Well here the day has come that we head into our home waters. As per usual on our trip the wind was on our nose so we weren't able to sail in, but seeing as that is the way the trip started its only fitting that that is the way it should end. As we cruised by the Skyway Bridge it really gave us a feeling of being home, then we could see the Don Cesar the big pink building looming on the horizon.Yes its true we are really home. I must say I was getting pretty excited when we turned into Blind Pass and saw our favorite watering hole Woody's. As we got nearer we could see our friends John and Shelby standing on the sea wall and waving, then John gets the crowd on the patio to clap for us as we go by.. We were astounded and felt tremendous.. We couldn't believe it what a amazing welcome home..We anchored the boat in the pass and went ashore. Bella was having a fit, we normally take her when we go ashore, but they don't allow dogs at Woody's so she couldn't go.. As we pulled up to the rocks so I could get out of the dingy, out John was waiting to give us a hand and hugs, then Shelby came up also. We walked in the bar and there were lots of our friends who we had missed seeing, hugs were shared around the bar and we felt  fabulous. You couldn't wipe the smile off  of our faces...It is so nice to see everyone.. Even the bartenders remembered our drinks. I was very impressed to hear how many people we reading our blog, I never knew so many people from Woody's were reading along. Just knowing so many of our family and friends have taken this adventure with us makes us feel terrific.. This journey has been a fantansic voyage, with all the people we were lucky enough to meet, all the friends who put us up, all the trials at sea, the family that came to see us while we pulled into different ports. Even in the times of terror when I though it was all over, or the times we broke down and had to stay in different ports for repairs this has been a trip of a lifetime with memories made, are our greatest gift... We will forever cherish this adventure and be thankful for all the people who took it with us and cared enough to find out where we were, what we were doing and that we were alright. Knowing all of you were with us made all the hard times so much easier and gave me someone to hear me when I wanted to scream out loud.Carl and I got along great on this trip ,not to say we didn't have our times, like docking, but all couples have that. Thank you very much all of you for staying with us the whole time.. We love you all each and everyone one...Thanks again...Heading to our home dock we had 10 knots of wind from the east and had all sails up. That is the fastest we have ever sailed from Woody's to John's Pass...Sailing under blue skies to  home.. As Carl told the John's Pass bridge tender, looking for an opening after being out to sea for 7 months headed in from the Gulf,.. Even the bridge tender welcomed us home..

It was a beautiful sail all the way to Anna Maria Island. The sun was shinning the water was calm and the winds were fair, and with both sails up we made it there in only 4 hours.  I took a shower on the boat since the weather was warm I could do it.. Only  the water pump has been acting up and it didn't flow very well, at least I don't smell anymore.We tied up to the Bradenton Pier which is now closed, we couldn't figure out why that was so we stayed there anyway. There was another sailboat there and we asked him what the deal was and he said he didn't know either and he had been at the dock 3 days and nobody had bothered him, so what the heck..Once we were ready to leave the boat we put Bella on a lease and went and got some ice cream, don't worry we know right where the store is..I must say we got so spoiled on our trip with the rich ice cream we had had all up north, this just wasn't as good. But don't think that stopped us from eating it. We sat on the free trolley bench ate our ice cream and  when the trolley came  I hopped on the trolley to go have a pedicure. Carl and Bella went back to the boat so Carl could get a shower and wait for me. I was in no rush , how wonderful it was to have a pedicure and don't my toes look great...I stopped at a Publix to get some cash and called Carl to tell him I was on my way  back, he said to met him at the open air bar on the corner. I did and we had a couple of drinks, chatted with the people next to us and then got back on the trolley to go to dinner. While on the trolley, a man got on  who told all of everyone to sing. He was 92 years old and he would play his harmonica for us. He was very entertaining. Carl didn't find him quite as fun as I did. But the whole trolley clapped and cheered for him.. I choose a place for dinner called Sandbar and let just say I would not waste my time going there again. The service was good , but the food was not all that. I was really disappointed since it was the end of our trip and I really wanted a nice dinner. Back on the trolley we went to the Drift In the local bar at the end of the dock. We like this place we always go there when we are in this town. Its a great local place. We partied pretty hard then  headed back to the boat, it was right to bed with me. We slept in till late then we got up and had breakfast at a Rotten Ron's.  Then walked to a store where I bought this cool clock I saw the day before. Now we are in the gulf and headed for Woody's in our home water. Woody's will be the last stop on our trip.. Oh what a wonderful summer...

A beautiful morning it was to wake up with the temperature at about 60 degrees and the sun shining. We started the day in our jackets but Carl had his off by noon. The winds  were just right and Carl put up the main sail before we even pulled anchor. With not much traffic, only a few small fishing vessels we headed out under full sails, this is a great way to bring our trip to its ending days. The life of a sailor the only life for me.. We stayed on the inside until Charlotte Harbor  then we headed out into the Gulf. The inlet was very rough with the current going against us and the wind with us, we were getting rocked around pretty good. So much so I put Bella's life jacket on her and I put mine on also. I must make sure I get us those comfy kind of life jackets, when we get home, these bulky ones are tough..Sure dummy wait till the trips over to get those... Once in the Gulf and we were healed over and heading north, but we did have to go a couple of miles out of the inlet to avoid shoaling. The waves were on just off our bow and were about 3 feet but the winds were about 15 knots and we were sailing well under blue skies. We came in at Venice Inlet and found a place to drop the hook for the night. There were teams of rowers out with a coach boat next to them calling orders over a megaphone.These teams seemed to be high school students. They were moving along pretty fast. We like seeing them, and sat in the cockpit watching them.  I cooked dinner and we played with the dog wondering what it will be like to be back home. Will Bella get use to the land, of course she will, she's  a land lover... Today we head back out into the Gulf and make our way to Anna Maria Island, where we will spend our last day away from home. Hope its a really fun day..

