Not so Nice Here.

  Now we are experiencing the ugly side of spring.  Last night a cold front blew in and woke to temps in the mid thirties and flurries.  By mid afternoon we warmed into the 40's, and a cool rain fell most of the day.  We need the rain, so that part we are fine with, but the cooler temps we can do without. 

Not Nice Here!

On the plus side - we cranked up the fireplace - this, a glass of wine, a good book - I'm feeling better already.

 Yard clean up continues, the little kids are keeping us busy with LaCrosse and Soccer and the big kids with happy hours and parties.  Those of you living aboard can appreciate that we are very much enjoying our space - however, we both are still living out of our suitcases knowing that we will need to start repacking soon.

Georgia ready for her LaCrosse game.  

  Izzy has become a bunny hunter, again, - keeping constant vigil near the wood pile everyday.  She is also enjoying her daily walks and playing with her sister Kelly, who lives next door.  She is also enjoying her space - and the freedom of a big fenced in yard.

They are promising temps to be back into the 60's tomorrow and 70's the rest of the week - so I guess one day of this crap isn't too bad. 

So once again, the news from Lake Wobegon - "where all the women are strong, all the men are good looking and all the children are above average."   

THIS IS MY NEW MOTTO:

   

Make the best of whatever life brings you!

Still Lovin Spring and Just What is Keeping Us Busy?

Still spring here - but, we have taken a break from yard clean up - yeah.  Rick is working on a rebuilding the deck/steps at our commercial rental property and Deb is trying to get back into her workout schedule - yuk. Our Granddaughter was in a horse competition this weekend with her favorite horse, Nina, so we went on Sunday to watch  that.  

Our beautiful granddaughter, Georgia and her equally beautiful horse Nina.

Pops helping Georgia change from her English Saddle to Western for next competition.

Georgia and Nina, first place winners in Walk, Trot and Lope - so proud of you Georgia Peach. 

Pops, Georgia and Brad untying the tarp that kept the snow (more like no snow) off  the pontoon this winter.  The kids put the docks in the lake in March (during their 80 degree temps) and the neighbor guys put the lift in while we were at the horse show - looks like we are good to go.

Unweaving the weave.

It looks like we are settling back into our normal routines.  We get the pleasure of putting the grandkids on the school bus every morning and Pops and Cooper enjoy having a bowl of popcorn after Cooper gets home from school.  

It's all good here.  

Spring is springing and it's good to be home.

We left Atlantic Yacht Basin on Monday the 16th of April - approximately 1,300 miles separate us from Broulee right now.  The trip was good, stopping for an overnight near Cleveland and then coasting into White Bear Lake, Minnesota around 6:30 the next evening.  I love this time of year in Minnesota, you can almost see and hear the flowers, trees and grass growing.  We, along with most of the midwest had record breaking temps soaring into the 80's during the month of March, but as I type this, our temps are in the mid 40's with a lite rain falling - ahh, spring time in Minnesota.

Sunday - before our departure, we worked diligently to prepare Broulee for storage (in the water undercover).  Izzy supervised the packing of items to be brought home.

Looks like everyone is excited about going home - even Bluey and Hot doggy.

Yup - that's our Yamaha 15 Hp from our old dinghy - hey and room to spare. "Are you sure we don't want to bring anything else back?"

Whatdaya think - will it fit?  This is the Norfolk pine Rick rescued from the dumpster back at Legacy Harbour Marina in January.  It would be a shame to just let it gasp to death while we are at home for a month. It will not be coming back to Broulee on the return trip!  

What the heck??????? Whose idea was this??????

We have spent the past week cleaning gardens, trimming trees, celebrating with neighbors, hugging kids and grandkids and enjoying the wonders of springtime.

Our second load of the day - heading to compost - the not so fun part of all of this.   

We have landed!

You could not imagine a happier experience than the sight of Isabella seeing land after seven days.  We were a little giddy also.  The past two days have been a push - we all pretty much went into hibernation.  We did 184 miles in two days - Friday we did 104 and Saturday we did 80.  It was great to finally get here - here being Atlantic Yacht Basin, where we will store Broulee under a covered slip for the next month or so while we go home to Minnesota to get things in order at our homestead and get hugs from the grandkids.   

We took turns sleeping, just to pass the time.

Izzy went into her complete hibernation mode - only waking to eat and do her business.

No one is getting any attention. 

Traveling thru the Pungo-Alligator River area - Need I say more - I think it's my time to nap.

 See the skinny line on the left - that continues onto the chart on the right - that's alot of BORING!

Sunrise before heading out onto Abermarle Sound - all of our crossings have been good and looks like today crossing the sound should be good also.  80 more miles to AYB and then packing for our Minnesota fix

The sound was good  - picture of sailboat en route.

So we talk about people we meet along the way.  They are not your friends that you grew up with, but just happenstance people you meet along your experiences in life.  Wayne and Carol (Take Time - Krogen Whaleback) we first met in 2003 during a rendezvous .  We ended up by happenstance in the Caribbean with them in 2006 /2007.  We are connected to them like close family.  It happens in this environment - we have common experiences and we bond.  

