Nov. 25-26, 2017 - Jacksonville, Cumberland Island (again)

We finally left Fernandina Beach for a beautiful 2-1/2 hour trip south to a free dock in Jacksonville.  We met Rob and Glenda (Monterey) there and spent the afternoon with them.  We left Sunday to head back north to Cumberland Island (again) (this time with a working dinghy). (Only crazy people head north at this time of year.)  We anchored around 11:00 and waited for Monterey to come in.  We all spent the afternoon hiking around beautiful Cumberland Island.  The evening ended with docktails aboard Monterey.

Cumberland Island is part of the National Park Service.  The island is 17.5 miles long and the only way to come ashore is by ferry or boat.  In the late 1800's, Thomas Carnegie (brother of Andrew Carnegie) bought land on the island as a winter retreat.  They built a 59 room mansion called the Dungeness, which burned in 1929.  Today only the remains are left.  We had toured another Carnegie mansion built on the north end of the island earlier this year.  The Carnegie family still owns several private houses on the island.  The island consists of many hiking trails and camping areas, plus the wild horses that roam the island.

This is a really big boat - notice the ski boat toward the rear

We must be back in Florida - our first Manatee Zone sign

Nearly Perfect and Monterey at the Jacksonville free dock

Entrance to Cumberland Island

Our first wild horse siting

More horses down by the water

One of the many beautiful paths with Spanish Moss hanging from the trees

The gates to the Dungeness Mansion

The remains Dungeness Mansion from the road

The back side overlooking the water

View from the water

With Rob and Glenda

Glenda and I walked across the island to the Atlantic

Beautiful seashore

A great tree-climbing tree (if I was about 60 years younger)

The sun setting over Monterey

A nice day with Rob and Glenda

Nov. 19-24, 2017 - Cumberland Island, Fernandina Beach

We left Jekyll Island around 8:30 and headed to Cumberland Island. The trip was a little windy and the water choppy as we passed an inlet from the Atlantic Ocean.  We anchored on the south end (we had been to the north end earlier in the summer with the girls) and relaxed around the boat the rest of the day.  We were going to go explore the island on Monday, but didn't feel real confident in the dinghy motor, so we enjoyed another day of reading and relaxing on the boat.

We left Cumberland Tuesday for a quick one hour trip to Fernandina Beach (back into Florida again).  A repairman came to get the dinghy motor to install the new carburetor, and I made a quick trip to a clinic to get some drugs for the crud I had picked up.  We later made a trip to WalMart and Winn Dixie to get ready for our Thanksgiving dinner with Rob and Tricia.  On Wednesday, Rob and Glenda (Monterrey) drove in from Jacksonville (they spent 6 days with us in Florida last summer), and Rob and Tricia drove down from Beaufort, N.C. (their boat is there for repairs).  We had a great visit and all went into town for a pretty good Mexican dinner.  Rob and Glenda had plans for Thanksgiving, so they left to go back to Jacksonville.  After a good breakfast on Thursday, Thanksgiving preparations began.  It was a rainy day, so it was fun to just hang around the boat and prepare food (and boy did the boat smell good!).  Rob prepared the turkey and Jack fixed a lot of the side dishes.  We had a great dinner with great friends.  Terry and Carol (Carol Ann) who had pulled in behind us, came over for a while after our dinner.  Terry pulled out his trick card deck and performed a few magic tricks for us.  After that, Tricia and Rob headed back to their boat in Beaufort.  They will catch up with us in a few days.

Due to pretty heavy winds, we stayed in Fernandina Beach on Friday.  The rain left and the day was beautiful and sunny.  The town was well into the Christmas spirit with a pajama party all day in the town plus many other festivities.  It was a lot of fun, and we had a great time exploring all the stores and watching all the people.  We were glad we stayed, plus we were able to have docktails again that night with Terry and Carol.

Passing North Cumberland Island on a windy, cloudy day

There was a cruise ship anchored across from the marina.  The passengers

were taken out to the ship by dinghy.

Glenda, Rob, Jack, Tricia and Rob

A great time and good Mexican food

Turkey preparations have begun

A great day with great friends

Then there's the clean up

Who doesn't love to squirt whipped cream into your mouth!

