We had a pleasant stay at Palm Coast Marina again this trip. The staff is very friendly and helpful. Last year they had to watch over our boat for a month when my back went out and they did a fine job of that.

We rented a car for the weekend and got all our needs taken care of and also got to witness the Endeavor launch! Saturday we had gone shopping to Jacksonville via #95 and returned via A1A along the ocean and did the same thing on Monday when we returned from Titusville after the launch. It is nice to take a few days at dock at this point and get a better idea of the area we see by water, by land as well.

Al finished up all the things on Bob’s list by 10:30 on Wednesday morning and we were underway at 11:00. I had done one load of wash in the machines at the marina and had to hang them on the top of the boat to dry. I’m sure we looked pretty tacky on the ICW with laundry flying! At least they dried quickly and could be taken down shortly after lunch.

We passed through St. Augustine shortly after lunch. No longer do they have any part of the temporary bridge left and the new Bridge of Lions is fully operational.

We anchored for the night in the St. George River just north of Jacksonville, FL. It was a VERY peaceful anchorage with golden marsh grass all around.

We were up and underway by 8, a nice leisurely time to get underway. It is so nice to be out of the crazy part of Florida and into an area more like that found in Georgia. We will make Brunswick, GA for the night. This is our fuel stop where we take on fuel for the trip north as well.

When we passed Fernandino Beach, we were hailed by Vicki and Buck on Victoria Gaye. They had arrived that morning with Gigi and Vic on Gigi’s Island along with the folks on Sojourner. Unfortunately, we had to pass them but in order to make a date with friends on Friday at Skidaway Island, plus since it was only 10:30 in the morning, it was way too early to stop. We were sorry we didn’t get to see them here, but still hope to see them later on the way north. They had been a day behind us, but did an overnight passage on the outside and caught up to us.

We were hailed by another boat also named Pretty Penny! It was a lovely trawler. We have often checked into a marina in the Bahamas and on the ICW and been asked “which Pretty Penny” we were. Well, it seems this was the “other” Pretty Penny!

The land in Georgia is so flat that you can see the Brunswick Bridge for hours before you get there. We stopped at Ocean Petroleum for our load of fuel to get home. It is so great to have a boat that only needs to stop twice for fuel. We could actually pick up enough fuel in the fall to do the whole trip all the way back home, but that adds a lot more weight to the boat that we then have to haul around with us, so we stop twice, both times at Ocean Petroleum in Brunswick. We have found the fuel here is always cheaper than in Florida. The staff could not be friendlier as well.

Some boating friends we met this year, John and Kathy, on Mystic Moon, happened to be docked at Brunswick Landing Marina and we went to dinner with them. We had crossed when they did from the Bahamas and had experienced engine trouble. They, luckily, managed to get home on their “spare” engine going 4 knots. They have their problem now fixed. We managed to just make it to Brunswick before they left the boat for 4 months! We had a nice time catching up on what they’ve been doing since we last saw them.

There was a light haze in the morning, but the sun was out making the water sparkle!

We reached the Delegel Creek Marina by 4:30 in the afternoon, had showers, and were picked up for dinner by Bob’s former boss, Mark and his wife Shirley that live on Skidaway Island, GA. We always enjoy catching up on each other’s family news over dinner. We then went back to their home for dessert, before heading back to the boat.

The next morning it was low tide when we wanted to leave, so we waited an hour before leaving the dock. We had come in about low time the day before and had zero feet below the boat at one point. Luckily, we had no problems leaving.

At Isle of Hope Marina, we passed a couple of classic boats. Very nice, but a heck of a lot of upkeep!

Shortly past Isle of Hope we pass Thunderbolt Marina and shipyard. Usually, this shipyard is loaded with several large mega-yachts undergoing repair either in their sheds or in the yard, with others waiting for work at their docks. This time we did not see a single mega-yacht in their yard. This could be a sign of the current economy.

Also spotted was their classic sailboat. Another boat that requires a lot of work to maintain.

We ended up passing Charleston, SC around 11:30 in the morning. We always manage to pass Charleston going north or south too early in the day to stop. I may have to put my foot down next year to make this a stop.

We anchored for the night on River. This is a quiet river off the ICW. It was a beautiful, but buggy night. Some small bug got in by the aft cabin door by the hundreds. Luckily, some bug spray took care of them. So not only were we fighting off the deer flies, we had this small bug, looked like maybe a flying ant, to deal with. The next morning, the port side of the boat was covered with these little bugs. Most were dead.

Monday night, we made our usual stop at Barefoot Landing Marina in Myrtle Beach, SC, which started out as a free tie up to a wall right on the ICW connected to large shopping/dining area (Barefoot Landing.) When they added power and water, they now charge for the stop. There are no showers or washers and dryers for cruisers or bathrooms right off the docks, so it is limited in that way. We like to stop here as you can get off the boat and walk around the area (of course, I like it because it has a Chico’s and other shops!) My son, Mike and his family live 45 minutes away and they came and met us for dinner. Granddaughter Casey is attending college in Myrtle Beach and we got to see her too. It is always nice to get caught up with them on our return trip.

The next morning we were underway with Dick and Jane on Cheetah II (folks we had met in George Town, Exuma) that ended up at Barefoot Landing with us. We also saw Monty and Sarah on Saranade, that do the surveying for the Explorer Charts that are the
charts of choice for cruising the Bahamas. We don’t know what we would do without them. Monty and Sarah have made it their life’s work to do these charts. They include all the services available on each inhabited island as well and are a wealth of information.

We had hoped to see Bob’s daughter and family at our stop at Swan Point Marina, but they were unable to make it. We will drive down and see them when school is out. We checked to see if we had TV coverage of local channels yet and we did! Do we got to see the last final competition show of American Idol and the final show of Dancing with the Stars! That was an unexpected treat.

After a very peaceful night, we were up early and underway by 7:15. Most of this day will be in the New River section of the ICW.

The next night we anchored in Snode Creek, just off the Pamlico River. This is another quiet and beautiful little anchorage.

We stopped the next night at Coinjock, NC. This marina has a terrific restaurant that Bob loves to eat at – they have 32 ounce prime rib dinners! He “restrained” himself this time and only ate half, leaving the rest for another night. This marina is just a wall that you tie up to along the ICW. I seemed like they were full when we came in, but the dockmaster adjusted all the boats to make room for a 75 footer to come in behind us. It was so close, Bob took the aft line from man on the boat and walked it across our bow to the dock line handler to pull the boat in. Amazing what those bow thrusters can do!

Friday, we came up the Virginia Cut to Norfolk passing the Great Bridge and through the Great Bridge Lock. It takes three hours to get all the way though Norfolk from there to the Navy base marina almost to the ocean cut. Since it was just noon, we trudged ahead to the marina, making it shorter to head up the bay the next day.

We had been watching the weather and hoping that we would not have rain or be affected by the storms heading northeast. Since it was predicted that we would have thunderstorms at home in Ophelia in the afternoon, we decided to get underway early, so we were underway at 6 A.M. Being Memorial Day weekend, we expect to see a lot of boats out and at least a few by the entrance the jetty for the Little Wicomico River.