Zion

16 December 2018

After breakfast at the same bakery in Kanab we drove to the east entrance of Zion. It was just as I had always heard it described - amazing. Apparently the park is packed in the summer. You can't even drive in until some time in November; before then you have to take shuttles. Well it was empty now, and we were able to drive through at an obnoxiously slow pace, just pulling over maybe a half dozen times to let those in more of a hurry by.

Heather remembers being here with her family when she was in junior high, swimming in the creek.

sv-hiatus.blogspot.com

Heading to Zion

15 December 2018

In the morning we headed back up the hill to Flagstaff, pushing all the way to Kanab UT. We took 89A through the north rim of the Grand Canyon. We need to come back here when it's open. The two pictures below are vistas approaching the rim, then heading back down. We got a nice room in Kanab, had dinner at a little place down the road. As I've said, Kanab reminds me some of Sedona 40 years ago, where it was the place to play hookie from high school (Prescott being too small to avoid getting caught).

sv-hiatus.blogspot.com

Flagstaff, Las Cruces

02 - 14 December 2108

As a part their Christmas we took another quick road trip  with Chelsea and Travis. We headed up to Jerome on Sunday, Christmas shopped a little bit more, and ate at the Haunted Hamburger again. Chelsea and Travis went back and forth on doing a haunted tour, but eventually passed because Chelsea wasn't feeling that great.

We spent the night in Sedona again at the same place because it was still too cheap to be believed. I like Sedona in the off season. In the morning, after a great breakfast which included a 3-pound (not a typo) cinnamon roll, we headed up to Flagstaff and Walnut Canyon, driving up Oak Creek canyon. We hiked through Walnut, buying an annual park pass in anticipation of more park visits soon enough. My knee held up well on the way down, then even back up the 300 hundred some odd stairs. We hadn't been there since the kids were little.

We had a late lunch at MartAnne"s Cafe for mexican then rolled back down the hill, again spending the night at Chelsea's.

The next morning we moved into a hotel for a few days. I made a reservation for points and a little cash and received a confirmation email, but when we arrived it was points only. I found this odd, mostly because I didn't think I had that many points, but let it ride to see how it would turn out. When I checked my points (and cash) were all still there. Somehow we ended up with a three day stay at a nice hotel for free. Merry Christmas to us!

That Thursday morning I was checking the oil in the car before our departure and happen to try and spin one of the pulley wheels that a couple of the belts ride on. The wheel is a guide and it just spins; it doesn't power anything. It protested loudly when I tried to spin it by hand. Since we were about to depart for our next leg of our road trip I quickly made an appointment for the next day at Sandy and Sons. They replaced the belts but were not able to get a new pulley (with its new bushing) until Monday, and we were planning on leaving in the morning. They didn't seem that concerned and it was quiet for now (I think they just lubed it) so we put it on the list, maybe for just after Christmas in Las Cruces.

In the morning we headed over to Las Cruces to Heather's Mom's place. We stayed for about a week, repacking the car, then headed back to Chelsea's in Gilbert for one night. We were finally ready for the last leg of our unplanned six month road trip, heading up to Madison's in San Jose for a quick Christmas visit. She had just started a new job and wouldn't be able to get to us, so we went to her.

sv-hiatus.blogspot.com

Christmas Parade

29 November - 01 December 2018

We headed back to Prescott because this year my mother Melissa was the Grand Marshall for the Christmas Parade. There was a dinner the Thursday before in a large room that was once the second floor of the JC Penneys, overlooking the plaza (not square). Dinner was great. There were awards and speeches about and by folks that had contributed to the effort, and then the Christmas lights were lit up on the plaza early just for the dinner.

After dinner we went over the hill to Sedona because I had found a cheap rate on a little studio for a couple nights. We spent the next day wandering around Sedona, doing a little Christmas shopping. Tlaquepaque was as empty as I have ever seen it, which was nice for us. I guess I'm used to being here in the summer.

The next morning we drove back to Prescott for the parade. Mom was near the front, ready to ride in the back of a new truck. She was supposed to be in a horse drawn wagon but the sudden passing of said horse made that problematic. I think when she got to the end of the parade she tried to get right back in line to do it again, but apparently there are limits to the rights and powers of even the Grand Marshall.

