June 09 - Georgia, SC, NC, Virginia and Maryland

June 3
We have spent the last two days visiting Savannah, Georgia and we are enchanted by the South. We are now heading towards Charleston. We stayed in the Isle of Hope marina. The people in Savannah were wonderful to us. One day, while waiting for a bus, a woman stopped and brought us to a local grocery store, so that we would have a better choice of buses. She said that she « knew her cruisers », bu their disheveled looks and backpacks, and always tried to help them out. I guess that with the girls we aren’t too frightening. We then took the bus into Savannah and spent the rest of the day wandering around downtown. Even our bus driver was an absolute sweetheart. She got so carried away telling us where to go and what to see that she missed a bus stop….ooops! In the late afternoon, we took a ghost tour by horse drawn carriage. Apparently, Savannah is one of the most haunted cities in the entire United States. It was a pretty way to see the city and the girls were thrilled by the horses. Afterwards, we took a leisurely stroll down to the waterfront, looking for a restaurant. We went towards the Pirate Haus, which is known to be haunted, but the elegant ambiance in the evening didn’t really go well with our attire, so we ended the evening at a hamburger place in downtown. Our taxi driver back to the marina was with someone who grew up in the area and who had worked on his daddy’s shrimp boat until he was about 18. He talked about the area and interesting things for us to see the next day in our rental car. On Tuesday, we went to the Crab Shack on Tybee Island. The food was excellent and the atmosphere was a lot of fun. With our tummies full we headed towards the lighthouse. Unfortunately, it is closed one day a week, and we just happened to choose the wrong day. We decided to head to Hilton Head, for some outlet shopping instead. On the way, we stopped and bought some South Carolina peaches and local vine ripened tomatoes at a local farmers markets….YUM! The shopping in Hilton Head was fun, as always, and after dinner, we came back to the marina. One thing we love about being in a marina (in addition to the obvious laundry, flush toilets and hot showers), is the fact that we frequently meet other boaters also traveling on the ICW. In the Isle of Hope marina, we met a Canadian couple from Nova Scotia. They sold the area so well that we can’t wait to get there for a visit. We don’t know if we’ll make it during this trip but we will surely go there in the next few years. They said the coast is beautiful, the weather is clement (relatively so for Canada) and the people speak French and English. Sounds great!

The next day we left Georgia and ventured into South Carolina. I waved to Hilton Head longingly, as we passed the Harbor Town lighthouse and we continued on our way. Our next stop was Beaufort, SC (pronounced BEW-FURT). Beaufort is a charming little town. We walked around, went to the library, looked at the beautiful houses and enjoyed the waterfront. The girls loved the playground and were thrilled to meet kids their age. Afterwards, we went to a little restaurant, called Nippy’s, and had our first shrimp burger and shrimp dog. The food was great and the people even better. We definitely recommend this little restaurant to anyone looking for a good, quick meal, with great taste. One of the owners drove us back to our dingy from the restaurant because of pouring rain. We really appreciated it! We only had to get from the dingy to the boat, as so although we were drenched, we didn’t get sick because it didn’t last very long. This is definitely one thing we hadn’t factored in in traveling at this part of the country at this time of the year. It rains (usually storms with lightening, heavy winds and rains and occasional tornado / waterspouts) basically one day out of two. When you are living in a sailboat this is always an adventure, as most of what we do takes place outside of the boat (like eating, for example). We can eat inside, but with the heat from the day and the windows closed to protect us from the rain, its like eating in a sauna, so we prefer, when possible, to eat outside.

After Beaufort, we headed up the coast towards Charleston. We arrived in Charleston on Friday night, and were thrilled to find some friends we had met in the Bahamas, Chantal and Frédy who are traveling on their catamaran Micromégas. They had been there for almost a week and were waiting for a weather window to continue their journey. We were thrilled to see them and were able to spend the day with them on Saturday, getting a first glimpse of Charleston. Our first stop was to see a civil war submarine (apparently the first to go into battle), called the Hunley, which sank as soon as it achieved its mission of sinking the enemy ship. The funny thing is that it had already sunk twice before on test missions, taking the entire crew with it both times. I guess that third time really wasn’t a charm for this vessel, which was truly destined to sink. The boat was actually brought up by Clive Clussler and they are in the process of slowly studying it. They almost left it at its final resting place because they were afraid that it might disintegrate. Luckily, that was not the case and we are able to see it from afar (it is in a big holding tank full of water and you can only peer in from above). Afterwards we went to Magnolia plantation on the outskirts of Charleston. Magnolia was a rice plantation . We took a tour of the slave quarters, with an interesting description of their life at the time of the plantation. The family is actually still in contact with descendants of some of their former slaves (many of who continued on working at the plantation once they were freed). We also visited the house, and learned about its history and the fact that it had been rebuilt 3 times. The grounds were gorgeous, with lots of peacocks, ponies and many beautiful flowers. On Sunday, our friends took off and we visited downtown Charleston on foot. We visited the low country Children’s museum, complete with a life size shrimping boat, which was a hit with the girls. We also visited the Joseph Manigault house, which was an urban plantation. The house was beautiful and had also been through many transformations (including a period as tenements and Military headquarters), with much of the original house layout and even moldings miraculously remaining intact.

