Georgia and South Carolina
March 11, 2026
When we posted our last Blog Post we forgot to post some photos of our kayak trip with Meghan and Patrick. So here they are.
Left our mooring ball at Fernandina before 8 am and headed to Jekyll Island. Along the way we saw quite a few dolphins and really not much else, except for a bald eagle.
Slow Poke passed us on their way to St. Simon’s. We may be Loop Frogging with them for a bit going North on the ICW. We did travel by the Naval Submarine Base King Bay Magnetic Silencing Facility in St. Mary’s, GA. Brian could see (with the binoculars) 3 submarines. There was also a nearby degaussing station nearby.
Arrived at Jekyll Island Marina and tied up at 11:50 with no issues. We met Randy and Gini on MeandHer; tied off in front of us. First question from Gini was “Do you play card games?” LOL. We gave them a tour of our boat and Randy thoroughly enjoyed his trip to the engine room. They recently started their Loop journey in Texas and want to pick our brains. We took a walk to the historic district. Jekyll Island is a barrier island in the Golden Isles known for its beaches, maritime forest and historic district. The historic district was once a private retreat for wealthy families such as the Rockefellers. It is now a state park.
Walked up to the marina restaurant, Zachry’s for an earlyish dinner.
Early evening, Gini and Randy and Evy and David on O’Evy stopped by for a game of Liverpool. They didn’t know the game, but wanted to learn. Another two couples we’ve taught this game to. Everyone had a great time; lots of laughs. Evy and David will be finishing their Loop in Charleston. We most likely will be seeing them along the way to finish our Loop journey.
Brian reading: First Family by David Baldacci (B’s on a Baldacci kick)
Lauren: Broken Promise by Lindwood Barclay; book one of the Promise Falls Trilogy. Will have to download 2 & 3 on ipad to finish the series.
March 12, 2026
Left the dock at Jekyll Marina a little past 8 am. Ginni on MeandHer offered to help with the lines and then took a video of us leaving. The winds were already picking up and it was supposed to stay rather blustery all day. There was an actual tornado warning for this area – yikes!! Our travel to Brunswick Landing Marina was a short one. We were thankful for that as the winds were kicking up and the sky was turning dark; rather menacing looking. Just before arriving at Brunswick Marina, Brian put fenders out on both sides of the boat, not knowing if we would be entering the slip with bow or stern. We discussed how to work with the winds if Lauren decided to back into the slip; she went for it. There were two dock hands already waiting to help – just in case. Lauren got the boat backed in on first try with absolutely no issues. The dock hands were impressed and said it was 1) nice seeing a woman driving the boat and 2) that she was actually using the wheel instead of relying on just the thrusters. Lauren still, as always, was stressed about it, but felt proud. Not too proud, though – don’t want to get a swell head. About 15 minutes after getting settled, the heavens opened up, but the rains didn’t last long. The winds have even died down a bit. Lauren fixed a late breakfast while Brian opened up packages that had been delivered here recently. He had ordered a new backup camera.
We ventured off the boat and walked quite a bit of the downtown. Brunswick has quite a few empty buildings. We perused two thrift/antique stores, and did a bit of window shopping. The proprietor of one coffee house/book store gave us tour of her business; she was expanding into adjacent spaces. We had a wonderful visit with her. Another coffee/sweet shop we stopped at and ordered a tea for Brian along with a homemade orange cake and a cappuccino for Lauren; satisfied our afternoon snack craving. The cake was scrumptious; not sweet – Lauren was sure she tasted cardamon. For dinner we ate at Hootenanny’s at the Yard; great barbecue with live music.
Friday 13, 2026
Today we had a day of goofing off; well Lauren did a load of laundry, cooked blueberry pancakes and Brian set tomorrow’s route (that took 5 minutes). He was unable to hook up the new backup camera because the video cable was not long enough. He will order a longer cable once we figure out where we will be for a few days so it can be delivered to us. Most of the day was spent reading. For dinner, we ate at Reid’s Apothecary (recommended by Grace on State of Grace). Not realizing it was the start of celebrating St. Patty’s Day, we were able to squeak in at a table for two. Most tables were put aside for reservations. We enjoyed our dinners.