Well we made it to the other side. When we woke up at the dock in the park I walked over to the Citco to get my powerball tickets while we waited for the fog to lift.  Once I was back at the boat it was time to leave. We weren't out in the river very long when Carl calls over a ranger in a passing boat to tell him of something like a log in the water that could be a problem with navigation. The ranger said he would check it out , he comes back and says when he tired to grab it it went under water and he would check on it later. Carl thanked him and we went on. I made bagels for breakfast and we kept on motoring on. About mid afternoon Carl says" Hey Rosie check this out, a gator is swimming next to the boat like the dolphins do, playing in our wake..."  I can't believe it so I jump to my feet and run over to the other side to see it.. See enough there is no gator, Carl was pulling my leg and I fell for it.. Okay can we say DORK... So I'm a big dork, I'm sure I saw that in a Tarzan movie when I was a kid.. At 2pm we stopped for fuel and a free pump out in Ft. Myers. I walked the dog and called my friend Barb, who lives in Cape Coral to see if we could hook up for dinner, but she already had other plans.. Bummer.. Maybe next time we are here. We dropped anchor for the night in a anchorage in Cape Coral. We had dinner and sat in the cockpit under the stars to enjoy one of our last nights out. We are getting closer everyday, it won't be long now.. This. morning we got up early so we could make it to Venice before we stop for the night. We will be going out into the Gulf at Charlotte Harbor, it looks like it will be a nice day..Sailing, Sailing over  the oceans blue. By the way I didn't win powerball... Nuts... I already had the money spent.

The  day began with us waking up and hitting the lock just outside of Lake Okeechobee. It was an easy lock, just like all of them this time and we were out on the lake. The lake was smooth as glass, with almost no wind and no one else in site. We did about half way though when we see a trawler and on the other side we saw a couple of bass boats in the weeds,not easy to see. This lake is so big you can't see the edge of the lake while crossing it. Second largest lake in America. Our day went pretty fast and we were able to wear shorts most of the day.. Oh how happy that has made me...Yeah baby...Nothing much to mention this morning. We got as far as La Belle and had to wait for the bridge to open until 6pm. They don't open between 4 and 6 due to traffic. I got things ready for dinner while we waited, and watched the mosquito's come out, quick close the screen on the gangway.. You will not suck my crew's blood...Once the bridge opened we made our way to other side. The town had a free dock to tie up to for the night, but typical us we tied up to the wrong one at a county park. Well it was dark and I told Carl nobody would be by to check, so we stayed there.Besides it was a high dock and I didn't want to be to close to the gators..They like little dogs..Not my Bella.. True to my words no one did. When Carl got up it was a heavy fog, so he let me sleep until 9am and as soon as I got up I went to buy my lotto tickets for the big drawing. No need to get on I have the winner.. Today we hope to make the other side by the Gulf.

Good morning we anchored  just off a bridge in  Port St. Lucie for the night. When we went to bed there were lots of sailboats anchored, but when we got up at 7 am most of them were gone. What time do these people get up, the crack of dawn...I think they are in a race or something..Glad I'm not on those boats... It is so nice to have warmer weather..... We were able to be in the cockpit with jeans and a t- shirt most of the day, early morning we needed a light jacket..Now big whop.. Actually it is a big whoopee... We are back on the Okeechobee Water Way and it is just an easy cruise on a river. We did pass though Stuart where we spent 4 days on our way north,(boy was that fun) that's where we saved a woman's life on the dock.. We also passed a place in the river where we saw lots of horses at the waters edge, only this time there was only one horse. We stopped at the marina we docked at after the  storm on Lake Okeechobee. This time we fueled up, and they remembered us, we make such an impression, good or bad...Or maybe it was Bella they remembered..It is also the place where the girls from New England told us we needed more chain on our anchor. Oh the memories... At about 3pm we tied up to the dolphins just outside of Port Mayaca lock. We will be crossing the lake today but it was to late in the day to make it before dark. On our way north  we took the south rim route, this time its 10 miles shorter , the water is deeper and much faster to cut across.The weather today is beautiful, it should hit the high 70's or low 80's , YEAH BABY WE LOVE FLORIDA....

It was 8AM when we pulled up  to the fuel dock at Telemar Bay Marina. This is the marina that Jim and Marie live at, so we decided to fuel up right there. Now the fuel prices were the highest we have seen but what the heck, we were right there. All eyes were on us as we pulled anchor, apparently right where we anchored there is a sandbar near us, and all waited to see if we would run aground, thank goodness we didn't. The head dock master was on duty with some new worker and we are the first fill up of the day. He hands Carl the hose and we fill up, after Carl stops pumping the pump still rolls up another 6 cents. We wonder what the heck, so I go inside to pay and tell the dock master that it kept rolling after Carl had stopped the pump at $50.01 and it said $50.07. The jerk proceeds to tell me maybe it was pressure in the hose , what did I think he was really gonna rip us off for a nickle. I didn't say anything except I will pay $50.01. Boy did he get mad... Then he charges me $53.00 because of tax, and is acting like I killed his mother..I go outside and tell Jim that the guy doesn't believe me and Jim says I saw it I will tell him. Then Carl pulls out the water hose to fill up and the  jerk comes out and says " hey water is 10 cents a gallon". Then the jerk says " What you think we should give you it for free, we pay 6 cents per gallon.. You bitch about a nickel and you want water.." They don't have a meter so how could they tell how much water we used.. What are we in the Bahama's ...The guy just wanted to be a dick and we knew he would say some ridiculous price so we just put the hose away and left the dock..Then I say to Carl wasn't that the same guy who was a jerk last time we were here.. And low and behold it was.. So if you come this way don't give any business to this marina, the dock master is a big jerk.....Besides they have the highest fuel prices we have paid... Too bad because the other workers like Fred and a lady I don't know her name( Sandy Carl thinks) are very friendly..On the ICW is was a warm day with little wind. Carl had the main sail up all day  it did help a little. We covered 67 miles by time we had dropped the anchor just outside Port St. Lucie..It won't be long now before we are in the Okeechobee Water Way.. Our trip is nearing the end and we have mixed emotions about that..Can't wait to see family and friends but hate to see it end..

