Norfolk/Portsmouth

Short voyage today to get here. All part of the plan, since Russ has a dental appointment.

Where did we leave off...? Oh, yes. Diesel in the water tank.

We had a company come out the very next day. He pumped out the tank, emptying it of all the diesel. What's left, of course, it what's on the sides and top of the tank since we overfilled it. Which isn't much, but still, don't want to drink it.

Diesel is oil. It floats on top of water making it a little easier to clean. Emptying the tank using the pumpout also helped. But that meant parking in the marina's fuel/pumpout dock. For the next two days Russ filled the tank with water and various cleaners (everything from Dawn, de-oilers, bleach, and a couple of other products) and pumped out the tank with the pumpout. Moreover, he got a fair bit of practice pulling us into and out of the dock and back into the slip.

For the time being we're living with only 1 tank of water, about 75 gallons.

Still filled with bubbles we decided to travel northward to Norfolk, and let the travel slosh the cleaner around a bit.  

Lots of empty slips. Maybe it won't be so
crowded up here after all.

After we've done that a couple of times we'll test it. If we're unhappy with how well we've done, we'll continue to Baltimore, where a professional cleaning service will look at it. We're sure the diesel is gone, but now it's a matter of all the cleaning stuff. Don't want to drink that, either.

The biggest bummer about our trip today was a RR bridge which is noted to be "usually up." We were less than a mile from it when it announced it was closing. Of course. The old bridge takes 15 minutes just to close, then another 15 waiting for the train, and one more! quarter hour to open again.

Otherwise, short and sweet trip. We're back at Tidewater Marina, which we stayed at last year during Looper Rendezvous. And immediately went to the restaurant to have crab legs.

Hey! We haven't eaten out in days!

Russ filling and emptying the water tank.
This never happened on CnD because only the 
fuel tanks were in the back. The water fill was on the bow.
I've since marked the caps with a big W(ater) and D(iesel).

At Top Rack there's a restaurant, Amber Lantern.
It was closed while we were there. This sign is on the elevator.
It's interesting they don't allow clowns. Who's to say?
Can I point to someone I don't like and go, "CLOWN!"?

Crab legs and Tuna Quesadilla. Mmmmmmm....

Chesapeake

Ever have one of those days where everything went perfectly? We did. We left Coinjock without issue, we timed the various bridge openings perfectly. We arrived at the Great Bridge Bridge (yes, that's it's name and it opens on the hour only) about 30 minutes early. We parked on a wall nearby and had lunch. Things were going so well that Russ piloted off that wall, and into, and out of the small lock with me doing lines.

Oh, yeah. We're getting good at this.

We'd been to Top Rack Marina before so we knew the layout. We wanted to pump out and fuel up first. I eased inQuest into the slip without problems on this calm and sunny and warm day. Oh, yeah. We so good!

...and then it happened. 

Stopped here to wait for the bridge
and had some lunch.

Russ called me because he wanted me to pump the fuel, which was really difficult for some reason. He though that maybe the nozzle was a different size since it wasn't seating right and he couldn't set the auto-flow latch. Next thing we know diesel fuel started spewing from a vent. He shut off the pump while I ran inside and grabbed paper towels. When you spill it's like a race to keep diesel out of the water. Which, thankfully, we managed.

However, we just filled our water tank with diesel fuel.

Thankfully, we have 2 water tanks. I shut off our water pump immediately while Russ cleaned up the mess. Then he shut off the bad tank and switched to the good one. The marina wasn't equipped to deal with such things, but they gave us a number. We're waiting for a call back.

Most of the day was just stunning.

We aren't the first people to do this. In fact, to make us feel better, the dockhand told us stories of other such events that happened right here at this marina: One guy put water in his gas tank, and once an employee pumped gas right into the hull, thinking he was using the opening for the tank but was really a missing rail.

Yeah. We don't feel any better.

Coinjock

Leaving Belhaven was an absolute pleasure compared to docking last night. We eased from the dock, pirouetted in the small space between the rocks and pier, and drifted down the channel. Textbook worthy!

I'd received a number of complements of our "boat handling" by those around when we came in (there were a number of boats already docked and watching). Even the dockmaster asked how long we'd been doing this. When Russ told him a year and a half, he said we seemed much more seasoned than that. In hind sight, however, seasoned boaters probably would have stopped and dropped anchor to ride out a storm as soon as the weather announcement came over the radio. 

