11/24/12 Wilmington, N.C.

Hi everyone,
We left Waterfronte Marina yesterday, after spending over three weeks in Wilmington. A lot of the time was spent provisioning, stocking up on the food that we will need in the islands. We have something like 96 containers of Ritz crackers, 200 pounds of cat litter, and lots of other things that will be either hard to come by or more expensive in the islands. Usually Mom and Dad would spend the day shopping, while Julia and I would stay at Grandma's house and use her internet connection to get school work done. At the end of the day, we would all have dinner together at Grandma's house. Julia and I had very few opportunities to take time off from school, but it was wonderful to see Grandma and everyone else that we know and love in North Carolina. We still had fun, like when we had a happy hour with a few of Grandma's friends on Island Cat, or when we went to the movie theater to see Skyfall. We even went go-carting and mini-golfing! We ended up staying at Wilmington so long that we spent Thanksgiving there. We were invited to a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner hosted by our friends, Janet and Jim. We left Wilmington yesterday and headed to Wrightsville Beach, after hearing about a holiday  boat parade and fireworks show that occurs there after Thanksgiving every year. The parade and fireworks were last night, and we have a few cool photos of boats covered in Christmas decorations in the parade. The parade gave out prizes for different boats much like any other parade might, however there was also a "People's Choice" award where people sent texts to vote for their favorite boat. The parade was very exiting and the fireworks afterward were spectacular. The event is very popular in Wrightsville Beach, and there were people lining the streets and having parties in the houses all around the edges of the bay. It was much like any fourth of July celebration, except it was to celebrate the beginning of the Christmas season. Today we spent all day preparing for our upcoming voyages, and tomorrow we will set out for more amazing experiences and adventures. For now, I will leave you with pictures of our travels in Wilmington and Wrightsville Beach.
-Paul

After arriving in Wilmington, NC.

The view from the top of the mast from our marina. You can see the ocean behind the houses.

Having Happy Hour with friends on the boat.

Serena confronting Grandma's cat Sable.

And this is how the confrontation ended. Serena is very timid.

Hanging out in the tiki hut with the next-door neighbors.

Trying to get Serena into a pet life jacket. Needless to say, she was not pleased...

River otters on the marina docks.

Pelican near the marina.

Before starting mini-golf. 

Julia just before taking a swing.

Taking a break from playing golf.

Dad waving from the go-cart track.

All three of us lined up on a straight-away. Mom took pictures instead of racing.

A seafood shack where we bought fresh shrimp for dinner.

Mom and Julia at the Thanksgiving dinner.

Julia and I on Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving dinner with Grandma and her friend Phyllis in the picture.

Sunset at Grandma's.

Sunset at Wrightsville Beach. We strung up white lights around the railings and  we brought our
Christmas tree out of the bow locker.

All  four of us.

Serena sitting next to the Christmas tree.

One of the boats in the boat parade. This boat had wings wrapped in blue lights that moved up and down
 to resemble a manta ray. This boat ended up winning the People's Choice award.

Another one of the boats in the boat parade.

This boat was wired with lights that were timed to music. The lights in the rigging and
 the  railings changed colors and flashed to the beat.

Fireworks over the water.

More fireworks.

Julia and I watching fireworks.

Boat Music

Hi everyone,
Now that we are at Grandma's house, we have access to a better internet connection. I am taking the time to try to add music to the blog, so you can hear some of the songs that we like to listen to. Most of these songs are by Jimmy Buffett, one of our favorite artists.  From time to time I may add more music, but for now I will keep the list small.
-Paul

Son Of A Son Of A Sailor Brown Eyed Girl Flesh And Bone Surfing In A Hurricane Coast Of Carolina Mexico Margaritaville Only Time Will Tell Southern Cross Autour Du Rocher Last Mango In Paris School Boy Heart Come Monday Cheeseburger In Paradise Diamond As Big As The Ritz I Will Play For Gumbo Overkill Changes In Lattitudes Far Side Of The World I Don't Know And I Don't Care

11/1/12 Washington D.C. to North Carolina

Hi everyone,

              It has been a while since DC, so I thought I would do another blog post. We have been steadily working our way down the ICW (Intracoastal Waterway) with the next major stop in mind being my Grandma’s house in Wilmington, North Carolina. Some of the places we have stopped in include Norfolk, Virginia; Great Bridge Bridge; and Morehead City. Most of the time in the ICW we stop in little bays with nothing in sight for miles, and other times we anchor in busy towns that are not unlike what we would find at home. Norfolk definitely fits the description of a busy town, with a full fleet of navy ships and waterfront area big enough to dock a cruise ship. We had a memorable afternoon watching the huge ships slide by as we made our way up to the anchorage. Later that evening we headed out to dinner at Joe's Crab Shack. That night we managed to get the TV antenna working and we watched the third presidential debate. After an hour of watching two people who hate each other try to act nicely on national television, we went to bed. 

              We usually stay in new places for only one night, however there were two exceptions: Great Bridge Bridge and the Pungo River. I will talk about Great Bridge Bridge first because it was the happier of the two experiences and it also happened first. Great Bridge Bridge is a bridge located on the Elizabeth River, directly after Great Bridge lock. While waiting at the Great Bridge lock we had decided that, if there was a free slip between the lock and Great Bridge, we would stop for the day because we had been travelling non-stop and were very tired. Just as we got to the free slips along the edge of the river, a boat pulled out and we happily took their spot at the river's edge. Elizabeth River is about a hundred yards wide, flat calm, and located in the middle of bustling town. Next to the free marina there was an open park, perfect to run around in and burn off some of the energy that we had accumulated over the past week. Just after we pulled in to dock, a man from the boat docked ahead of us came up and introduced himself. His name was Jean-François and he was from Canada. He, like us, had recently embarked on a one-year trip with his wife, Stéphanie, and fifteen-year-old daughter, Virginie, down to the islands. Their blog can be viewed here, and it is entirely in French. Despite speaking French, Jean's English was very good. We quickly became friends with their family, and during the three days that we were at Great Bridge we did almost everything together. On the fourth day, we both crossed under Great Bridge Bridge and pulled up at a marina for water and fuel. Jean had to go back to Canada for a week, so they would be staying at the marina until his return. Meanwhile, we had to continue on. What we didn't know, however, was that a then-tropical storm Sandy was about to sweep up the coast and make our trip considerably less enjoyable. 

