Happy 2012

We are still at Osprey Marina. The weather  has been beautiful, so while we are here, I figured I could get some work done, waxing, re-staining woodwork, and installing a combo washer dryer we picked up yesterday. Still reviewing the steps to get in installed, but we won't have to be doing laundry in the marina laundry mats any longer.
We returned back to N.Y. for Christmas and then back to the boat til May. We decorated for Christmas, in the boat. We picked up a little tree just to add a little festive atmosphere and had a small ceramic one that had been Sharon's Mother's little tree.

Helping to decorate a friends house in Myrtle Beach. This is a first, Christmas decorations going up in T-shirt and shorts.

                 Winter project:
 Get this installed in the galley of the boat.
Problems: 24" wide, boat door is 22"
                  32" high, cabinet is 36"
                  Combo unit weighs 168lbs

Stay tuned...

One of our neighbors at the marina. They come out to visit every day. Daisy doesn't
think too much of them but she's getting used to them. This is "Billy The Kid". 

New Years Day BBQ.

Daisy is enjoying the winter on the boat. If I could only get her to drive it to earn her keep.

Birthday cake at 
the marina

What's left of the "Yumsuch" mast and wishbone.

Avast ye all! This be the Bennetts
at the Pirates Voyage show.

The wench (Sharon B) outside the Pirates Voyage show, surrounded in Christmas gala. Only a Pirate can decorate a christmas tree with a cutlass and skulls.

Another beautiful day ahead



Relaxing at our winter home, for now.

Deltaville, Va.
One of the many sunsets.

The fog lifting in the morning
   at Osprey Marina.



USS Wisconsin



Even Bun is enjoying himself.  One of the many marinas that we have visited the last two months. So many sunrises and about the same amount of sunsets to enjoy. The nites are sometimes a little cool, but we are still on the boat enjoying ourselves.

Do you think he is prepared for high water or when the tide comes in? We thought is was amusing that all of the other trailers were at ground level. I bet he has a lot of company when they get a big storm?

I thought these were dolphins that were in front of us. I told Sharon to get her camera, there are Dolphins ahead of us. She thought it was horses. When we got closer, we noticed that they were deer crossing the ICW.

I do get a break once in a while. I had to take a picture to prove that she does drive the boat. Keep this in mind when you come upon us out there somewhere.

0 miles traveled, more pictures

More pictures from our trip. Rocking chairs waiting for the Bennett's.  They have a long wait.

River Dunes Marina

 Many of the homes along the ICW had a nice view, but didn't have a dock or boat. I guess if you live on the water, you don't need a boat.

The sign says "feed the fish"
not the birds.

My new hang out

Another nice home, no boat!

Annapolis Waterfront

We spent a day at "Broadway on the Beach" with a large lake, and hungry fish, and me with no fishing pole.

    Another from the Dismal swamp

No traveling for a while, but the pictures will continue.

Thank you all for joining us on our trip. We hope you have enjoyed the pictures that we have posted, and we promise more will follow.

Happy Thanksgiving Day

   So today, the day after thanksgiving, Sharon and I are sitting on the beach. I have shorts on, Sharon is playing with bare feet in the sand. Later we stop and get something to eat at Chic-Fil-A. They are playing Christmas music, its 68 deg. and I am still in shorts. This just ain't right. But I'm not complaining.
  We are still at Osprey Marina in Myrtle Beach, S.C. The weather is fine, the marina is beyond hospitable, so we are planning on staying until the weather or the marina manager chases us away.
  We decided to post some of the most notable pictures that Sharon took along the way.

We didn't leave this morning

Osprey V-22 flyover

One of the many bridges we
passed along the way

Looking for dinner

Today we will post pictures of the lower Chesapeake Bay and a couple of the Dismal Swamp. The swamp is an experience that is hard to explain. Very narrow, sometimes dark, But oh what fun. We talked later and determined that is was probably the best 50 continuous miles that we travelled. The water was described as root beer (very fitting).  The water was deep from shore to shore, so there isn't much of a danger of hitting bottom along the way if you get out of the middle. They have a rest area that is for cars on one side and boats on the other. You should have seen the looks on some of the driver's faces when they come around the corner and saw a bunch of large boats along side the road. 

Red skies at night: Sailors delight
Red skies in the morn: Sharon's delight

New navy SES (surface effect ship)  conducting firing
exercises, this is as close as we could (wanted) to get.

All tucked in for a few days



Myrtle Beach Yacht Club

Lightkeepers Marina
Reminds us of our home marina

Bun found Barnacle Jim

Compliments of Ms. Irene

Osprey Marina

 There are so many beautiful houses along the way, the miles just click by without even noticing. With every house having a dock attached, you don't want to go too fast to create a wake and possible damage. We pulled into Osprey Marina in Myrtle beach about 1:30 this afternoon. Completed some cleaning and then relaxed. We are planning on spending a few days here. The temperature during the days is upper 70's and the evenings in the lower 60's. Looks like shorts and sandals for a few days. We spent a night at Carolina State Beach Marina but didn't make it to the beach. After a long 9 1/2 hour day, we just relaxed on the boat with a glass of wine. Next day we made it to Myrtle Beach Yacht Club and took a berth at the Lightkeepers Marina. The weather has been great since leaving Morehead City. We have been travelling slower, but we have enjoyed the trip so much.

Oh Oh, we went aground! It was the navigators fault!

The Navigator

As we continue along the ICW (the ditch) the trip has been uneventful until mile marker 260. We went aground. Soft landing. We just waited a few minutes.The tide was coming in, so it floated us off with a little reverse. Just soft mud bottom, but it got our attention. I think it was the new navigators fault. She was suppose to paying a little more attention. We stopped in Carolina beach State Marina. I'm not a fan of a state park competing with private marinas, but a flat fee of $30. makes it attractive. They remodeled this marina in the last year, The slips were top rate. Carla the Park Ranger was very nice and Doc, the assistant helps us get tied up for the night. We will stop back and spend a few days in the spring.
      We finally departed North Carolina today and entered South Carolina. We spent quite a few days or weeks in North Carolina, I thought we would have to file a change of address to the state after a while.The houses lining the ICW are beyond explanation. All of them have windows covering the walls facing the canal. I can only imagine when the cold winter winds blow off the Atlantic. One house that stuck out was large, pink with a accompanying light house the same color built right on a point. It got both of our attention. Now a few days in North Myrtle Beach to relax.