Okay, Okay so I didn't post yesterday, I will fill in all the blanks now. We got up on Black Friday and the wind and waves had calmed down, and the weather was a bit warmer, which made for a easy day to our friend Jim's dock. We arrived at Indian Harbor Beach  at noon. Anchored just out of the channel near the dock Jim keeps his boat at, it was a short dingy ride to tie up to the swim platform on the back of his boat. Jim was waiting for us to tie up, however his wife Marie is out of town for the holiday spending time with her grand kids. We are glad she is having fun,but we would have liked to see her. Bella got to run around while we visited Jim, and we all know how she likes that. After a little while Jim took me to Publix, and I picked up a few items we needed to get us home. Then it was back to our sailboat to put things away. At the time we were doing that Jim was setting up cocktails on the fly bridge of his boat. Jim has a 50ft cabin cruiser that's almost as big as our home. No really..The boys drank beer ,I sipped my wine and we all enjoyed the cheese Jim had put out. When dinner time arrived Jim to us to a local bar called Doubles Pub that served food, what a great place..... They had a veggie burger for me, BarBQ pulled pork sandwich for Carl and Jim had a burger, the prices were AWESOME...Happy hour beer was only $1.00. It was good food too, what a fantastic little local place. As night fell we headed back to the Windward Spirit to lie around and watch T.V. I have picked up a cold so I was all about laying around.. Up in the morning we watched a movie we had gotten from Jim while I made blueberry pancakes, and got our laundry together. Off the boat about 10:30am we went to do laundry and catch a shower. Jim and Marie our live aboards so they had a key to the showers.Yeah... While Carl finished his shower I rowed the dingy back to the boat and put everything away.. Yes, I know never heard of me rowing the dingy, but hey I did go to camp as a kid, I know how to row...Besides Carl was in the shower and would find out till I got back.. Yes, Bella and I made it safely there and back, nothing in the water..Besides, Fred at the dock said Saturdays was women row days..Row, row , row your boat.. Once more we were hanging on the fly bridge till it was time to take Bella to have her nails cut, I always find a groomer for that.. She acts like they are killing her, what a big baby..Then Jim needed to stop at Walgreen and we took a quick trip to the beach to see the water. The surf was 4 to 5 foot dumping, and we didn't have our surfboard anyway..Back at Jim's we watched another good movie and went to a Philly Steak shop to pick up sandwiches for dinner. The food was good plus,it's always big fun spending time with friends, no matter what we do.. After a full day spending time with Jim it was time to get back to the boat, we leave in the morning. Up early we hit the fuel dock and the dock master here is a real JERK..More on that tomorrow..

Our hope is that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving with a stuffed belly and a smile while you nap on the couch.. We left New Smyrna Beach city dock and got our mail sail up right away. The wind was blowing at about 15 to 20 knots and Carl was gonna make use of that.  Carl had said during the trip this summer that he wished our boat would haul at about 8 to 10 knots, well with the current with us and high winds he was able to average about 8 knots which is really good for our vessel..Carl passed a guy from Montreal like he was standing still, and he was in a much longer boat. Left him in our wake.. It made the guy so mad he put up his jib sail and tried to catch us.. To no avail..Carl smiled for hours after that deal.  It was a nasty day at sea though, the river is very rough sea's, like a washing machine with a bit of height to it and the winds gusting about 25. The waves were about 3 foot following sea's and giving us a push.. Carl does a magnificent job staying at the helm in all kinds of weather, me not so much, I prefer to stay below in this deplorable weather. At one point today I had to go topside and take the helm because, we were making a turn and Carl needed to drop the mail sail before we entered a canal. Back out of the canal, he was back at the helm and I stayed topside for a while, but it was just to cold and nasty, so back inside the cabin for me and Bella. The weather got worse as the day went on. At 40 miles Carl had had enough of the weather and we dropped anchor next to a bridge. No way to get out of the wind, but we did have the protection of a causeway to keep the high waves off us. Anchored for the night we played a game of Rummy till it was time for our Thanksgiving feast.. Now don't be jealous, I know all you had was turkey and all the fixins, while we had salmon patties with mushroom/onion balsamic glaze and leftover  rice, steamed carrots ( we love) followed by pumpkin cheesecake.. Now that's a meal..And the pumpkin cheese cake really made it feel like Thanksgiving... We knew the winds and waves would be down this morning, so we got an early start on the day, we expect to make it to our friend Jim's boat today. Jim leaves on a boat in Indian Harbor Beach, Fla. Getting closer everyday..

Looking forward to making a bit farther south, we headed out of our anchorage. Guided gently by Manatees, we saw at least 2 this morning. They move so slow but yet I was still not able to capture them on film. Oh well no one said I was a photographer... Not much happened on the ICW but we were going with the current and moving along quite fast. We had planned to be at Ponce Inlet in the afternoon but arrived by noon.The marina/restaurant there is called Inlet Harbor and it was such fun when we went thought on our way north. I had wanted to have lunch there but we were still full from breakfast, but it was a great fuel stop that gave away bilge socks that Carl was hoping to obtain again. We left the ICW and were pulling up to the dock, nobody answered the radio about fuel, so we would dock ourselves. I jump from the boat to the dock and tie off the bow only Carl jumps off the boat to tie the stern and the current is so strong we can't pull the boat over and Carl trips over me on the dock. Not good, what a dilemma..Now we are both mad and yelling at each other. Why does this only happen when we dock.. Carl gets back up and has to get back on the boat. About that time a guy who is in the restaurant comes over to help. As Carl pulls away to make another pass at it, the man tells me his wife and him always had the same problem when docking, yelling at each other.. They were sailors for years.. Next pass doesn't go any better , so he turns the boat around and finally on the third try he gets tied up. I go into the restaurant and have them call someone for fuel. Two young men arrive and start to help us, I ask why they were not monitoring channel 16 for the fuel dock and one of them says they monitor channel 6 at the marina and 16 at the fuel dock, but since nobody was there oh well. I tell him is was a real fuc---- trying to dock and he says if I don't stop swearing we would have to leave. Really you jerk, if you would have been doing your job it won't have been such a mess in the first place.. But I keep my mouth shut and walk away.. We get fuel and water and the other guy Dustin was great, he says he is sorry that Dallas acts like that . Dustin was very helpful.. We go inside and have a beer and while we are in there Dustin pumps out our waste tank. When Carl goes to see what he is doing he says, he felt bad so he is doing it for free. What at great guy..We thank and tip him then leave heading to New Smyrna beach for dinner and the night. They have a free dock there.  Once docked I take Bella for a walk while Carl finishes putting things away on deck. There is a lovely park right at the city dock with a monument for the veterans, great place for Bella. Carl talks to the people who are passing by and a man with his granddaughter came aboard to see the boat.When he was done doing things and the boat was closed up we went for a walk around town. We were very surprised to see most stores were closed and nobody was on the street, it was very quite..We stopped at an old drug store and that's when we found out it was Wednesday .. We thought it was Tuesday, but now that we know it was the day before Thanksgiving we understood. We found a nice place to have dinner and we took Bella back to the boat so we could eat inside. Jason's was a great little place, with wonderful food,great music, good prices and perfect service.. It was really nice to eat there, we really enjoyed it..  I even got us pumpkin cheese cake for Thanksgiving so we would have something that was kind of Thanksgiving like..Thanks Dad.. Today we head as far south as the day allows.. Happy Thanksgiving to all of you, may you have a great day with family and friends.. We love and miss you all..