But we learned the lesson -- no more boating past 2 pm. Soooooo...

Lovely water, all day long!

We had reserved a spot at Alligator Marina, which is the launching point for the Albemarle Sound. We would arrive there around 1 pm. If you recall, when we crossed the sound on the loop we had a pretty bad experience. The seas were choppy and 2 3 feet, with the occasional larger wave. It was a low point for me, personally. So I wasn't looking forward to this crossing.

This time we were headed for Coinjock. Last year we went to Elizabeth City, which got you onto the historic Dismal Swamp Canal, which by contrast to the crossing to get there was an absolute blast. Great time. But it's later in the year than last, and the channel can be choked with duck weed. A number of folks warned us not to try. We opted against it.

And just one hour after docking...

Throughout the day Russ kept checking the weather, which remained calm and clear. Moreover, conditions for crossing looked to be worse tomorrow. As we neared the sound we made the call -- just go for it.

We did. We crossed the sound and snaked our way along the North River to Coinjock, a small town with a long pier. That put an arrival time around 4:30. So much for lessons learned.

But as it turned out it was a great crossing, and we arrived in Coinjock without any problems. 

Oh. And the storm showed up one hour later.

Belhaven (EXTREEEEEME Docking!)

Today's long journey involved a number of open water crossings; the Neuse River, the Bay River, the Pamlico River, and the Pungo River (which still sounds like something "African" in an old British movie -- "We're trying to located the elusive white rhino along the Pungo River!") In fact quite recently while discussing our "worst crossing" experiences with other loopers, one couple said the Neuse... twice! Checking the weather the winds would be up a bit, so we braced for a bumpy ride.

Which did NOT happen. In fact most of the day was as flat as a pancake. We spend hours under blue skies and wind so slight that no sailboats had their sails hoisted. It was a glorious day.

...until... (duhn-duhn-duuuuuuun!)

Just as we made the turn onto the Pungo we noticed the density of clouds forming south of us. Within minutes (and I cannot stress enough just how fast it happened), dark clouds were bearing down on us. On the radio (the marine VHF) came the announcement that severe thunderstorms were moving north, complete with lots of rain, gusts up to 50 mph, and hail. Over the next 30 minutes lightning flashed around us, some strikes within a mile. The winds picked up significantly, making the water equally turbulent. We were in 2 - 3 foot seas most of the way to the marina, but because it was on our stern our ride wasn't rough at all. Although Russ, who piloted the last bit, had a hard time keeping her straight.

A boat a couple of miles ahead of us called to dock at the same marina. We listened as they gave him instructions. We'd been there before, so we knew the layout of the place and how to get in. But it was handy to know how they were handling the weather. At that time, still about 20 minutes out ourselves, the one storm raced past us. We thought, great timing! We missed it completely.

Before you turn into River Forest (our marina) you cross a breakwall, which you'd  think would have an impact on the waves. Apparently, once they crest 3 feet, it does not. We made the turn, and started down the very narrow channel to the marina, out of nowhere we were hit by a second storm. The dockmaster later told us the winds were over 40 mph, and probably 50. They hit us sideways making the navigation to the dock really difficult. Russ got on the bow and over headsets I heard him exclaim about how stiff the wind was. Thankfully -- and this was the only reason any of this

Look at these amazing, calm waters!!!

worked -- they wanted us to come along the pier on the right side (the windward side), which made the wind an ally to lay us onto the dock. To the left was the dock, to the right pilings and a rock wall. I kept moving her up and to the rocks, making sure we didn't get too close, then just let the wind do the work. I struggled a bit since inQuest wanted to spin, but I kept her parallel until we made solid contact (and by that I mean we whacked hard!) with the pier.

Quickly lines were attached and secured, but the wind pushed us so hard that we couldn't get fenders in between us and the dock. Moreover, the waves were so crazy that our bouncing rubbed wood shavings off the pilings. While still working to get the boat tied the dockmaster called the installer of the new 2x6s on the pilings, complaining about the damage we were doing. Not a lot we could do. As the wind died down we stuffed fenders in.

Uh oh!

Within an hour the winds were slack and the sea back to flat. Like nothing ever happened.

After all that we needed a good meal. Thankfully, there is an amazing restaurant here in Belhaven (to be honest that's why we came). It did not disappoint. Fabulous food and a couple of good stiff drinks!

Docked her like the boss!!!