March 14, 2026
Waited until just before 9 am to leave Brunswick as we were fogged in and since we were not traveling far today, decided to wait until the fog lifted. We didn’t see much for boat traffic; two trawlers and a couple of small pleasure craft. One of the trawlers we came upon had been docked near us at Brunswick. Lauren wanted to pass him, but he didn’t respond on the VHF; we tried several channels. Finally, we just beeped our horn a few times letting him know we were near him. Brian held our VHF up to him, but he just waved. The tide ran both with and against us at various times during the day. We decided to travel much further than originally planned. Anchor was dropped in the North Newport River just south of St. Catherine’s Sound at 4:45 pm; long day, but no issues. We will be alone in this anchorage; looking forward to a quiet, peaceful night.
Brian reading: Toxic Prey by John Sandford
Lauren: The Silent Watcher (1 of 3), The Night Collector (2 of 3) by Victor Methos
Of course, The Bone Stalker (3) of this series is not free on Kindle
March 16, 2026
Yesterday, we arrived at Isle of Hope after an uneventful ride. Though, there was one section called Hell’s Gate to navigate. We had absolutely no issues, other than a tug pushing a barge with a crane on it, traveling from the opposite direction. We did pass each other in this particular narrow area, but the water was pretty calm and we had no issues. Hell’s Gate refers to a treacherous waterway; the currents can be dangerous and the passage isn’t wide, so thankfully, we weren’t passing the barge on the narrowest section as we would mostly likely have gone aground.
No problems getting the boat on the outside dock. As we were docking, O’Evy was leaving (we didn’t see them) and took a picture of our boat on their way away from the marina. Too bad we missed them. Gini and Randy on MeandHer are here. Brian said he saw their boat yesterday, but didn’t make the connection as we had just recently met. Today we saw them as they were getting ready to use a courtesy car and we had just returned from a walk in the neighborhood admiring houses and enjoying the coastal charm. Plans were made for a game of cards later on as they are leaving for Hilton Head tomorrow. We were able to use the courtesy car and bought fresh produce and then stopped at a Mexican restaurant for a late lunch/early dinner. As we were enjoying our meals, the skis got really dark and the heavens opened up. Tornado warnings are forecasted for today and the winds will be whipping this afternoon into tonight. The next two days will only be in the low 50’s.
March 17, 2026
This morning after a nice hearty breakfast of oatmeal and fresh fruit, we walked to the Wormsloe Historic Site. We woke to 37 degrees and windy, so it was a rather cold walk; albeit only about a 15-minute walk, but, brrrrr!! A local woman actually stopped and asked us if we wanted a ride somewhere; awfully nice of her. Wormsloe is an 822-acre site featuring a breathtaking 1.5-mile avenue lined with over 400 live oaks planted by Noble Jones’ great, great-grandson. These trees create a canopy over the road leading to an archway at the entrance of the property; it’s a spectacular site! Wormsloe was established on land inhabited by Indigenous people for thousands of years. Noble Jones arrived with the Georgia colony’s founder, James Olgethorpe. Successive generations of the Jones family expanded and changed the purpose of Wormsloe. It began as a plantation maintained by the labor of enslaved people to a historic site focused on interpreting Georgia’s colonial history. Approximately 40 acres of private property are still owned by the descendants of Noble Jones; eight generations later still inhabiting the 1828 home originally built Noble.
Lauren took Heidi out for a walk. It was dead low tide making walking up the boat ramp a workout. Typically, there is a 7 to 8-foot difference between high and low tides with higher tides in Spring and Fall. Glad we are tied off to a floating dock.
We’ve decided to stay at Isle of Hope a few days; there are numerous places to explore as it is near Savannah.
Brian reading: The Target by David Baldacci
Lauren: Dead Watch by John Sandford
March 18, 2026
This morning, we used the marina’s courtesy car and took a ride to the Bonaventure Cemetery. This is a historic and scenic Victorian cemetery. It’s known for its moss-draped oak trees, beautiful landscape, ornate sculptures and famous residents. The azaleas were in full bloom at the time of our visit. Spring has sprung here in the South along with the pollen. The Bonaventure Cemetery gained international fame after being featured in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. We remember the movie, but the book was a great read. The cemetery was originally a plantation and became a private cemetery in 1846. It was purchased by the city in 1907, becoming a public landmark with over 100 acres of grounds. We certainly are enjoying our stay here in Savannah.
For dinner Lauren cleaned out the fridge a bit making quesadillas with leftover lambchops, deboned and chopped, sauteed bell pepper and onion with a dollop of home-made tomatillo salsa mixed in then layered with Mexican cheese – very tasty!!