Up and moving this morning we pulled anchor and headed south. We had to wait for the bridge of Lions to open while we were just off the fort. It's a lovely view from the water, plus there are lots of boats anchored off there and we love to look at them and dream. We did pass a sailboat about 40 ft that was abandoned and I said to Carl hey there's one we could afford, we laughed and he keep on going.. No really we can tow it home with us... Rats there goes that idea... It was a pretty nice day on the ICW, only thing was the people from Canada that don't fly the required American Flag. Boy does Carl get upset. It seems most of them are from Quebec and lots don't speak English. Today at a bridge Carl called the bridge tender and heard that the other boats were not responding so Carl says  " God Bless America" and the bridge tender say I agree with that.. Lots of times Carl  will call their boats and ask why they don't have their courtesy flag, some respond, some don't...Big adventure on the high sea's.. The rest of the day was not much to talk about, we only made 35 miles because we got a late start and we wouldn't have found an anchorage before dark, so we anchored early..It was a nice little hole with Manatee's in it.. pretty cool.. Love that kind of stuff but it is hard to take a picture of. Today's pictures are of forts, first is the one in St. Augustine and the other is Ft.Matanzas which is one we passed on the ICW. Today we continue south with the sun out, what a special day we haven't seen that in a while.. Sorry the blog will not let me post anymore pictures it says my quota is full.. Who knew I had a quota...

As the day began we laid our lazy butts in bed.. The weather was so gray and ugly outside and David had to work, so we weren't in any big rush to get up. We hung around the cabin while the wind howled and the water slapped the haul of the boat. I finally made breakfast about noon. While having breakfast the local harbor master came by and told us we couldn't anchor where we were, but Carl told him we were only waiting out the weather and would leave tomorrow. So he said we could stay there just don't anchor there again. Okay no problem, we won't next time we come this way.. This isn't really like us, but with not much to do, what the heck..We did get in a game of domino's and of course Carl won..  I forgot to tell you that last night after we came back to the boat and I had had a couple of cocktails I decided to cut my hair. Now I know what your thinking she's a hairdresser so it should be okay, well it's kind of like the saying " a doctor who treats himself, has a fool for a patient" well the same thing applies. Not as bad as it could be, but by no means good....We went ashore about 3:30 and headed over to the auto parts to return a couple of those belts Carl had gotten when he fixed the alternator belt. He had bought a couple of different sizes to make sure he had the right one. Now he took 2 back and picked up the right one for back up. I hit the grocery, we needed bread and mustard, then it was time to meet Dave. Bella was back with her friends Barefoot and Fritz and we were headed to the new sports bar across the street for dinner. Dave and Carl had the Texas brisket and I had a plate of dinner sides for only $3.50 more, what a deal..During dinner we enjoyed wonderful conversation and friendship, the only thing missing was Cece. When dinner was done we called it an early night and headed back to the Windward Spirit, we were leaving in the morning. After a little television  it was time to hit the hay, with the lighthouse looking out for us during the night. St. Augustine is such a beautiful city and it's always a pleasure to see it. We hope to return here again. A big thank you goes out to Dave and Cece for opening their home to us and helping us to smell better. We loved our visit and look forward to seeing them again..

I made a breakfast of blueberry pancakes and juice, Jim  (the guy docked next to us) brought over espresso for him and Carl  and we had a nice start to our day. Both of our boats pulled off the dock at the same time and headed for St. Augustine with jib sails up. The wind was not as strong as the day before and we were going with the current, so we were moving right along. The day started out warmer then we had been experiencing, but as the day went on the weather constantly changed, so it was jackets on, jackets off. Just as we were getting near St. Augustine Carl saw a sign that said cheapest fuel in town. He called and they said since we called we could get fuel at only $3.99. Yep that was the cheapest fuel we have seen in quite a while. If was a quick turn of the wheel and we were docked  to fill up. After that  we crossed the inlet for St. Augustine and man was that water rough.. Yips.. glad to be on the inside, never thought I would say that... When we finally got anchored in Salt Run we called David Rowe(Crazy Cathy's brother) and he came and got us with his truck. We love that cause we can put our dingy in the back of it and this time Carl got to ride in the back too. Once we hit Dave and Cece's house it was a big hug for Cece and off to the shower. Don't mean to be rude, but hey I really did stink.. Out of the shower and smelling  better we were able to visit. David ordered a pizza and him, Carl and I all went to pick it up. David wanted to show us the Christmas lights that the city had just turned on the day before. St. Augustine is known as one of the top ten places for lights in the world. We don't think they had them all up yet but it was real pretty to get to see them already. Just like last time we had a wonderful time with David and Cece they are great people and we love to stop and see them. Bella got to play with  her dog friends again, Barefoot and I can't rememer the older dogs name, so she was having a great time too. They also had their grandson on the weekends and we met the little tyke., plus we got to meet Cece's daughter, Danelle is a lovely girl  and it was a pleasure to met her. They even let us use their truck to run errands. Only problem was I forgot to take pictures so you could see them. We will get to see David  again tonight for dinner, but unfortunately Cece will not be with us.The weather is not nice today so we haven't even left the boat yet, we stayed in bed most of the day. Didn't feel like moving to fast today..

Still cold outside and the wind is really blowing. I looked on the weather websites and it said 18 to 20 knots with gusts up to 35, the boat is healing over without even putting up the sails.The jib sail has been up and down all day.. We have had 3 to 4 foot following sea's and it is a gray day. You know the kind of day that just makes you go blah...Not many boats were out today the wind was wicked. When we passed thought Fernandina Beach we saw a few things left from the storm early this summer, the one we were on the edge of. First was a sunken sailboat you can only see the mast and the other was a bridge mostly under water.We also passed a Navy and Coast Guard base with some big ships and a submarine, looked hard to see it in the pictures.. The current on the water way was very strong and when we were heading into it, Carl said he had had enough for the day.So we looked for a anchorage and found one down the river about 10 miles. The information on Skipper Bob's book was very confusing as to which way to enter this anchorage and we ran aground, but the current was so swift we got off it easy. We then passed under a bridge where the current was really nasty, looking for a place to stop. The next anchorage was not for 15 miles and there wasn't enough light left in the day to get there, so we saw some condos with docks and we pulled in . We figured no body would notice us so we could get away with one night.. NO SUCH LUCK... As soon as we got all tied up there was knock on the cabin top and Bob from the dock master's office was there to collect. Carl told him we didn't know it was a marina and we were on the end of our trip, not much money left and we couldn't pay,so where was there an anchorage. Bob tells Carl how to get into the anchorage we ran aground in and Carl says thanks we will leave. I say not till I take Bella ashore to potty.. Bella and I take longer ashore then we should have which turned out to be a good thing. Bob comes back and says he talked to the dock master and if we were leaving in the morning and didn't plug into the eclectic we could stay... Yeah baby you rock... Oh happy day...Luck in again on our side...I tell Bob he will be in my blog in the morning and he says no!!!! Don't tell anyone or the other boaters coming in later, we agree not to tell anyone at the dock.. So needless to say I can't tell you where we were only near Jacksonville.. A guy named Jim from Colorado docked next to us in a 29 ft. sailboat and I invited him to dinner.We never told him abut the dock.. Mums the word.. I made pasta and we had a wonderful evening chatting with him and sharing stories.. NOAA had said there would be Gale winds after midnight and they were pretty high, sure glad we were on the dock. This morning we had Jim over for breakfast and we all left the dock. Nice to see the water has calmed down and the winds have too. Today we hope to make it to David and Cece's home in St. Augustine...