After the parade we drove back down to the valley to spend the night at Chelsea and Travis' place.

sv-hiatus.blogspot.com

Downtown Disney, Palm Springs

27 - 28 November 2018

In the morning we started up the car and it protested even louder. It became clear that the belts were slipping, but not really why, so after Portos (priorities!) we stopped and got a can of belt conditioner. It was more like plasticizers rather than the black sticky goop I remembered, but after a few spritzes all was well again. The belts themselves didn't look that bad (aged and/or cracked) and were only a few weeks old (but several thousand miles), so maybe with so many miles this needs to become part of our maintenance cycle.

After quieting down the car we made our way through the lovely LA metro area down to Downtown Disney. It had been a few years since we were here as well, and the metal detectors and bag inspectors at the entrance were new. Also, I guess the House of Blues finally closed down. Heather did some more Xmas shopping, then we made our way east.

We made it to Palm Springs and stayed in  a very cute little spa resort hotel, had dinner at a nice little Italian place within walking distance. Breakfast in the morning at a diner, fill up with gas at Costco,  then we were on the road heading east back to the Valley.

sv-hiatus.blogspot

Potter

26 November 2018

We wanted to visit the new west coast Harry Potter land at Universal Studios. It had been so long since we had visited Universal CA that almost everything was new or redone. My knee held out pretty well considering, and the brace seemed to help, but by 2:30 we had seen and done everything we wanted to and my knee was done as well.

We ate both breakfast and lunch at the Three broomsticks, and it was surprisingly good for park food. In touring the rest of the park we stopped to sit for a couple minutes across from a Transformers guest encounter. The park was nearly empty so only a few people were strolling by, and even fewer paying attention. But when he called out "so, have you heard about Joseph Smith and his golden plates" he got ours. I'm guessing this was a 20 year old bored out of his mind and just rambling out things that wouldn't quite get him into trouble. On the way out we cruised though the Citiwalk portion, then caught an Uber back to the hotel for a nap.

sv-hiatus.blogspot.com

San Diego

25 November 2108

We had a gap of a few days between commitments, so we decided on a quick trip to Southern California. I guess we have been spending too much time back east, because for the first time I thought "there's nothing southern about California".

First we went to San Diego to visit one of Heather's principals and dearest friends, Deb. She lives on the water on Coronado island, looking back across the bay at downtown. I noted that it was depressing that her balcony was better decorated than our house ever was. We walked along the water to a nice little bistro for dinner. After a lot of catching up we headed up the road towards LA.

The car was making a new noise, but it mostly went away after the car warmed up. I was thinking the power steering pump, while Heather was thinking belts. Hmmm. We made our way that night all the way up to North Hollywood. It was good we did it late at night because although the traffic was heavy there were still few real slowdowns. The next morning it would have taken us most of the day to go the same distance.

sv-hiatus.blogspot

Thanksgiving

22 November 2018

On Thanksgiving we headed up the hill with Chelsea and Travis for the annual picnic. My middle sister Rebecca and her husband Tim (and old friend of mine from high school - long story) were there for the first time in a while which was nice. My grandmother is now 99 and was there, along with my uncle and aunt, most of their kids, and the kid's kids. It was a little cold considering I was still wearing shorts, but I had plenty of layers for the  top half of me. Everyone brings something, and somehow there is always too much food. I've learned to avoid hurting myself, but it took a few years.

My mother was teaching a class so we swung by town to see her, then back down the hill we went. Chelsea and Travis then went to a Friendsgiving while Heather and I watched TV and fell asleep. A good day.

sv-hiatus.blogspot.com

Kartchner Caverns

18 - 21 November 2018

In the morning we woke up in Benson AZ. After a breakfast at the Farmhouse we went to Kartchner Caverns. Last time we were here the bats were in residence, so we couldn't see one side of the cave. While we had returned at a time when the bats had vacated, we learned that we were still not going to see the bat cave because we had not made reservations. We went through the other side of the cave again. It had been so long most of it felt new anyway. You're not allowed to take pictures, so the one below is from Wikipedia.

By Mike Lewis - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3752222

We headed back up to the valley to spend a couple more days. The Monday before Thanksgiving is the traditional Appointment Day. I eventually learned to try and cram all my yearly eye, dentist, etc. appointments to this Monday (and maybe Tuesday) because they were usually easy days to get off my work, the professionals were still showing up at their work, and I would remember when they were. Some habits are worth keeping.

sv-hiatus.blogspot.com

San Carlos

12 - 17 November 2018

Bright and early in the morning we had a quick breakfast at the hotel, then hit the road. We had our car and Linda had her van because she was staying until after Thanksgiving.