We bounced like crazy!

Shavings from the 2x6 protecting the piling

Behold, Spoon River Artworks and Market.
Amazing place. Put it on your maps. You wanna come here someday.

Beaufort, NC

Throughout the loop there were a couple of places where there were so many boats the waterway was clogged and chaotic. One such place is called "The Miserable Mile", and it's the slow zone just outside of Fort Myers, Fl. Another was up in Canada just passed Simcoe Lake, the town of Orillia. We arrived there on the weekend they were having jet ski races. The place was full of boats, all zipping around, including hundreds of jet skis.

Today blew all of them out of the water.

There are 15 boats in this pic, including the
tow with the pipes we're all trying to get around.

Firstly, it was a lovely day; sunny, warm, light winds. Secondly, it was a weekend. Additionally, there was a Trump Boat Parade in Beaufort (I won't bore you with my politics since most of you know my position, but 80-90% of boaters are Trump supporters, and they were out in force, flags and slogans a-flyin'!). If you read my post last night then you are aware that North Carolinians have no idea what a wake is. Put all of that together and you have a huge number of boats, all going as fast as they can, waking us and each other all day long. And I mean all day long. Some of these boat could barely handle the waves their fellow boaters were making. At times this was a thing; either we were all trying to occupy a very narrow channel, or go though a small bridge opening. We estimate -- and we aren't exaggerating -- we passed at least 500 boats. It. Was. Crazy.

Yep, we gotta call before we come this-a-way.

On the plus side, given the lack of courtesy by other boaters we saw no reason to slow down for anyone ourselves. We purposely planned on a longer day to get up north. So maintaining speed had an advantage. 

By the way, we were the biggest boat out there for the most part. Most of these folks have center consoles, t-tops, or john boats. We've come to learn that we pick a line and let everyone else buzz their way around us. We just watch for the occasional bozo who's not paying attention. Got to hand it to the Trumpers, they did well in navigation.

Arrived safe and sound in Homer Simpson's Marina! Actually, it's called Homer Smith's Marina, but I get them confused.

What our instruments tell us is out there...

...compared to what we see.

Parachutes in the air today.

Storm's a brewin'!

Got in just in time!

Masonboro Inlet

From the hoopla around us you can tell the weekend has begun! Here in the inlet where we decided to anchor for the night there are dozens of small boats full of families, clusters of teenagers, couples, and kids, all of them are fascinated by our boat, buzzing by us and waking us. We can't decide if they are just mean or ignorant. Russ thinks the latter.

Got an early start. Russ piloted us off the t-head given the lovely calm and sunny day. I handled ropes. All of it went well.

Hang a right and the Atlantic is right there!

The trip up the ICW was a little long but uneventful. A thunderstorm was off our port side, inching its way toward us. We could hear distant thunder on occasion. But no rain or wind, so it was rather pleasant. Getting started was the roughest part of the day since we were headed east and into the sun. The reflection on the water can be blinding. Mostly the trip was about boating. Lots and lots of boats were out and about, zipping up and down the channel.

Lizzie seems confused. Not sad, but (I'm sure) wondering why we left that other dog behind. We've been through this a number of times with dogs where their friend disappears and it typically takes a couple of weeks for them to recover. Lizzie and Savannah were pretty tight. This could be a tough time for her.

We are pretty close to a beach without a dinghy dock.
We decided to kayak the dog to shore.

No pics, just a sad story

Last night was a terrible night for Savannah, the sick dog. We decided the two dogs shouldn't sleep together so Savvy could get some rest. Lizzie was crated and Savannah was left in the living room. We woke in the morning to thumping and discovered that she'd fallen on the floor and couldn't get up. The struggle seemed to exhaust her. We put her on our bed for a while to recover. Later in the morning I moved her to the crate.

Also, the package we were waiting for hadn't arrived at the Myrtle Beach Yacht Club. 

This morning Russ decided to rent a car from Enterprise -- we'd just stay here another night while waiting for deliver, and drive to the vet Friday morning. The reservation was a noon. Around 10 am, however, the car rental called to say they didn't have cars right now but they probably would by 4 pm. They didn't sound convincing. Russ called the head office trying to get a commitment -- without a car this all goes badly. Meanwhile he's trying to located the package, but UPS isn't answering their phones anymore.