Up early and moving down the river, about 7:30 am, still in the ICW. It's still pretty cold out and there is still a small craft advisory for the outside. Bella and I did our usual staying inside for most of the morning with Carl at the helm. Yes I know what a wimp.. What can I say, me and the cold don't get along isn't that why we live in Florida.. However my hand does a good job of reaching things out to Carl like coffee.
After cruising most of the day we stopped for fuel at Jekyll Island Marina and filled up our water. We saw the power boat that was driving really crazy a couple of day ago, and I asked the wife " aren't you the people who were driving drunk with kids aboard a few days ago?" Carl about fell over...She said no her husband doesn't drink, but she did have three kids and they just picked up the boat. First time having a boat and had to pick it up in North Carolina. Maybe that's why he was weaving all over the place, he doesn't know how to navigate or drive. They were there repairing a hole in the top of the boat they got getting off a dock, forgot to untie on cleat. Good luck to them getting back to Florida. We left the the marina and it was time to cross St. Simmons Sound and boy was it rough.. The waves inside the sound were 3 to 4 feet following seas. Looking out to ocean it looked pretty rough too. So inside we stay again. Carl called a small sailboat we met to tell him to wait till it calmed down before he tried to cross it. He only had the boat 4 months and it was only 25 ft with a tiller and outboard motor. He sure would have had a rough time of it. He said he had planned to wait till today.We anchored in a small creek at 5 pm , it would be dark soon. Still grass flats all around. Total miles for the day were 55 miles, not to bad. Funny how on the outside it would have only been 90 miles to get to Florida, but on the inside it's 4 days.. Today we hit Florida, our  home state..

With it being a cold and rainy morning neither one of us was in hurry to go outside. Carl checked the tides and saw if we waited a couple of hours we would be going with the tide and could make up the time. So I made us a good breakfast of bagels and eggs, while Carl read to me from a sail magazine.  I love that.. During breakfast we talked about the wonderful trip we have had and how we would like to keep going and go on the outside. We are not sure why but the waves are so high out there 4 to 6 ft. says NOAA radio, the T.V news along with most of the websites, but for some reason NOAA website says only 2 feet, we had this happen one other time in Ocean City Maryland. Go figure.. Always ones to air on the side of caution, we stayed inside.. We caught the tide and the wind, with our jib sail up and motoring we moved at a amazing 7 to 8 knots, that is really hauling butt for us. We made 19 miles in 2.5 hours.. Speed racer.. Moving like the wind...The most amazing part of the day was Bella and I stayed topside with Carl all day, but we did have to have a blanket. The ICW is not very exciting. Nothing to see here, grass flats as far as the eye can see. But that okay, I am sure reading my quota of books, so many I can't even count them. Thanks Tammy and Greg for getting me a Kindle...We made about 35 to 40 miles when it was time to anchor for the night.  Being it was cold I made us my famous White Bean and Kale soup.. At this point I think we are addicted.. Sooooooo warm and goooooood.... Well it could be worse.. Closer to home we move again today, wishing for warmer weather..

We got up this morning and pulled anchor getting an early start on the day. The temperature was a bit chilly so being bundled up was the dress for the day. As Carl departed, Bella and I were in the cabin when I smelled burning rubber, the smell filled the cabin.  I called up to Carl and he told me to open the stairwell, I did and I could see a belt was just laying there. Carl stops the engine and comes down to take a look and says not to worry he has a few back up belts. He takes off the broken one and low and behold he doesn't have that belt. We had just passed the Isle of Hope marina so he calls to see if they have a belt or a store close. No belt but there were a few stores near. He called West Marine,no belt and finds one at a local auto parts store. They say sorry they can't bring it to us but they will hold it. We call back the marina and find out we can use their marina car, after we dock for a $1.00 per foot but only  for an hour then its $2.00 per foot. Hurry, Hurry , make haste.. Tied up to the marina we head to town, it doesn't take us long and we have a half hour left on our time. We get to the other side of the marina and fill our fuel tank. Boy has fuel gone up we paid $4.48 per gallon.. Yips.. And still a long way to go.. We get to a mooring ball that no one has used in a while, where Carl goes to put on the belt only to find out it doesn't fit.. Are you kidding... Really.. We call the store back and they say come back in and they will get us the right one. And lucky for us the marina says we can use the car again if we hurry and hurry we do, making tracks.. Once all belts are exchanged and back to the  boat Carl gets us up and running on our way.. Traversing the ICW, Carl needs to look at the chart and I take the helm and somehow I take  a wrong turn and we leave the ICW.. The whole area looks the same nothing but grass flats and we are headed up some small canal... Luckily for me it is deep water.. After about 1/2 hour Carl says somethings wrong he hasn't seen any marks and checks the GPS and sure enough wrong way.. So much for letting me drive... Sorry... We get back on the course and it time to stop for the night, its almost sundown. This has not been one of our best days , but not one of our worst either.. How does my friend Luanne say, Any day cruising is better that a day at work... I have to say shes right..

