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South Carolina to Maryland

Our travels since we left Florida have been fairly smooth with moderate winds & very little rain. Not even a single thunderstorm or tornado warning thru North Carolina which is a first!

“RUN! GET OFF THAT DAMN BOAT BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE!” I almost had to hold Lori back before she could warn this bride during a photo shoot on the boat behind us. We have almost the same photo from our wedding 35 years ago this month aboard a trawler in Sarasota Bay & look how that’s worked out!

Donuts don’t run our schedule, however … we did wait at Carolina Beach 3 extra days as Britt’s Donut Shop didn’t open until Friday. A half-hour line Friday afternoon was a bit much, but Saturday AM’s line was over an hour long going around the block so even Lori said enough!

It’s always a bit odd when we travel under a bascule bridge, then later drive over it in a rental car. We recently learned from a local that “bridged” is term used when they get delayed in their car for a bridge opening. Even though vessels have traditionally had priority over car traffic, that is quickly changing as people get tired of being “bridged” & push the authorities to limit bridge openings.

A stop in Belhaven, NC always covers it all – a complimentary golf cart from the marina for our errands (oil recycling, bakery & grocery store). And Lori got in some cherished girl time with Ann, who with husband Michael was also in Belhaven on their Endeavour power cat, “Our Spot”. Did you know that one can buy women’s clothing at the ACE Hardware store?  Yep, it’s a part of the store called “Handpicked Sister”.

Our favorite Spoon River is just a short walk away. It’s actually Spoon River Artworks, as owner Teresa planned to open an art studio 14 years ago – certainly not a restaurant. One thing turned into another as she “accidently” created one of the most popular restaurants in this part of North Carolina. She hopes to finally open her Artworks cross the street next year, but she & her husband have to finish rebuilding the entire building first.

While “up a creek” this guy was sunning himself on the nearby bank. We kept an eye on him as he swam past our stern at dusk to make sure he didn’t get any ideas.

We’ve only seen this a few times, but this is a dolphin “playing” with its catch – while he’s already caught his fish, he’s swimming along, tossing it up into the air to catch it again & again.

Now that we’ve made it as far as Maryland up the Chesapeake, the sky is falling with lots of rain in the forecast, along with some high winds. We’re a few days from our Cape May, NJ to NYC 115-mile offshore trip, so we’re looking hard for some favorable weather.

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Donuts to Diesel in Florida

We often stop at Marineland Marina (20 miles south of St. Augustine), however decided this year, to stay for a week & rent a car to explore the area, including visiting St. Augustine by car, rather than boat.

We got in 3 great donut shops, including our small-chain Florida favorite, Parlour Doughnuts (not shown – eaten first).

 

All wasn’t driving & donuts – we’ve been having a diesel problem lately. While I wasn’t able to find a mechanic with time to look at our problem, I was able to find one who would e-mail me back & forth with ideas to help with a diagnosis. The answer ended up being simple science – between the elevation of the engines & tanks, the return lines (diesels have both supply & return hoses) would siphon back to their tanks overnight. Although taking several days to figure out, the solution took only an hour to re-connect the return hoses to their proper fittings to the tank bottoms – it appears they had been switched at some point.

In between engine work we explored the area including the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum. I walked up – Lori took the pictures.

This is a preserved piece of the original A1A within the Washington Oaks Garden State Park. My, how Florida has changed! We’ve seen the growth around Miami, Orlando & even Vero Beach, but were dumbfounded by the growth in “rural” areas such as Palm Coast, Flagler & St. Johns. Miles & miles of new developments interspaced with shopping plazas, medical offices, recreational areas & new public schools (120-million-dollar ones with huge campuses).

Marineland Marina’s neighbor is the Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience (part of the University of Florida). A researcher was checking on some specimens in one of their outdoor ponds.

A bleak beach day, but still beautiful & just across the street from the marina. Florida takes its sea turtle nesting extremely seriously. With nesting season beginning next month, thousands of volunteers will cover many of the beaches every dawn looking for the telltale signs of mother sea turtles which swam in overnight, crawling up into the dunes to excavate & lay her eggs. Every nest is tracked & marked off. Areas with multiple nests in the upcoming weeks are required to keep shore lights dimmed so when the baby turtles emerge, they march to the moonlight over the water, not to shore lights. Florida’s precautions are working as last year’s turtle nest count was the largest ever recorded.

Our visitors from the north, Tom & Linda. Lori hired Linda some 22 years ago at her old company … Linda is still trying to retire.

Who in the world brags about their DMV? Well, I do! After living in CT most of my life, it is always a shock when Florida makes it all so easy. Every visit takes just a few minutes with no wait, while most tasks are on-line. Oh, all of the fees are about 1/3 of CT’s. Recently one of our 2 boat registrations got lost in the mail, so I had to call. Minutes later taken care of with a replacement in the mail the next day.

In addition to our diesel issue, we had a bit of a panic with oil analysis testing of our engine oil (common to do with marine diesels). Our testing came back showing some serious issues … our mechanic suggested a duplicate set of testing and … completely normal. Hopefully just an anomaly with the testing company.

With our stomachs & freezer fuel of donuts, we’re off again, soon to be in Georgia. The weather has been amazing & we’re hoping it continues!