                   We got as far as the Pungo River, in North Carolina, before we were forced to seek shelter. We went as far upriver as possible without being in danger of running aground, and under Sandy's malevolent gaze put out all two-hundred feet of our anchor chain in six feet of water. The next three days can only be described as lifeless. We had to stay inside because it was raining in a continual, icy downpour, and the howling of the wind whistling through the rigging kept us up at night. Sandy left us after the third day, but it was a couple more days before we saw the sun again. In that time, a low-pressure system had formed and brought cold air from over the Great Lakes. With the temperature dropping into the mid forties at night, we continued on. The next few days we spent traveling. Yesterday we pulled into the Morehead City marina for a night in civilization. We went out to dinner at Sanitary Fish Market, and, being that we are now in the "south," our waiter brought us hush puppies to start our meal instead of rolls or a loaf of bread like a restaurant from Connecticut will do. It was a new and interesting experience for us, and it made our dinner that much more memorable. Julia and I both ordered a slice of pumpkin cheesecake for dessert, in the spirit of Halloween. This morning we woke up early and left the dock before the sun was up in order to catch the tide. The temperature was 46 degrees, which we all agreed was unseasonably cold for North Carolina, even though it was the first day of November. After passing under several bridges and having the antenna at the top of our mast hit every beam on the underside of the bridges, we pulled in at Camp Lejeune, a military base in North Carolina. We took photos of all the interesting things we have seen, including a Harrier jump jet and a VTOL(Vertical Take-off and Landing) aircraft. Tomorrow we should arrive at Grandma's house in Wilmington, N.C. where we will spend a week or so visiting and provisioning for the next part of our journey. For now, I will leave you with photos of our journey thus far, and as always, thanks for reading!

-Paul

Sunset  

A high-tech military watercraft outside of Norfolk, Virginia.

Sitting on the bow outside of  Norfolk with an aircraft carrier in the background.

Julia up on the bow.

Dad at the helm.

Fort Wool outside of Norfolk. This fort has been protecting the harbor since 1817.

The navy and their toys.... and our tax money.

This unnamed military boat passed us doing about 40 mph. I bet it goes a lot faster.

A battleship in Norfolk.

A perfect day!

Huge military ships.

Compare the size of this gun to the pickup truck next to it.

We couldn't figure out what this was, but it was mounted on a few of the ships.  Maybe for intimidation?
"I'm not sure what this does, but you don't want to be nearby when I turn it on."

A patrol plane banking in for a landing. Battleship in the foreground.

Speaking of battleship, Mom and Julia decided to play a round of battleship  as we
  were passing by all the navy ships.

Aircraft carrier dead ahead!

Enjoying a burger at Joe's Crab Shack.

Julia looks like she is enjoying her burger, too.

Mom and Dad.

Cruising through a few bridges .

Tying up at the Great Bridge lock.

The water is flooding into the lock. In the background is the Elizabeth river where we tied up.

Island Cat at the dock in Great Bridge, with Misty, the boat owned by our new friends, just  ahead of us.

Virginie, Julia, and I at the park next to the Elizabeth river.

Here we are playing Rummy on Misty.

Dad removing the wind instrument at the top of our mast. Our mast is 63.5 feet  high  and the lowest bridges in
the ICW have 64 feet of clearance, so we decided to take it off before it was taken off by the bottom of a bridge.

Dad took a camera to the top of the mast. What a view!

This is what our boat looks like from 63.5 feet in the air.

Dad and Jean-François stringing up a new bow trampoline.

Great Bridge Bridge opening for us.

The Elizabeth river stretching into the distance. Some of these canals are
so long that you can see the curvature of the Earth.

The great soccer ball rescue! We saw a floating soccer ball and decided to pick it up.
Maybe we will give it to local children we meet in the islands.

Here I am doing schoolwork in the main salon.

Bald eagle spotted!

Dad holding our GPS to make sure that we do not start to drag during the hurricane.

Waiting out the hurricane.

Prepared for the storm!

We wrapped a table leg in sisal rope to make a cat scratching post.

Dad, Julia, and I returning from a cold, three-mile dinghy ride to get fresh shrimp for dinner. We made  a  spicy shrimp jambalaya that was so good that I had a second, third, and fourth helping at dinner.

Dolphins!

Island Cat at the marina in Morehead City at sunset.

Sunset from the dock at Morehead City.

This was our Halloween candy. One bar of Hershey's Dark for both of us.

Few things taste better than homemade bread and homemade pumpkin bread.

Dinner at Sanitary Fish Market. Here we are holding up hush puppies.

Possibly the best cheesecake I have ever had the pleasure of eating, pumpkin or otherwise.

Sunrise after we left the dock in Morehead City. Happy November!

Birds all lined up on a sandbar next to the channel.

A bird watching us go by.

Harrier jump jet in flight.

An armored troop carrier that had been abandoned and used for target practice.

You can't make this kind of stuff up.

VTOL aircraft in landing mode.