The check in on the Mexico side was much more formalized than we remembered (in a good way) and then we were on our way down the (mostly finished) two lane divided highway to San Carlos. Linda's condo is right on the beach. She and her husband picked it up during the downturn, and it's wonderful. We fell asleep each night to the sound of the surf. Since I enjoyed this sound again I guess I'm mostly over the trauma of our massive overnight grounding in the boat off of Sarasota.

It was the most relaxing of breaks, with just enough to do, and plenty of time to not do, anything. We picked up groceries at the local market, then figured out how to make the ATM spit out pesos. Linda introduced us to some of the new places like JJs Tacos. It was clear from the decor that for some reason Trump is not popular there.

We shopped at various stores full of ceramics, metal work, and art of various flavors. I was not particularly tempted, but Heather succumbed more than once, allegedly for Christmas presents. We wandered around the marina, then down near where Catch 22 was filmed.

We ate most nights at the beach restaurant within stumbling distance of the condo. Linda and Heather repeatedly were unable to finish their drinks so I was usually forced to finish them off in order to not appear rude. Heather had at least half a year's worth of alcohol for her - three or four drinks. The last night we ate a a steakhouse on some beautiful grounds.

Linda's sister has a house just up the hill from the condo. We walked thru and its beautiful with quite a view.

Linda and Heather tried snorkeling off the beach from the condo and near a nature preserve on the way into town.

After the week was up we said our goodbyes and headed back up to the states.

After such a good week something had to go wrong. We waited more than four hours to get across the border, losing our daylight for the drive from Nogales to Benson through Patagonia, past Sierra Vista. I guess we'll have to go back sometime.

sv-hiatus.blogspot.com

To Mexico

10 - 11 November 2018

So one of Heather's aunts has a condo down in San Carlos, Mexico. When we were first married Heather and I used to go down there a lot for scuba. Kids and moving to Phoenix largely put a stop to that, although we did manage to get recertified and one quick trip in before Heather was pregnant with Madison.

One the way down we swung by our old place (sorry, crappy picture) in southwest Tucson, just west of the San Xavier mission. This was my best work commute ever, with only two stop signs through the reservation past the mission, and one light at the end to cross the highway behind the airport to what was then called the Hughes Aircraft plant. This was an interesting house design but very poorly built. Behind the garage door is a covered car port with storage closets along the right side. The right wall of the house was the wall for the adjoining lot. But when the wind was blowing hard the house would sway so much that the upstairs toilet would occasionally splash. Chelsea was conceived here, but we moved a few months later up to Mesa for a job at what was then called McDonnell Douglas Helicopter, having recently changed from Hughes Helicopter.

Well, we had to go by the mission (est. 1692) anyway on our way back to the freeway, just like my commute. They've made a lot of improvements to the grounds.

We got to Nogales late that afternoon, and had dinner with Linda down the street from the hotel she always stays at. She has a system.

sv-hiatus.blogspot.com

Las Cruces Redux

1 - 8 November 2018

We spent the week in Las Cruces catching up on things. Last time here we had painted the front living room and dining room of Chris' house, but left in a hurry after just barely finishing before they arrived to tear up the carpet.

We still had a little work left to do on the front room, painting one door frame, a couple windows, and getting to a few additional trim areas, and a little bit more touch up here and there. It looked great with the new carpet and furniture.

We finally checked into gyms, because after two years of not setting foot in one it was starting to show, and worse, starting to affect our mobility and the way we felt. We used a five day pass a couple of times, and while it was depressing how far I'd fallen (from a not exactly elevated position) it was good to start working my way back up again. We took it easy so we would come back the next day.

I continued with the cleaner wax on the car paint, a panel at a time, getting off all the crap that was redeposited everywhere when the engine bay and underneath was steam cleaned.

On the 8th we headed back to the valley, with what has become a customary stop at the Tucson Costco to fill up the gas tank and take a cheap break. We spent a couple days with Chelsea again, then started to get ready for our trip to Mexico.

sv-hiatus.blogspot.com

Bryce

29 October - 01 November 2018

On Monday morning we finished packing the Cruiser again, converting it back to a 2-seater with a whole lot of crap in it. In our defense, we weren't going to be back to the boat until after another two months of traveling. It's our transportation and our closet.