Having this much fun everyday sure can wear on a body, boy  were we looking rough this morning. Up early so we could take the Savannah River out to the Atlantic, but first we must stop by the family and pick up a few things we left at the house and say goodbye. While there we turned on the weather channel and found out there was a small craft advisory in this area. I pulled up our weather websites and sure enough not a good day to head out in the ocean. So once again we have to stay in the ICW, rats we sure wanted to go outside. However this does give us more time with family and maybe a stop at the store. While the family packs up to leave, my niece Danelle and I headed over to Kroger's and then dropped our stuff off at the boat. Back at the rental house we load the SUV  then got back to Carl and Zack at the boat. It lunch time now so we have our last meal on River St. the same place we ate on the way north. I am finally gonna get to have Shrimp and Grits, yummy... love them...I had waited all week to have them. After lunch it was time to say goodbye it was hard to leave the family after such a lovely time. We headed out with a out going current. Once we were out of the Savannah River and back in the channel it was time to really watch the canal. Georgia is well known for not maintaining their buoys and markers so you have to keep a sharp eye out. Not long after we left the temperature started to drop and the rain began to fall. It was on and off , heavy and light. We didn't make very many miles today, but at least its a start. Anchored for the night we ate dinner and laid back, time for a long night rest after all the partying we had been doing. What will tomorrow bring..

Any day that starts out with a shower can only get better from there.. After my shower I was getting ready to walk over to the boat when I see Carl and Bella walking up to the house, so with a good morning kiss, we were off to the boat. Danelle and Zack our grand niece and nephew walked with us. Once at the boat I picked up my computer and a few fun things to play with and it was back to the family. By time we returned the rest of the family was ready for the day. But wait us girls needed some hair color . A girl must  look her best when going out. Girls just want to have fun...We chose to take a trolley tour of the city,after the lighthouse we thought we should give our feet a break. The trolley sent a short bus to  pick us up( did they know us)  even let Bella come along. There was another dog on the tour only it obvious  that dog doesn't travel a lot because it kept barking, not Bella she is a seasoned traveler at this point. We learned the history of the town, with a running commentary, humor included, all in 90 minutes. It was far faster than the walking we did last time on the way north. Not to mention the saving of our soles.. Then we were lucky enough to have my  brother Mike who drives a truck, hit town for lunch..The day just keeps getting better. A stop at the Pirate House for lunch and to learn of  the poor men who drank there in the 1700's only to wake  upon a ship .. Its a sailors life for me...Like it or NOT...Mike had to go, so us girls went shopping, and what did we find a hat store... So many hats so much fun...If you need a smile hit a hat store..When that fun behind us it time for more.. We left the kids on Great Grandpa watch and we were off to the bar to celebrate Michelle's birthday. Luckily for her I had the hat Sue made me for my birthday, so all would know she was having a whale of a good time.. A tremendous  time was had by all.. With a police convention in town they were partying like criminals..It was big fun, we even got clogging lessons, with Julie from Georgia..We closed the bars and Carl and I headed  back to the boat. When we met one of the staff from the cruise ship that had docked right behind us.. So close was that ship that its dingy hung over ours..Scary... Glad they had a experienced captain...A cocktail more  on board with Whitney and Keon and it was 3:30AM time for these pirates to head to bed. Our time with family in Savannah  will be one of the best memories of our trip..Thanks for coming.. Love ya all... Today we move south..

Sorry I haven't been on line for a few days I was having some problems with my air card, more on that later... We have arrived in Savannah on Saturday afternoon. On the way to Savannah we were traversing the ICW when a  powerboat called us on the radio to tell to favor the green side of the canal. Carl missed understood him  and stayed away the from the green and we promptly ran aground. After about an hour we were able to get free when another power boat came by with a large wake. We did bump again but didn't get stuck.   A turn into the Savannah river and to the city docks. We were able to tie up after we waited for a small boat to leave. We are so glad to be here, we love this town!!! While we were at the dock a open fisherman was trying to get into the dock, so Carl helped them fit in next to us, they had a cute bulldog on board named Bella. So as our Bella was running around the dock and I was calling her both dogs would come. We headed down the water front and saw a tall ship we had seen on our way north. They were giving free tours so we went aboard. She was 109 foot long and 15 foot beam, talk about a nice galley, it was a whole lot of boat. Next stop was a bucket of oysters and a couple of drinks. We had been wanting oysters for a couple of months but the cost was way to high up north.. The waitress commented that she had never seen anyone shuck them so fast. She doesn't know us... We do oysters....That night we were hanging around with the guys from the boat that Carl helped tie up we had a big time. Luke, John and Clint were lots of fun and got such a kick out of trip that they wanted to buy us drinks.. who were we to argue. Another sailboat arrived at the dock and the next thing you know its a party.. What a blast...Morning didn't feel so good though... I needed to find the Verizon store to get my air card fixed so I left the boat at 8:30 AM..I was told it was about a mile away so off I went.. Walk, walk, walk and still no Victory Dr. I finally saw a couple of ladies waiting for a bus and asked them where the street was, that's when I found out a had at least a mile to go and not in the best area. I had already walked about a mile so I waited for the bus. I rode the bus about a mile and got off at Victory Dr. only to find out I was still 2 miles away from the store and I walked it. I finally arrive at the phone store only to find out they are closed... Are you kidding me.. I just walked how far 4 miles only for the store to be closed.. This was not my day....I go to the IHOP next store and find out they will open at noon, so at least I could have a good breakfast while I waited. The store opens up and the girl checks my air card, all she does is take out my battery and put it back in and it works... REALLY... I walked all the way there and 4 hours later and all I had to do was pull the battery and reset the setting.. Yes I know how to get things done....So back to the boat I go.. I saw the bus coming so I ran to catch it only I was not fast enough, so you guessed it I missed the bus..  Really... what will be next.. My niece called to say she was leaving the highway she was here where was I . I told her and they came and picked me up.. Yes I got a good ride finally.. My family came across town to get me , my dad, sister, niece and her family it was great to see them.. Oh my lucky feet.. My niece was freaking out about where I walked , now that was fun.. Over to the boat to pick up Carl and we all headed to Tybee Island  to tour the lighthouse and fort. The whole group, even my 85 year old dad, climbed the lighthouse all 178 steps, to see a great view from the top. After we toured the fort, battery  and the lighthouse, we stopped for dinner at a great little place with great crab stew.. back to the house my niece rented we all  sat around and just enjoyed  each other. Always great to spend time with family.  I stayed the night but Carl didn't feel safe leaving the boat unattended so he and Bella  went back to the boat.. Today more family fun..