Our next stop was about 3 miles from Georgetown, SC, in a quaint little anchorage. As the sun was setting, there was complete silence and it seemed that it was one of the most peaceful places on earth. However, once the sun set, we had the worst mosquito infestation that we have had since leaving France. There were so many mosquitoes in our nets that we couldn’t sleep because of the horrible buzz. When we were finally able to kill them mortalities were staggering! J We had planned to stop in Georgetown the next day, but as it had a wood pulp factory and the wood was blowing the wrong way, the stench made that impossible. We therefore continued our trip up the wacammaw (?) river towards Myrtle Beach. This stretch of the ICW is known to be one of the most beautiful. The cypress trees with draping Spanish moss and the birds were just amazing. Almost by accident, we decided to stop in a marina, called Osprey Marina. We didn’t even realize that we were actually in Myrtle Beach. Once again, we were truly delighted by the marina, where the staff was wonderful, and the bugs were non existent. We particularly enjoyed talking with one of the staff members, Sherry, and hope to see her and her son William (who is the girl’s age) in France some day. We also met a couple, Dick and Carol, who is doing the same trip as we are, up to Block Island, in a power catamaran. We had a nice evening with them and look forward to seeing them later in our trip. We also took the girls to the beach in Myrtle Beach and really enjoyed it. We are very grateful to our driver for taking us there! The next day we left hoping to make it North Carolina. We did…kind of…. We anchored in South Carolina, in Calabash creek and went into the nearest town, Calabash, NC. We didn’t even realize that we were in North Carolina until we saw it written on the shrimp boats in the harbor. Calabash is a shrimping town, with excellent seafood restaurants on the waterway. Atkins, beware, tho’, because this is NOT a low-carb town. Everything was fried (I had never eaten a fried oyster before, but I loved it). My two side dishes were baked potato and hush puppies (yummy with whipped honey butter!!!!). We think that it was a dry county, as there was no beer on the menu, but we may have just been in the wrong restaurant. I ordered unsweet tea (sweet tea makes my teeth hurt…sorry to all of my Southern friends, but I just can’t get used to it!). It was yummy, and although it took three days to digest, I loved every bite!

We finally made it to North Carolina on the 12th of June. We went through the last pontoon bridge on the Atlantic just as we entered the state of NC. That evening, we ended up in Wrightsville, right near the beach. The girls were thrilled. I was happy for the beach, but the groceries were becoming are little critical, and their « grocery » in town didn’t have much more to offer than a 7-11. We did however, get to eat boiled green peanuts for the first time, and although they were out of a can, I really enjoyed them and will buy more if I find them. I have to admit that I was a little wary of boiled peanuts, and hadn’t tried them yet, but the fact that there were directions on the can (to heat them, for example…something I certainly wouldn’t have thought of) and that one of the people I met said she really liked them, made me anxious to try. The girls also really liked them. The vote is still out for Sébastien (but he doesn’t like Jello, so there’s no accounting for taste, eh ? J). Wrightsville was beautiful and I am very happy to go to the beach on this side of the Atlantic, because the beaches are wide, the sand is soft and the water is warm. However, navigating or even anchoring in Wrightsville and/ or the ICW for that matter in this part of North Carolina is really not fun. In Georgia and most of South Carolina , the boaters were relatively courteous, slowing down for us as they passed, respecting no-wake zones, etc. Ever since we hit Myrtle Beach, and on into NC, people have been incredibly rude on the water. We have seen a number of smaller boats almost flip over, because of the wake of the larger boats. It is definitely survival of the fittest and its unfortunate because it makes boating a lot less fun and more dangerous. We are hoping that this will get better as we head up the coast.

Last night, we anchored in a military basin, which is considered an official anchorage, near camp Lejeune. At 7:30 pm, an army officer came by and told us that the anchorage was officially closed for the next three weeks and that we would have to move. So, as a very ominous storm approached, and we were less than an hour from sunset (and 3 hours from the next official anchorage) we headed out to find another anchorage. Another boat suffered the same fate, and so we followed each other to a new anchorage. Of course, once we anchored, the sky opened up and the rain fell in sheets. We had invited the other boat to come over for a drink, which they did when the rain let up. Their names are Peggy and John and they are originally from Rhode Island and are making their way up the coast just as we are. We will probably also see them again, en route and if not, at least hope to meet up with them once we arrive in Rhode Island.

