Working late

Still preparing the boat for tomorrow's departure; moving fuel,tying down surf boards, filling the water tanks, closing up the car, stowing food, stubbing toes, feeding children...... We are leaving in the morning with the incoming tide and depending on the weather and the bridge schedule we may push to Beaufort. The boys enjoyed the first half of the rainy day with Legos and schoolwork. It was raining and blowing hard. The change in the weather makes us want to go further south!

Almost Ready

Not too much to report today.  Another beautiful day down here, other than the fact that I spent a good chunk of it finishing up replumbing the forward head.  The good news is that it's done (whew!), working well, and that SMELL is gone.  The bad news is that my boys learned a few new words today, most of them while I was hunched under the sink wrenching out old sewage hose.  Fun stuff.  I also tackled the wifi antenna.  Those of you who know my computer skills can imagine how that went.  But somehow it works, and we now have wifi on the boat, borrowed from a distant hotspot somewhere down the shore.

Betsy continues to make lots of supplies disappear everywhere on the boat and make sure that the boat is shipshape for departure.  She's quite the magician.  We're now thinking that between the weather and tides (the dock owner tells me getting out of this creek is very tricky -- stay tuned for an interesting entry) we'll plan on shoving off first thing Thursday morning, heading down the ICW toward Beaufort, SC. 

It's starting to rain outside, so I'm going to hunker down and head to bed.  We love hearing from everyone, so keep the emails/posts coming.  More later . . . .  Sam

Another beautiful morning in Charleston... We feel spoiled. Big news of the day is that while fishing, Win spotted a dolphin in our creek (for those of you who know Win it won't surprise you that he was still in his jammies). He thought it was a seal and was a bit startled to see it right next to the boat. Yesterday we were treated to a carriage ride through downtown Charleston. It was the most amazing collection of pre-revolutionary buildings I have EVER seen. Sam and I were drooling. We stowed the rest of our gear and had a pizza party at Nana and Grampa's hotel to watch the Broncos game. GO BRONCOS! We'll have to make sure that next Sat night we have good wi-fi so we can watch the big game on the computer. Today we'll work out our itinerary for the next few days. It will be fun to see the waterway!

Family Dinner Night

Rooster named "CHANDLER" at the carriage barn

Morning landscape for Amanda

Another beautiful day in Charleston

The last two days have been in the high sixties and low seventies.  It is beautiful on our creek.  Yesterday we avoided chores and spent several hours at the Charleston Naval History museum.  We were able to tour an aircraft carrier and a submarine.  It was fascinating.  They also have a reconstruction of a Vietam War base camp.  Grampa explained to the boys how it was similar to and different from his experience in the war.  We all learned a lot!  We finished up the day at Sticky Fingers barbecue in downtown Charleston;  great ribs, fried corn on the cob, sweet potatoe fries and bread pudding - yum.  Today the boys went to Boone Plantation with Nana and Grampa.   They learned a lot about cotton farming, brick making, pecan trees and most importantly about the role that slaves played in the South.  Sam and I drove around town, did laundry, visited West Marine, Walmart, Lowes and the Piggly Wiggly.  Sam removed to holding tank from one of our heads - brave man!  The boat is shaping up and we are crossing lots of projects off our list.  We had our first dinner on the boat with Nana and Grampa.  It is beginning to feel like home.

ON BOARD!

We made it to Charleston and found our boat safe and sound in a beautiful creek.  We drove in a long road with stately trees, spanish moss and saw palmettos - a true Southern lane.  We have mountains of bags to unload and lots of gear to stow but we have plenty of help.  Nana and Grampa arrived at the dock and it was fun to see the kids giving them a tour of the boat.  We witnessed the first of many beautiful sunsets.  Nana and Grampa generously treated us to a nice Italian dinner and we are all heading to bed early.  It is supposed to be in the high sixties tomorrow and sunny.

Fireworks stop at South of the Border

Four States and a District

Long but fun day yesterday. Said our goodbyes to Lisa, Olivia, Peter, Isabel and our cat Stanley in the morning, then headed down to DC to exchange some clothes on M Street in Georgetown and pick up Nat's braces at Mintz's DC office (thanks again Emily and Kathleen for all the help). Next was a car tour of the city, followed up with a few hours at the Air and Space Museum. Very cool! Back in the car for a long ride down to Fayetteville, NC where we spent the night. Everyone crashed hard and slept well in what was likely our last night in a real bed for quite a while. Off to Charleston, SC this am; everyone is excited to see my parents and the boat. And it's a lot warmer this morning than it was yesterday morning in PA . . . .

Thanks Bartleys for taking care of our girls!

Thanks Noni and Happa for adding our dogs to your family!

Lego pirate family bowsprit for our Suburban.... thanks Fulmer family!

Full load.

Away we go.... Thanks Lynne for the kayak - it is full of fishing rods, nets, spear guns, lines, etc.