Hello to all from Snowy Maine!
It’s a marshmallow world out there! As I write this on Sunday morning its been snowing pretty much continuously since Thursday noontime and its supposed to snow most of today. No wonder we are more than ready to return to Florida! Clicking on the link below will get you to a web site that will let you play dean Martin's Marshmallow World song.
In my last update it was November 1 and we were about to leave Hilton Head. This is what has happened since.
Our first day out of Hilton Head was short as we traveled only as far as Thunderbolt, Ga. Thunderbolt is a savannah suburb and has the distinction of being the only town in the country so named. We had dinner that night at Tubby’s with Ray and Linda on Summertime.
The next day was not a good one. The trip through Ga. was pretty but uneventful. However, when we went to anchor that afternoon, the anchor line parted at the rope to chain splice. We rafted onto Summertime and tried to drag a grapple with the dinghy to find the anchor but were not successful. Then as we returned to the boat (as it was getting dark) Jean informed me that she was not able to start the generator. This was a surprise since we had tested it a few days earlier. After a few hours of testing I determined that the problem was the electric fuel pump. Fortunately I had an electric pump I could make work and after another couple of hours the generator was working again.
The next day we traveled the rest of the way through Ga. to Fernadina Beach where we spent a nice evening with Tom and Jerry Claire at a pot luck dinner held at their sailing club. Calls to Lamb’s and West Marine during the day got a new fuel pump and new anchor and chain on order as well. The following day we went to Jacksonville where we stayed at Jacksonville Landing, a free dock right in the middle of downtown. It was the first Wednesday of the month so they were having their “art walk”, a 4 hour event where they serve free wine and one gets to view artwork in a number of interesting buildings, some of which we toured. The following day we walked around, did some shopping and went to the maritime museum. This museum is small but has a lot of historical information about Jacksonville as a major river port (which it still is).
After a day at Lamb’s getting the new fuel pump and anchor on board and installed we headed upstream (south) on the St John River. The first night was spent at Palatka. We were having a quiet drink with Summertime when the locals on the dock invited us to go to dinner with them in Welaka, so off we went to a very rustic lodge and marina for dinner and some live entertainment. The following day we anchored in Murphy’s Creek and went exploring in the dinghy looking for wildlife. We saw plenty of birds but no alligators. The river here is largely undeveloped and is quite pretty. It gets even nicer further down.
After another night in a pretty anchorage avoiding strong winds, we crossed Lake George and spent a night at the Blackwater Inn in Astor. There isn’t much in Astor but strong winds were predicted (there was a hurricane warning out further north) and the dock at the Inn is only $10 a night. However, we did have lunch and dinner at the Inn so that made it a bit more expensive a day. From there we went all the way to Sanford which is effectively the head of navigation. We spent several days there touring the town and visiting the museum. They also had an evening event going downtown called ‘”Alive at Five “ This consisted of live bands and street vendors and free food and drink. What fun!
The next night was spent in a pretty anchorage called the river forest loop. In addition to the usual wildlife we saw wild turkeys and another large bird that stood over 3 feet tall. Then it was back across Lake George where we anchored for a couple of hours in the afternoon and took the dinghies into Silver Glen Springs State Park to see the manatees, followed by a night at Georgetown marina. (There is nothing there!). The next three nights were spent at three more nice anchorages-Deep Creek, Six Mile Creek and Black Creek and then it was back to Lamb’s where we spent a day or two and then left Sun Cat to fly back to Maine for the holidays. Sun Cat will get some needed maintenance while we are up north.
The five or six weeks here in Maine have been a blur. We had a pleasant Thanksgiving with our sons Steve and Bill, and had a good trip to the Cape to visit my mother and my brothers family. We also spent a nice evening with old friends Rick and Betsy Blake.
Steve is in the midst of a major renovation of his house so I’ve spent quite a bit of time helping him with insulation and sheet rock. It’s a big project but he’s doing it the right way and it will be very nice when he is done.
We had somewhat reluctantly decided to sell our house here this fall so we have also spent a good deal of time cleaning and organizing things here at the house. It looks great! There have been a few showings but no nibbles yet.
Christmas was spent with our sons and was over all too quickly. It seems hard to totally relax for that holiday but we managed to have fun anyway.
In addition we’ve visited with friends, attended the “Past Commodore’s Lobster Stew” at the yacht club, and went to several concerts. We hope to see more of our friends before returning to Sun Cat.
We wish everyone a happy and prosperous 2010!
Steve & Jean