Today, we arrived in Swansboro, NC. It wasn’t our official destination, but as we were passing it about noon, we decided to come in and have lunch . Because of the bad weather (again!) and the fact that there was a supermarket nearby, we decided to stop here for the night, as well. The town is quaint and worth the stop. The big news of the day is that Marie lost her first tooth …literally…she woke up from her nap with a big gaping hole…we think that she must have swallowed it. The tooth fairy came to the boat, and as requested brought some money from the Bahamas as well, because they have prettier money, with dolphins. She also brought a quarter from IOWA, where Marie’s Godmother lives. The girls are making a collection of quarters from the 50 states, with Sébastien’s help. We will head to Beaufort, NC tomorrow morning.

June 15th
Today we arrived in Oriental,NC. We tried Beaufort, but were only able to do a « sail by » as there wasn’t enough room for us to anchor and we didn’t want to pay for a marina. We therefore added four hours to our trip and ended up here instead. This may have been a happy coincidence, as we couldn’t get the motor to turn off when we arrived. We even tried the emergency switch, which had been installed at the request of our insurance, in case of an engine fire, and found that that didn’t work either (another example of poor work done by the people who worked on the boat before we left France… frustrating!!!). Anyway, although we were finally able to get it to turn off, after Sébastien messed with the engine, we are going to try once again tomorrow morning, before leaving, because Oriental is the « sailing capital of North Carolina », and would probably have someone who could fix it if indeed it is really broken. Never a dull moment when you live in a sailboat!

June 16th
We are now in Dowry Creek, and basically our neighbors are birds, frogs and mosquitoes. It is very peaceful here, but there isn’t a whole lot here. I wouldn’t mind having a house around here, but its frustrating in a boat because you just can’t get out and do anything. We still have no phone reception. Oh well.


June 25th
Today, we reached mile 0 of the Intracoastal Waterway, and we are now in Norfolk, VA. We have done a lot in the last few days. On the 17th of June, we arrived in the Alligator River Marina, which is, as many had written on the internet, a Shell station, in the middle of nowhere. We had to wait an entire day to get a rental car. Our American cell phone did not work at all and our French one only worked if you stood really still in one place in the driveway, and the wind didn’t change directions. It was almost as bad as South Caicos, and we were in the US! Luckily, once we had our car, we felt like we were back in civilization fairly quickly. We spent the weekend in Greensboro with my brother Alan and his wife Kim. We still love Greensboro, and think that it’s a great city and were happy to be back! Sébastien and I were able to get away Saturday for our official 10th wedding anniversary to a great bed and breakfast and out to dinner at a restaurant called Lucky 32, while Kim and Al took care of the girls. This was actually only our third evening out without the girls since we started the trip in October. It was wonderful to just be a couple and not have to cut anyone’s food or go to the bathroom 6 times in the middle of the meal! We really want to thank Al & Kim for keeping the girls as well as my dad and step mom and my mom for their thoughtful gifts which made our anniversary extra special! On Sunday night, we headed back to the Alligator River Marina. The Alligator River Marina is near the Outer banks of North Carolina, which aren’t near much of anything else. On Monday, we visited the Outer Banks. It is definitely worth the trip, but I would suggest renting a place there and staying for a week. The landscapes are breathtaking. Our first stop was on Roanoke island to see the representation of the ‘lost colony’ . I was afraid that it would be a little like an amusement park, but it actually ended up being more like a permanent reenactment, with various actors around the area who explain life in the times when the colony existed. It was very well done, and we learned a lot about the settlement and life in colonial times. Next we headed to the official outer banks. As I said, the scenery was breathtaking, with sand dunes, and with the shallow ocean just beyond. We were able to go up in the tallest lighthouse in America, Hatteras lighthouse, on the end of Hatteras island. We also saw our first drive-thru beer store, which was an old garage, which probably had done oil changes in its former life, and was now a place to get your beer. It was an odd concept. On the way back, we decided to go via Elizabeth City, a place we would be going through in a few days by boat. It looked a lot shorter on the map than it was in reality, and turned out to be about two hours out of the way. The countryside was nice, but it made the cornfields in the Midwest that seem endless not seem too bad. It was a very long trip back and although we thought the Outer Banks were lovely, we wouldn’t want to live there.

We finally left the Alligator Marina on the 23rd of June in the afternoon, after finally turning in our rental car (and now that I know where the rental car lady was coming from, I am surprised that we had a car at all….remember Elizabeth City?). We didn’t go very far, but were happy to be on the « road » again. We finally did make it back to Elizabeth City , but only stopped briefly, and decided to head to our next destination, as we really wanted to get through the Dismal Swamp Canal today. Last night, we slept next to the Dismal Swamp Canal, basically in the middle of the ICW. This was ok, as there was no one else there. It was a little eerie, actually. We had put the fan on inside our boat, because it was so hot. At one point we stopped it, because we heard all kinds of odd noises around the boat and feared that someone was coming upon us in the night. We discovered that it was actually all of the wild animals in the forest around us. It was how I would imagine a night in the jungle sounding. We decided to turn the fan back on, so we could sleep peacefully.