Tricia and Carol watching Terry's card tricks

The downtown festivities

Everyone is in matching pajamas (including the dogs)

A lot of activities

Downtown Fernandina Beach (on a beautiful, sunny day)

A pretty cute staircase leading up to the art gallery

An interesting porch on this house complete with painted horses

Fernandina Beach is ready for Christmas

The first sunset we had seen in a few days

Carol and Terry

Nov. 15-18, 2017 - Cowan Creek, Redbird Creek, Jekyll Island

We said goodbye to Rob and Trisha and left Charleston around 8:00 for a beautiful day on the water.  It was a little chilly but it was great to be moving again.  We anchored at Cowan Creek around 3:50.  Thursday was another beautiful day on the water.  We are beginning to see more and more dolphins.  We left South Carolina, entered Georgia and went passed Savannah (we'll catch it next time around).  We anchored later that afternoon at Redbird Creek.  We are definitely in the "Low Country" which means marshland and sometimes very shallow water.  There were a few places where we had to make sure we were going through an hour or two after low tide.  Both of our anchorages were beautiful and quiet.

We left our anchorage Friday and docked at Jekyll Island Marina around 3:45.  Jekyll Island is a very quaint island.  The island was founded in 1733 and is eight miles long and one mile wide.  There are quite a few homes of the rich and famous still on the island.  While Jack played golf, I walked around the famous historic part of the town which includes the Jekyll Island Club Hotel (we had a drink on the porch when we were there earlier this year), plus many cottages of the rich and famous of the 1800's including the Rockefellers, Pulitzers, Vanderbilts.  The entire historic area was already decorated for Christmas.

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Beautiful home as we were leaving Charleston

Getting into the Low Country

Beautiful sunset from our Cowan Creek anchorage

This is really the Low Country

The Atlantic Ocean from my drive along the beach at Jekyll Island

The Jekyll Island Marina (we're on the outside of the dock on the right)

Beautiful Moss Cottage built in 1896 - named for the moss

hanging from the Oak trees

The Goodyear cottage - owned by Frank Henry Goodyear; completed

in 1906

Indian Mound - home of William Rockefeller, built in 1892

The Jekyll Island Club Hotel

Jekyll Island is ready for Christmas

The sunset over Jekyll Island

Nov. 12-14 , 2017 - Charleston

We started Sunday with a trip to Trader Joe's (we had never been to one) and to WalMart.  Later we toured Boone Hall Plantation (you can't go to Charleston without touring a plantation).  Boone Hall Plantation is one of America's oldest working plantations.  The original crops were indigo and cotton.  Today, we saw peach trees, tomatoes (you could pick some yourself), and many others.  The entrance to the plantation house is 3/4 of a mile lined with 88 live oak trees.  There are also 9 slave quarters lining the road up to the plantation house. Since the plantation is privately owned now, it is a very popular venue for weddings.  We were told people waited up to 18 months to get a date for a wedding.  After touring the plantation, we jumped ahead to Christmas and drove through a golf course that had been lined with many Christmas lights.  The lights were beautiful, and there was an area with an open fire where you could roast marshmallows.

On Monday, we returned the rental car and worked around the boat.  I walked into town for a hair cut.  Tricia was still sick so Rob came over for dinner that night.  On Tuesday morning, Jack, Rob and I walked to the next marina for breakfast.  I took one last walk through town for a last shopping trip to Harris Teeter.  Charleston was just too cold, so we decided to leave on Wednesday.

Our first visit to Trader Joe's

Getting ready for the horse drawn carriage ride around Boone Hall Plantation

The old cotton gin building

Big tomato plants

Tree lined entrance to the plantation - 88 live oak trees

Of course there's always a stop for ice cream

The form the slaves used to make bricks

The slave quarters

A wedding party - they were blocking the drive way

Boone Hall Plantation

Beautiful gardens in front

View of the house after dark

Time for Christmas!

Big pit where you could roast marshmallows

Busy Charleston harbor

A beautiful old church

I love these Charleston homes - the side door just opens

onto a long front porch