Today I am typing without gloves, I am so much better with just my fingers, not so many mistakes and it doesn't take as long to type. We pulled anchor and headed over to Beauford S.C. . The morning was chilly but as the day went on it became very nice about 60's. We docked at the town dock at about 1pm and decided to meander around the town. The old homes thoughout the town we built about the 1800's and are huge, who lives in a house this big. How can they even pay the heat bill... I know back in the day they had to use fireplaces for heat, but today with heat and air the power bill must be gigantic...We found an old armory that the city now uses a  vistors center, thats were Carl met Miss Beauford, love at first sight.. I could hardly drag him away...We found a monument for William Small who was a black man who not only helped with the Union army raid and obtain a confederate ship, he also became a congress man, preacher and a mason plus had 3 wifes so he must have been crazy too... It is a nice town to explore and we stopped at a local bar that let dogs in. We had a good time with Zoe that bartender, she even made Carl a hot dog. They had jello shots and we did a few. Wooooo it was a big time... I can't believe I was able to make dinner after all the fun we had... Today we will travser the town this morning and we will head out later today or not. We are meeting our family in Savannah again Saturday and we are close and don't want to get there to early. Enjoying the warmer weather..

The day was sunny but the air was cold, not as chilly as the day before but almost.As you can tell from the picture of Carl he is still very covered up and cringing from the cold. While I just stick my hand out of the cabin and take his picture. What you wanted me to go out.. NO WAY..We cruised along the ICW at a good rate, when we came upon the dock we remembered with all the large ships. Its funny to see them as far in as we were, it looked like this was some kind of repair dock and the water around it was pretty deep about 30 to 40 feet. Which is very deep for the ICW, it was afternoon and by then I was topside. I had made white bean kale soup for dinner the night before and boy was that wonderful for lunch today.. Nice and hot.. We must thank Katie and Dave in Maine for turning us on to kale we love it...One good thing about food breaks is that Carl gets to go down below to eat while I take the helm, that way he can warm up some..We passed Charleston, S.C. and anchored in a area with plenty of trees to break the wind. As we were getting near our anchorage a family in a trawler was fast approaching and weaving all over the place, in and out of the channel. He was making us a little nervous to say the least. When he got up next to us, Carl called him on the radio to  have him slow down and he came real close, I mean real close to our boat. Then he slowed down and stayed slowed down, we had to slow down more than we had already to give him space to get away from us.. The guy was so out of it he went thought the wrong opening for the tall bridge.. I would say drunk.. scary with kids.. We were very glad he didn't anchor by us.. Hope he makes his destination with the family on board.. Idiot... I cooked the fish we got for dinner and we settled in for the night  afer having covered 74 miles , getting closer everyday...

Considering how the day was cold and rainy all day long I am very happy to report we made it 62 miles...Being it was wet out Carl decided to put on his rain pants. Only to find they not only kept the rain off but they added an extra layer of warmth and kept his coat against his hind end and really helped to keep it warm. Hate when your butt gets cold... The temp never got above 48 add in the wind and rain and you know how cold it was... YEPS...Brrrrrr....I gave Carl so many hot liquids he told me no more cause all he could was pee.. One of the side affects of trying to stay warm..I tired to take a picture today of the fall colors on the ICW but they all came out grainy and ugly do to the rain, but it is pretty nice to see..Maybe today I will get one.. Love my new hat it really helps to keep my ears warm even in the cabin. We got very lucky last night when it was time to anchor for the evening, we found a National Park with a dock and we were able to tie up for the night. I checked to see if they had an no overnight sign and they didn't, so here we would stay. A boat much bigger than ours could not have stayed too shallow. The area was called Buckhall Recreation area, I can't remember the name of the forest, Francis something, anyway we were able to go ashore and play with Bella. It is too funny to watch her chase the socker ball we got at Ed's in Ocean City, N.J., the ball is bigger than her , but love it just the same she does.. After a hour of play time a man and his son come in from fishing and we talk to them. The son Matt who is about 12 is driving the boat and doing a great job, he even drives it on to the trailer. Turns out Matt caught all the fish they have and we watch them clean them, sea trout. John the dad said they have to many for them would we like a couple... of course we would, tomorrows dinner.. Yummy.. It is very cold out so I made them coffee and hot chocolate to warm them. I couldn't have cleaned those fish in that cold water, no way... When all was said and done it was time to get back to the boat. Carl had opened the stairwell to the motor so the heat from the engine would heat up the cabin and that was wonderful..Yeah baby.. It worked for a while but as night fell and dinner was over the temp started to drop again. I am beginning to know how a homeless person must feel on these cold nights, at least we have blankets and shelter..When I got up this morning we could see our breath in the air, chilly...I fear today will be colder..

Man is it cold!!!! As I sit here typing the post I have on  my winter gloves.Let me tell you it's not easy.. This trip has taken us from blistering heat this summer to the chilly days of winter. Thankful for the flannel sheets...Oh Yeah.... When we left Southport N.C we headed due south, looking for warmer weather and getting closer to home.. But alas no warmer weather..During the day it does get up to the 50's maybe 60's a veritable heatwave, but it never last long. Bella and I spend more time in the cabin, only a few hours up top with Carl. He says he doesn't mind, cause he know how cold it is, and I give him breaks tough out the day..We are on the ICW with not much to see, we have had many boats heading the same way as us. I did see a lighthouse to a marina near Myrtle Beach and a antenna that looked like a Mexican hat, but that was about it. We found a nice little anchor hole to stop for the night in and I made us a nice hot dinner. Cooking seems to be the thing that heats up the cabin, so I don't mind cooking. Last night it got down into the high 30's....Brrrrrrr... Isn't that a oxcy-moron, how can the 30's be high.. You got me.. anyway we continue south hoping to escape some of this cold weather..

This is the pilot  house that watched for boats..