What I am getting at is they did something for us that blows my mind.  We left our car in Stuart expecting to do the car shuffling thing once we got here (renting a car and driving down to get our vehicle (1600 miles round trip).  We also left them our keys in case it worked out for them to bring our car a little further north when they started driving north to Portsmouth, NH.  Not only did they bring it north - they brought it all the way to AYB  - timing it within hours of our arrival.  Thank you, so much!

To complicate their lives, they have added a 40 ft travel trailer to their 20 ft van.  Anxious to move north to 

their acreage in New Hampshire, park their trailer and build their dream home.  Kudos to you!  Until we meet again - we are heading back to Chesapeake, pack up the Envoy for our trip to MN - safe travels to Portsmouth.  

See you in Portsmouth this summer!

Day 6 - No Land

We are all a bit stir crazy by now and we have run out of cream for the Captain's coffee, but, otherwise, we are doing just fine. Lots of reading, sleeping and wine are helping us thru our days and nights.  The barn door is in sight and  we are all getting excited about going home for a month - this is what keeps us chugging north.

Izzy is putting on a brave face - I'm fine mom, look I am keeping myself entertained.

Well she was fine until we ran out of cream this morning (one of Izzy's favorite treats - now we have two grumps on board).

Now no one is talking to me - really guys I thought we had enough cream.

Tuesday night we made it to Mile341 - at the Calabash River, North Carolina anchorage.  Not much of an anchorage, but will do in a pinch and we were in a pinch.

  

Saw this fun boat somewhere past Myrtle Beach.

Renegade out of Hilton Head, SC

Wednesday night we made it to mile #264 Topsail Inlet anchorage just before Surf City Bridge.  It was a long, cool, windy day and we crossed the Cape Fear River.  The river was actually pretty decent - however, we encountered a freighter.... 

I was down below in Izzy's room comforting her and reading my book (Izzy does not like even tiny waves).  I did not know what hit us, but all of a sudden stuff was flying around the room, and I heard a crash in our stateroom.  After things settled down I went in to check out the situation - a lamp had fell, but the crashing sound was far worse than the damage - just a broken light bulb. (I normally stow the lamp if we are in rough seas). 

I went up to the pilot house to find out what the heck had happened.  The Captain sheepishly explained that he didn't think the freighters' wake would be that bad.  

Note to Captain - Freighter wakes may cause waves over Broulee's bow.  

On the plus side - 11 MPH speeds on the Cape Fear River - wahoo!

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful - view of the ocean from the intracostal waterway.

Nice - SS Sophie

Thursday, up and out early to make Surf City Bridge (12 foot - opening on the hour).  

  Sunrise as we are pulling anchor - 39 degrees, brrrr.

Seriously - this is not the Bahamas, people - you're in North Carolina.

Went past Beaufort (Boefort), North Carolina, you don't really see anything of the town unless you take the time to go off the beaten path - maybe on the way south.  

Passed SS Sophie, again.

Sunset at a nice quiet anchorage at about mile #184, Cedar Creek - Adams Creek Canal.

 Sunrise as we are sneaking out of the anchorage this morning.  Patchy fog and 44 degrees.  Headed up the Neuse River and Pamlico Sound - keeping our fingers crossed for good seas.

I forgot to post this the other day - Rick informed me that he had chigger bites from our day at Cumberland Island.  He showed me them and I said "wow, what have you been doing - scratching them - they are really red".  He told me "no I put nail polish on them to stop the itching".  I stand corrected - they are not red, they would be O.P.I. It's All Greek To Me - my favorite toenail polish.  I had to google it, but he's right - nail polish is one of  the remedies.   

Have a good day!  

Should be working on our taxes....

Yes, I should be working on our taxes, but we are having issues with our Navi-Nut version 2.0. It wasn't tracking well.  I have been on the phone with techs all morning trying to resolve it - my head is spinning.  One tech even had the nerve to say, Mrs. Smith "you should try the Navi-WingNut.  I heard it is more for beginners" - smartass geeks!

It seems all of our systems had us charted on land yesterday.

In the interim the captain has fired up our old Navi-Nut DOS system.  But it's painfully slow and can't tell you where you have been or where you are going.  It also takes up most of the helm station.  

On a lighter note - yesterday we traveled thru a section of the Intracostal Waterway called the Waccamaw River.  The waterway guide describes it this way.  "The Waccamaw River, deep to it's wooded banks, is possibly the most scenic part of the ICW route.  Moss-draped cypresses line its side streams, and turtles can be seen sunning themselves along the shore.  Wildflowers of all descriptions grow in cypress stumps, and the water looks like tea."

It was all of that and then some.

an other sights from yesterday

Even the dock is purple!

I know, sorry - another lighthouse.

On a positive note - yesterday afternoon we picked up speed - allowing us to get to our anchorage at Calabash Creek - North Carolina at a reasonable hour.

Day 4 of no land - please let's play!

Running out of suggestions.

Then when you think they are sleeping because they are quiet and not bugging you....

Ruh, Roh.

Orangey - well at least we got a couple of weeks out of you and yes, - it's all about getting the squeaker out.

  

Trying to convince Izzy this morning to use her tray - seriously - land is right there!

Well it looks like we are up and running - it appears there was a glitch in the operating system.

Time to get working on the taxes.