We grab lunch around 12:30, and at that time we think, screw it, let's just go to Southport (where the vet is) and have the Harbor Hosts there give us a ride to the vet. While walking to the boat Russ called the marina... and there is no space for us. 

Back to getting a car, Russ calls Avis, which he didn't do originally because it was really far away. So far in fact that the Uber ride to get there was more expensive than the car rental. But they had cars. Russ reserved one and immediately left to go get it. Finally, things seemed clear. And, yay, the package arrived!

Periodically throughout the morning and afternoon I'd check on Savannah, offering her water or food. She didn't want anything.

With Russ off to pick up the car I was upstairs playing games. I got texts from him saying that no one was there when he arrived, as they were out to lunch and he was going to wait 30 minutes. Oh, yeah, that kind of day.

Around 3:30 I went downstairs to check on the dog. And sometime in the last hour she'd passed. I called Russ, sobbing, telling him I think she had died. He got home as quick as he could.

He called a funeral home that did pet services. They closed at 5 pm, and it was just after 4. And they were (according to Google) 45 minutes away. Because we needed another pressure thing to deal with on this day. We wrapped her in a towel and off we went, Russ speeding like a bandit to get there in time. They were friendly folks and kind, and handled her with respect. They will mail us her remains.

No longer needing a car we decide to return it. The Avis store is closed now, but the one at the small local airport remained open. We took it there and Uber-ed home. Me sobbing, on and off, all the way.

We have just the one dog now. And we're free to travel first thing in the morning. 

We've been juggling two dogs for so long, not sure boating is going to be quite the same.

What a face! Lizzie is behind her, always watching.

Myrtle Beach

There was a constant theme throughout the loop last year, and it continues still: There's too much water. Today we traveled from Georgetown to Myrtle Beach on the Waccimaw River. It's swollen. Two days ago it was 3 feet over flood stage. Today, it's just at flood. Boaters who past this way just a few days ago posted pictures of water up onto the siding of homes. We didn't see that, but we saw flooded yards and small ponds where they surely shouldn't be any. We went very slowly through these areas, hoping not to add to their problems.

We also traversed "the rock pile" which is one of the narrowest places on the ICW. Named, of course, for the rock; The route was blasted for boats to pass through. While deep enough, it is very narrow, so much so that 2 medium sized boats (like ours) shouldn't pass each other. Unlike much of the intracoastal (which is grassy, sandy, or muddy), touching bottom here will really hurt.

First time we've seen a derelict boat
with the sail up.

Dog update: I finally was able to talk to the vet Savannah saw last Friday (they were closed on Tuesdays, which I found oh so convenient). After sharing what she was going through they recommended cutting all her meds in half. I also reached out the Robert Creech, who's the Harbor Host in Southport, North Carolina. He gave me vet recommendations. I was able to get an appointment for Friday. She isn't doing well. In addition to coughing she -- for the first time ever that we've had the dog -- snubbed her food. Several times throughout the day she fell down and couldn't get up. This isn't going in a good direction.

Anyone know what the heck this is??!!

To add to the "joys of boating" Russ has been waiting for same parts to be delivered, replacement engine monitoring systems. These are what sit on the engine and give us status up in the helm. We know they are wonky since they never give us accurate battery readings (the port is always low, around 10.2, while the starboard is crazy high, 16.1). Also, one never knows how much gas there is in the tank. 

Anyway, these parts were scheduled with UPS to be delivered in Georgetown when we were there. Of course they were not. The seller contacted UPS and had them shipped here. Which they are not. Russ is going to try to track them down tomorrow. Hopefully, they'll be delivered before noon, then we'll head out to Southport. If they don't, I'm not sure what we'll do. I really want to get underway to get the dog to the vet.

The Myrtle Beach Yacht Club. TONS of boats!

Thus are the vicissitudes of boating.

Georgetown

Got another earlier start to the day, largely out of habit now, which made it a pretty easy ride to Georgetown. 

Parts of the ICW remain thin on this section. Up to this point what we traveled through had been dredged this past year, so many of the exciting parts we dealt with on the loop were less exciting. Here, however, we had to remain a bit aware. Lots of little streams and rivers criss-cross the the intracoastal, creating shoals as well as cross currents. We faired well.

We skipped Georgetown last time through, stopping in Myrtle Beach instead. But many have said it was one of the best little towns in South Carolina. We can see why. The marina is just steps away from the quaint downtown. I'm sure during a typical summer this place his hopping with families on vacation. While the marina is full, there weren't many folks in town.