After a day with my girlfriends and shopping I had bought a set of flannel sheets for the bed that I had put on the bed before we retired for the night, it was all Carl and I could do to get out of it in the morning. Okay so the vodka we drank had nothing to do with it, but still the bed was so toasty warm we didn't want to leave it. When we did finally get up it was a beautiful day out, sun shinning and in the 70's, so we turned back the clock and got Windward Spirit ready to depart. We chose to stay inside since there was a call for thunderstorms later and we didn't want to get caught on the outside in that. Still it was a large body of water and the wind was blowing pretty good on the ICW. Being Saturday I was talking on the phone, when Carl called me topside , as I peak my head up here comes a Marine Patrol boat, oh crap its the cops... they tell us we are in restricted military area and we must move NOW!!! There were so many markers and bouys it was hard to tell which ones we were suppose to use . The Marine patrol helped to get us on the right track and then they left. A few minutes later they called to say keep the green buoy on our starboard side.. Okay what ever you say, you do have the big guns after all...We reached the town of Southport, N.C and tied up the the empty town dock, where you can stay for 24 hours for free, no sooner did we tie up when a cabin cruiser pulls up.  He asks us the name of our boat and calls the police, he tells us to move, we say no we got there first and I call the police.. What happens next we couldn't believe. This is a first come first serve kind of dock and we got there first, but the lady on the phone tells us we have to move because he called first.. Can you believe this.. Carl talks to her and she threatens to send a police officer to remove us.. We were shocked, not only did she take a reservation on a come first serve first policy she threaten us with force. Not wanting trouble we moved to a restaurant dock where they let us stay the night, but we had to eat there. They did wave the dock fee, but it still cost us more money then we could really afford. Today I going to contact the city fathers and be sure to let them know about all of this.. Once docked we headed out to take Bella for a walk and discovered a nice little town. Full of old homes and a pretty waterfront to grace the river.. This was an important port during the Civil War it used to get by Union blockages with Confederate troops.The pilot boats helped to get them around. And prior to that they kept a watchful eye out for boats in trouble on the Cape Fear river and the ocean inlet. We met the owners of a bed and breakfast who had a Golden Retriever pup and her and Bella played for a time. Back at the boat we put Bella below and went into the Fishy Fishy Cafe where we were docked. We met a nice chick named Leeanne who worked as a sale rep for Colombia sportswear and we talked with her and enjoyed her company. She had to leave to drive Greenville so she left and we ordered dinner. They had an oyster po-boy plus they had a pitcher of beer for $10 so Carl was happy, I ordered buffalo shrimp for us and boy was it good. We had a nice time in there and even met the owners and learned their liquor laws for restaurant owners. Glad  my bar wasn't there...Back at the boat we had a late night the night before so it was an early night for us. The rain had already started so it was easy to crawl into those flannel sheets....

Today we are hopping on the good news express...So look out cause this will only make you smile big.. Yesterday as I was coming out to the shower my phone rings and its Ed...Yes you heard me right,.. Ed from Ocean City New Jersey..Not only is he alive but he fared very well in the storm. Of course he stayed in his house during the storm, which was crazy... but only the roof blew off his garage and the boats inside floated away be got them back, his dock were we stayed was destroyed and he had a few feet of water , but that's all.Electric went out for a few hours but he had a generator for that.. So now we can all breath a sigh of relief, that he is fine and most of his belongings made it..  We arrived in Carolina Beach early Friday afternoon. Which was great since Megan (my old waitress and friend) had the day off from work and she came and meet us at the dock and took me to the grocery store. And boy did I need to go we were about out of everything. She dropped me back at the boat and went to pick up her son Ethan from school. While on the boat Carl called the sailboat behind us and tell him that the mooring balls are free until next year. The guy tells him that he called the dock master and was told they cost $20 and he would be by at 5pm to collect it, being we didn't want to pay $20 we moved the boat. Just as we are getting done dropping the anchor, the other boater leaves and doesn't wait for the dock master, Carl not happy...We had moved the boat for nothng and it was a farther to row the dingy to shore.. After all that was done Megan comes back to pick us up and we made dinner at her house, shrimp taco's yummy.. After dinner Ethan and I had a rousting game of sword fighting, I died a million deaths..Ethan was the winning Lord...That was lots of fun...Then it was back to the boat and for a good nights sleep. On Saturday morning Megan picked us up again and we went to the laundromat to wash all the bedding that had gotten wet in the storm. We put them in the washer and went to Meg's where we made breakfast while Carl took his shower. Then he went back to the laundry while I took a shower and cut Ethan's hair. He didn't trust me at first, then while I'm cutting his hair he says, You really are a hairdresser...Then my old school buddy Debbie Mantijow called to say she was here and Megan took me to met her while she took Carl to the boat since all our stuff  was in her car. As I got into Debbie's car she had me pick my hair color and we wore hairbands with blue hair for me and orange for Debbie, she always was full of surprises.. Let the fun begin..  Carl had to make 2 trips out to the boat, since we couldn't all fit with our stuff and us in the dingy, so while we were  out there we put the boat back on the mooring ball. Then it was a shorter row to pick up Debbie. A short time was spent on the boat, then Debbie and I were off to have fun.. We went shopping and drove around to do a few errands for me like getting propane. We had big fun trying on hats at Big Lots and got some other ladies to buy one too. Its so fun to act up in a store.. Love to laugh and I got a new hat..As we were looking for somewhere to eat Carl called and said he was at a Tikki Bar on the beach so we went there to meet him. Found a place to have sushi and we talked until it was time to go.. We said our goodbyes, with a promise to see each other again soon. It was a great day anyway you look at it, and lots of fun..

We left Moorehead City and headed south on the ICW, we wanted to go outside but the Coast Guard said to stay inside if you could because of knocked out buoys and markers. Plus the wind was right on our nose, so inside we stayed for a little while longer. We got lucky and caught the current going with us this morning and we were making 7 knots... That right 7 knots we were flying...Carl has a need for speed.. The smile on Carl face about froze in place, due to the cold. .And I mean cold, Bella and I can't even be outside in the morning, with the wind chill factor and being on the water it is just way too cold to be outside if you don't have to. I keep Carl in hot coffee and hot cereal  till it warms up enough for us to venture out.. We are back in the land of really cool swing bridges so I took a couple of photos of those. We did pass Camp Jejune , but the good new is we got there right after they got done firing guns , so we were able to move along. However we did catch up to the boats that were a mile or so in front of us as they got stopped.. Everything looks so familiar since we had gone this way headed north, we comment on remember that..We arrived at our anchorage at just after the sun set, it was one we had  been in on the way up, so it was easy to get in. I made us dinner and we were able to receive local television station. It was the first time we got to see the horrible damage the storm had done in N.J. and N.Y. OMG.... those poor people..After seeing the show on ABC  reporting all the damage we don't hold out much hope for our friend Ed. There is a very good chance he may not have a home left.. Our hearts breaks for all him and all his neighbors, we wish we would hear from him. But at least now we know he may not be able to even answer his cell phone.. Daily I will try to keep getting a hold of him and keep him in our prayers. Please join the nation tonight in the telethon for all the victim's and donate money for the relief, I know I will try to do that tonight.. They will need a lot of help...Show the people of this area that as Americans we are in this together and help one and another...Today we hope to arrive in Carolina Beach and stop to see a couple of friends for a couple of days..