March 19, 2026
After breakfast we took an uber to the Riverwalk in Savannah. After walking the riverfront, we headed towards the downtown National Historic Landmark District and walked through several of its historic parks. The largest park is Forsyth Park with over 30 acres of green space to enjoy. It was another chilly start to the day (especially near the water), but gradually warmed a bit making it a comfortable day exploring the city of Savannah. We found our favorite candy shop; River Streets Sweet Candy Store. We bought the dark chocolate turtles (they call them bear claws here) for Lauren and Brian got his pralines. We enjoyed our walkabout gaping at the impressive buildings and churches. A few of the streets were a joy to walk because of the landscaping lining the streets. It was a few too many hours away from Heidi and she was thrilled to see us return.
March 20, 2026
Yesterday, later afternoon we met Sarah on Serenity. She and her hubby, Bill are Golden Loopers. Bill got a tour of our boat when he stopped by and later that evening, we had a tour of their Kadey Krogen 48; very nice!
We left Isle of Hope just before 8:30 am and the plan was to only travel for about 3 hours before dropping anchor. It was such a beautiful day on the water, that we decided to keep going. There were a few poop-covered buoys along the way.
We passed Serenity docked at a marina and Lauren sent Sarah a note saying she waved to the boat on our way by. Almost 8 hours later we picked up a mooring ball in Beaufort, NC. We saw that Roam was here. We met George and Midge at The Pier in Chicago; seems like a lifetime ago.
Lauren fixed a porkchop dinner with side dishes of honey- buttered, thyme carrots and smashed broccoli with parm cheese. Brian took a pic of a pelican at the top of the sailboat’s mast that was moored next to us.
March 21, 2026
This morning after a blueberry pancake breakfast, we dinghied to the marina’s dock and took walks around Beaufort’s waterfront. We met George and Midge on Roam; they were getting ready to take a trolley tour and then moving on towards Charleston late morning. We took the one-hour walking tour of the Reconstruction Era. Emma, our park guide was excellent. In a nutshell, the Reconstruction in South Carolina from 1865-1877 was a tumultuous era of radical democratic reform and intense white backlash.
After the tour, we meandered our way through some of the shops and stopped for a late lunch at Hearth Wood Fired Pizza. We had the pizza/salad lunch special and it was delicious! Brian dropped Lauren off at the boat and took Heidi out for a walk and to do her business. She does use the pee pad on board, but is always ready for a stroll on terra firma.
Brian caught up on the bills and arrangements were made at the Charleston City Boat Yard for an extended stay. He talked to an employee there regarding some work we would like to get done on the boat. Brian was sent a form to fill out so we can get a quote on said work. We will be there a few days before flying home for about a week, so hoping the work requested will be taken care of while we are away.
Brian reading: Eleventh Commandment by Jeffrey Archer
Lauren: The Moon is Down by Steinbeck
Monday 23, 2026
Left our mooring ball in Savannah at 7:10am and headed towards Charleston. Along the way we saw several dolphins, two bald-eagles, pelicans, cormorants and other shore birds. It was a beautiful sunny day with hardly any wind at the start. We didn’t see one boat until after 12 noon and then we only saw a few. The landscape was mostly marsh land so we started getting No See Ums in the nav station; nasty critters. They bite!! They thrive in warm, damp environments and since we were traveling by mostly coastal marshes and wetlands all day …. UGH! As we got closer to Charleston, we saw houses off in the distance that had really long dock systems; because of the marshes and the tide change.
As we got closer to our destination, we began to see more commercial traffic.
There were a few barges and tugs, but always ahead of us or off to the side.
There was one little boat pushing a really small barge that had a dumpster on top of it.
We had originally planned on traveling until mid-afternoon, drop the anchor and call it a day, but it seemed silly not to continue on to the Charleston City Boat Yard since it was only a few more hours. The last two hours we had the current against us, so we slogged along. We are looking to have some work done at the boat yard. So, on we continued. We didn’t arrive to the marina and dock until a little after 6:00pm; a ten-hour day. The docking did not go as smoothly has we wished, but got the boat in and tied off without any help. The yard was closed for the day. Lauren was upset because she felt she could have done a much better job docking the boat. On the upside, we don’t think anyone witnessed our docking effort. Thankfully, Lauren had dinner already prepped, otherwise it may have been cereal for dinner. While she was getting dinner ready, Brian took Heidi out for a walk.