In Provo we had a quick lunch at the 7 Brothers Burger, which was amazing, picked up some awesome coffee at Rugged Grounds (the converted are the most fanatic), then hit the road heading south. We stayed on the 15 south, then took the 20 over to the 89, then south to Panguitch. The road signs said we would pass within a few miles of Bryce Canyon, and it seemed like we might have enough daylight left. We headed for Bryce as the day was fading. By the time we got to the entrance it was so late the booths were closed, saving us $35, so we headed into the park. One of the first signs was for Sunset point, which seemed appropriate.

We got to Sunset Point just at sunset. Good name! There were a number of photographers there who had been waiting for this for some time. We watched as the sun went down, and it was dark by the time we walked back to the car. We were hungry so we headed over to the lodge for dinner. There was no room at the inn but we had a nice dinner, then headed outside of the park to find a hotel.

In the morning we went back to the 89, then tried to have breakfast at one place but it was closed for the season, or maybe forever. We kept going down to Kanab where we had an excellent breakfast at the Kanab Creek Bakery. Kanab reminded me a little of Sedona in the 70s. I was just about to complement a girl who was sweeping up leaves outside on her Amish looking Halloween costume when I realized that it was probably her daily wear. Oops. I forgot where we were for a moment. All too near Colorado City.

We continued past the dam and the lake, into Page, then onward to Flagstaff. We stopped for BBQ at Satchmo's where I had blackened catfish and Heather had ribs. Heather wasn't feeling well after dinner and a storm was rolling in so we just stayed put in Flag for the night. Found a room with a fireplace. It rained and it was a cozy night for a fire but, as luck would have it, it was a no burn day.  In the morning it was cold and clear and we headed down the hill towards Phoenix. Heather read a sample ballot out loud while we drove so we could be ready when we got to the valley. We had never received our absentee ballots, even though we had received them for the primary several weeks before. We walked right into our early voting station and got that taken care of. Afterward a quick visit to the storage unit to drop some things off and pick others up. Our closet for our closet.

In the morning we went back to Costco to have the tires rotated again after only 6 weeks, but over 8 thousand miles. Then after a quick visit with Chelsea and Travis, back in the car to Las Cruces, where we had rellenos and queso at Nopalitos before heading over to Heather's mom's house.

sv-hiatus.blogspot.com

Sundance

26 - 28 October 2018

We left the SLC airport with Heather's sister (Holly) and mother (Christine) headed for Sundance. I had heard about the family cabin at Sundance for ages but had never been there myself. While the original cabin is long gone a close family friend named Heather, daughter of one of the original four men that built the cabin in the meadow, now has a beautiful house now farther up the canyon. Heather is my wife's namesake.

We pulled up Provo Canyon, which we had done just the month before on our way from the reunion to the boat show, but this time after the waterfall on the right we turned left up the even narrower canyon to Sundance. After a ways along the creek it opened up into a beautiful little valley. The Sundance compound now covers the area where the cabin was, plus a lot more. We headed past this for now and continued winding up the canyon to Heather's place, passing a detox facility for celebrities and such.

The first picture is the view from the kitchen table. The second is wild turkeys behind the house that roam the valley. The rest are from wandering around the Sundance compound, with both Heathers in the last picture.

The next day we took a day trip over to Park City and wandered through the streets.

sv-hiatus.blogspot.com

Leaving the Boat for SLC

22 - 26 October 2018

We left the boat and headed west (and north). We stopped for lunch at the Bear's Den in Macon GA. It was an old fashioned line serve buffet with a slightly different menu for each day of the week. The fried chicken and sides were great. We hit the road again, skirting the south side of Atlanta and heading west toward Birmingham.  We made it to Tupelo MS (birthplace of Elvis) and were greeted by a full sized Elvis cutout in the hotel lobby. Across the street was a place called the Neon Pig, which claimed to have the best burger in the country (according to somebody). They had their own butcher shop, so I'm sure that helps. There was so much in that burger it almost seemed like it should be called something else, but it was tasty.