Trees! On both side of the waterway.
We haven't seen that since the rivers.

Back in Isle of Hope, about a week ago, one dog developed an eye thing. Again. So we took her to an eye specialist in the area. Over the last few days however she's developed tremendous lethargy (and this wasn't a whipper-snapper of a pug to begin with), a possible cough, eating issues (she eats but she's real slow, possibly the only thing she's ever done fast in her life), and today the other eye is covered in mucus. I called a number of vets in the area, both here and up the coast, hoping to get someone to take a look and none of them (!) would. They all claimed they were booked, they aren't taking new clients, or go to the emergency vet. Which I would do if I had a car. It's a 45 minute drive from here. I asked one what was going on? She said she wished she knew -- things have suddenly gotten real busy. 

I called said emergency vet and explained the situation -- they told me to put a warm compress on the eye. Needless to say, I'm bummed out. I've reached out to Harbor Hosts up the way, hoping they had a vet we could go to. Fingers crossed.

Historic Clock of Georgetown

Look at this cute downtown!

Note the burgees. We removed out gold AGLCA
looper flag and put on the MTOA turtle (on the left).
Seems fitting.

McClellanville

New Map from Garmin InReach

We stopped here last year. McClellanville is on a little creek off the ICW, and has a number of working marinas here for shrimp boats. It was a worn looking place with lots of early morning risers (the shrimp boats). I didn't have great memories (I recalled a half-submerged pier with several derelict boats also half-submerged attached to it), but I remember it was easy in and out.

Funny story. While on the loop we met another looper whose boat's name was Tiki Queen. The couple's name was Leland and Karen McClellan. Oh yeah. Apparently his ancestors founded McClellanville! I always wanted to discuss the condition of his small marina. But that's not a friendly thing to do.

So here we are a year later and, viola, the boats are gone. I mentioned that to the dock master. She said they did clean out those boats but 3 more derelict boats have managed to get on the pier. It's a never ending battle, she said.

Despite the weather the Charleston Bay was calm

The original plan was to get to Georgetown today. However, the weather was really blustery and rainy when we got up this morning. In fact, we weren't sure we were even going to leave Charleston. It poured buckets of rain during the night, and the forecast called for more of the same all day. But by 9 am the clouds broke a little, the rain stopped, and we could even see patches of blue. 

Problem 2 was the tide. The current at St. Johns Yacht Harbor is formidable until very near slack. Today that wasn't until 11:30 am.  Getting a later start of course meant getting in late to Georgetown. 

Lastly, Georgetown marina didn't have space for us today (our reservation is for Tuesday). We thought we'd anchor out near the marina tonight and get in early the next day.

We pushed off the dock around 10:30 am with John and Martha tossing us our lines one last time. As the day progressed we wouldn't get into G-town until 7 pm. Days are long, so there'd be plenty of light, but why push? We had a couple of hectic days behind us, so let's turn in a little early. Heck, they had space for us in McClellanville.

Glad we did stop. The place looks great. It's peaceful and quiet here. And I need a nap.

Last year

This year

Charleston, well, close to Charleston

Yet again the day was planned around tides. We'd been told that the current through our destination, St. Johns Yacht Harbor, could be a problem. Slack time should be around 10:30 am.

We were up around 5:30 to walk dogs on the shore. Then we weighed anchor and headed out before even having our coffee. 

After a quick round of texting with As You Wish it turns out slack tide was closer to 11 am. Moreover, once we turned a corner the tide was pushing us right along at 7.5 knot as near-idle speeds. We were getting in closer to 10 am. About an hour out we called the marina to tell them we were coming in early. Right away he warned us of the current and it would be a thing. We planned on doing a stern in, but knew if things were tricky we'd just bow in.

Last time we came this way we stayed in Charleston, which was handy for getting to the history downtown. However, the weather got so bad and our boat tossed madly just sitting in the marina that I abandoned ship and checked myself into a hotel. This marina isn't on the Charleston bay. We'll go to and through the bay when we leave here.

John serving "tiny beers", a looper favorite.
It's really Liquor 43 (really cold) with a float 
of heavy cream. Tastes like a milkshake!

As we turned the corner to come down the fairway, between the current and the wind, inQuest crabbed on me, her stern coming around a bit. Yep, we're going bow in. That position put us perfectly into Poughkeepsie mode, so I mostly let the forces move the boat down to our slip. Then I bumped her forward as close to the up-current boat as I dared as I moved her nose into the slip. It was perfect.

