of those, Pacita's, had a large metal rabbit that the Easter Bunny purchased and sent to Maison Rouge... He will be named Cocoa and will look great on the kitchen island bringing a smile remembering that part of this adventure. Whether we ride our bikes, rent a car, or walk to worship, each time has been up-lifting (exception of once, Ft. Myers.. went back to the 50's). Easter Sunday was no exception. Another neat thing is, all along the way we have met up with our neighbors from TN on Simple Interest. Diane is always so gracious and fixes some on our best meals. We have been able to share our adventure in detail with them because of their travels taking them the same route 2 years ago. Van has given Steve lots of useful advice and we appreciate it all. What do you do without friends??? A highlight of the east coast of Florida was watching the last of the night lift-offs of the space shuttle on April 5th. We were about 12 miles away and were amazed to see the fire as the shuttle lifted from the ground. Even at that distance you felt the rumbling shake and heard the delay of sound as it moved up and out of sight in about 3 minutes. I can only imagine what the astronuts experience as they leave the ground traveling at 5 miles a second, around 17,000 miles an hour.

We left Cocoa around 7:30 that Monday morning traveling north on the ICW toward Georgia.We saw some manatees in Haulover Canal after leaving Cocoa.  Our next stop was New Smyrna Beach for a night and to get provisions. Tonight we are at Palm Coast Marina just south of St. Augustine. The next few ports will be one night stops until we reach St. Marys, GA. I wish our pictures could show how beautiful the different areas are. Maybe you get some idea anyway.... Thanks for your interest in our great adventure... love and happiness to all. Admiral Carolyn

Goodbye Florida Keys....Hello Fort Lauderdale

They say the third time is the charm and that turned out to be true as we finally left Marathon after nearly two months. Back to the third time business later. A brief update is in order since last posting. We traveled back to Tennessee in late Feburuary and returned to Here and Now in Marathon on March 8 along with our Hoosier friends Al and Linda Rudolph who had planned to travel with us to Fort Lauderdale. The weather did not cooperate so we rented a car and went to Key West again, visited the turtle hospital in Marathon, went to the annual seafood festival in Marthon, and finally drove Al and Linda to Fort Lauderdale to catch their plane back home. It was great having them stay with us on the boat...only wish Linda and Carolyn could improve their Eucher game somewhat. We will miss the great people we have met at Marathon and the ribs at Dockside on Thursday night listening to Joe Mama sing about Henry's Railroad. There are too many folks we have met to single out each one but we do appreciate the help and hospitality we recieved by the great group of loopers who were there.

We tried to leave Marathon twice without success. Once we never made it past the pilings as the engines would not run long enough. As it turned out , I had not properly primed the fuel filters after changing them a few days before. That coupled with marginal weather kept us in dock. Next day we tried again and got all the way out of Boot Key Harbor and the starboard engine started heating up and we had to return to Dockside again to diagnose the problem. With the help of Louis and Robert (Looper friends form NC) we got the problem taken care of about 2 pm and lost another day. After a frustrating couple of days we decided to invite Louis and Diane and Robert and Kay out for a St Pats day dinner and had a great meal and good time. We finally got away from Boot Key on the 18th of March and ran outside in Hawk Channel about 115 miles to Key Biscayne. It was a great day on the water and seas were good, not great, but good. We now have a little clay cat called Coleman who sits up on the helm station and is supposed to be looking out for the safety of the boat and for good weather...we will see (Thanks Jamey!!).
We pulled into Crandon Park marina arouund four in the afternoon after entering Biscayne Bay and traveling throught Stiltsville in a storm that came up on the Bay just as we arrived. This is a good marina with floating docks and they offer a Boat US discount. We got a good nights sleep and left around 10 yesterday morning after pump out and refuel.

Yesterday was a fun day as we traveled up the ICW from Biscayne Bay through Miami to Fort Lauderdale and then five miles up the New River to our current marina, Marina Bay. The weather was cool but sunny and it was neat seeing the sights starting with the big cruise ships in Miami and then on through the highrises and beautiful homes along the waterway. We had to go slow most of the day due to no wake and manatee zones. Finally it was a wild trip up the New River with all the tour boats coming down the river which has winding turns and very narrow with marinas, boats, and beautiful houses all along the banks. The Jungle Queen came around a bend and almost hit us. But we made it safely into dock around 4 yesterday and will be here a week or so as Matt and Susan are coming down to visit us next week. We plan to get the boat cleaned up today and go shopping  for food and some new toys for Willi.

Later.....Be Safe.

Who Running Things Around Here???

I really dont understand what is going on...I am having to do these updates because Mom and Dad are too busy doing stuff and going places while the boat never moves!! They are taking vacation from vacation the way I see it. And (this is bad) they left me at some hospital for a whole week with people and dogs I did not know....dogs were good and it was OK, but I let them know when I got back to boat how I felt in more ways than one if you know what I mean. Mom and Dad went to Key West again with Gary and Jeanie ( I got to go on this trip!) for the Superbowl and Uncle Terry stopped by on his motorcycle for a day. Then as soon as we got back to boat again they left again to go on a bigger boat for a week, something called a cruise which is what I thought we were doing, go figure! Anyway, Mom is gone again to Houston to see Jamey and her doctors and Dad and I are hanging out here in Marathon.

As I understand we are going back to Tn for a few days and then back to Marathon and will finally start moving again...it has been nice though to be in warm weather.

A few pics are attached for your viewing pleasure.......bark more, growl more!!

Weird Names, New Places, New Friends and Cool Shades

OK its finally my turn to get a real update on Willi's Big Adventure. We got back to Salty Sams for a few days which was OK because I knew my way around and when to resist walking when we had gone too far from Here and Now. I got to see my friend Vincent (two legged) and his dogs Vincent and Merlin. They were not Westies but real cool Pekinese and fun to play with. After a few days we had someone else on board and taking up part of my space. It was OK because she played with me a lot and took me to the sand to dig and get really dirty...lots of fun. We then started moving again and the problem is it takes me a few days to get to know the marina and my bearings, how long to 'hold it' before doing my business, etc. We got to Naples and met some neat folks like Simon and Wade and the folks on the huge boat beside us (Dad said it was a ocean going ship called a Nordhaven or something like that). Dad and Mom and Teresa/Donna went to shop and eat a lot and Dad had someone take a pic with an old car.

We swapped people on the boat(Donna for Teresa) and left Naples for some place called Little Shark River as you already know from Dad's update. The thing is I don't understand all these names as there were no sharks and also on the way there and to Marathon the rest of the crew were looking for crab pots....again no crabs and no pots....just little round balls in the water. They got me looking for them too and Mom got me some cool shades so I could see them better.

We got to Marathon and met more Loopers (lots of real Loopers and just loopies down here in the Keys). We had to take Donna to airport in Key West and left early to explore Key West. Mom and Donna took off shopping and Dad and I hung out and walked all over the place. Key West is a fun place and very friendly for dogs and Westies. I saw another Westie like me and was a little taken back...thought it was a mirror like on the boat for a while. I think they should change the name of this island to Key Westie!. It was Race Week in Key West and Dad saw lots of fast sailboats from all over the world and we visited lots of little places where Dad and I had to take breaks for some liquid refreshments....I just had water by the way. Another name thing is this one place called Hogs Breath...no hogs that I could see!!

Well I am about done, Dad is walking me every day here in Marathon a long way around a golf course and up and down the docks and I get really tired...its hot too! We have settled in for a while here and have some more guests coming next week...I will be ready and get them oriented to the boat.

Thats all folks....bark more, growl more!