Brian reading: Absolute Power by David Baldacci
Lauren: Light A Penny Candle by Maeve Binchy
March 25, 2026
Yesterday was windy, cold and damp. Three employees from the yard stop by to assess the work we would like done on the boat. Brian spent quite a bit of time with them in the engine room trying to figure out how to change the fuel intake ports for both of the aft tanks; it takes hours to fill them as the pipes have too long of a run and are not pitched properly. They also looked at two sea cocks that need to be replaced and since our anchor pulpit still leaks a bit, that needs to be addressed. This morning, we got the estimate and took a walk to the office to discuss said estimate with Kevin. We need to fly home next Tuesday and have reservations at another marina here in Charleston for Saturday to leave the boat while we are away. We could leave the boat here at this yard. The rate is great, if they are working on the boat, but if they finish before we return, the rates shoot up. We are hoping they can get a start on some of the work this afternoon. It is 1:45 at the moment and they closed down at 4:00. We would like to at least see that the sea cocks and pulpit are taken care of. We have lived with the diesel issue since we purchased the boat and can wait on that issue.
The sun is poking through this afternoon; glad to see it, but not looking forward to those No See Ums. Lauren did a major cleaning and went through compartments and took inventory. She’s been cleaning out the fridge and freezer prepping meals before we have to leave the boat for week.
March 28, 2026
Yesterday was a beautiful sunny day in the mid to high 70’s. Once Brian talked to the guys that were going to work on our boat, he called for an Uber pickup to take us to Enterprise to get a rental vehicle. When he made the arrangements 2 days prior, he requested that we return the car to the Charlotte Airport on Tuesday when we head back home. About mid-morning, as we were walking to meet our Uber driver, Brian received a call from Enterprise telling him that we could not drop our rental vehicle at the airport on Tuesday. It had to be returned at the location he was renting it from. They couldn’t tell us that when Brian first made the arrangements instead of waiting until we were on our way to pick up the car? So, we had the Uber driver to take us to the Charlotte Airport to get the rental vehicle. Brian told the clerk what happened. She said that should not have been an issue and couldn’t understand why they would not allow us to rent the vehicle from the dealership and return it to the airport for conveniences sake. Anyways, we had reservations for a tour in Charleston that we missed. Thankfully, we were allowed to cancel and get a refund. We were a bit frustrated with the whole ordeal and the time it took to straighten it all out. We decided to take a ride to the Summerville Family YMCA Flowertown Festival. It was founded in 1973 to support health and wellness programs at the Y. Every spring, thousands of people (we can attest to the crowds) visit Summerville to see the show-stopping colors of the azaleas; hot pinks, light pinks, oranges and white. There was also purple wisteria intertwined throughout the bushes and trees and the white dogwoods were also blooming. It was quite a spectacular site. The festival lasts three days and has over 200 vendors for arts and crafts.
On our way back to the boat, we decided to stop for lunch at Juanita Greenberg’s. We had been to this restaurant 13 years ago a couple of times and the food was very good. Now, it’s not so great; so disappointing and a waste of money. Lauren feels it’s a treat to be able to eat out, because she does a lot of cooking on board, but is so disappointed when the meals are unsatisfactory.
Two days ago, we had two workers from the marina start working on our windlass area; it still leaked. They had removed the windlass but weren’t sure what to do about the boards underneath because they were glued down with so much caulking. After they left, Brian got the boards off by using a pry bar, thin-bladed saw and a putty knife. One board was split, so he got that glued back together. Yesterday, they worked on our sea cocks; one was replaced and one just needed greasing. Monday, the guys will be back to hopefully, continue working on the windlass area. We were hoping this work was going to be done already as we had reservations at another marina to leave our boat while we went home; their fees were more reasonable. Brian talked to the manager here at this marina and negotiated a reasonable price to leave the boat after the work was done while we were away.
This morning, Charleston was hosting the Cooper River Bridge Run 10K. We were told there would be nearly 40,000 participants and that it would be a good idea to stay away from downtown Charleston. So, we decided to take a ride to the Magnolia Plantation and Gardens. Magnolia Plantation is a historic estate on the Ashley River in Charleston. It was originally a rice plantation. It is known for its extensive gardens featuring azaleas, camellias, live oaks draped in Spanish moss and its wildlife. We had an enjoyable time touring the grounds.
March 29, 2026
Today we drove to Shem Creek and walked the board walk. Shem Creek is a historic waterway known for its vibrant waterfront, restaurants and recreational activities. Various boat rentals are offered for tours, dolphin watching, sunset cruises, etc. The creek is still home to a fleet of shrimp boats, preserving its connection to the shrimping industry. I was another windy day, but at least the temps were up a bit from the last several days. We had an enjoyable lunch at one of the waterfront restaurants, as people strolling by and watched numerous pelicans hovering in the water looking from scraps from anyone filleting their fish on the water’s edge.
We Hope all is well and stay safe out there.