We headed out in the morning to make some miles before breakfast, stopping in Oxford MS. We've been on the lookout for places that might be appealing once we "swallow the anchor" (move back onto land full time), and for some reason Oxford is one of the few places that had some appeal for me. Not flat, lots of trees, college town, neither too "Stepford" or too scruffy. It's a little too small for Heather, and much more removed from things like major airports and a Costco than we would like,  but still - interesting. I'm sure it is steamy in the summer. After breakfast at another Big Bad Breakfast (see Birmingham last year) we cruised through Memphis. We left the interstates and headed up to Springfield MO. We had dinner at Zio's Italian Kitchen, where we over-ordered and the food was underwhelming, especially my chicken parmigiana. Not my best Yelping. Can't win them all.

Heather drove us into the sunset after dinner. The GPS kept trying to send us on a shorter route, so I should have just added Carthage as a stop. Between that and some construction confusion I got us on this country road detour through the toolies as the light was fading to black. We finally made it back to the interstate and spent the night somewhere south of Kansas City MO. 

In the morning we headed west, skipped Lawrence KS this time, and took the loop around Topeka. West of Lawrence was new to us because last year we had headed south from Lawrence for my meeting in Wichita. When we got to the Manhattan turnoff we needed gas, and I had a couple of friends that had gone to school there. It was a ways off the interstate but by then we were committed.  A very nice little college town tucked away in a little valley along the confluence of a couple rivers. We had brunch at The Chef, which was excellent. It looked like a mix of college students and retirees most places we looked. Like Oxford, probably too far from other things, but interesting. Back to interstate 70 we went. There were Apache helicopters at Ft. Riley on the way out of town.

Salina was the last decent sized town for hours. Just rolling hills and grass and patches of trees, with occasional little towns that looked like the good times had been long ago, if ever. We've been discovering for ourselves some of the places termed "flyover states" for the last couple years, and while there has been a lot that has been great, there is this band from west Texas up which is, if nothing else, not particularly interesting to drive through.

We'd thought we'd stop east of Denver at an airport hotel, but we were hankering for a steak. My mother had re-introduced us to Texas Roadhouse, which we had been to once ages ago and had since avoided. She wanted to go for her birthday and it was - nice. I doubt they have changed much so it must be us, but they've recently been a decent choice for getting a steak without the Ruth's Chris experience. By the time we got far enough into Denver to hit one for dinner, we figured we could get to the other side that night and avoid the rush in the morning. In the morning there was a Costco a little more than a mile away, so we filled up the tank and dined at the food court after picking up a few things.

On the way out of Denver I wanted to stop at a Cruiser place in Golden. It wasn't far off the 70 and I was interested in some accessories for the car. We spend a lot of time in it these days. Well, for what a new front bumper and some driving lights would cost, I'd rather have a new outboard that would plane our new dinghy. Maybe some other time. 

We then headed west on the 70 into the Rockies. Heather's brother had recommended this drive some time ago, and it was stunning. I certainly want to drive back the other way and stop in the park some time, then start branching off to places like Breckinridge.  I had to downshift the cruiser into 2nd more than once, and it seemed to be wheezing a bit a 10k feet, but it did fine and it was so worth it. I want to watch Cliffhanger again.

We had slept in a bit in Denver, then stopped at Costco and the cruiser shop before leaving the metro area. Between that, a delay getting into one of the tunnels, and the terrain slowing us down (still worth it) we didn't make much time that day. We ended up stopping in Grand Junction because it seemed like the last decent sized town before Provo. We had dinner at the oddly named but very nice Bin 707 Foodbar. It seemed to be especially nice for GJ, with great food, but I believe we were underdressed. GJ seemed nice and compared to the other side of the Rockies has not outrageously priced real estate, at least for Colorado these days. 

The next morning we went back to the little downtown area to have breakfast at the aptly named Dream Cafe. Once we left town the terrain changed rapidly to desert as we headed north and west into Utah, but Price Canyon was beautiful. We were picking Heather's mother and sister up from the SLC airport, but we had filled the car up to the point where it was really a two seater. In our defense, we were planning to be on the road for a couple months visiting lots of places warm and cold. Holly's husband Scott had driven their RV to a cute park near the lake in Provo, so we dumped a half a dozen bags in the Mini they haul behind them to make room in our car. 

Their flights landed within minutes of each other, so after picking them up we headed back towards Provo to a family friend's cabin, actually Heather's namesake.