Today, we went through the Dismal Swamp Canal. We also went through our first and second lock (one at the beginning and one at the end) and went on a US Warship. Let me explain. The Dismal Swamp Canal was started in 1793, and hand dug by slaves borrowed from plantations in the area. The beginning and the end are not at the same water level, and therefore you need to go through a series of locks to get in and out of the canal. This was actually easier than we thought. The canal itself was very scenic, but we did hit a number of fallen tree trunks, which were just below the surface. I don’t think that any permanent damage was done. When you leave the canal, which is very bucolic, and you feel like you’ve been thrown back a few centuries, you are « plopped » out into the harbor in Norfolk. The contrast between the two is staggering. You leave this pleasant canal, where you have been for the last 5 hours and enter into Norfolk, which I believe is one of the busiest commercial and military harbors in the world. It is a world of tug boats, barges, and military vessels of all sizes. We anchored at hospital point and headed over to waterside across the bay. There is a building there called Nauticus and our lock operator at the second lock had also served as a tour guide and had mentioned that we should go to Nauticus, because the first two floors were free and we could visit the USS Wisconsin. This is how I came to be on a US Warship. When we arrived, it was five minutes to closing, but they let us on., so all I can really say, is that it is very big and very grey (apparently the grey they used is a peacetime grey). It was quick but I enjoyed it and the maritime museum seemed very interesting also, even though, that too, unfortunately, was also very quick, because it was also closing. This evening we had a fellow boater, Jay, over for cocktails. We had met him at the lock this morning, and he talked us through our first lock and gave us our first flyswatter, which is one of the most useful inventions for someone traveling by boat on the ICW at this time of the year. The horseflys and dearflys are abundant and they are nasty little buggers! We had great cocktails with Jay and hope to catch up with him again in New Jersey. Tomorrow we are going to head towards Williamsburg.

June 27th
We arrived in Yorktown, VA yesterday evening. This is a great little town, with a beautiful waterfront, known as Riverwalk. Last night, just as we were arriving, they were starting to set up for a free « shag » music concert. Shag dancing is similar to the « rock » which we dance in France, so Sébastien and I were thrilled to « cut a rug » on the dance floor in the middle of the street., after an impromptu picnic on the green. This morning we went to the farmer’s market on the same square as the dancing last night. This location is wonderful….Very central to everything! We were able to buy fresh fruits and veggies - it was almost like being back at my market in France. I was thrilled! Afterwards, we took a free shuttle to Williamsburg, which is 12 miles away. The shuttle is run by the National Park Service and links Yorktown (where the English surrendered in the American Revolution in 1781) to Williamsburg and to Jamestown. We spent the day touring Williamsburg, and learned a lot. The big surprise is that the redcoats had landed for this weekend and we were able to see them throughout the town, doing various activities. We were also able to see their encampment, complete with tents, and everything needed for their daily lives. We saw the women preparing the food and embroidering. The town is very authentic, and the tours in the different buildings were very informative and I now have a much better idea of life in colonial America. I think that Sébastien probably had the most fun of all of us, because he had never had this version of American history He was completely enchanted, and I’m thrilled that he and the girls are able to see American history « come to life » during this trip! Tomorrow we continue our journey towards Washington, DC, where we will spend the fourth of July with some friends from the states and some friends from Switzerland.

June 29th
Once again, we are checking out different medical facilities for Obama’s healthcare system. About four hours away from our destination Marie came upstairs with a crooked arm and tears…, yes, another broken arm! Aren’t we excited? Our original plan was to arrive in Solomons, MD for the night. We had met a couple, Maggie and John the weekend before in Greensboro, at our Bed & Breakfast and we were hoping to see them again, possibly for cocktails. Instead, we called Maggie in a panic and asked if she could recommend a way for us to get to the emergency room. After spending her weekend in MA and driving all weekend, she was exhausted, but she came and got us at the marina, and took us to the hospital emergency room, and stayed with us until Marie was ready to go home at almost midnight! In short , she was our guardian angel and really made dealing with Marie’s newly broken arm much easier. For this, we can’t thank her enough! In addition, we discovered a little piece of paradise, which is only 56 miles from Washington, DC, called Solomons Island, and we fell in love. The area is a sailor’s paradise, and we met a number of wonderful people. If we could figure out a way to move there, we probably would, because we just felt as if we had found the place we needed to be. Of course Marie’s arm was an ordeal…again….but this time less expensive than in the Bahamas and a very positive experience!