As You Wish arrived about an hour later, timing the arrival on slack tide perfectly. From that moment on the day was spent celebrating their loop completion. Champagne, tiny beers, and the changing-of-the-burgee.

It was kinda sad in a way. This was really the end of the loop. All of the loopers we'd been traveling with had now finished. Today, we're not loopers. We're just boaters. That doesn't have the same ring to it.

Congratulations, crew of As You Wish

Steamboat Creek

We thought we'd be leaving Isle of Hope on Thursday, however, Wednesday I noticed the pug with eye issues was having another eye issue. One eye was larger than the other. I called a vet who they couldn't see her but they recommended an eye specialist in Savannah. After calling them, the only time they could look at the dog was Friday, 3:45 pm. ...sigh...

She received a couple of meds, one a steroid the other an antibiotic, as well as new drops. We're to watch how she does and report back in a week. They have affiliated eye vets up and down the eastern seaboard, so we can bring her in again, should things go badly.

But that made us free to travel on Saturday. First thing Russ did Saturday morning was take the car back to the rental office and bike home. I walked dogs, did the breakfast dishes, then filled up the water tanks so we were ready for the next few days. 

Amazing sunset due to rain Friday night.

We headed out around 8:30 am. 

With 2 shiny new belts on the port engine we put inQuest through some paces, from slow boating to sustained high RPMs. We knew it would be a long day, so when we could we put the spurs to her! Everything worked like it should.

Our friends from As You Wish cross their wake in Charleston. They plan on arriving around 10 am. In order to be there about then as well we pushed today into a really long day. That put us dropping anchor about 2 1/2 hours from Charleston.

We traveled by Paris Island today.
Now I have that song in my head.
"And we would aaaall go dooooown together!"

Along this route are a couple of notoriously thin cuts that need to be dredged yearly to be passable. Due to our timing, however, we entered both at high or just past high tide so we had no issues. Russ had me all worried about them, and while going through I kept yelling, "Cheesecake!" because they were nothing to fret over.

I just have to mention that our dogs are amazing. They took a walk at Isle of Hope, ate dinner around 5 pm, and didn't get a second walk until we dinghy-ed them over to Steamboat Landing, a little pier and boat ramp. They never complained and they weren't pacing in frustration. That to me is astounding.

Life on Isle of Hope

"New Normal Menu" -- love it!

Every now and again you have to stop for a while to reprovision, run errands, and fix stuff. That's us, here in Savannah. Technically, Sand Fly. But that's not as romantic as Savannah.

Russ has spent a bunch of time tracking down belts for the port engine. While every auto part store has them (AutoZone, Napa Auto Parts, O'Reilly, Advanced, Pep Boys) they all seem to have exactly one, and even though they are the exact same size we're looking for, they are not. Some are thicker, some are longer -- yes, longer! It's been as frustrating as confusing.

We have had a chance to eat out a couple of times. Restaurants are doing a number of interesting things amid the new world of "social distancing" and "clean surfaces." Driftwood, a seafood restaurant, have small tripods on their tables with a QR code on it. Once scanned, your phone will bring up their menu. TA-DA! The waitress said they love the new system. They don't have to handle and clean menus, nor throw out used paper ones, and the chef can change it on the fly. Brilliant! (Btw, they had some of the BEST fish tacos we've had in a looooong time!

High tide -- the top of the piling is at arm's height

Now, it is NOT. 

We also ordered some stuff from Amazon. Side note: there are a lot of things that Covid-19 changed that I'm happy to have stay changed, like the menu thing at Driftwood. Or tap pay (which many restaurants and stores have recently added). Nothing like a pandemic to instigate tech upgrades. But I miss Amazon, REAL Amazon. You remember. Just $3 more for next day delivery? Good times, good times. PS. Russ would just order the engine belts from Amazon if we could get them here in a timely manner.

Anyway, our stuff is taking a while to get here, so we'll continue to wait.

One of our favorite places to eat, 
The Original Pancake House. 
Thems 49er Flapjacks.

The pandemic has hit everything in an odd way. This marina, for example, has never had this many boats here this time of year. Most folks are usually up north by now. They're kind of packing us in. So, yet again, we're in a glut of "lots of boats" while we travel. Seems the norm for us.