We've been listening to the Harry Potter books for almost a year while we have been on the road. We started this latest trip towards the end of the sixth book, and finished the 7th, over 200 hours of listening. Next up - Game of Thrones.

sv-hiatus.blogspot.com

Dinghy

13 - 15 Oct 2018

Well, we were finally able to arrange delivery of our new dinghy, four months later. We rented a trailer and hauled the huge box back from West. It is inflatable, but the hull and transom is a solid piece of fiberglass. It's a lighter color than the traditional gray, which should keep it cooler in the summer. Some nice folks from the next dock down helped us unload it, and we pumped it up on the grassy strip along the marina and waited for high tide. We dragged it to the water, sliding it on the cardboard from the huge box. We only got  a couple little scrapes in it, and we managed to get it floating and me in it without mishap. I rowed it over to our boat, which worked better than I thought it would, tied it up, and we called  it a day after cleaning up all the cardboard and packaging.

The next day we loaded the outboard on it and I zoomed around the marina, and even went down the inlet a ways. Despite every effort, there is just no way that boat is going to plane with a 5 horse outboard. That's OK, we really didn't think it would, and I don't really think we need it to this year. We'll spend this time getting familiar with what we want to put on it for next year.

The day after that we used the spinnaker halyard to start loading the dinghy onto the foredeck. Even with the block and tackle setup I had bought we just couldn't do it. This is what we were afraid of, even before I messed up my hand, since this boat is a little more than twice as heavy as the old one.

Finally I decided to pull the drain plug. I hadn't yet because I didn't think there was anything to drain. Well, I must not have screwed it in tight enough, because there was quite a bit of water between the hull and the floor (it's double-hulled). While it was cool that our feet didn't get wet, this is something new to watch out for.

Well after draining quite a bit of water, it seemed pretty easy to pull up. Go figure. The picture below is it loaded on the foredeck. It just fits without keeping me from getting forward for anchoring or docking. The goal was to get the biggest dinghy we could lift, that just fit on the foredeck, and I think we got it. Next I need to rerun the line in the engine hoist so we can load a heavier outboard on the back of the dinghy when we get around to buying one.

Note - in the picture below, on the boat next to us, above the hull of our dinghy, but below theirs, is a black smudge above their windows. That's a wasp nest that is getting out of hand.

We complain some about Brunswick, and between the paper plant and the waste treatment center the smell is not pleasant with a north wind, but it can be beautiful at times. Below is Big Bird watching over us from the next dock over.

sv-hiatus.blogspot.com

Annapolis to the Boat - The Long Way

06 - 08 October 2018

We certainly took the long way back to the boat this time. We had breakfast in a little place called Duesenbergs in Catonsville. They apparently really like those cars. On our way down from Annapolis I wanted to visit one of the Crutchfield stores in VA. I remember drooling over their audio catalogs as a kid. Nice enough for a car stereo place, but a little disappointing nonetheless. Maybe next time.

On the way towards Charlottesville we stopped at a lookout. Apparently lots of things have happened here. We need to come back to this area when we have some more time. Heather hasn't been to Monticello, and I haven't been for decades. Maybe while we're getting a new car stereo.

I hadn't been to Richmond in 30 years, since doing a vendor survey for Hughes at a place that also made cigarette manufacturing equipment. To check it out we had dinner at trendy place downtown called Secret Sandwich Society. It was fun and the downtown was great for walking around. That night we made it to Durham NC, another area on my list. In the morning we had breakfast at a nice little place called True Flavors Diner. Excellent food (pork belly omelet!), and pancakes the size of hubcaps.

We headed off to New Bern NC. Before I smashed my hand, this is where we had intended to leave the boat last year. This was an inexpensive area, not so cold to have to really worry about multi-day freezes, and gives us a head start north. Then came hurricane Florence.

Since this is so far up the river there is apparently very little tide, maybe a foot. They had 10 foot pilings at the dock. Unfortunately the storm surge was 11.5 feet, so many boats simply rose right off the pilings and floated off during the hurricane, which didn't end well for most of them. If our boat had been there it would as likely as not been seriously damaged. The entire area was still in the process of cleaning up. The first picture below shows the high water point for earlier storms. The floor in this clubhouse is several feet above the normal waterline out in the marina. Florence beat them all.

We made it that night to Myrtle Beach. Had breakfast in the morning at Johnny D’s Waffles and Bakery. Clean, well run place with good food. The chef is an autism spokesperson. We took the 17 along the coast to Charleston, then on to the I95 back to Brunswick GA. We were finally back on the boat. It took us an extra day, but we saw a lot more than just I95.

sv-hiatus.blogspot.com